German TT - Kirchheim

[plarailfan]

It brings back a few happy memories for me, reading this thread !

I went a few times, to Clive Thompson's at Swindon. He had a garage adjoining his house and instead of keeping his car in there, he used the garage, as a mail order business / model shop.

This was around 1990 and although the locomotives and stock ran remarkably well, the Berliner track joints were often, lacking in conductivity, so I soldered wire onto the rails but that didn't always help and so, I started using the 3mm society track (Peco HOm, wasn't around at that time)

I used Bemo points, but then, I changed jobs and lost interest in modelling for a while and I sold all my TT to Marcway on Attercliffe Road, Sheffield.

Marcway seemed quite enthusiastic - he often had varying amounts of s/h Berliner items in stock at that time.

I still have a few of my old BTTB, track plan books and catalogues, They are rather quaint, with artists impressions, rather than being illustrated with photo's.   

Does anyone here, know if Clive is still doing anything, as regards 3mm and TT models these days, or, I guess he might have retired from the business that he had in Swindon ? 

[rekoboy]

Sorry about the silence, folks - but our daughter has been moving house and Pa's assistance is essential in such matters. Work on the design and creation of Konradsweiler has continued, though, if slowly, and I have decided on the final location of at least one building and worked out the position of the tram terminus' tracks. The scenery surface of coloured Polyfilla  is largely complete, and I have added yet more retaining wall! The first tram AND the tram route's catenary are here on my work table, too, but they need a good deal of assembling! The corrugated iron shed in the photo will disappear soon - but it will be used somewhere! As I threatened in a previous post the Czech station building has been cut down, as you can see, and the lower half will get a toilet block added and a pitched roof and will become the HO Gaststätte at the tram terminus. More buildings, a bus stop and a kiosk will be added eventually. The blue line around the tram tracks is a cutting guide - the tram terminus and its catenary will be on a slot-in and removable piece of MDF so that I can build the overhead wiring and supports at the dining room table in a civilized and healthy seated position!

More will follow!

[rekoboy]

Good Evening folks, once again apologies for the relative silence of late, but my daughter's house-move, a pile of 6,000-word assignments to mark and the garden(!) have all conspired against railway modelling. I have, however, managed to finish a project, and, oh boy, has it taken a long time! You will notice from previous posts that a Czech station building was cut into two - I separated the ground floor from the rest and promised to use it as the basis of a Gaststätte. Years ago I used to be a keen scratch-builder of structures - this pub is the first, hopefully, of a series. Apart from the ground floor of the Czech kit most components are from Auhagen's excellent bags and boxes of bits - but the extension is made of heavy-gauge polystyrene sheet, the felt roof of the extension is fine-grade sandpaper, the flashing around the  embossed plastic brick sheet chimney is made of sugar-paper, and the signs were made on the PC employing a downloaded Konsum sign (the old GDR co-operative society which ran shops, bars, cafes etc etc) a font called 'Magneto' and printed on photo paper. The name of the bar 'Zum alten Konrad' (Old Konrad's bar) is a sly dig at my son who is concerned about his advancing years! There is still quite a bit to do - ridge tiles, gutters, TV aerial - but I am happy with the product of my hours of labour - especially with the little glass cabinet for the menu which started life as a small Auhagen window frame. You may have noticed a couple of wires leading from the pub - a further time-consuming feature of my plan was to equip the building with light-boxes made of sugar paper and poly sheet which mean that the lighting can be confined to individual rooms and can be switched from one to another - or to all.

[rekoboy]

You will find this astonishing, folks, but following the (almost) completion of the pub Zum alten Konrad I have found quite a bit more time to attempt some more styrene engineering. For weeks I had been seeking a solution to the combined tram and road bridge over the incline to Konradsweiler village - and at some point on the A59 or the M62 I had a moment of clarity and realised that the N-scale Japanese bridge girders that I had been keeping 'just in case' plus square section styrene tube and the usual heavy-gauge styrene sheet would solve the problem. Having established that the bridge supports are vertical and plumb (any indication to the contrary in the photos is an illusion, honest!) I started to fabricate the bridge and began by sawing the Green Max bridge girders lengthwise in half and gluing the halves on either side of an exactly matching square-section styrene tube. After that had all hardened I separated everything into 4 box girders which were glued to the underside of a piece of styrene sheet. From then on it was just a mechanical task of carefully cutting styrene sheet and gluing it together up to the rail level of a section of Streamline N track. The track is a friction fit within the road surface of the bridge which will shortly get kerbs, a pavement, sidewalls and handrails plus a road surface of Auhagen cobbles.

Edited March 17, 2015 by rekoboy

[rekoboy]

Sadly, I have had little time for modelling of late, but whatever time was available was mostly taken up with trying to find the optimal position for the tram terminus at Konradsweiler and to make a permanent road bed to go with the tram track on the left-hand side of the bridge. I think I have finally managed the task and have pinned down the Streamline flexitrack and the Roco points so I can make the templates for the plywood base for the tram terminus and for the styrene road surface up to track level to the left of the bridge. As you can see, the contractors have already brought in some metre-gauge wagons to aid construction! The next test is the conversion of the two Roco 'N' turnouts to simple spring operation - I have the the necessary bits, a report will follow!

Some train running has also been going on. Quite a while ago I acquired a Jatt BR 38 4-6-0 which is a beautiful, white-metal model and which runs like a dream, but sadly it seems to have spent most of its working life with me in a display case until recently when I realised that it needed to be out on the main line! You can see it in  the photos with a rake of Zeuke/Tillig Eilzugwagen. Lovely! These pics are a bit dark - I'll add further ones later.

Edited April 12, 2015 by rekoboy

[rekoboy]

Here you go folks - a decent photo of the Jatt BR 38.

[Allegheny1600]

Hallo Herr rekoboy,

Das ist ein wirklich schönes lokomotive!

Tschüss,

John E.

[rekoboy]

Danke, John!

[rekoboy]

Thanks to the facts that work has been hectic and that the garden has been in need of serious attention not a great deal has happened at Kirchheim lately - although the re-motoring of the 'home-made' BR 64 is proceeding - more of that topic soon. However, there are developments in connection with the trams. At the Dampfloktreff in Dresden I was able to buy for very little money 2 Tatra T4 trams which had been given away with crates of Einsiedler Pilsener at some stage in the recent past. German breweries often give away free model trucks with crates of beer but this particular brewery in Chemnitz did a series of trams as souvenirs - they are very roughly TT scale and are mounted on 9mm gauge bogies. A project for later, I thought but I have already sourced from Plaza Japan an N-gauge Tomytec chassis that will fit! The big excitement came, though, on my last day in Germany when Günther and I visited Herr Ludwig in his excellent model shop in Ziesar - Herr Ludwig mentioned that his friend had a Karsei Gotha T57 with trailer cars in TTm for sale. Karsei is a small manufacturer from a village near Eisenach and produces quite limited runs of very appealing TT rolling stock - the tram is no longer available, so I was more than excited when I discovered that Herr Ludwig's mate wanted only € 100 for the motor-car and 2 trailers. They arrived today - so there is really no excuse any longer for not getting cracking on the tram route!

[rekoboy]

As I mentioned in my 'Zittauer Schmalspurbahnen' contribution things have been quiet on the railway front for quite a while thanks to the arrival of grandson Lucas and work-related matters. However, I do have some news from Kirchheim, a new loco has arrived! I have been waiting impatiently for months for the BR 106 shunter from Piko which finally arrived in Herr Ludwig's shop a couple of weeks ago. It has been worth the wait as you can see from the attached photos. The level of detail is fantastic - just look at the hand-rails and grab irons. She runs well but I am not entirely convinced by the transmission concept which seems a bit like Hornby Dublo of the 1960s with the drive on to one axle only and the other three driven by the side rods. We shall see!

[rekoboy]

I have still not had much time for layout activities, but thanks to a friend in Dessau I have had something to keep me busy! Matthias offered to bring back some TTf loco kits from a railway museum in Lithuania where they are sold as simple souvenirs. You might ask - what is TTf? It is used to describe 1:120 scale models of rolling stock built for 600mm gauge, and in the case of these models, so called Brigadeloks built by several loco works for service on the Western Front in WW1. Several have survived and are still in service on the Waldeisenbahn Muskau (http://www.waldeisenbahn.de/de/)and on at least one Pioniereisenbahn. The kits are quite simple but have some fiendishly small parts which are quite demanding for a 60 year old with sausage fingers and short sight! The big plan is to motorize one kit using a Märklin Z gauge mechanism - a pipe dream, I fear - but one loco is now assembled but not completely detailed and is being delivered to the Pioniereisenbahn Kirchheim as I write this - see photos! The slightly overscale chains which do actually secure the loco on its transporter came from a girly shop called 'Claire's Accessories' which you might know! For eight quid you get two long fine necklaces and enough chain to keep me busy for months! So there you have it - diesel and oil stains from cheap black nail varnish and chains from the shop favoured by teenie girls!

[Hobby]

Mmm, interesting... I model TTe... Any chance of a bit more detail about them? Plastic or metal for a start? Do they do any other TT models such as rolling stock?

 

[rekoboy]

Hello Hobby! I love your layout - is your rolling stock based on German or Czech kits or ready to run? Are you using standard Z-gauge track? Yes, the Brigadelok looks quite sweet, doesn't it? But it is a very simple plastic kit, as you can see in the next photo, designed as a souvenir for the museum. I do not know whether other items of stock have been produced - I shall mail Matthias this evening and ask him if anything else is available. I do know that he brought back about 20 loco kits(!) for friends and club members!

[Hobby]

Hi! The layout uses mainly Czech brass kits with some Shapeways stuff, they now do quite a bit in TTe including Polish and Russian as well as German. No RTR, I couldn't afford them!! The track is currently Peco and Marklin Z/Nm but I am trying to build some track myself as well as looking at some at a German shop who sells TTe sleeper base albeit at a price!

 

That loco reminds me of the stuff the Harz were (are?) selling, a loco on a low loader and coaches on the same low loader. Basically to HO scale, the coach bodies aren't at all bad but the loco is, like yours, rather basic...

[rekoboy]

Happy Christmas to all fans of the TT-Bahn. I may even find some time this holiday to get back to work on the railway.

[rekoboy]

Evening All! I apologize for the lack of any new content of late, but grandson Lucas plus work have filled up my time quite a bit. Things are happening - albeit too slowly - at Kirchheim, and I hope to have some evidence shortly! However, the main news from Kirchheim is the arrival of a new locomotive from the Roco works. It is the DR V 100 which is a lovely model. I have still to attach all of the fiddly extras from the accompanying plastic bag (handrails, pipes etc) and to change the couplings. Roco fits Fleischmann N Profi couplings as a matter of course to its TT stock - TT coupler pockets on all modern stock are the N type, of course, so it is a 30 second job to swap them for Tillig couplings.

As you can see, the railfans on my layout are quite enthused by the new V 100!

[Taigatrommel]

It's only a matter of time before a Roco V100 Ost joins my fleet.  A while ago I made a list of V100s which could suit both my Rübelandbahn project and more contemporary modelling, ie those that carry 20x xxx numbers and DR livery.  I think they're my favourite locos from anywhere in the world.

[Hobby]

I've got the HO version of that on a BTTB TT chassis!

[jmh67]

I've got the HO version of that on a BTTB TT chassis!

 

That could be a "Harzkamel", DR class 199.8 - in the 1980s ten locomotives were put on three-axled metre-gauge bogies, mainly to help with freight movements on the narrow-gauge lines in the Harz mountains, but they were / are seen with passenger trains, too. Lack of demand has caused some of them to be retired, four have been converted back into standard-gauge locomotives.

 

Martin

[rekoboy]

For some time I have been seeking a cheap and cheerful (and reliable) means of lighting my collection of BTTB, Zeuke and Tillig coaches. A while ago I discovered a Chinese online trader which sells electronics bits and pieces of reasonable quality at astonishingly low prices – and with no postal costs! So far everything that I have ordered has arrived in good time including the pictured long strip of LEDs which is set up for a USB connection at 5V and which is already equipped with resistors and has an adhesive strip provided on the rear. The strip can be cut with scissors into short lengths of not less than three LEDs – soldering points are provided for. As the LED strips are set up for 5V I needed, of course, to include a suitable additional resistor when installing them in my coaches. A major problem is that the LED strips will, of course, light up in one direction only – that issue was resolved with the pictured double deck set by installing a total of 4 three-LED strips, two for each direction. My son tells me the result is a little too bright – and I need to solve the problem of flickering caused by slight intermittent rail-wheel contact with a couple of capacitors, I think. Otherwise I am reasonably happy. If you need the web-address of the Chinese supplier let me know. He takes PayPal!

[rekoboy]

At last! I have finally stopped doodling on endless bits of paper and day-dreaming for hours - Konradsweiler is finally taking shape. I have made and fitted the removable base for the main street with its tram terminus, and have, at long last, worked out the exact positions of most of the buildings and produced the rising access road to the buildings at the rear of the scene. I am finally happy - more or less - with the different ground levels. All of the structures except for the kit-bashed bar, Zum alten Konrad and Pension Ilse at the back will be Auhagen kits - the block of flats, 2 modern-ish smaller houses, a snack-bar and a waiting shelter. With a bit of luck you may see them all in position soon! Phew! The track layout for the tram terminus is now clear - and I am using Fleischmann Piccolo turnouts which are ideal as spring points. More of the trams shortly!

Edited March 6, 2016 by rekoboy

[rekoboy]

More action at Konradsweiler! The ramp down to the platform is complete - it and the platform surface are made of layers of white glue and budgie sand which when solid were soaked in diluted oil paint. As you can see two local teenagers are already doing speed trials down the ramp! The main focus over the last day or so has been the tram terminus - of which the track is now complete, lightly pinned and, temporarily at least, wired up for testing to ensure that my idea of using elderly Fleischmann Piccolo turnouts as spring points actually works. It does. The test loco is a very elderly Minitrix diesel which was bought as a non-runner for € 8. The repair was a five minute job - loose connection - and she runs beautifully and opens the blades of the spring points with no problem. The chassis will eventually be used for a freight motor or works car on the tram network. The box of catenary is open and ready - but I need time!

[rekoboy]

There has been more steady action at the tram terminus at Konradsweiler - but the works are time-consuming and fiddly! The base for the tram terminus has been removed so that it can be worked on at the dining table or wherever and the pavements and raised areas for the tram passengers are taking shape in balsawood. The track will be ballasted with budgie-cage sand or will have a paved infill. The final piece of the cutting approaching Konradsweiler is taking shape as is the area above the tunnel mouth - for all of my scenery I use a form of 'gloop' made of one third sawdust plus two thirds Polyfilla plus white glue and powder paint. That gives a robust structure that shows no white flecks if a chunk breaks off. In the case of the cutting there are slices of genuine rock mixed in. In order to accommodate the terminus board there needs to be a suitable gap under retaining walls - I have made a template or gauge out of a piece of MDF to locate new sections of wall correctly. Next stage - final gluing and pinning of the tram tracks plus power feeds and CATENARY!

[

Edited March 19, 2016 by rekoboy

[rekoboy]

Good evening folks! Sorry about the complete lack of any signs of life of late - but grandfatherly duties and work have taken up my time! There was also a visit over the Easter holidays by my good friend Günther and his grandson Anton who asked me a question that I should have asked myself! The question was - where are the tram and the main road actually going when they have crossed the bridge? My very unsatisfactory answer was - I am not sure! But since then there have been scribbles on lots of bits of paper and a good deal of measuring and now I know!! The main road with tram line will continue to rise and cross the upper branch line by means of a skew bridge - for viewing purposes the branch upper line will be slightly under eye-level and the road with tram somewhat higher. Perfect for viewing - I hope! As you can see the foundations of the road are being built up with foam-board. A good deal more scenery has been completed since then as you can see and the rock faces, cast with Polyfilla, using a Woodland Scenics mould or simply sculpted are looking good. The first and second coats of green on the scenery are school powder-paint with a splash of white glue and a drop of washing-up liquid! Both my BR 24 by Gützold and my Tillig BR 52 have cost me a lot of money of late - the BR 24's motor failed (apparently common, they tell me!) and a derailment caused a piece of plastic valve gear to break on the BR 52. So good old Herr Ludwig worked wonders for me and both locos are now back in service. As you can see, the 52 is already out on duty on a line that goes nowhere!

[rekoboy]

Guten Abend! Sorry about the very long break in communication, but work, the grandchildren, my very elderly Dad and a certain campaign have all kept me away from the layout. There has been a little progress which I shall report on soon, but the main change has been the arrival of a new locomotive at Kirchheim - the price of which caused my wife to catch her breath somewhat! It is an ex-Prussian State Railways G7, DR class 57 manufactured in very small numbers by Modellbau Jago, founded by the owner of Jatt TT after he sold up to Tillig in the 1990s. The loco is more or less entirely made of white-metal castings with some plastic detail - and she runs like a dream. As you can see, some of the staff at Kirchheim made a dash to admire her when she arrived! I need to do something about the very ugly bunch of cables linking the tender and the loco - but there is no need to rush! The prototype, which was built around the time of the First World War in huge numbers was a very interesting hybrid - it was built around the chassis of the BR 94 0-10-0 tank loco and included the boiler designed for the BR 38 tender loco and had the same tender used for the BR 56 and BR 58. Efficiency! The class was very robust and powerful - they lasted until the 1960s.