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KLEINBAHN - 69 years of model making


Vecchio

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Don't want to make any advertisement - but this is where my railway model history started. I got a start set at Christmas 1963 from my grand-parents. I was probably a bit young for it as I was just 4 years old.

 

Here you see the proud owner of the start set - just a few minutes before he did know that he would get a train set. Photo taken on the 24th of December 1963.

 

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And here is the first layout, a tilt baseboard, which my father produced a short time after the train set arrived. 

 

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As you can see by the position of the modern telephone in the background - the photo has been taken when the layout was tilted.

 

And today, 53 years later, I went to the factory to get some stuff. In the past there were approximately 10 Kleinbahn shops in Austria, most of them in Vienna but also in other cities. Today there are still 3 existing, all of them are in Vienna. The factory looks like the time has stopped - I think it is as it was 50 years ago. Only the model of car in the picture tells us that we are not in the 60th but in 2016.

 

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The reason for going to this shop was the platform car I wanted - as far as I know Klein is the only one manufacturing it.

 

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And of course I couldn't resist - and got 3 of their surprise packs. You pay a certain amount of money - and you get one or two goods wagons.

 

The first box contains a flat platform which is useful and a cement car - which needs respraying if it wants to appear on my layout (looks to plastic like)

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The second box contains a DR covered wagon, which is not my modelling period and a small permanent way car. May be the DR car is another target for alteration.

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After a quick shopping break - my mum run out of ingredients for Christmas biscuits which I normally order to take back home - the last surprise box.

A modern goods wagon - will go well with my other OBB stuff.

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By the way - the little diorama I use for the pictures I made some 10 years ago for my father - and he had his favorite engine on this display on it - an electric 1180.

This was the locomotive which he remembered when he was a boy - no wonder as they built these engines from 1927 to 1929 - 1929 is the year my father was born. And the last one left regular service as late as 1993!#

 

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And finally the 1180 pulling the anniversary wagon. Have to come back next year to get the 70 years version. 

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As my father is building his models in a different world since 5 years I will bin the diorama and take the locomotive with me. But of course I will take the OHL wire tensioner with me...

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Hi Vecchio,

As Graham says, a lovely story thank you!

Like your father, I love the 1080/1180 - I think they are wonderful machines. I once ordered a model but was very disappointed when it turned up and was only really an 0-6-0.

I always get confused with Kleinbahn, is that the one with the realistic, 'scale' models or am I thinking of Klein-model-bahn?

Didn't the 1080/1180 have a mazak problem too?

Cheers,

John.

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Yes it had the zinc - pest as we call it here. The model you saw on the pictures is a Klein Modellbahn one, which has the finer details and Sommerfeldt pantographs. Unfortunately Klein Modellbahn closed more than 10 years ago. The model I have is after the problem - it means it has already a replacement frame.

In my collection I had 2 models which actually fell apart because of the zinc - mazak. One of them was a reworked 1046 in Valousek design - a model you cannot find in the shop at the moment. There was a Rivarossi version as well, but none are available at the moment.

 

So to make it clear- the realistic ones were Klein Modellbahn - they disappeared. The more toy one - Kleinbahn - survived. Some of today's Kleinbahn models are exact 1:87 scale and quite worth the money. Also I think some of the moulds of Klein Modelbahn went to Kleinbahn - for instance the 93 steam engine. I have the Klein Modellbahn one - which has finer wheels which are all blackened - but the current Kleinbahn version looks fine. Also the dmu 5047 is good, exact 1:87 scale.

 

Thanks John and Graham, for me it is quite emotional to write this. My mum, thanks god she is bright as always with her 81 years - did tell me that there is a picture of the old layout in one of the photo albums - this was the trigger to write this down.

And about making an Austrian layout - there is a lot of good models available, of course Roco is the leader in quality today, but there was also Liliput (today in the Bachmann group) which had good Austrian models. Not to forget you find nice Austrian models also in some German companies like Piko. And there is also the interoperability - you find all kind of other countries locomotives on the Austrian rails these days.

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I  knew about Kleinbahn from a trip to Austria in the 60's.I did once have a Lilliput Austrian 2-6-0 ,pink box from memory from the early 60's .Never seen another one though ,I watched the OBB  green electrics  in Seefeld in 68 from  the balcony of the honeymoon suit at the hotel, which was odd as we weren't married.

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Small update - had the 1180 on the club layout yesterday to see if it is still going after some years on the diorama - it picks up power as the headlights work but unfortunately nothing is moving. I opened it, the gears are completely blocked, probably the oil in the axle bearings has turned into resin. Will need to take it completely apart and give it a wash in white spirit.

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I also recall Kleinbahn and it's nice to see they are still going strong. I remember visiting their shop in Klagenfurt not too many years ago and particularly lilked their 5047 diesel railcar.

 

Kleinmodellbahn were much more well known in the UK ,as their models were distributed by Winco. I used to also buy from their shop in Salzburg Their models were well detailed and good value back in the day.

 

Although they no longer exist, I believe Roco bought some of their tooling. Certainly, this Roco cement wagon has Kleinmodellbahn origins.

 

 

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