Track works in Valkenveld

Some images from yesterday when the track gang laid the first track, the westbound track on the double-track mainline.

Soldering the feeding wires underneath the Peco flex track.

Flex track with sunken feder wires.

ACTS Class 66 is the first to test the mainline track.

The track is glued to the cork bed.

Cork and two bridges

I laid the cork strips for the roadbed of the four main tracks (from Jeweha N-scale). The only track missing is the junction to the single track line. This will be added as soon as I have received the Peco turnouts. The cork on the images is already glued to the board, the tracks are loose.
I quickly built two bridges from cardboard to get an impression of how it will look like. The idea is that the bridge on the left hand side is an older one made of bricks, the other one was just recently built for a new road to Valkenveld.

The two tracks on  the left are of the double track main line. The ones to the right of the freight and depot sidings.

The modern bridge spans currently wider than necessary as the junction track of the single track line still has to be added on the right hand side.

Frame Finished

I finished construction of the frame for the Valkenveld micro layout today. It consists of chipboard (750 x 300 x 8 mm) on a rectangular, wooden frame made (69 x 27 mm).

Wish List: new Rocky Rail Sdggmrs

New from Rocky Rail and definitely on the wish list: five versions of Sdggmrs cars loaded with trailers from Ewals Cargo Care, Arcese, Ambrogio, Nothegger and TTS. Length over buffer 210mm.

Taschenwagen Bauart Sdggmrs der AAE Cargo HUPAC Intermodal, Epoche VI, beladen mit 2 Anhängern von Ambrogio.

Taschenwagen Bauart Sdggmrs der AAE Cargo Crossrail, Epoche VI beladen mit 2 Anhängern von EWALS Cargo Care.

Inspiration: own images of the Gooilijn

Valkenveld Track Plan

Heureka!

Finally the idea materialized. I found an interesting micro-layout on the web based on a UK prototype (see here and on flickr). This plan can act as diorama as well as extension to my fiddle yard layout. I plan to use measurements to fit exactly into a Billy bookshelf from Ikea (75 x 30 cm). I adapted the plan a little bit to accomodate for my situation and allow more locomotives to be stored when attached to the fiddle yard section.

Here is my adaptation of the plan to fit my space (75 x 30 cm). I added another turnout and mirrored the original plan to allow an extension to my fiddle yard:

With a size of 75 x 30 cm the layout fits neatly into a bookshelf from Ikeal. This allows setting the layout on different heights as wells as easy access to couple it to the fiddle yard.

3000 HP join the fleet: BR232 "Ludmilla" in Railion livery

Diesellokomotive BR 232 "Railion" DB. Epoche V.
Das Modell:

• Länge über Puffer: 130 mm.
• Mindesradius: 192 mm.
• Anzahl der Räder mit Haftreifen: 4.
• Dreilichtspitzensignal in Fahrtrichtung wechselnd.
• Keine Kurzkupplungskinematik.
• Digitale Schnittstelle mit Lötpunkten.
 

• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/DR-Baureihe_130#Baureihe_233

 History of BR 232.675 (Source: br232):

_.__.1981	Auslieferung an DR - Deutsche Reichsbahn "132 675-0"
05.08.1981	Abnahme
01.01.1992	Umzeichnung in "232 675-9"
01.01.1994	=> DB AG - Deutsche Bahn AG, GB Traktion "232 675-9"
01.01.1998	=> DB AG - Deutsche Bahn AG, GB Ladungsverkehr "232 675-9"
01.07.1999	=> DB Cargo AG "232 675-9"
01.09.2003	=> Railion Deutschland AG "232 675-9"
01.01.2007	Vergabe der NVR-Nummer "92 80 1232 675-9 D-DB"
16.02.2009	=> DB Schenker Rail Deutschland AG "232 675-9"
01.03.2013	z-Stellung
14.07.2013	im Bw Halle (Saale) G abgestellt vh