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.

Narrow gauge excursion

I recently rediscovered my interest in narrow gauge railways. I think it was triggered by ordering Roco's new H0e model of the Austrian Rh 2095, in the version of 2095.014-3 of the Waldviertelbahn. A "must-buy" despite not having a narrow gauge layout. So the beauty will end up in the showcase for the time being or will get a dedicated Austrian micro-layout somewhen in the future.

In the meantime I dug up a very old box: the H0e starter set No. 31000 of Roco featuring a small Diesel locomotive, two skips and two wooden open cars and an N(!) set-track circle. I had bought this set some 35 years ago!

Roco's "Grubenbahn" Starter Set, bought some 35 years ago. The track in the image is from Peco.

The little Diesel engine with the original motor.

New core-less motor by Tramfabriek and the Train-O-Matic decoder.

The engine is too neat to have her sit in the box for another 35 years.. So I decided to give her a make-over. I installed a new motor by Tramfabriek and Train-O-Matic decoder No. 02010223. She now runs supersmoothly!

So the next thought popped up in an instant: why not build her a very small layout (70 x 38 cm) that could fit into an Ikea cupboard? Dustproof and ready to play with. Nothing fancy, just an oval to admire running trains in fitting scenery and max. two turnouts. I have ordered Peco H0e flex track and the two turnouts. More on the idea soon.. (I hope)

Moving the engine shed...

The advantages of not starting with weathering the rails and ballasting are that I could run a few trains for fun and experience the layout in "operation mode". The VT 98 DMU arrived and departed with commuters, sometimes taking a freight car with it and spotting it at the freight shed. The daily freight service brought cars in and picked up others. I experimented with mixed passenger and freight services. All great fun and in general prove that the track plan works.

Still some things kept nagging me.. Like the situation at the end of the layout where everything seems a bit too crammed. I had thought that the engine shed at the end of the line was a good idea, something special. There are a couple of prototype examples, and showing such a special situation on my layout seemed a nice change to ordinary terminus plans. Also, it would help block the view to the short end of the layout.

The "old" situation with the engine shed at the end of the line.The platform in front of the station building long enough for a 2-car DMU. Not uninteresting, but overall too crammed for my taste. The freight shed by the way is a placeholder only. As described in a previous I have already built a smaller version of it.

I simply do not have enough length in my layout room. The platform became too short and required an awkward extension over the run-around switches. Even with my plan to only run DMU's in passenger service and a 2 car VT 98 fitting just, it looked too crammed.

So yesterday evening - after having freed my mind at the Karate training - I picked up the engine shed, lifting it from its current position and putting it down at the other end, the station entrance. This will require the addition of a switch for a new engine shed track between the raised platform and the main line.

In its new position, the engine shed provides nice backdrop to incoming trains. Views to the long loading platform are still possible. I even like the fact that it is a bit hidden. I took a few snapshots which I show here. Though they do in no way justice to the look & feel which is in reality much better.

The passenger platform on the other end is now long enough (ca. 65 cm) for a short line station. Another benefit is that I can extend the track of the freight shed to hold 2 cars. This makes it also look less crammed and adds another position for cars to be spotted to.

There is now more room in front of the station building. Mind the gap!: the two parts of the station building are not connected yet, therefore the ugly gap..

The middle section of the station. The BR 333 is pulling in a string of cars in the sugar beet season.

The new freight shed. The track will be extended to hold two cars instead of one.

The new area at the entrance of the station. The track into the shed with a nice, wide curve leading into the building.

Overview of the far end of the station. Imagine tall trees framing the buildings and a busy team track in front of the nearest track.

Stellprobe

I positioned the station buildings on the layout to see how everything works together. Ignore the bad, way-to-yellow lighting etc. I am keen to get started with ballasting and the scenery, but I am afraid that first the backdrop and lighting of the layout has priority. I have LED panels that I want to install above the layout and also want to frame it properly so that everything is integrated within the furniture.

The white styrene strip marks the platform position.

Bathed in morning sunlight the VT98 is ready for departure.

My inspiration for the station surroundings and the simple platform comes from Wakendorf-Götzberg on the former EBOE (Elmshorn-Barmstedt-Bad Oldeslohe Eisenbahn) in Schleswig-Hostein. Stately trees shall surround the brickstone buildings, thereby neatly covering the corners.

You might have noticed that the track plan of Elmslohe features a very special situation: the locomotive shed is located at the end of the main track. This was the case on a number of German short lines. The picture shows Neuenkirchen (Niedersachsen) at the Soltau-Neuenkirchen line. Another example is Arneburg in Sachsen-Anhalt. Franz Rittig has described some in his Eisenbahn Journal publication "Lokstationen".

Locomotive data sheets

I designed a data sheet for each locomotive in my rolling stock roster. These are fictional and not based on any prototype, but they increase the fun level when switching enormously. And they ake operations easier as they show all key functions.

Baubeginn der neuen H0 Anlage: Bahnhof ELMSLOHE in Norddeutschland

Ich hatte mit vielen Ideen für meine neue H0 Anlage gespielt. Eine war PUCHSTEIN, ein kleiner Endbahnhof im südlichen Niederösterreich. Eine andere ein VALKENVELD II. Letztendlich habe ich mich für ein Thema viel weiter nördlich entschieden. Auf einem L von 250 x 230 cm mit einer Tiefe von 45 cm soll ein Kopfbahnhof an einer Nebenbahn der DB entstehen. Mittlerweile ist nicht nur die Planung (weitgehend) abgeschlossen, auch der Unterbau auf vier Modulsegmenten ist fertiggestellt.

(Zum Thema passt der "Switch" zur deutschen Sprache).

Inspiriert ist ELMSLOHE von der ehemaligen EBOE, einer Privatbahn zwischen Elmshorn und Bad Oldesloe, und von Urlauben in der niedersächsischen Region Emsland und Oldenburger-Münsterland. Dieser Landstrich wird durchzogen von der Emsländischen Eisenbahn (vormals Meppen-Haselünner Eisenbahn). Die private EEB wickelt regen Güterverkehr ab und die Strecke wird von einer Museumsbahn befahren. Diese interessante Bahnlinie dient allerdings nur als Inspiration für Landschaft, Architektur usw. Denn mein ELMSLOHE ist ein fiktiver Bahnhof und Name. 

Güterverkehr dominiert. Der Personenverkehr wird von VT98 Schienenbussen abgewickelt (das neue Piko Modell kommt sehr gelegen!). 

Schienenbus von Piko. Ein Testbericht findet sich in Miba 01/2018

Die Schienenbusse halten am kurzen Hausbahnsteig am Ende der Strecke. Längere Personenzüge müssen zum Umsetzen erst zurückdrücken, was zusätzlichen Rangierspaß bringt. Wie bei vorigen Planideen ist für mich die Ladestraße mit Rampe ein zentraler Bereich jeder Bahnhofsanlage; abwechslungsreicher Betrieb garantiert! Als weitere Betriebsstationen gibt es den obligatorischen Güterschuppen, einen Gleisanschluβ und einen Lokschuppen, der auch eine Museumslok beherbergen könnte.

Luenningen wurde spaeter in ELMSLOHE umgetauft. Auch der Gleisplan wurde noch abgewandelt.

Der Gleisplan ist im Vergleich zu PUCHSTEIN schlichter. PUCHSTEIN kam mir letztendlich doch zu überladen vor. So habe ich die Zahl der Weichen von 8 auf 6 reduziert und die Bögen in der Bahnhofseinfahrt einfacher gestaltet, was auch besseres Kuppeln ermöglichen sollte.

Der Unterbau ist mittlerweile fertiggestellt und besteht aus 69 x 18 mm Holzleisten mit einer 9 mm starken Topplatte. Die Code 83 Tillig Elite Gleise werden auf einer 4 mm Korklage angebracht.

Stellprobe am Esszimmertisch. Der Güterschuppen ist ein Platzhalter. Dort sollen einmal zwei gedeckte Waggons Platz zum Be- und Entladen haben. Als Waggons müssen voerst noch in den Niederlanden ausgeborgte Epoche III Wagen herhalten.

Hier noch ein paar Inspirationen aus dem Hasetal an der EEB:

Weite, Felder und Baumgruppen.

In Haselünne.

In Haselünne. Schienenbus der Hümmlinger Kreisbahn.

Im Schienenbus zwischen Haselünne und Meppen - mit Wischen.

Planning update: PUCHSTEIN is born

UPDATE 2 March 2018: Puchstein will not be built. I still like the concept (a lot), but I have ultimately switched to a new layout, a small terminus in the North-West of Germany.

The original entry:

It has been very quiet around here. But lately not on my planning desk. Months of exploration of ideas have finally led to a concrete theme and plan for the new layout. I refer to it as “Plan 56a” which shows a bit the struggle (read: fun) in coming up with a final theme and plan.

I considered three options:

1. An industrial layout as Valkenveld inspired by the former Distelweg line in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, set in the mid 1960s;
2. An Austrian-based, ÖBB serviced layout set in the suburbs of Vienna, inspired by stations like Simmering Ostbahn or Donaukaibahnhof;
3. A terminus at a single track ÖBB line in Lower Austria/Styria, inspired by lines like the Neubergerbahn, Gutensteinerbahn or Schneebergbahn, set in the late 1980s, early 1990s.

The first theme was tempting but felt like “more of the same”, especially when I keep my Valkenveld Inglenook layout in operation. The second would have provided great freight switching opportunities in an urban setting. But all plans felt very “squeezed” and unnatural on my available 250 cm layout length. The third, however, would provide the potential for passenger and freight operations following a real timetable in a scenery very familiar to me from my childhood.

So option three it is. But which prototype to follow? Ultimately I have chosen for "proto-freelancing", a concept where one does not replicate an exact prototype, but instead tries to capture the atmosphere and essence of a station or line that could actually exist in reality. This offers the opportunity to add elements one particular likes rather than strictly sticking to one, particular prototype station.

The name for the new layout is similarly "proto-freelanced": PUCHSTEIN is a mix of the stations Gutenstein and Puchberg am Schneeberg.

One of the images that resembles the spirit of my to be built Puchstein is this shot of Neuberg an der Mürz, taken in 1981:

Busy times in Neuberg an der Mürz, Austria on 21 May 1981. GmP Z 72055 (freight train with passenger service) has just arrived from Mürzzuschlag. The unusually high weight of 250t and a train length of 190m made it necessary for locomotive 2062.48 to support the regular 2060.77. In the background sits DMU 5044.21 of trains 2985/2984. The track in extension of the freight train engines leads to the saw mill of the “Österreichische Bundesforste”, on the other end the line reaches after about 12k Mürzzuschlag on the Südbahn. Source: Schienenverkehr Aktuell, image by Mr. Leirer

Here all comes together:

•        A single track line terminus
•        Quite extensive freight traffic
•        Passenger service with DMU’s
•        A mix of many different locomotive types
•        Set in a mountainous, typical Austrian scenery

I still have original timetables from Neuberg in the 1980s, so could operate according to a real-life time-table. My line to Puchstein would, however, see more freight traffic than the Neubergerbahn with also heavier locomotives, like the 2143 series. In my imagination the line has a couple of industrial clients to serve, very similar to the real situation along the Gutensteinerbahn and Schneebergbahn.

Timetable from the same year as the above image: ÖBB line 53 from Mürzzuschlag to Neuberg, winter 1981/1982, including the GmP, a “Güterzug mit Personenbeförderung”.

Puchstein track plan (No. 56a)

Three stations in Lower Austria and Styria formed the inspiration for the track plan: Türnitz, Neuberg and Kernhof.

Rough scenery plan of Puchstein.

When some freight cars arrived too late in Mürzzuschlag they were added to the passenger service. Something that would be great to feature on the layout. DMU 5044.22 and 2060.67 in Neuberg on 23 April 1981. Source: Schienenverkehr Aktuell

The same train as it arrives in Neuberg, 23 April 1981.

It’s all over for the line from Mürzzuschlag to Neuberg. On 30 December 2009, my brother and I were looking at the beautiful Neuberg station building and the sad state of the overgrown tracks. More on flickr.

A grand building for a small station, due to the fact that Emperor Franz Joseph traveled in style to his hunting grounds in the area.

Apart from the line from Mürzzuschlag to Neuberg I draw inspiration for atmosphere, scenery and operations from the two lines not far to the North, the Schneebergbahn ending in Puchberg am Schneeberg and the Gutensteinerbahn ending in, yes, Gutenstein. Both lines are still going strong with freight trains serving industries along the line and hourly passenger trains.

Still going strong. 2143.051-7 ready for departure in Gutenstein on 16 August 2016. More of the Gutensteinerbahn on flickr. 

Overview of the lines to Gutenstein and Schneeberg in 1897. The Neubergerbahn is situated a bit to the South of these lines.

An idea of the atmosphere of the layout to be built.