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German TT - Kirchheim


rekoboy
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I am very pleased to be able to report that there has, at last, been some considerable action at Kirchheim in the fields of electrics and scenery!

Firstly, the scenery. I decided a while ago to have the road with the tram-line to cross the branchline by means of a skew bridge. That is now on the way to completion, as is the track layout (more or less!) for the upper terminus, Annaberg. post-17587-0-15849200-1470645871_thumb.jpg

You can see from the attached photos that the risers for the road (foam-board) are more or less in place, and one bridge abutment is complete, too, but not yet stuck down. I have added the first load of 'gloop' to the polystyrene base for the hill alongside the road and used a mixture of real stone and home-made castings to indicate the rock faces.

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In an old copy of the 'Railroad Model Craftsman' I read an article about producing small scenery modules away from the layout, in order to make detailing easier. I was inspired to make styrene bases for the two levels above the tram terminus - at present these two modules are obviously not fixed down and I shall build the structures and add the details at the comfort of my desk or the dining table. As you can see from the photo with the example of 'Pension Ilse' I make the buildings a friction fit on a fixed base so that LEDs or lamps can be changed. By the way - I buy my styrene sheet in bulk from a plastics firm in Leeds - sheets of 1m x 50cm - which is a lot cheaper than going to a model shop!!

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Secondly, to the electrics. While tidying the garage I found half a reel of 4-core telephone cable, bought when we moved our home office. Mmm, might be useful, I thought. When I was trying out track plans for the upper terminus I realised that the shape of the layout would make shunting a nightmare as one cannot reach from the controllers, or indeed see exactly what is going on. The inspiration came when I was out for a walk with my grandson - use the 4-core cable to establish a slave control-point by the branch terminus! Then I remembered the Mehano controller that I had bought in Germany - just in case! And in a box of electrical bits and pieces I found an unused Triang-Hornby yellow switch - two positions, either permanently on, designed for colour-light signals. There was the answer. The switch does not need to be one input, two possible outputs, I thought. I can reverse that to make a two input, one output selector switch for the branch - power either from the Piko unit as before, or from the Mehano controller.

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In the bits box were also two handsome but very elderly bakelite turnout switch units ( probably early 1960s E Germany) - so a control centre for the branch terminus was not only realisable but quick to install. The 4-core cable carries an output to the track at the terminus from the Triang switch ,an output to the Triang selector switch from the Mehano controller, a 16 V AC feed for the turnouts and an additional return lead, just in case! And it works! So now I can dispatch a train to the branch terminus, switch over to the Mehano unit, shuffle round to the terminus, shunt to my heart's content, and then return to control departure from the Piko power unit. Happiness!

 

Edited by rekoboy
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  • 3 weeks later...

I have managed to fit in another couple of half-days on the layout and I am pleased to say that the turnouts and dead sections at the upper terminus are all now wired up and working. My test train for turnouts - especially for curved ones - is an articulated twin-unit with the Roco BR 110. If that train does not derail once during 12 or 13 high-speed propelling and trailing movements then I am satisfied that the turnouts have been correctly laid. This test phase is the result of a good deal of thought after previous disappointments and annoyance! The other test train consists of a mixed goods set which is propelled at speed by a loco.

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I have also added the final backing piece of ply which hides the upper storage sidings and which will form the support for the next lot of scenery which has been started, too. Much of the hillside areas will be afforested in due course - there are bags of trees waiting to be planted! The bridge for the tram and the road is now taking shape - the styrene components are marked out for cutting and the supports are complete. They have been made by halving and lowering Auhagen components.

post-17587-0-52148500-1472584058_thumb.jpgpost-17587-0-67310600-1472584078_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 years later...

I have returned! The arrival of a further granddaughter, my Dad's serious illness and other issues put a brake on my modelling for quite a while - and allowed me a lot less time at the PC. There has been quite a lot of progress on Kirchheim, though, when I look at things. The main developments have been with the upper levels of the layout which now include a reverse loop - the upper terminus id now a through station - but it might just be left as more hidden sidings. We shall see. The tram route is coming on - slowly - and there has been some housing development! The loco stud has increased - the very lovely Piko BR 55 is in service, along with a Hornby-Arnold BR 95 and a further BR 50 from Tillig. There is a lot from behind the scenes to report on in bite-sized chunks - in the meantime here are a number of recent photos of the layout.

Bauplatz 05.10.19.jpg

Blick nach rechts 05.10.19.jpg

Blick nach rechts Nr 2  05.10.19.jpg

BW u Güter 05.10.19.jpg

Gross trifft klein 05.10.19.jpg

Endlich Kopfsteinpflaster.jpg

Oben rechts mit Gedöns.jpg

Feb 2018 1.jpg

Feb 2018 3.jpg

Feb 2018 4.jpg

BR 55 BW Kirchheim.jpg

Hp KW 05.10.19.jpg

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Here are three photos illustrating my building techniques.  Buildings, single or grouped, are built as dioramas and then slotted into the landscape. Making the templates to ensure an exact fit of the modules is a bit of a fiddle! You can also see the phase in the construction of the block of flats when I installed the Viessmann light boxes. Originally, I was planning some electronics which would ensure individual lights being switched on and off - but life is too short. All of buildings employ Viessmann lighting kit in one form or another.

Modulbauweise.jpg

Modulbauweise2.jpg

Viessmann Light Boxes.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Rekoboy has been very, very pleased to receive an early Christmas present in the form of the latest product from Kuehn-Modell, the BR 94 , Prussian T16. I think it is probably the best rtr TT model that I have ever owned - exquisite detail and excellent running. As you can see from the attached photos the driver has been busy explaining the Riggenbach counter-pressure brakes to some interested onlookers before he went on to shunt some wagons full of scrap metal!

BR 94 1.jpg

BR 94 2.jpg

BR 94 3.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

657819224_KWNeueRampeundFundament.jpg.56fc75b5df9b8a40eb06b0960611d05c.jpgActivity of late at Kirchheim has been largely connected with bridge building, but there are other developments, too.. The large skew bridge in the centre of the second level which carries the main road and the tram line was constructed (as you might notice from the photo!) from a set of Peco N girders and quite a lot of plastic sheet and profiles. It leads to what will be a two-road tram shed. I was so pleased with the finished product that I decided to re-do the road overbridge nearest to the tram terminus in the same style, using Peco parts. Again, I was very happy with the result, and now need to paint both and add the cobbled road surface. Then a chance encounter with the junk box at Hünerbein's excellent model shop in Aachen got me the remains of an N-scale  bridge for €2 (!) and the idea for a scenic break and a link to the 'outside world' for the road with the tram line that leads across the layout - now, I thought, I could builds something moderately eyecatching that fills up an otherwise uninteresting corner! The bridge, on the skew as it is, was a fiddle to get right at first, but now it is complete with a tiny piece of finished scenery around the left-hand abutment, I am very satisfied. The empty area above the tunnel to the right of the bridge abutment will shortly be filled with a signal box. All of the bridge abutments across the layout have been covered with Noch's N-scale Strukturfolie, which looks great. I have also chucked out the original module board for the tram terminus and started again, as the track layout for the tram was too complex and built with dodgy old Minitrix turnouts which were unreliable. In connection with the tram terminus I have also added a ramp down to the station platform for the residents of the block of flats, and put in the foundation panel (with a mini-spirit level!!) for the waiting shelter. I have also tidied up the rock face of the cutting below the tram terminus. The first move was to surround the re-jigged board with a plastic border (from a kitchen studio!), then I covered  the plastic and the existing cutting rock face with fine metal gauze, firmly stuck on with strong glue, and then added a plaster finish. Additionally I have kitbashed Auhagen's model railway shop (not a joke, I add, it is a version of one of their shop kits which was for model railway dealers to reward their best customers!) into a little self-service store which has shelves full of beer and Schnapps, a till and some thirsty customers. I am in the process of building a snackbar for the Bratwurst which will go next to the shop at the tram terminus.

Oben Weichen erneuert u eingeschottert.jpg

Strab-u Strassenbrücke.jpg

Strab-u Strassenbrücke 2.jpg

Hochbrücke 2.jpg

Hochbrücke 3.jpg

Schritt 1 Plastikrand.jpg

Schritt 0 Vor dem Gips.jpg

Schritt 2 Gitternetz.jpg

Schritt 3 Gips.jpg

Endhaltestelle mit Verkaufsstelle V2.jpg

Kaufhalle 1.jpg

Kaufhalle 2.jpg

Edited by rekoboy
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  • 4 months later...

I have, sadly, not contributed to this site for quite a while - for that I apologize. However, no posts do not mean no activity! I have in the meantime air-brushed the bridges that were built out of Peco N parts, and I have rejigged and simplified the tram terminus with a simple run-around loop with spring-points - Minitrix N. I am about to add the cobbled surface to the street and maybe make a start at last on erecting the overhead contact wires. Maybe! There has been a degree of afforestation - I have bags of trees still waiting to be planted , but I need to make sure that everything around is finished before the trees are fixed, otherwise I shall be knocking them down as I reach over the layout. As I mentioned before, I like to add buildings and groups of buildings as separate modules which can be safely removed if I need to dismantle the layout - my latest venture is a heavily weathered Auhagen signal box which, I think, expresses very well the general dilapidation and grime of the Reichsbahn in its later years. I can be only to easily diverted from layout construction by bright ideas - I include three of them in this photo series. Firstly, I have always regretted the relative lack of road vehicles for TT - so I am steadily building up a fleet of trucks based around the MK/Klose/ Schirmer chassis and MAN/Roman/RABA cab. You can see one of my creations in the form of a 6x4 RABA timber truck and trailer on one of the shots. RABA is or rather was a Hungarian truck manufacturer which was licensed by MAN and DAF to build heavy trucks largely to their designs in the 1980s - they were a common sight on E German motorways. Another big project was brought about by the overflowing of a junk box (bits left over from kits etc) on my work-table. So I set to work to make 6 loads of scrap for Tillig 2-axle and 4-axle open wagons. The loads were airbrushed and then weathered with a solution of a few drops of black ink in surgical spirit. See photos. The big project, though, was to rebuild my BR 58 2-10-0, which was based on an extended BTTB BR 56 chassis and body/. The chassis worked well enough but I was never satisfied with the body shell - and then by chance I came into possession of a botched rebuild of a BR 56 into a BR 58. The chassis was a mess but the body conversion was slightly shorter and rather better than mine. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought, and improved the body shell conversion and re-motored the chassis with a Chinese motor and flywheel. The motor and flywheel are significantly smaller than the old BTTB motor, so there is room for a crew on the footplate. See photos!

Behandelte Brücken.jpg

Bewaldet.jpg

Raba1.jpg

Schrott 6.jpg

Zweimal beladen.jpg

Strab-End V2.jpg

Stw Annaberg 1.jpg

BR 58 Umbau1.jpg

BR58 plus Personal.jpg

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Nice work there. Yours is the first TT layout I have ever seen.

 

I have a few HO/TT buildings on my layout from Auhagen. I did not know they were dual scale structures when I bought them, but they look decidedly smaller compared with standard HO structures. I keep them in the background for the most part.

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Thank you, Michael! Auhagen's products are great! The firm, based in Marienberg in S Saxony on the Czech-German border started life as a manufacturer of packaging, began making largely cardboard model railway buildings in the 1950s, moved in the 1960s and 70s on to plastics, was nationalized by the E German authorities along with many other small firms in 1972 and was re-named MAMOS (Marienberger Modellspielwaren), then joined up with the other main E German railway accessory company, VERO, Following the fall of the Wall and German re-unification the Auhagen family got the company back from the state and has developed it since then. I am gradually working my way through a store of their kits, some bought in E German days. If you get the chance, get your hands on a copy of Auhagen's excellent catalogue which is huge, and packed with modelling tutorials and tips.

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I have a whole city block of their buildings and I agree, they make a great product. The apartment buildings are all regular size HO and look great.

 

I also have the Oberrittersgrün station that I like very much too.

 

NGc916f.jpg

 

XiQiaV3.jpg

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Auhagen have an HO range (1:87) and a TT range (1:120), they also do a separate "HO/TT" range, roughly 1:100 so it would suit British TT3 (3mm/ft). The HO/TT range is intended as "background" in HO, if you look at their catalogue most of the accessories are to be found in that section as well. They also do several narrow gauge stations in HO, Oberitsgruin is a fair representation of a 750mm gauge NG station of the same name in Saxony and Goyatz is from the metre gauge Spreewaldbahn just south of Berlin.

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I believe one of my dealers here in the States told me the HO structure part numbers begin with '11' and the HO/TT part numbers begin with '12'.

 

He told me this after purchasing the HO/TT structures by mistake, or rather ignorance, and lack of clarity on the web site. Even the dual scale models are listed as HO with no mention of TT on his web site.

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He must be looking at a different site to the Auhagen official site, then, here's the "Products - HO/TT" section link which seems pretty clear to me and even gives the scale. Why can't people just say they made a mistake and leave it there instead of trying to blame others...

 

https://auhagen.de/en/Products/H0TT_2206.html

Edited by Hobby
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Looking at the numbers, HO start 11, HO/TT start 12, TT start 13 and N start 14.

 

From what you've said he needs to change his website pronto to take into account what he's now learned so no-one else get's caught out! ;)

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Yes, he should. The dual scale kits are listed as HO and I did not know that when getting back into the hobby and building my first European railroad.

 

I'd never even heard of TT until this happened.

 

In my photo above, the Rathaus in the front of the layout, and the barely visible corner (red building, grey roof) of the post office in the right background are both dual scale. There are also two more buildings that are hidden by the second level tracks exiting the tunnel that are HO/TT.

Edited by MichaelE
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Michael

You might be interested in the ttnut forum. Unfortunately it went down for a big upgrade yesterday but should be up and running again in about a week. It's hosted by a chap called Alex Hristov in the US and has a pretty much international flavour.

Rod

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More action today! I have fitted the new signal box module into the layout and hooked up the electrics. There is still plenty to be done on that level of the layout, including covering up the join, more greenery, fences and ballasting - but for now I am happy. Next step - the tram route WILL get attention! I aim to get the depot building constructed and solder up some overhead line masts from brass tube.

Stw Ab in Situ 1.jpg

Stw Ab in Situ 2.jpg

Stw Ab in Situ 3.jpg

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