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"The Climb", Swiss RhB Terminus


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Good morning one and all,

 

I've spent the best part of these early hours fueling my desire for all things to do with the Rhätische Bahn.

 

In the quest for a layout to fit in a limited space, I've come up with the plan attached below. Red denotes the visible sections, blue being the hidden sections. The line is quite simply a fiddleyard-to-terminus arrangement which winds it's way up from bottom to top. Gradients have been omitted because I'm a bit rusty at this hour, but I'm sure they could easily be arranged and sorted. With the station being at a higher level and the fiddleyards below everything else, the layout could even be pushed in to a corner and still operated if space is limited. It would be lovely for an exhibition too. I think a simple split down the middle to give you a pair of 36"x36" boards would be manageable.

 

Anyway, it's a brief description of this little idea that's bouncing in my head. Any comments, criticism and/or thoughts for improvements would be most welcomed.

 

All the best,

Sam. 

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  • RMweb Gold

Assuming the station building is on the small loop side that will work ok as a small RhB terminus but be careful what you do with the siding on the opposite side as that's not so typical so would need a specific purpose to justify it there. Usual arrangement would be to have it off the end of the loop like the two on the 'lower' loop as the small shunting tractors only have handbrakes and wouldn't be allowed to shunt out onto the gradient, they have to remain on the flat. A shorter siding with the point moved to the right might be better and have it serving a timber loading area?   ;)

The gradient is steep but should just work with the length of trains possible. Splitting the layout down the middle though will give a very difficult join on the blue hidden track as it crosses at a very shallow angle so alignment is going to be critical. You will also need some form of skate to push the pantograph right down to fit it under the station trackbed so that will be a bit of a challenge too. I used a piece of rail bent to the curve in the tunnel on Rhatia supported on 'croquet hoops' of brass wire and you could do something similar with the ends either side of the join overhanging slightly with ramps to transfer the pantograph.

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Hi Paul,

 

Thanks for the input and advice. It's much appreciated. :)

I've tweaked the plan and lost the "upper" siding completely and it just flows a little better. With regards to the gradients, I think I'm looking to stick with nothing more then either a pair of ABe4/
4 Railcars and a wagon or a Ge4/4 II with a pair of coaches and a ABt/BDt driving car. That would be the maximum I think. Any issues there? 


I keep coming back to one plan however, Paul. Your 3' x 3' Concept. I've laid it out again and I keep falling for it. It's a consideration, that's for sure..

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  • RMweb Gold

Your plans allow more scenery in front of the station as the station isn't pushed to the edge, the 3x3 being a real minimum space solution. Is height an issue? You could actually continue the gradient down, as the last plan, so it's scenic run on the second side too and continue the line round another complete circuit into the Fy in the same place but 6 inches lower.

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  • RMweb Gold

Another option is to spilt the board so the FY is on a 1x6 and can be spaced out as you build extra boards which could be used at a show. Add a 1x4 or 6 straight to create an operating well, even temporary boards that allow you to straighten it out if that suits home better so you can expand it for running sessions but still have the core layout set up all the time.

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I actually overlooked that thought DM, Brusio being an example, of course. Would there be any issues with turnouts on the slope with regards to point motors etc.?

Whilst I think about it Paul, which font did you use for the "Rhatia" text on the layouts fascia? It looks like Arial Bold, but I'm not sure.

 

Sam.

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  • RMweb Gold

The font on my signs was Gil sans. Yes stations can be on a gradient but they tend to be passing places where no shunting as such takes place unlike a terminus. The old style small four wheel Tm 2/2 with the flat platform was really a glorified motor trolley and only equipped with a handbrake and my info came from a RhB driver that they weren't allowed outside Stn limits due to insufficient brake force on a gradient. So if you may get a Tm then a flat station is more likely although the station is a bit small to justify one ;)

As DM I prefer the out and back in your third post with either splitting the boards, so extra boards can be added, or the other so it leaves the Stn curves round then runs almost parallel before disappearing as it curves round underneath to a hidden FY either under the station or continuing right round to be under the parallel straight.

At the end of the day though if you'd prefer the ability to run round and just watch trains at times the that's your decision and can still look very RhB.

Another thought would be splitting the layout down the middle, or at an angle and modelling two stations, one either side to have a mini railway rather than ending at a FY. Maybe even model one as a through station with a stub that could lead to a future extension?

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