Greetings from Luxembourg

[CFL]

Right then, been from Z to G having had my first Hornby trainset aged four care of dad, there has always been a model railway somewhere. The last was a big G setup but then we moved into a flat and somehow a 'Garden' railway wouldn't cut it on the balcony so I am back to HO. I am trying to get epoch III (mid 1950s) where diesel was just starting to make inroads to steam modelled with a roughly end-to-end layout (with corners?) one end being DB for Germany and the other CFL for Luxembourg with an interchange front centre and a goods shed and sidings behind. DCC if and when I can get my head round it, the gear is almost all here but my local model shop is in Trier in Germany and the guy is chipping some locos, but the border is well and truly shut.

Personally I was born in Stoke-on-Trent but grew up in Derby, I left school at 16 and the country at 20 having been fed up with signing UB40s, came to Luxembourg and took root. Having been here for 37 years I took out Luxembourgish nationality but have kept British nationality too. Sadly, or not depending on your point of view, I was classed as an invalid about 10 years ago so more hobby time if the Missus will let me.

Cheers,

Ian

[AY Mod]

Welcome to RMweb Ian, I've not knowingly met another Luxembourgish person on here but I see we've had readers there. A lovely city.

[CFL]

It is a lovely city (the old part) but I have to get through the new part to see it! I actually live on the very eastern tip of Luxembourg - literally - at the confluence of the Sûre and Moselle rivers which form most of the border with Germany at Wasserbillig. Great view of the L-D railway out of the living room window and I often see some 'specials'. The closest city is Trier (where my better half originates from) in Germany at about 15 minutes drive and a whole two model railway shops.

I mentioned I am trying to model an interchange station and Wasserbillig used to be just that, now the DB don't come over and the CFL go over there.

[DIW]

Hi Ian,

I lived in Luxembourg 1991 to 1995 (worked at Betzdorf). I often call in to the country (on my way back from Switzerland when I go there) to spend a day or so in Luxembourg city and to replenish the 'stocks' at Bernard Massard's in Grevenmacher. I lived in the city at Gasparich. The city seemed a lot rainier then than it had when I previously visited!

 

[exet1095]

I lived in Luxembourg from 1977-79, aged 11 & 12. The city had lots of great model shops, including one which had loads of Kitmaster kits (until my friend’s father bought the lot...)

 

I became an expert on the old tram system, and knew where all the remains and grounded bodies were, and used to spend a lot of time at the depot in Merl where their preserved trams were kept. 
 

No local children seemed to want to bunk the shed, so my friend Peter Bennett and I spent a lot of time there, with official benevolent disinterest. I once drove a train to Wasserbillig - the driver has never been asked for a cab ride before!

 

I also had fun exploring the industrial lines. There was a steeple cab electric loco, to my eyes identical to the Triang one, which lived in an almost-Airfix engine shed just before the main Villeroy & Boch works.

 

I was lucky to know lots of enthusiastic people, including our neighbour who was in the British Embassy, and had a collection of Railway Modellers dating from c1959.

 

Thanks for stirring my memories!

 

Paul

[CFL]

Betzdorf? Two dungheaps and a mushroom farm, oops those are dish antenna at SES which is probably the only employer there, but from the train it looks like mushrooms on steroids.

 

There is now a special shed, okay museum, for the old trams and buses, in town I really ought to go some time, and I really have to go the Fonds-de-Gras for the functioning NG railway. Better start charging the batteries for the camera!

[EddieB]

Nice to find someone who lives in Wasserbillig.  As you say, it was a good place for cross-border freights (although the sun was usually in the wrong place).  Just up the road there were some interesting industrials (perhaps they’re still there).

 

Most of my trips to Luxembourg were private, but a handful of work assignments provided opportunity to navigate the public transport systems (still some unused tickets, that won’t be needed now that transport has been made free).

 

Seeing a previous comment about “bunking” the main depot - it’s perhaps the only place where getting caught meant signing in the visitors book and being loaned a hi-vis vest to facilitate going round more safely!

[CFL]

As it is the only line between Luxembourg and Germany we get everything from steamies - the German ones have to stop here as their braking system doesn't conform to our norms, so the preserved "5519" a private big steamie comes down and they double head up out of the valley, very impressive - to some weird MoW contraptions in scary yellow paintjobs.

The industrial railway workings are still going strong, the Port of Mertert is in our commune and lies about halfway between Wasserbillig and Grevenmacher. The port itself is private and so the CFL don't run there and that is why there is no catenary (the national system is all electrified) and the port has two twee little diesels to move wagons to the side of the dock for loading / unloading barges. The trains are then marshalled on a vast yard and set up as trains either to go to Germany or Bettembourg which is the huge freight hub for Luxembourg.

These days I think signing a book and wearing a Hi-Viz would only get you as far as a platform, if that. Draconian isn't the word, even unmanned stations have security gorillas.

[Allegheny1600]

Hello Ian,

I've only been to Luxembourg the once, when my wife was undergoing some surgery in Brussels, Belgium! She did say it was fine for me to go down to the nearby station and do some train spotting but she never expected me to end up in a different country - many years later, she still pulls my leg for it!

When I arrived at the main station in your capital, without a thought, I leapt off my train and began photographing all the various other trains coming and going, my initial burst of activity of nonstop 'shooting' must have been at least half an hour, there was so much to see. Thankfully, no one bothered me until I was called back to Brussels!

[Ian Morgan]

I spent a year in Luxembourg (2001), had an apartment in Gasparich and worked down in the Grund. I even joined the model railway club that met in the station building at Walferdange.

 

Fond de Gras is definitely worth a visit:

 

 

 

On driving around the country, you come across various artifacts from the extensive narrow gauge network that once covered the coutry. This was a static display at Niederpallen:

 

 

I also came across what was once a huge narrow gauge engine shed, but was then industrial units. It was possibly near Larochette or Junglinster.

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Ian Morgan
re-loaded images

[Brinkly]

Hello Ian and welcome to RMWeb.

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick.