Alan Kettlewell Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 More Babbling about Booking I think I've sussed out the best, cheapest and quickest way back home from Lausanne. We can get local trains from Lausanne (CH) to Bellegarde (FR) changing at Geneva. These don't require reservation. Then jump on the TGV and go via Lyon to Paris - a reservation fee of 20 Euros applies. We're wanting to get all the way home to North Yorkshire in that one day so I think this will be the quickest route without paying a fortune for cross border TGV fares. Phew ..onwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveloco1 Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Hi Alan Inter-rail again !! Only one point to raise mate, don't try to fit a taxi ride in the trip especially from some small out of the way station with no taxi rank! Don't think your missus would really appreciate that, I know I didn't at the time. Funny now though. Enjoy your second European trip mate. We will probably try and do the Glacier and Bernina Expresses early next year but base at Chur. May need some help with rail planning though! Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 Hi Alan Inter-rail again !! Only one point to raise mate, don't try to fit a taxi ride in the trip especially from some small out of the way station with no taxi rank! Don't think your missus would really appreciate that, I know I didn't at the time. Funny now though. Enjoy your second European trip mate. We will probably try and do the Glacier and Bernina Expresses early next year but base at Chur. May need some help with rail planning though! Cheers Dave Ha, yes that was one of the er.. highlights of our trip eh? See you at t'club meeting tomorrow mate. Cheers ... Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 (edited) Bahnhof Plaza Lighting. Some progress today on the station bridge lighting. I had to think through how to power the 12 lights on the bridge and decided it would be easier to bring a spur from the Accessory power bus under the baseboard, up to the bridge. This meant only two wires to feed 'up' rather than feed 24 wires 'down' through the baseboard. So basically I needed to make a mini circuit board on the underside of the bridge to connect all the leads from the various lights to the power source. First though I needed to find a way to work with the bridge upside down without damaging all the models I've glued to it! Luckily I had a big cardboard box exactly the right size to support the thing upside down. So here it upsidedown ready to start work on: As can be seen - a mess of wires, tape and stuff .. To act as a bus bar for tbe Accessory power I cut a strip of brass in half and glued it down: I soldered on the various resistors and return wires from the lights and soldered on the main feeds which will attach to the Accessory bus down under the baseboard. Then I tidied up the wires by encasing them into the H girder along each edge of the bridge. For those wires running down the centre I fashioned a U shape channel from a piece of square tube. Hopefully this will be good enough to prevent any stray wires dangling down and fouling the platforms, trains and other stuff underneath. There will also be catenary running under the bridge. Next ... testing. Fingers crossed. Edited May 14, 2018 by Alan Kettlewell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 14, 2018 Author Share Posted May 14, 2018 (edited) With the bridge the right way up and the bus wires fed down through a hole in the baseboard here it is hooked up to the power: Yep - all working! These window/room lights work well. They are from Veissmann and are supplied with the Kibri 'Kehl' bahnhof kit. They only supply four so really I should have put my hand in my pocket and bought some more to do the building some justice. A bit late now though it's all stuck down: One more... All in all I'm quite pleased with that plus it can all be detached fairly easily and removed for other work to be done - e.g. the catenary. Next I'll add the platforms lamps - but maybe an operating session first ... Cheers... Alan Edited May 14, 2018 by Alan Kettlewell 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Just thought I'd leave this here for those who like steamies... Must get on with some work. Cheers ... Alan 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveloco1 Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Alan You finished gardening then? or having a break, playing operating trains. Good man. Take it you got fed up of waiting for nameplates then! Mind you it looks superb nameplates or not. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 24, 2018 Author Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) Alan You finished gardening then? or having a break, playing operating trains. Good man. Take it you got fed up of waiting for nameplates then! Mind you it looks superb nameplates or not. Dave Yes, having a break from gardening! I've been on to the guy about the number plates - he said they can take up to 6 months but the last time we spoke he said they can take up to 3 months?? Anyway he said they'd been very busy and he'll see what they can do. In the meantime he's going to send out the gold lettering so I can get on and do the tender. Although the loco looks very nice I'm not too happy with the pulling power. Today I'm going to have a look at ways to add some extra weight - if I can find suitable places to stick it. I've spent about £450 on this train so it had better be up to scratch! Cheers … Alan Edited May 24, 2018 by Alan Kettlewell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Hi Alan, Travelling north from Milan, both the Gotthard route via Chiasso and Belinzona, and the Simplon line through Domodossola to Brig are well worth considering, though you need to avoid the new base tunnels that both have, and use the old lines! Hi, Thanks again for your reply, part of which is copied above. On our return trip from Venice, we've planned to stay in Grindelwald up in the mountains above Interlaken, travelling there via the Milan - Domodossola - Brig - Speiz route, which of course goes through the Simplon. In your info above you advise avoiding the new base tunnel so I'm wondering how to do that. Ie which route should I be planning! Grateful for any further advice. Many thanks. Cheers... Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisspeat Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Hi Alan, To avoid the Apltransit Base route you need to use one of the hourly RE services that use the old mountain route. All run Brig to Spiez with some extended to Bern and/or Domodossola either end. These are BLS services operated by Lotschberger EMUs. Look out for the trains that stop in Kandersteg and you,ll be fine. If you want me to send you the timetable please let me know. Kind regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chatons-les-Chausettes Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Hi, Thanks again for your reply, part of which is copied above. On our return trip from Venice, we've planned to stay in Grindelwald up in the mountains above Interlaken, travelling there via the Milan - Domodossola - Brig - Speiz route, which of course goes through the Simplon. In your info above you advise avoiding the new base tunnel so I'm wondering how to do that. Ie which route should I be planning! Grateful for any further advice. Many thanks. Cheers... Alan Hi Alan, I can't really improve on the advice given by Peter, other than to say that any train from Milan which calls at Brig will be fine, and that at Spiez you will change for your connection to Interlaken, which I'm sure you know anyway! Grindelwald is such a superb location, a perfect choice. Have a great trip, and hope to see some photos! Best wishes, David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 Many thanks for the advice chaps, most appreciated. Cheers … Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 That's our anniversary 'Interrail' trip all sorted and booked up then - 12 days, lots of stopovers and lots of trains. I hope my missus enjoys it although for her it's more about the stopovers whereas for me it's more about the train journeys. Hopefully there's a reasonable mix of both with some nice scenery thrown in. Overall it looks like this: 1 - Darlington to Koblenz. 1 x night there in a nice Hotel overlooking the Rhine near to Deutsches Eck. 2 - Head south along the banks of the Rhine then via Basel and on to Lucerne. 2 x nights there, one of which is our anniversary. Might do the lake steamer and go up Mount Pilatus on the Funicular - have to see how the Missus feels about that. 3 - Head south again and we're booked on the Bernina Express from St Moritz to Tirano. 1 x night in Tirano. 4 - Off to Venice. 3 x nights there. 5 - To Grindelwald in Switzerland. We'll be changing at Brig and taking the scenic route over the Lotschberg and then 3 x relaxing nights in Grindelwald. Possibility of doing the trip on the Jungfrau - that might very well be a solo trip! 6 - Booked on the Golden Pass train from Zweisimmen to Montreux then on to Lausanne for the last 2 x nights. 7 - Home via Geneva, then the TGV via Lyon and on to Paris for the Eurostar. Looking forward to it a lot (but not the empty bank account later!) Thanks again to those who have responded to my queries - the info has been most useful in putting this trip together. Cheers … Alan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Looks like fun. A couple more tips: Rigi by boat+rack railway a possible alternative from Luzern. Sit on the right from Tirano to Milan for Dawlish-style views of the lake. Cheaper (well, less expensive) tickets to the Jungfrau/"Top of Europe" if you can get booked on the first train of the day. You do need a reliable weather outlook though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 Looks like fun. A couple more tips: Rigi by boat+rack railway a possible alternative from Luzern. Sit on the right from Tirano to Milan for Dawlish-style views of the lake. Cheaper (well, less expensive) tickets to the Jungfrau/"Top of Europe" if you can get booked on the first train of the day. You do need a reliable weather outlook though. Superb- many thanks. Cheers ... Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) On with the modelling. I decided to start work on one of the two signal cabins for the main station. I've always liked these over the tracks types and bought this Vollmer model, although by the time I've finished with it, it will look nothing like the picture on the box. These walls need something better than the shiny brown colour they come in, so a quick coat of gray... ..followed by a dirty wash using watered down acrylic.. I've decided to model this in abandoned/disused condition. I saw at least one of these in such condition while recently travelling through Germany - just a pity there wasn't a chance to grab a photo or two but not so easy when going past at over 300 kph! Edited June 4, 2018 by Alan Kettlewell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 A day or so later, nearly done.. Looks like it's been disused for a while, plenty of grime around, boarded up windows... Some details added to improve the abandoned effect.. Coming together now. I've aďded signs of vandalism (Good fun this)... Nearly there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 The building is to be 'planted'. Another advantage of using the underlay I use to cover the baseboards is that it's easy now to cut a bit out so I can sink the building into the ground.. I'd stuck it onto this plinth made from waste card, then added some weeds before planting it in the layout.. Job done. In due course I'll blend it in to the surroundings. Cheers ... Alan 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satan's Goldfish Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Very nice. Out of interest; how close do trains pass to the legs by the double slip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Very nice. Out of interest; how close do trains pass to the legs by the double slip? A bit too close really, but this was about the only spot I could locate this. I think it's meant to span four tracks but I couldn't get it across four anywhere although I did consider extending the upper floor out onto girders to lengthen the reach a bit and get it over four. It's not glued down yet so that is still an option. Cheers .., Alan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Hi Alan, That looks bloomin fantastic! Well done and enjoy your trip, carry your bags for you!?! Cheers, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted June 16, 2018 Author Share Posted June 16, 2018 Hi Alan, That looks bloomin fantastic! Well done and enjoy your trip, carry your bags for you!?! Cheers, John. Hi John, Many thanks. You'd be welcome to carry my bags - but you wouldn't want to as I'm sure to have half my wife's stuff in mine! Cheers … Alan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 (edited) A bit too close really, but this was about the only spot I could locate this. I think it's meant to span four tracks but I couldn't get it across four anywhere although I did consider extending the upper floor out onto girders to lengthen the reach a bit and get it over four. It's not glued down yet so that is still an option. Cheers .., Alan Or you could move the end support to the other side of the track so it was at the end of the platform, possibly to under the "look-out" point, so that the end of the box was cantilevered out. If you did, you might want to add some bracing in the angle to the cantilever, not because the model might need it, but because the 1:1 building would probably have had it. I think it would look better, the end support looks too "shoe-horned in" at the moment. You could add a fire escspe ladder on the support strut if it was moved. But I do like it, and the way that you've given it the abandoned look. Edited June 22, 2018 by GoingUnderground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 Or you could move the end support to the other side of the track so it was at the end of the platform, possibly to under the "look-out" point, so that the end of the box was cantilevered out. If you did, you might want to add some bracing in the angle to the cantilever, not because the model might need it, but because the 1:1 building would probably have had it. I think it would look better, the end support looks too "shoe-horned in" at the moment. You could add a fire escspe ladder on the support strut if it was moved. But I do like it, and the way that you've given it the abandoned look. Thanks for your input Keith. I agree and it does jar the eye a bit being too close for comfort to the tracks. Luckily I have some suitable Plastruct lengths including some H beams leftover from a previous job which I'm sure I can use to make this look a bit better. However, all that will have to wait for now as we're off on our Interrail trip on Monday. Breakfast in North Yorkshire, dinner in Koblenz followed the next day by a ride down the banks of the Rhine into Switzerland and on to Lake Lucerne! Looking forward to it. Cheers … Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 (edited) Hi Alan, In case it's any help, here's a before and after quick retouch for you to see what it would look like with the leg moved. I think it works, but you might disagree. Structurally, after the leg was moved it would be carrying much more of the weight. So in engineering terms it would probanly have been built as two legs cross braced. Enjoy your hols, it sounds wonderful. Are you going to the VerkhersMuseum in Luzern? I haven't been there since I was 13 on a school trip, more years ago than I care to mention. I have read that the models from the Diechibergbahn are now at the museum since the Diechiberg outdoor model railway was closed some time ago, its place being taken by a golf course? If you do see the Diechibergbahn models do post some photos of them, it would be great to see them again even though they will be static models. Edited June 22, 2018 by GoingUnderground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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