readingtype

Last weekend we held another FREMO meeting in our habitual venue -- should you have seen my posts on earlier meetings tehn you may recognise the various doodads that are usually found on the walls of school gyms in many of the photos. But that doesn't detract from some really good modelling. We agreed it was a good weekend. As a newish group and because we're quite isolated from the more expert groups in mainland Europe, we're putting a lot of effort into getting the planning right since it is only possible to operate things in a satisfying way if many potential questions already have answers. FREMO meetings are essentially railway modelling combined with a sort of role playing game. I can't photograph the role playing part since it has no physical expression, but here are some photos I took. As usual they're a bit pointilliste. Smartphone cameras are wonderful things, working close up in relatively low light and smoothing away the awkward details and the 12 inch to the foot background... I confess these photos are a bit biased towards my station (Wasserbach) which I was running all weekend. Showing photos publicly, like bringing out the models for the meeting, is an incentive to sort out some of the details that give away the fact these are not pictures of anything full size! Ben

Thank you! We had a great time, some really good chats with visitors (and other exhibitors, and at least one trader with interesting information about upcoming 4mm scale models ...) and I have to say, I didn't expect the level of interest we received. It was great that the 'plywood desert' turned out to be so fertile :-) To be honest I was also impressed by how well things ran on OW -- yes, everybody saw our trains dividing and finding more interesting routes than the ones we'd set up: I'd say these originated equally from track and couplings. On the track front, there are some issues with transitions between level and gradient, one place where with a traverser set to a certain road even a Gronk couldn't get through the gap beneath, and here and there a naughty turnout. On the couplings: they're Sprat and Winkles (3mm) and it looks as if we need to agree which way the hook should be angled and how much. Yes, we do have a gauge. No, it didn't save us! Our layout's got to the point now where hopefully the remaining amount of work is nowhere near as daunting as it has appeared to us over the last few years. It's a club project and I hope we'll see many more of our members contributing to building and running it, not least because as last weekend showed it can be a very rewarding experience. Ben

The Flm BR 94 is a bit of a classic ! No traction tyres needed there :-) Ben

Checked the book, some corrections to what I wrote. It's 4,715 mm to the top of the chimney (54.2 mm at 1:87). And really this is an Ov (the v possibly standing for Walschaerts). Source: Rakov, V. A: Russische und sovjetische Dampflokomotiven. Transpress, Berlin, 1986

Might also be the interference suppression capacitor, the black blob between the two brush holders, getting old. The resistance of the motor coils will be pretty low so that would best not form part of the test. Maybe unsolder one leg of the capacitor and measure across it to see if its resistance to DC is also very low. Caps in good order have a high DC resistance and a low AC resistance.

These are most definitely not DCC, and I am not sure if relevant or already widely reported [note the suitability matrix - H0 fits Peco as far as I can tell]: https://sites.google.com/view/petrberkabiz/domovská-stránka/výměnová-tělesa?authuser=0 I'm struggling a bit myself with German ones, having bought the Auhagen kits: these have I think three parts and I can't actually work out how to put them together :-) Ben

Thanks for sharing! I reckon it is to scale, on 'narrow gauge' track (a bit disappointing given the track is included, 17.5 mm gauge would have been very pleasing). At a guess the height to the top of the chimney for an Ob is probably about 5,000 mm or 57.5 mm at 1:87. The detail is nice but listening to it going round and round would get tiring quite fast I think! Ben

Also there are stations in cities which have platforms on a viaduct or overbridge and minimal station buildings below (eg Köln Süd), the reverse of what you are looking for. Even given the alpine terrain, I think it is true to say that there was sufficient space available around settlements in the area you are interested in to allow easier, more future-proof sites to be chosen for railway facilities. That meant that a conventional layout was possible with the main administration and ticket office building on one side and close to the centre of the plaform length. It does not match your criteria, but for its unusual situation between two tunnel portals Überlingen on the Bodensee is one to take a look at, though on account of its siting it's not got much in the way of 'operational interest'. Note, not the nearby Überlingen Therme which is much more conventional and much closer to the lake. Freiburg im Breisgau has a road running on a big bow girder bridge across the south end of the platforms; that now has trams stops on it and access stairs and escalators leading down to the platforms so perhaps that could be a suitable tactic? Only thing missing is the feature that you are specifically looking for, a big building over the tracks ...

Thank you! But I have a confession: I was sticking my neck out and guessing that classes 26, 27 and 33 (excluding 33/2) have front screens with the same dimensions. The centre window obviously not. It's actually the 33 that is currently of interest to me. These dimensions are fairly difficult to measure accurately from small size general drawings because they're angled in both front and side elevations, and it's relatively difficult to measure the prototype without access...

These photos are not only really interesting to illustrate the steps involved but also very handy if you happen to want to see some good close up details for modelling purposes. On that note, I wondered if you know the dimensions of the main front window screen glass - all four sides being seemingly different lengths, I guess the two diagonal dimensions would actually provide the answer (if the two bottom corners are 90 degrees).

I suspect that in many cases engine changes could be made to line up with the borders of the administrations, and that this was the most convenient solution from an administrative point of view (in terms of dividing revenue, paying for fuel, water and stabling, and arranging crewing). But that is guesswork - would be interesting to read a better informed answer. Ben

Can I wind the clock back a little and share one of the (apparently numerous) videos from the recent FREMO meeting in Magdeburg? One of the arrangements (FREMO-Old - set in 1928) featured German/Czech cross-border operation. It was a biggie in H0 with lots of double track and a genuine incline with dedicated bankers. But one of the nicest things was a selection of what you might call Bohemian steam locos including several with 'lifting handles' (steam driers) and an enormous Skoda tank loco. Some nice Prussian stuff too... but that is going off topic. Turn the sound down is my advice, but a good watch. Incidentally there are also some 'cab ride' videos from the event. Some free time/stamina is required for these. I can report that unfortunately the occasional bewildered Brit wandered into the frame once or twice (oops). Ben

I wrote badly, but intended to say: nothing that represents a non-British prototype in 1:76. That's what my comment was founded on, the fact that there are several recently produced non-British ones in other scales and so it's a pity the work done will not be redirected into models in 1:76. Ben

Excellent! There are indeed 1:87 models of lots of continental UK-loading-gauge ferry wagons but nothing in 1:76, despite the hard work having been done (witness Modellbahn Union producing the same models of DB and DRG ferry vans in 1:87 and 1:160). I did write to MU and ask and (to paraphrase freely) the polite response was that I should ask the right people for the scale. Thing is to judge from what's on the packaging of the H0 models they are working together already. Hey ho. Or should that be H0...

It was a good weekend. Here's Dstg217, 17:37 off Wfn, hauled by an ex-works 50 with Cabinentender (basically guard's office surrounded by a few thousand litres of cold water). It's running late, as pretty much everything did. I have to say, when I was operating the fiddleyard that the train is about to enter, I was pretty punctilious about dispatching on time... The red circle on a black stick will give way to a proper Einfahrsignal (entry signal) soon, according to the station's owner -- the slot for the signal base can be seen beside the second wagon and the cable run is already in place. My phone camera hasn't magically improved since last time, so apologies for grainy impressionism.