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Abendstern Nebenbahn


vikaschander

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Hi

 

this is my first post on this forum and i would like to introduce all to my Ho scale German model railway - Abendstern Nebenbahn.

One can follow it's progress also on my blog - http://vikaschander.com/category/abendstern-nebenbahn/

Also on the blog other articles dealing with real railways and other model railway tidbits...

 

The layout is housed in a purpose built 1000sq ft room and is basically a point to point around the walls design....

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At one end is the terminus station featuring 4 platfrom faces, 2 siding and a shunt lead alongwith a few warehouses and a goods shed...

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and an Altstadt .....

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as well as a loco shed with a 6 stall roundhouse and a detailed interior .....

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a rural riverside scene section which still needs to be scenicked ....

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and a fiddle yard at the other end....

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more later .....

 

cheers

 

vikas

 

 

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Hello Vikas

 

Superb craftsmanship and total attention to a layout build. From the initial conception to completion you must be a very proud man to have achieved such a masterpiece.

 

By embracing the 'high tech' approach has given the whole layout credibility in particular the use of DMX ( which I am familiar with as I used it whilst DJ'ing! ) and I always though about how else it may be used, now you've confirmed it.

 

Your website is a great inspiration and I hope other RMWeb users take the time to have a look.

 

Truly an inspiration :)

 

Kind regards

 

Grahame

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Hi

 

thanks all for the warm welcome ... appreciate that.

 

Once i had a picture in my mind of what i wanted Abendstern to look and feel like , it was time to go ahead with it's construction. The first order of business was to take care of the benchwork  which i designed on 3rdplanit in conjunction with the trackwork. Since the layout was an around the walls affair , i conjured up what i like to call - a pillars and stringers design - for lack of anything else to call it ...

 

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To complete my plan  i needed about 30 of these pillars. God bless Henry Ford! - i came up with an assembly line production based on the jig below, printed out from the CAD design in 3rd Planit...

 

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dust is a major problem for all model railroaders , and India is probably a zillion times more dusty than most other model railroading countries. With that in mind i ensured i was protected from dust from above ...

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and from the sides and bottom -

 

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wiring can become a mess so i planned for enough raceways and panel attachment points as well

 

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Not one to give up creature comforts easily, i installed throttle & cup holders, ipad mounts etc etc on the fascia ....anything to give a smoother operating experience.

 

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for a more extensive read ( and more pics ) on Abendstern's benchwork - pls also have a look at - http://vikaschander.com/benchwork-fascia-and-valance/

 

cheers

 

vikas

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A German themed layout in India! :O Now I must have seen everything! :swoon:

 

:jester:

 

(fantastic job there, very professional :thankyou:)

 

 

 

I had the great pleasure of meeting this Indian Modeller of German trains on a railfan trip to the remotest part of China in March this year - a rare ray of sunshine during an otherwise pretty bleak week! I look forward to seeing more of his work!

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 - a rare ray of sunshine during an otherwise pretty bleak week! I look forward to seeing more of his work!

Likewise !!! .... always good to meet a fellow model railroader in the middle of the Gobi Desert......

 

Thank god YOU were there and prevented me from knocking the group " bus driver :nono: " on the head .....

 

cheers

 

vikas

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  • 3 weeks later...

Time is the killer ....

 

working on a viaduct scene ,

 

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brick by brick and it takes time ....... so much time :scratchhead: !!!!

 

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and then to weather and decay it ....

 

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or add business establishments...

 

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like an indian restuarant

 

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or a repair shop

 

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or a grocery store

 

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time time time ......tick tock tick tock !!

 

vikas

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hi Paul

 

No , i took a heat gun and aimed it at the side. After it became a little pliable i took assorted poky objects ranging from a toothpick to the back of a pencil and poked and prodded till it seemed alright.

 

i will try and post a pic tomorrow , though i daresay it probably looks better in the pic than in real life -  (same problem with me also )...

 

cheer

 

vikas

 

PS - did u see my message to you in the personal messenger ?

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  • 1 month later...

Hi,

 

Continuing onwards on the layout build thread for my model railway Abendstern Nebenbahn, I just uploaded on my blog a post on how I setup it’s DCC system.

 

One could read more about it here…. http://vikaschander.com/abendstern-dcc-setup/

 

I planned the entire system based around five power districts ….

 

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Each power district has it’s own dedicated panel which holds an 8 amps booster & circuit breakers as well as all the necessary block detectors and stationary decoders .

 

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A PC running Freiwald Software’s TrainController Gold controls the layout

 

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A tortoise point motor is rigged up to animate a Weinert point lantern...

 

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The layout uses NMW signals and LDT signal decoders are used to operate it …

 

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lots of other tidbits of DCC related information on the blog so wander on over and have a look see.

 

cheers

 

vikas

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  • 7 months later...

Hi Forum

 

It's been a while since i last updated my blog and that was because the subject I was dealing with was not the easiest to portray in a logical manner - Computer Control of a model railway.

a video seemed the logical way to go .... Abendstern Computer Control

Abendstern nebenbahn has been setup for operations under the control of a computer software - Train Controller Gold from Freiwald Software …. and one can read about it more vikaschander.com

 

In the blog update I talk about the importance of ensuring stall free operations as key - one way of achieving that is by using capacitors in the locos...

 

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 Speed profiling is extremely important...

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setting up the blocks in a logical manner is key...

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Programming signal logic can be a pain in the....

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and elaborate switchboards can be made to control lighting as well .

 

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so make sure your next magnum opus is computer controlled !

Cheers

Vikas

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