HO Eine Sekundärbahn

[Tim Hale]

The plans below are a slow, incremental development since 2007, they are in chronological order, the latest is at the bottom. The first plan was Grafenwalde based on Frauenwalde, a lovely Ep3 DR layout designed to be operated from the rear (bottom edge of the plan) and to use cassettes for storage. The layout was sold but subsequently destroyed by its new owner.

The second plan was its replacement, started in 2022, same footprint but the orientation has changed so that the station platform now faces the operator, cassettes to be used again. The loco shed has moved to the other end of the run round loop, the plan was subsequently not used and became:

The third plan, that is current, the difference is the addition of small farm. Another issue is the reduction in length of the scenic area from 12’ to 10’, this was a result of using a double ended FY using turnouts necessitated by my inability to move and decision to use it as a home only layout with just one operator.

*The farm is simply a collection of very small buildings scattered either side of the track, this is not a particularly unusual scenario as the farm often predated the building of the railway.

 

[Tim Hale]

Finally progress, thanks to a friend’s fresh approach.

The decision to not feature the two Kaffeemühle houses was rather difficult, they were legacy items from the first iteration of this layout but they were not ‘native’ to the region and the farm is typical of the Wiesenttal, however the loss of 24” of scenic board was the ultimate decider, it was either the houses or the farm.



The ancient vegetable garden has served on three other layouts and has always been carefully removed and stored, it is perfect for the farmhouse and will receive a comprehensive makeover.
Admittedly nothing like Pendon standards, it nevertheless is inspired by the hallowed shrine and will be mercilessly ‘titivated’ until it squeaks.

Already a raised area of foamboard has been cut to fit the top right corner of the plan, a hole for farmhouse vignette will be cut in the foamboard so that it can be inserted. This sound odd but I am trying to vary the contours of the boards so that the only level part is the trackbed, the trick is to do it without being noticeable but sans difference, it looks wrong.

The all wooden barn and chicken coop (scroll back to posting 108) will join the farmhouse on the ‘upper’ level but the half-timbered stables, rendered barn and midden will be on the lower level on the other side of the trackbed.



The intention is to create a collection of buildings which are obviously a group but are ‘huddled’ closely together for mutual protection. The farm will NOT be tidy, our inspiration is the farm which we overlook, it is not exactly untidy but it definitely lacks order.

Tim

 

[Chas Levin]

More progress thanks to cooler weather....

And very nice progress it is too, Tim! The weather is indeed a barrier sometimes: I know it's getting unsupportably hot when my glasses slide down my nose with such frequency and persistence that I spend more time replacing them than actually modelling!

 

[Roger Pound]

The weather is indeed a barrier sometimes: I know it's getting unsupportably hot when my glasses slide down my nose with such frequency and persistence that I spend more time replacing them than actually modelling!

You are not alone in that predicament! .

Roger.

 

[Genghis]

Just had the nose pads on my glasses replaced by silicone pads. A bit more grippy.

 

[Chas Levin]

Just had the nose pads on my glasses replaced by silicone pads. A bit more grippy.

Ooh - very interesting: I didn't know that was even a thing, as my daughter would say! Have to investigate that - thanks for mentioning it...

 

[Roger Pound]

Just had the nose pads on my glasses replaced by silicone pads. A bit more grippy.

Definitely sounds like a plan!

 

[Tim Hale]

The last two buildings of the farm group, the barn and stables, both are resin kits from Martin Mueller, neither is finished.

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There has been some criticism of the use of a Faller Junior kit to represent a small one family dwelling, Faller tends to be simplified, however not all farmhouses are tiny and much larger buildings are normal but I simply like the little house.

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The construction of Grafenwalde is becoming a journey of pure nostalgia. The above image is simply gemütlich - cozy, comfortable.

Tim

 

[Tim Hale]

It’s odd that little things are often missed, these are known as ‘harvest crates’, they are moved by fork lifts and today the crates are made from plastic. They are often seen in the goods yard at rural locations and are used for larger robust produce; apples, potatoes, beets, etc. Use millet seed as the produce. The crates are actual wood made by Busch product code 1980, unfortunately they are rather hard to find.

 

[Chas Levin]

They're very distinctive looking Tim: when's the earliest sort of date they might have been used?

 

[Tim Hale]

Chas,

Thanks, not much help from Google but a search for pallet history revealed the following:-

The introduction of the harvest crate really began only after the widespread use of the forklift in WW2 when US Forces used more flexible mechanical handling aids in the European theatre. Both Lansing (UK) and Linde (Germany) started supplying powered ride-on forklifts to the railways around ‘50 for palletised loads.

However the agri-industry only began palletised distribution when both a suitable forklift and road system made faster producer to wholesaler/bulk retailer a possibility, whether this coincided with the downturn in agricultural rail traffic to road is unclear.

Researching the timeline reminded me of the excellent ‘Connections’ with James Burke.

Hope this helps


Tim

 

[Tim Hale]

Having a bit of a 'day' by showing restraint and reducing the number of road vehicles on Grafenwalde in order to avoid the usual cliches. Depite such a tempting choice of appropriate 1:87 items, there are few private vehicles, only agricultural vehicles, an old truck, a couple of light vans and a bus. Bicycles should be in abundance except until the mid '60s rural roads were mostly hard gravel between communities and bicycle tyres were in short supply.

The first few years of the '50s were the start of the German economic miracle, although much less in the east marked by reconstruction rather than consumption, private vehicles were limited to the ocaasional local official and often the only real economy was agriculture.

Horse power was still the motive power of agriculture and one of the trucks is a pre-war Ford that managed to survive the '40s. Trains were still the first and only choice for mass transport but IFA had just introduced the iconic H6B bus widely used to connect rural communities.


Tim

 

[Chas Levin]

Chas,

Thanks, not much help from Google but a search for pallet history revealed the following:-

The introduction of the harvest crate really began only after the widespread use of the forklift in WW2 when US Forces used more flexible mechanical handling aids in the European theatre. Both Lansing (UK) and Linde (Germany) started supplying powered ride-on forklifts to the railways around ‘50 for palletised loads.

However the agri-industry only began palletised distribution when both a suitable forklift and road system made faster producer to wholesaler/bulk retailer a possibility, whether this coincided with the downturn in agricultural rail traffic to road is unclear.

Researching the timeline reminded me of the excellent ‘Connections’ with James Burke.

Hope this helps


Tim

Thanks Tim - I hadn't meant to send you on a research quest on my behalf, I had only meant 'if you knew already' but I didn't make that clear: apologies and thank you for the very informative answer.
The harvest crates are a little too late for my general era I think...

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Nice, I see it's a V100.10 (Br 211). Is it a factory fitted decoder with the 'stay-alive' similar to the RocoDCC sound DR V100?

No problem Tim, I'm more familiar with the Roco model having tinkered with three of them (you can never have too many V100s .

Although the Brawa and Piko models may be more detailed, as we've found out the Roco spares pool is larger and easier to obtain.

 

[Tim Hale]

The Kadee is my coupling of choice but sometimes there are situations, when standard couplings are either awkward or too visible.

This is Wolfgang Popp’s ingenious solution. The wire is florist soft wire and Weinert offer cast sockets for the buffer beam. Just for completeness I have added his solution for older Piko wagons. For more images, visit here Rebuilding the BR64

Tim

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[Tim Hale]

Something different - a rural family and its tractor, perfect for rural Oberfranken

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[Tim Hale]

Pottendorf - Traktorschuppen

Getting serious, my access to sharp things has been restored until the next accident, until then, the NWSL chopper has been dusted off to trim some NHS coffee stirs and some Swan Matches are being misused.

I have absolutely no idea what is the correct term in German for a Linhay, even though that word is disputable the further from Cornwall but no doubt it is very long - Traktorschuppen?

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The roof is covered with terracotta tiles, Kibri 34140 sheet is perfect

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Tim

 

[Tim Hale]

Still with the farming theme, the farmyard now has its own base so that it can be removed from the layout. The base is 10mm foamboard, the central courtyard is cobbled, whilst the open end will be gated and at the far end, another barn. All the spare space will accommodate the usual farmyard detritus, not quite sure what but Dimond’s* farm will provide some inspiration.

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There has been a conscious effort to avoid the over-stuffed appearance that IMHO spoils so many layouts, Grafenwalde is rather sparsely endowed with buildings, just the railway station and locoshed plus the farm, consequently it is the main feature of the layout.

*The farm is a personal obsession as we have been overlooking Dimond’s dairy farm since relocating many years ago, we have watched the change in farming practices consequently an effort has been made to re-create a ‘50s farm.

Tim

 

[michael080]

that looks very nice, but I wouldn't pave the whole square. Cobblestones were too valuable. Don't forget the dungheap, a must for every farm.

 

[Tim Hale]

Hi Michael,

The example is a farm in Altmannsdorf, the courtyard is all stone setts but If you consider their use of setts to be excessive, the surrounding wall and gates are ridiculous.

Tim

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