Industrial narrow gauge micro layout: Kiesgrube Klieben

 After weeks filled with work and other hobbies and model railroading on the back-burner, except for reading and planning, I finally picked up the shovel again and started with a new build. The Elmslohe H0 layout is still in its infancy with tracks laid and wiring done, but without any scenery. And I somehow cannot get myself to start with ballasting and similar tasks. Instead, re-fitting my decades-old, little H0e diesel with a new motor and decoder, re-painting and weathering her, provided lots of fun. So the decision was taken to build her a home; in the form of a micro-layout that is extendable with fiddle yards.

I laid Peco industrial narrow gauge flex track (SL-400) and two turnouts (SL-E492) on a 75 x 30  x 0.8 cm board and 44 x 18 mm frame. This size fits perfectly into the Ikea Billy shelf beside my work-desk. As written before, I like small layouts that are operational at the flick of of a switch, providing fun for a short break. Once finished, the little layout will provide a nice opportunity to shunt some skips with narrow gauge diesel engines. With fiddle yards added I could also exhibit the layout at club events (once exhibitions will be allowed again...).

The concept of the small layout is to show a section of a 760 mm industrial narrow gauge line for sand, gravel, stones, etc. I drew inspiration from images like the ones from Messers. Dachkeramik Meyer-Holsen in Ostwestfalen, However, I will go for a time period of probably the 1960s.

Here some images from Meyer-Holsen:

I like the heaps of sand and the way the excavator sits between them.

I might hide one entrance to a fiddle yard with a comparable bridge.

And some more images for the atmosphere to be re-created. I definitely want to have lots of "green" on the layout and not so much an actual quarry or loading/unloading area:

Source: Bloustod Teglvaerk

Source: Bloustod Teglvaerk

Source: drehscheibe-online

Segrahner Kieswerke. Source: Der Eisenbahnfotograf

Source: Buntbahn

And finally some images of the current state of affairs (tracks laid, wiring done, first trials of positioning buildings and objects):

Bridge view.

Trying different shots. The magazine stores also important liquids for the workers..

View down the line.

Total overview.