A while back on the new members thread, I promised a layout thread. The rather dramatic arrival of No.2 son in June put a bit of a crimp on time and energy, but here it is at last. For those that follow the Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling - Online forum (NGRM-Online), most of this information is repeated there, but for those that do not ...
The Inspiration:
The layout is heavily inspired by Hälgenäs which was a small port serving Edsbruk (bruk = factory in Swedish) and the surrounding estate in eastern Sweden. The bruk was originally a blast furnace serving the local mines, but when the iron ore ran out at the end of the 19th century, it converted to the production of cellulose. A small port was built at Hälgenäs and a narrow gauge railway (600mm gauge) was built to connect the two. The railway also carried sawn timber and ved (firewood) for export via the port. Although the piers have gone, much of the route of the railway can still be traced and at least 3 of the locomotives have survived into preservation, more of which annon ...
This is the photo that initially inspired this project! In the 1960s, a photographer visited the estate and took many photos of the cellulose factory and the estate railway. This is the base of the main (southern) pier at Hälgenäs...
... and the reverse angle showing packages of cellulose being loaded onto a small ship.
The wagons are fairly standard Swedish 8m long narrow gauge frames that appear with small variations under many wagons and even carriages. I'll need at least 4, one built so far.
The cellulose factory at the other end of the line. The locomotive, a small diesel mechanical, survives and is operational on the Ohsbana near Jönköping. A model has been built.
While I will not be modelling this style of ship, the layout will be set at such a height that my model of Constantia, a 33m 2 masted schooner from 1908 on which I sometimes crew, will sit at the right height behind the layout.
I see I can only insert 5 pictures from Flikr at a time, so more to follow. I will also start filling in more about the layout and progress to date as and when the small people permit
best regards from Stockhlm, George!
The Inspiration:
The layout is heavily inspired by Hälgenäs which was a small port serving Edsbruk (bruk = factory in Swedish) and the surrounding estate in eastern Sweden. The bruk was originally a blast furnace serving the local mines, but when the iron ore ran out at the end of the 19th century, it converted to the production of cellulose. A small port was built at Hälgenäs and a narrow gauge railway (600mm gauge) was built to connect the two. The railway also carried sawn timber and ved (firewood) for export via the port. Although the piers have gone, much of the route of the railway can still be traced and at least 3 of the locomotives have survived into preservation, more of which annon ...
This is the photo that initially inspired this project! In the 1960s, a photographer visited the estate and took many photos of the cellulose factory and the estate railway. This is the base of the main (southern) pier at Hälgenäs...
... and the reverse angle showing packages of cellulose being loaded onto a small ship.
The wagons are fairly standard Swedish 8m long narrow gauge frames that appear with small variations under many wagons and even carriages. I'll need at least 4, one built so far.
The cellulose factory at the other end of the line. The locomotive, a small diesel mechanical, survives and is operational on the Ohsbana near Jönköping. A model has been built.
While I will not be modelling this style of ship, the layout will be set at such a height that my model of Constantia, a 33m 2 masted schooner from 1908 on which I sometimes crew, will sit at the right height behind the layout.
I see I can only insert 5 pictures from Flikr at a time, so more to follow. I will also start filling in more about the layout and progress to date as and when the small people permit
best regards from Stockhlm, George!