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Lockdown Liguria - Italian N


9FEd
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I'm probably not going to win any engineering in miniature awards for this but introducing my new motive power, an E402b!

 

1C6846AA-1C17-4923-A28A-E7D81DB434FD.jpg.91862244a8f4531afb47c5683939a005.jpg

 

This is of course a motorised Del Prado 'Locomotives of The World' bodyshell, procured from eBay and sitting atop a generic Kato chassis, I've added a coupler pocket to the rear underneath the bodyshell. The bogie pivots are heroically off centre (see below)....

 

35C7285B-1BF3-45D2-A981-89E54144B2B0.jpg.86653e4d900d6a534733bbe1ced1568c.jpg

 

But it runs and it was about £20 all in! Evidence of actual running: 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello, love the layout.

I'm looking to build something in N gauge for my daughter with Italian stock and was thinking about the Del Prado shell on a chassis so good to see your result.

One day I plan to build either Brignole or Principe station but small steps ...

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@Tartaruga thank you very much! Its definitely possible to get a result, no doubt better results could be achieved by a more skilled individual than me! Tempted by a second attempt on the XMPR D345...

 

Either would be spectacular! I admire the ambition. If I'm honest, I'd love to do a bigger scene with some urban features but the lack of Italian buildings or kits in N means a lot of scratchbuilding (that I know would bog down me at least to a crawl). 

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https://scalaenne.wordpress.com/2021/02/13/e-arrivato-locomake/

 

If you want something to keep you busy...! Quite a list at the end of planned releases. I'm definitely tempted by an E636. I've just bought a Mehano E424 for a planned Italian layout. Also got a resin Gr 685 kit, and a 2-8-2T chassis for a Gr 940 to adapt at some point. 

 

Regarding buildings, there's a guy on Facebook called Luca Pavesi who runs a group called LK Train Mercatino Modellismo Ferroviario. He produces kits for Italian railway buildings in N gauge. They look very good, and prices are reasonably. I'm going to message him to see if he's willing to post to the UK. It'll certainly make things easier! 

 

If you do go down the scratch building route for buildings in the future, have a look on the FS Fondazione archive website. They have hundreds of drawings on there of various buildings. 

 

https://www.archiviofondazionefs.it/en/

 

I've downloaded one, and when printed out on a sheet of A4, was perfectly to 2mm scale! 

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20 hours ago, 5944 said:

If you do go down the scratch building route for buildings in the future, have a look on the FS Fondazione archive website. They have hundreds of drawings on there of various buildings. 

 

https://www.archiviofondazionefs.it/en/

 

I've downloaded one, and when printed out on a sheet of A4, was perfectly to 2mm scale! 

 

That's great, thanks for sharing the archive

I had a quick  look. If anyone wanted to scratch-build the station of Ventimiglia, all the plans are there.

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All these helpful posts chipping away at my excuses! Thanks a lot @5944 - sounds like a nice accumulated stash, what is the layout that you are planning? 

 

I've actually just poached a Del Prado 'Navetta' E424 to have a go at motorising - I've got a DCC equipped Fleischmann chassis that I hope the bodyshell will fit on and will run better than the exuberant Kato DC chassis I've got the E402 on. 

 

Thanks too for the link to the FS Foundation (very useful) and the heads up on the Facebook group - I've 'applied' to join too. If he is willing to post to the UK then I'd be happy to share an order if that made sense for both of us. 

 

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21 hours ago, Tartaruga said:

 

That's great, thanks for sharing the archive

I had a quick  look. If anyone wanted to scratch-build the station of Ventimiglia, all the plans are there.

 

@Tartaruga Jus checked out Ventimiglia as I actually did want to model Ventimiglia and got as far as kit bashing the roundhouse and completing some baseboards before I realised that I'd overreached given then current skills/time/spare cash...

 

Still fancy it though, especially given the mingling of SNCF/FS stock and the other express services - this is May 2015 and the daytime Thello has arrived at Ventimiglia hauled by an E444R on the left and another E444R approaches on the right - a Caimano is in the far distance (I've chosen the wrong end of the platform!): 

 

DSC_0021.jpg.42fcc6c937386414cca39faddc8b63a1.jpg

 

Another E444R lurks elsewhere: 

 

DSC_0008.jpg.55f2845cd9e79d949127f08294a278f2.jpg

 

 

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On 15/02/2021 at 15:40, 9FEd said:

 

@Tartaruga Jus checked out Ventimiglia as I actually did want to model Ventimiglia and got as far as kit bashing the roundhouse and completing some baseboards before I realised that I'd overreached given then current skills/time/spare cash...

 

I haven't been to the far western part of Liguria yet, we mainly travel to the eastern side. I aim one day to travel to genoa by train rather than fly.

My first project though is scratchbuilding Hogsmeade station and Platform 9 & 3/4 to get my youngest's interest.

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4 hours ago, Tartaruga said:

My first project though is scratchbuilding Hogsmeade station and Platform 9 & 3/4 to get my youngest's interest.

 

Always good to sign up the next generation! 

 

I recommend it - for family holidays we would fly into Nice and then take the train from Nice Ville, changing at Ventimigilia, to somewhere in Western Ligurian - usually, but not always, Sanremo. Pictures above are from more recent revisits! 

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Big Lockdown Liguria news - I've finally managed to track down four additional XMPR Eurofima carriages to take my rake out to seven in total and I'm absolutely delighted! These have eluded me for some time - my original three are the Pirata Fleischmann commission from 2017 and I've been wanting to add some more ever since, despite XMPR being the dominant livery for the past 25 years almost all other liveries seem easier to find! 

 

IMG_20210220_184548138_HDR.jpg.f1f3732aaeaa092848234fc61f86b0d3.jpg

 

B1C64D69-4D7B-454B-A745-4C318AE7395E.jpg.96103d2a69dd5862a115950b2a1f0ef5.jpg

 

5E86D7D1-25D4-48FE-AF13-D47B3EE1B1EC.jpg.e8d9364d9dbbd676a5c5a20a5b0f88d9.jpg

 

And here they are, gloriously in motion!

 

 

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HI 9FEd,

 

Am new to this Forum and have spent a very pleasant morning reading your whole thread. I started with a few 'thank yous' but didn't want to bombard you with them so here's one big thank you for a lovely looking and very inspirational layout.

 

I model SNCF and RENFE in N gauge but having travelled in the late '80s by train from Calais to Sicily and then back up to the Ligurian Coast, staying in Bordighera for a while, I've always wanted to model an Italian layout. 

 

I know Arnold are going to produce the E656 and I thought about it but my eyesight is starting to go a bit and I'm finding N a bit too fiddly anyway so am going down the HO route having just bought a Rivarossi E646. I'm hoping to build a fictional principality sticking out into the sea between Italy and France with a small cross border terminus on a Ventimiglia avoiding line so your scenics are, as I said, very inspirational.

 

Hope you don't have to wait too long for the new FS locos to appear. Thanks again and looking forward to more.

 

Cheers, Chris.

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@weave welcome to RmWeb and thank you very much indeed for such a generous and thoughtful comment, its very much appreciated! When I started, I never expected to produce anything that might inspire others so delighted to hear you like the layout and that it reminds you of the region. 

 

I have to say - Calais to Sicily by rail and back again, what a journey! I am hoping to do the Milan-Sicily sleeper/train ferry post CV19 - and I have contemplated bolting the Paris-Milan Thello on top, although I think we will probably just fly into Milan. Bordighera is very pleasant, I've visited a few times. 

 

I love your layout concept - a fictional principality on the Ventimiglia 'avoiding line' sounds like it would fuse all the highlights of the Ligurian coast! There's lots of good models of FS prototypes in H0 so that's entirely understandable, I've often eyed the choice enviously but as Italian N seems to be coming good I'm ploughing on with it! 

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This is not a scenic update - but it is an important one! 

 

Unfortunately, my passing loop wasn't operable - the long live frogs on the Fleischmann points always shorted when set to the inner diverging line and a train passed over, thwarting my plan to be able to alternate trains in opposite directions!

 

I've solved this by simply swapping to insulfrogs for the curved points forming the loop (running hasn't been affected, no stalling) which also required another power feed to be added to the second loop line and most of the 'off stage' track was relaid in the process. So, it looks the same, but it now the loop actually works! 

 

AD178B78-8D70-42D0-B59F-A5F85B928BBC.jpg.bcb7ac53ea52562c745f41ba446d77d9.jpg

 

All this meant I had to move the layout which meant I could get a photo of the galleried tunnel section - not often seen as its usually tucked against a wall!

 

AD841C38-FEB6-4DD8-A1C4-AEEBBFF0AC43.jpg.5e3c317ded118d5f2e88793ec8e1ec13.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Hi again,

 

Thanks for the welcome.

 

Love the flowers on the gallery tunnel. Not sure if they're supposed to be Bougainvillea but if not they look similar. I only mention that as the wife has made me promise to model some Bougainvillea in the future as she loves it although at the moment it could be a while. Saying that,  I do hope to purchase an Italian Hotel when I get paid so might be asking for tips on how you did it in the next few weeks if that's OK?

 

Cheers, Chris.

 

PS, On that trip, 'twas Calais - Milan, 6hours in Milan, then Milan - Rome, couple of days there, then Rome - Sicily. I love trains but not that much  :no: :D

 

Also, meant to say, well done for sorting your electrical problems.

 

 

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On 15/02/2021 at 15:31, 9FEd said:

All these helpful posts chipping away at my excuses! Thanks a lot @5944 - sounds like a nice accumulated stash, what is the layout that you are planning? 

There's a couple...! I'll not hijack your thread - I'll start my own when I'm able to actually start building - but one will be of a single line station with passing loop and a small goods yard. The other will be in 2mm finescale for their Jubilee exhibition, whenever that happens. 600mm x 9.42" on a shelf. 

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On 21/02/2021 at 21:24, weave said:

Love the flowers on the gallery tunnel. Not sure if they're supposed to be Bougainvillea but if not they look similar. I only mention that as the wife has made me promise to model some Bougainvillea in the future as she loves it although at the moment it could be a while. Saying that,  I do hope to purchase an Italian Hotel when I get paid so might be asking for tips on how you did it in the next few weeks if that's OK?

 

Hi Chris, absolutely - please do ask away! I'm not going to claim they are supposed to be Bougainvillea but they do seem to work, I actually got a lot of the 'flowers' from War Painter Scenics on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/6mm-Flower-set-tufts-117/dp/B086S8WH42/ref=sr_1_40?dchild=1&keywords=Warpainter+scenics&qid=1614501969&s=kids&search-type=ss&sr=1-40 

 

No connection but the prices seem good to me and as they are self adhesive 'blobs' they are very easy to plant almost anywhere! 

 

Thank you - its really nice just to be able to switch it on and operate it as I want now 

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On 24/02/2021 at 21:35, 5944 said:

There's a couple...! I'll not hijack your thread - I'll start my own when I'm able to actually start building - but one will be of a single line station with passing loop and a small goods yard. The other will be in 2mm finescale for their Jubilee exhibition, whenever that happens. 600mm x 9.42" on a shelf. 

 

I'll keep my eye out! 

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I've also had another successful poach - a pair of Interfrigo vans in the later (my preferred) livery with the oblique 'Interfrigo' lettering and a snowflake graphic: 

 

922969A8-8889-4293-A333-CC52D594F6FE.jpg.7749ad684528c6df2ca45cae4cd130d9.jpg

 

In the spirit of "there's a prototype for everything", I was pleasantly surprised to discover this picture of an Interfrigo van at Peak Forest (after delivering 'milk products' to Buxton from Europe):

 

http://www.manlocosoc.co.uk/chulme/slide-webone-off.cgi?ch-005&62

 

The Midland mainline through the Peaks is my 'other' main interest, I just never expected that I could legitimately have dual use stock for both Liguria and the Peak District! 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm new to this forum, and I agree with the new-ish poster above - what a delightful layout concept and execution. I will follow with interest. The Italian railways  are so interesting both from a scenic and rolling stock perspective and you have done your corner of Liguria justice! Someday I'd love to tackle a small section of the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo, where my wife's family hails from. Hoping that selection in N scale will improve in time as H0 is not an option.

 

Best,

John

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@MandraStation thank you very much for the kind words and welcome, its great to meet another Italophile on Rmweb! Italian railways certainly do combine some unique  elements and yet are perhaps relatively overlooked (vs France/Switz/Germany) - also hoping that the improvements in N continue, certainly railways modellers in general are benefitting from more and more RTR models of the more obscure prototypes so perhaps Italian N will yet come of age! A family connection to the Adriatic coast sounds like a perfect excuse for a layout! 

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  • 1 month later...
On 29/03/2021 at 11:43, 9FEd said:

@MandraStation A family connection to the Adriatic coast sounds like a perfect excuse for a layout! 

 

Sound like a perfect excuse for holidays too :D

 

Great layout 9FEd, proves less is more. It puts me in mind of the sea wall at Dawlish - sea, sand, cliffs, tunnels and trains; what's not to like?

 

Tempted to do a hybrid Dawluria or Ligurish now! 

 

Cheers, 

 

Rich.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/05/2021 at 14:33, B1uejay said:

Tempted to do a hybrid Dawluria or Ligurish now! 

 

Haha, love it - it did cross my mind in construction that if you had some easily exchangeable details you could possibly create a layout that was 'dual country'. 

 

And thank you very much, there's something satisfying about a simple layout that you can actually finish without it feeling like an undue burden. I am mostly in the 'playing trains' phase with Liguria now!  

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