Dabbling in Swiss narrow gauge.

[TravisM]

After being shown several superb Bemo HO scale model railway items by a friend, I must admit that I’m tempted to do a little dabbling in modelling Swiss narrow gauge railways.  The biggest problem I have is that I know absolute zip about Swiss railways though I do know where Switzerland is lol.

 

Would some kind soul or souls be willing to guide a complete novice like me into getting started.  I’d like to build a small portable layout of a small town terminus which I can put away after I’ve finished a running session.  I’m thinking of 1ft x 8-10ft over three boards.

[Satan's Goldfish]

I'm sure Paul will be along shortly with better advice, but the scope of Swiss narrow gauge is quite large so the first step would really be to pin which line tickles your fancy. The main big one is the RhB with the classic brown 'Baby Crocodiles', Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and a lot of lock hauled passenger and freight trains. This is also the main models provided in the Bemo range. Small terminus layouts are tricky though as most 'end of line' RhB stations were designed ready to continue the line on further. The other option if you're not to stuck on being accurate is to do what I'm doing with my HOm in a similar space to you is to just pick a layout you like and make it look Swiss; I'm using the classic 'British' Minories layout for mine.

 

A good image and video hunt is also good for inspiration, there are lots of vids on YouTube to lose many hours watching...

[TravisM]

5 hours ago, Satan's Goldfish said:

I'm sure Paul will be along shortly with better advice, but the scope of Swiss narrow gauge is quite large so the first step would really be to pin which line tickles your fancy. The main big one is the RhB with the classic brown 'Baby Crocodiles', Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and a lot of lock hauled passenger and freight trains. This is also the main models provided in the Bemo range. Small terminus layouts are tricky though as most 'end of line' RhB stations were designed ready to continue the line on further. The other option if you're not to stuck on being accurate is to do what I'm doing with my HOm in a similar space to you is to just pick a layout you like and make it look Swiss; I'm using the classic 'British' Minories layout for mine.

 

A good image and video hunt is also good for inspiration, there are lots of vids on YouTube to lose many hours watching...

 

I was kind of thinking of the RhB as they seem to have a large selection of rolling stock available by the likes of Bemo and others.  I must admit that I’ve always liked the Minories track plan and always wondered if it could be adapted for something “Swiss”.

[PaulRhB]

Better advice or oodles of corruption?  

 

Just a thought but you can turn any through RhB station into a terminus by having engineering works at one end and it creates extra traffic to shunt  If you like shunting have a look at Zernez as it has a few sidings and a container crane too and could be condensed into a smaller layout and justify it with more mountainous scenery like the Albula line?

Edited May 24, 2019 by PaulRhB

[Satan's Goldfish]

29 minutes ago, jools1959 said:

 

I was kind of thinking of the RhB as they seem to have a large selection of rolling stock available by the likes of Bemo and others.  I must admit that I’ve always liked the Minories track plan and always wondered if it could be adapted for something “Swiss”.

 

The 'Brunig Bahn' link in my signature is going to be my take on it when it gets finished, it's not RhB though. For an RhB terminus, the options are Arosa, Scoul-Tarasp, St Moritz, and Tirano:

 

St Moritz old and rebuild are definitely not small but do mix the core RhB stock, Bernina Bahn, and Glacier Express. There used to be a spur continuing from the station as the line was going to progress further so there's scope there for an imaginary terminus the other side of town.

 

Scoul-Tarasp at the end of the Engadine line is smaller, but was built as a through station. With a bit of chopping though it could work, trains are loco hauled but short and there is freight to it so is useful inspiration. 

 

Tirano is the end of the Bernina line, built as a terminus, and is also not to too large. Trains are not long and often have wagons as tail freight,b ut if you're being accurate then you are limited to the Bernina rail cars and electro-diesels rather than core RhB stock.

 

Arosa is the best bet for a small terminus, some freight, only a couple of tracks and sidings at the end, and good mountainous scenery...

 

 

Or rule, create whatever feels right to you or look to other systems! I always liked the track plan at Engleberg on the LSE; 3 platforms and a loop with freight loading and 2x stock sheds each side of the approach tracks. Worked with RhB stock it could be quite entertaining, and whilst not part of that system, it is still a Swiss narrow gauge design.

[JimFin]

This might be worth springing for as a starter - will confess an interest as I do have a layout in it https://peco-uk.com/products/your-guide-to-modelling-swiss-railways - just bear in mind stock can be quite expensive compared to mainstream UK as there are a limited number of quite small manufacturers serving the market.

 

[TravisM]

2 hours ago, JimFin said:

This might be worth springing for as a starter - will confess an interest as I do have a layout in it https://peco-uk.com/products/your-guide-to-modelling-swiss-railways - just bear in mind stock can be quite expensive compared to mainstream UK as there are a limited number of quite small manufacturers serving the market.

 

 

Thats true about being quite expensive with a very limited number of manufacturers but I see this is a good thing as it would stop me buying something that I might use later to something I really want or need.

[Sir Madog]

Modelling Swiss NG can be not only quite, but very much expensive, if you go above and beyond the range of products the Bemo people offer. There is Ferro-Suisse, occasionally Fulgurex, FriHo and others, but at prices you would not want to tell your wife. Nice models, though!

 

As others have already said, there are not many termini to be found on the RhB. Arosa, Tirano, St.Moritz and, last but not least, the "other side" of Chur station, where the trains for Arosa  depart. Mind you, none of these are really small places that would fit on a board of the size you mentioned. If you still want to follow this route, freelancing is the name of the game.

 

Just food for thought - Rene´ Wolf of The Netherlands has made a small layout called Renez, which was featured in Carl Arendt´s famous Small Layout Scrapbook!

 

http://www.carendt.com/small-layout-scrapbook/page-84-april-2009/

 

Scroll down until you hit the layout description.

[JimFin]

I forgot about that! See more here - https://www.rtvoost.nl/nieuws/310693/Het-bouwen-van-een-modelspoorweg-dat-is-wat-Rene-Wolf-bezighoudt

 

[Salmotrutta]

My advice would be to visit Switzerland and ride the metre gauge - especially the some of the smaller lines like the Furka. Then when you are thoroughly besotted with one of the lines (and have lots of pictures for inspiration) then I would suggest a BEMO starter set as these are good value (by Swiss outline standards) and make a small freelance layout just to get the feel of working with the layout. I have a small exhibition layout that fits in one piece in the back of my SUV and lives in my office. It was fun to build too!. There's a much bigger layout in the basement but that's a different story. Also have a look at PaulRhB's Nm (KATO) work; this is much less expensive and he's done some fabulous layouts using inexpensive materials. 

 

But the Swiss metre gauge is addictive; I now roster more Ge 4/4 III locomotives than the RhB owns!

[Sir Madog]

2 hours ago, Salmotrutta said:

But the Swiss metre gauge is addictive; I now roster more Ge 4/4 III locomotives than the RhB owns!

 

I can second that! It´s a highly contagious disease.

 

Years back, I built a small, roughly 3´by 5´ layout, based on motifs along the route of the Glacier Express. Just a couple of pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Talbotjohn]

Hi Jools

About 18 months ago I was in a similar position to you, wanting to build a RhB layout in HOm using Bemo stock. If you haven't done so 

already read all the other older posts by the above people also Kevin M. You will learn a lot that way. Also have a good look at the Bemo website.

I am attaching photos of the scenic boards of my HOm RhB layout "Rosental". What you see is 8ft long by 1ft wide. I would recommend going for 15 -18 inches width if you can as I am finding fitting on a station building a bit of a challenge! I will either do a low relief building or make some bolt on sections to make it deeper.

My layout is a through station with a turntable Fiddle Yard at either end giving an overall length of 16 ft. However, as PaulRhB says you can operate it as a terminus especially as RhB passenger trains are now Allegra multiple units or push pull with a loco at one end and a driving trailer coach at the other.

If space is really tight then why not go for PaulRhB's Nm Kato approach instead?

All my Bemo stock has been purchased second hand from dealers like Contikits, 009 Society Sales and various dealers and individuals off eBay. Spend some time learning about what is a reasonable price to pay for models, it is so easy to be tempted and get carried away! Lots of people just collect Bemo models so this can drive up the price for some seemingly ordinary  items that were perhaps limited runs.

I hope this is of help to you.

Regards

John.

[PaulRhB]

There’s also the modular approach as seen in the ‘Peco Modelling Swiss Rly’s’ (Jim mentioned earlier), book if you condense things even further. 

My last RhB layout started small but grew to 16x3ft although the station fitted on 8x2. 

Rhätia

[Talbotjohn]

If anyone wants to see my layout Rosental in its current state, then come along to the Beds and Bucks 009 Area Group Open Day at Barton le Clay village hall on Sunday 23 June. There are still lots of details to add(!) but we can run trains and give it a good shake-down. Barton le Clay is between Luton and Bedford on the A6 or between Hitchin and M1 Jct 12. Show is open from 10:00 to 16:00 and entry is £5. Car parking is available on site, Getting there by public transport is a bit of a challenge......

[Marly51]

On 24/05/2019 at 20:39, JimFin said:

This might be worth springing for as a starter - will confess an interest as I do have a layout in it https://peco-uk.com/products/your-guide-to-modelling-swiss-railways - just bear in mind stock can be quite expensive compared to mainstream UK as there are a limited number of quite small manufacturers serving the market.

 

 

Thanks for this, Jim. I am just beginning to read about the history of the Swiss Railway, with lots of useful book recommendations from members in this group! The Peco guide will come in handy for my CakeBox challenge effort, based on the Brunigbahn at Brienz! Maybe after that I will have a go at an actual working layout!

 

Marlyn

[JimFin]

1 hour ago, Marly51 said:

The Peco guide will come in handy for my CakeBox challenge effort, based on the Brunigbahn at Brienz! Maybe after that I will have a go at an actual working layout!

Never mind the cakebox, see what you can do on an A3 sheet in HOm 

[Marly51]

1 hour ago, JimFin said:

Never mind the cakebox, see what you can do on an A3 sheet in HOm 

 

That’s probably about the size I could manage to begin with! Great little layouts!