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Some basic RhB questions


jhock
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I wonder if some one could answer a few questions for me as I am interested in modeling Swiss Meter Gauge but don't really now where to start.

 

I only have a very small space, are there are any small branch line terminus stations on the RhB network?

Would sidings be electrified or would they use a tractor?

I really only want to model a small station with a timber siding and goods shed, do such things still exist?

 

Any help is most welcome.

Edited by jhock
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Thank you for the reply.

 

I suspected the answer to my question might well be no in terms of the branch lines.

 

What period would I need to go back to in order to have thee mixed freight and passenger trains still running?

 

I am looking at HOm as the scale, so the stock would be Bemo.

 

I will have a look at the yahoo group, thanks for the link.

Edited by jhock
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To give you an idea (but it might scare you away too), the modern E-loco of the RhB (the Ge 4/4''') is/was available in 0m from a small company in Liechtenstein, at a price of SFr 5000,- That's about 4.500 Euro or well over 4k in UK currency... ..

 

 

Thats a little bit more than the old Fama/UTZ/Kiss/Roco models that were made in Om!!, but then again they seem to cost more used on an auction site than new!

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Anyway, current RhB operations are based on moving passengers (in quite considerable numbers!) and except for a number of sections, freight transport is mainly done with dedicated trains. The era of the mixed freight that shunts at every station are practically over, although occasionally an historic set might be dispatched.

When I visited Switzerland in May 2011, I saw log and ballast wagons attached to the back of several passenger trains on the RhB system. Here is one I took of an Allegra EMU hauled Chur - Arosa train with a couple of ballast wagons on the back running on the street in Chur on the 12th May 2011. I later discovered that about a couple of kilometres from there are some civil engineering sidings so I assume those wagons would have been dropped off there.

 

post-6826-0-76779800-1347788953.jpg

Edited by Welly
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Bemo locos come in two ranges, the ordinary plastic bodied ones, and the much more expensive metal bodied ones - their "Metal Collection". The Metal Collection locos tend to be much smaller runs and I think I'm right in saying that Bemo don't repeat a loco if it is a Metal Collection model. So they are hard to find secondhand and because of the shorter runs and no repeats they tend to hold their prices very well..

 

For example, you can get a new RhB "Croc" 0-6-6-0 on ebay for about £220-£250 these days from dealers in Germany and Austria and they are a current model. You will have trouble finding the Metal Collection RhB/Berninabahn Bo-Bo "Croc" as that was made about 10 years ago and whenever they come up on ebay, which isn't often, they tend to go for around £500. I have bought locos from Winco in the UK, as well as via ebay.

 

So pick your loco and era with care.

 

If you want OHLE equipment, Sommerfeldt do some for the RhB.

 

As regards branch lines and extensions, there were very few simply because of the cost of building lines in mountainous terrain.

There was a plan to extend the RhB from St Moritz to Chiavenna in Italy, and to build branches from Zernez to Schluderns and Merano in Austria (Italy from 1919), (the "Ofenberg" railway), and from Thusis to Mesocco, (the "St Bernhardin" railway,the latter would have connected with the Misox line.

 

There were two smaller lines that were controlled by the RhB, the Misox line from Mesocco the Bellinzona, and the Acquarossa-Biasca line. These were in the Canton Ticino (italian) / Tessin (German) area unlike the rest ofthe RhB which was in Graubunden (German) / Grisons (French). These were never connected to the main RhB network, and I think both are now closed, at least to passenger traffic

 

So you could base your line on one of these planned extensions, but cut short like the "Inn Valley" line to Scuol-Tarasp which was planned ro reach Landeck in Austria, but never got that far, or use one ofthe closed lines, or invent one of your own.

 

A good reference book is "Metre Gauge Railways in South & East Switzerland" by John Marshall, published by David & Charles, ISBN 0715364081. It is out of print, but you may be able to find one at one of the second hand book web sites like this http://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/isbn/0715364081/ to name but one.

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That's new to me Keith, any source material to confirm that? I've never seen it in any of the books I have on the RhB, nor any of my members at the Yahoo group (where quite a few are very knowledgeable about the RhB history and present situation) so I'm thinking you're confused with the Bernina railway?......

 

No i was not confusing it with that very unique railway the Berninabahn, just relying on my memory, which was faulty. I should have looked at my own reference books first.

 

Having done that, I see that the Biasca-Acquarossa line was originally intended to terminate further up the valley at Olivone, not Acquarossa. There is apparently a PostBus service between Acquarossa and Disentis.

 

So for anyone wanting an RhB inspired "Mytabin" they could always pretend that there was a line built from Dienstis to Oiivone via the Lukmanier pass which was either built by the RhB or taken over by them in the early 1940s. I am not aware that there were ever any plans for such a line, it is just a pipe dream of an idea if someone wanted their own RhB lbranch line that was not based on an actual RhB location.,

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I only have a very small space, are there are any small branch line terminus stations on the RhB network?

No as mentioned above they tend to be fairly big, but take Scuol or Arosa and add a small onward line to a another smaller terminus as Neil Cooper did with Klein Arosa in G.

Basically a compressed and flipped version but captured the RhB feeling in a space equivalent to 6ft x 1ft if done in HOm.

 

 

Would sidings be electrified or would they use a tractor?

I really only want to model a small station with a timber siding and goods shed, do such things still exist?

Sidings generally not electrified especially if a crane would be used but a small Tm 2/2 would be appropriate even for a small station as they were basic machines operated by station staff with a handbrake only so can't shunt on anything but the flat.

 

As with any layout if you come up with a plausible back story you can do whatever you like but take hints from the real stations, especially track plans.

My own layout took Peist on the Arosa line with a junction added and transferred to the main system ;)

I'd also agree with Tom that the Grischun forum is worth joining along with the yahoo group as it has some very knowledgeable members on the real RhB but it can take a while for a response on joining ;)

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Thats a little bit more than the old Fama/UTZ/Kiss/Roco models that were made in Om!!, but then again they seem to cost more used on an auction site than new!

.....if you can find them!

 

I was successful in getting hold of one of these for a future Om scale Furka Oberalp layout. It took a long time to find!

 

post-6728-0-65760400-1348142466.jpg

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Right this link may help

http://www.sporenplan.nl/

click on sporenplan (in red text) near the top left of the screen, click on switzerland on the map (CH), click on RhB over on the right of the Swiss map.

 

Also look out for this book in one of its printings as it has more detail of all the station trackplans.

post-6968-0-28633500-1348159284.jpg

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What period would I need to go back to in order to have thee mixed freight and passenger trains still running?

 

I too saw a couple of wagons, cement this time, on the back of an Allegra unit heading up to Arosa. Almost exactly the same location as Welly's photo above, but in June 2012.

Also saw Post container-type wagons on the back of a loco-hauled passenger train over the Landwasser viaduct, as well as dedicated freight trains. Can't get to my photos just now though.

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What period would I need to go back to in order to have thee mixed freight and passenger trains still running?

From June 2012, mixed trains at Landwasser, cruel enlargements of wider shots:

Co-op refrigerated (?) containers. Presumably not back-up supplies for the restaurant car next door.

post-6971-0-05330600-1348514968_thumb.jpg

 

Post container (Italian language but Swiss Post - these came in multilingual versions)

post-6971-0-67412700-1348514971.jpg

 

some kind of van - can't quite read the logo?

post-6971-0-57905300-1348514975_thumb.jpg

Edited by eastwestdivide
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Best option for modelling the RhB is to model the 'essence' of the railway rather than any specific location.

 

As per other replies,in recent years there has been rationalisation of freight facilities and track layouts (eg the goods road at Madulain was removed). However, some one-off freight locations for specific uses remain (eg Jenaz and Surava) Surava is occasioanlly served and there is often a shunter parked there). There are other oddities, such as Sumvigt Cumpadials retains a loop and a turntable as it is occasionally used as a terminus for steam trains.

 

There are a few stations with just a loop and a siding but where transfer of containers from local road lorries to rail still takes place

 

Some of these aspects can be seen in this album from when I camped next to Sumvigt station in 2010:

http://gwizz.zenfolio.com/p656733012

 

My other ambums include many pictures of passenger trains with wagons tagged on the back, also several one one-wagon freights

 

http://gwizz.zenfolio.com/p556440952

http://gwizz.zenfolio.com/rhbfeb2012

http://www.freewebs.com/frenchrailwaysinfosite/apps/photos/album?albumid=11208948

 

and here's a 1984 Croc shot

http://gwizz.zenfoli...6b326#h34b6b326

 

 

I see two possible options for you, one would be to have a compact layout of a continuous oval of track and a small wayside station with a single siding. Another would be to pretend that RhB built a branch up a side valley to a small village terminus. For example Tiefencastel to Savognin is plausible.

Edited by Gordonwis
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Logging work takes place at Pontresina and they have a couple of different shunters working,here a couple of lines for this traffic as well as the through traffic lines,also it has a crossing at the southern end of the station,Through Train locos are changed here also and they run near to the crossing for the changeover.As stated and shown in pics freight is added onto passenger locos.

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If you want something different there's dual-gauge running between Chur and Domat-Ems with SBB standard gauge and RhB metre gauge (and IIRC the sidings are dual gauge at the EMS factory with RhB metre gauge continuing south).

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The pics below were taken during my 'grand tour' in September 2003 and are a small selection of those I took on the RhB. They all show (parts of) the same train, starting at Tirano, the Italian terminus of the RhB while the train was being formed up - it is standing on the main line and was photographed from the platform end

 

post-6859-0-89386400-1354114830_thumb.jpg

 

The second view is at Poschiavo where the station pilot is preparing to shunt a couple of wagons onto the rear of the train, you can also just make out the empty timber wagon behind the rear of the passenger section

 

post-6859-0-82473000-1354115001_thumb.jpg

 

We are now climbing up to the pass beyond Poschiavo and this first view is looking forwards to the loco

 

post-6859-0-59019700-1354115108_thumb.jpg

 

While this one is looking back at the rear of the train - extreme rear are the two wagons attached at Poschiavo while ahead of them is a timber bolster attached empty at Tirano

 

post-6859-0-73630600-1354115158_thumb.jpg

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Another new Rhb scale!!!, Kato Japan are offering a reasonably priced £70!!! Rhb loco and coach set in N scale,

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10202254

 

http://www.1zu160.ne...ews.php?id=2415

 

When I was there, the Glacier Express seemed to have sizeable Japanese groups on every occasion I saw it - so presumably plenty of demand for it in model form in their home market.

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Nice find chaps, unfortunately it all points to it running on 9mm and being well over gauge which will look odd. The coaches should be easy to regauge but I suspect the loco will be difficult with it's existing mech unless Kato actually consider this as a potential range and might consider alternative axles? I know the Glacier Express is popular with the Japanese but never expected this.

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