The model train show in Junglinster, Luxembourg really got me motivated and so there is steady progress on the Eldorado & Southern layout! I finished the second staging level and managed to create a short video clip showing first trial runs. I am pretty happy how things turned out so far. The Bachman steamers handle both the tight curves and stiff grades well and so far there are no derailments to be reported. Stay tuned as the next level will…
Hello all! It has been quite a while since my last post. Well, besides of other things I have been busy working on my new layout. This one is in 0n30 or 0e as they call that gauge in Europe. Its loosely based on Colorado narrow gauge railways. The clip shows the section of the layout that will later become the lower staging area. In there end there will be three layers – all connected by a train elevator. So…
I stumbled across the topic of radio controlled model trains, powered by onboard batteries several times in recent years. Especially within the 0-scale narrow gauge community there seems to be a growing interested in this kind of operation. As there are no ready to run train sets available at the time, “Dead Rail”- as the experts call it, is for tinkers who like to experiment. Well, that for sure triggered my curiosity and I started my own little Dead Rail…
Many people have visiting man made marvels on their bucket list. Walking the Great Wall in China, check Paris form the observation deck of the Eifel tower or climb the presidential trail towards the sculptures of Mount Rushmore. For me, seeing the the Franklin & South Manchester Railway, created by George Sellios was ranked high on my must-see list for years. Finally on a nice Saturday in June 2106 the dream became true and I visited the F&SM! A Landmark Layout George…
Being back in the Bay Area for business briefly, I took the chance to visit old friends as well as one of my favorite live steam operations. The Redwood Valley Railway is a miniature park railway running on 15 in. (381mm) track. The scale of the rolling stock is approximately 1:2.4 or 5″ (to the foot). The railway was started in the early 1950s by a fellow called Erich Thomson and reached a total length of track of about 1…
As I said in an earlier post- there are a lot of exhibition layouts around in Germany- and LOXX in Berlin is another great example. Of course this layout was on my agenda while visiting the German capital. LOXX has always been in the shadow of MIWULA in Hamburg- be it for the smaller size or the lack of aggressive marketing. Anyways, the layout is definitely worth a visit. According to LOXX the actual size of the model train layout is about 6500…
Long before Miniatur Wunderland there was a “must see” attraction for train lovers in Hamburg and the huge layout in 1-gauge at the Museum for Hamburg History is still a sight the avid train enthusiast must not miss while in the city along the river Elbe. Rail history meets historic models! Located on the 3rd floor of the museum, the layout has been in operation on almost daily base for more than 65 years! Built to 1:32 scale visitors find a recreation of…
The Miniatur Wunderland (MIWULA) in Hamburg is well known among model train enthusiast, Hamburg tourists and kids. Located in the old warehouse quarter of the harbor meanwhile stretching over three floors (the layout actually occupies two) this model train exhibition is one of the biggest on earth- maybe the biggest of all. Size matters but it is also the high level of detail that fascinate the crowds for 15 years. Whenever I am in Hamburg, I check out MIWULA in order to…
1976 is a sad, memorable year for the little town of Ottbergen in Germany because Deutsche Bundesbahn ceased steam operation in this area and therefore closed the BW (Bahnwek – engine terminal) which was kind of a last refuge for the big steamers of DB class 44. “Ottbergen” is as famous for German rail buffs as Cheyenne for US rail fans. The station of Ottbergen still exists but 40 years later the glory of big style railroading is definitely gone. You…
Camera cars and -locomotives for model trains are around in the hobby for a while. Although a cool gadget, those units are pretty expensive given the fact that they’re not too often in use and the excitement wears off quite quickly. I was always toying with the idea of running a camera train on the BTB layout as well as trying a laser cut kit. Then I learned about the iCar kit offered by Minuteman Scale Models and as soon as I…