Die Ercallbahn - Fulfilling a childhood dream.

[ian]

Whilst extracting various urban items from the strategic stores this little coal staithe appeared, just the job for coal deliveries to Schwarzfelsen. These are still handled in the time-honoured method of two blokes wielding shovels.

Whilst at Schwarzfelsen the photographer was taken to task by Herr Rothe who was upset that the photos only ever seem to show alcohol on the loading platform. To set the record straight here are a pallet load of tinned goods and one of apples. These are from a sheet of card kit loads sourced from eBay.

 

Further down the line, just outside Neustadt, a trackside telephone has been installed for the frright train crews to speak to the signal box. These little kits have been produced by Vollmer since the mid-60s (I know - I have a catalogue to prove it) and I have always wanted some - a small consignment of them have just arrived from Germany and will be deployed in key locations.

The tower block that I put behind the Rathaus at Maifeld was not lighting friendly. As built it had an unearthly glow and retro-fitting light blocks was not possible so it has been replaced by something else from the stores.

 

To make things work better the multi-storey car park has gone too (it would have needed quite a bit of rectification work) and will be replaced by a post office that is yet to be built. (Nothing to do with the number of post office vehicles that I have acquired in various job lots...)

And there has been a little bit of carpentry too.

[Woody C]

Much going on Ian and, to use that YouTuber phrase that seems so common now, 'I am super impressed' by that tower crane! That has to be the ultimate scenic a addition to a layout. Just it operate?

[ian]

12 minutes ago, Woody C said:

Much going on Ian and, to use that YouTuber phrase that seems so common now, 'I am super impressed' by that tower crane! That has to be the ultimate scenic a addition to a layout. Just it operate?

This one is a static model. I can claim no credit, it was one of the many items squirreled away in the strategic stores. Mind you - there are a lot less there now!

[ian]

From this:

 

To this:

It is all a mock up at the moment - nothing is fixed in place.

 

In the foreground are the container crane and scrapyard that are included within Maifeld Rangierbahnhof's area.

The main line from Neustadt to Maifeld Bahnhof descends at the back and the line from Maifeld Bahnhof to Bremen runs across on the level.

 

Looking the other way from the yard throat you can see the four sortting sidings and the arrival/departure line on the right.

 

Turning back it is a bit confusing. The right hand line with he shunter is the shunting lead. The next line in is for loco stabling and the third line, by the retaining wall, is the line into the Rangierbahnhof.

 

The ply sheet represents the backscene location. Behind the plain retaining wall you can see part of Universität station which is on the line that comes out of Maifeld Bahnhof.

 

The various levels show up more clearly here. Left and top (which will be concealed) Neustadt - Maifeld, Centre and middle Maifeld - Bremen with Universität station. Right and bottom - Maifeld Rangierbahnhof.

 

Between the middle and lower level there will be a further scenic level of a road with businesses in the upper set of railway arches.

[franciswilliamwebb]

The spiders are big and hairy over your side of town 😉

[Woody C]

12 hours ago, ian said:

From this:

12 hours ago, ian said:

To this:

 

All that done in the two and a half hours between twelve minutes to six and eighteen minutes past eight! Note I have refrained from use of the 24 hour clock to avoid at least some come back!

It is all looking rather grand.though - you must have a good few hundred feet of track laid Ian which probably means it takes two and a half hours for a train to get round it all.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Woody C
Put text in wrong box! Doh!

[ian]

13 hours ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

The spiders are big and hairy over your side of town 😉

That's the webmaster.

[ian]

12 hours ago, Woody C said:

you must have a good few hundred feet of track laid Ian which probably means it takes two and a half hours for a train to get round it all.

It will be interesting to eventually find out. Mind you, given the timetabled operation scheme it will probably be nearer two and a half months...

[ian]

I started to lay the track and then had a thought. This is a rather unusual occurence so I went for a lie down until I felt better.

 

By revising the yard throat I could use any of the sidings as a departure road which would streamline operations. It would even give a couple of useful places where locos could stand.

 

From left to right:
Line in (top), loco standing (between points), arrival line
Loco spur (top), loco standing (between points), run-round/sorting line/arrival line
Headshunt (top), sorting siding
Loco spur (top), sorting sidings.

 

I was quite enamoured with the idea until I realised that by making all five lines at the bottom of the picture potential departure lines they would all need OHLE (and signals). The OHLE would be quite complex over the pointwork and would impede access on those rare occasions when things needed attention (!).

 

So, it is back to the original scheme.

 

As you were, chaps.

Edited February 28, 2023 by ian

[Woody C]

Well if nothing else Ian it looks a most impressive piece of track formation and probably wins this week's "Most points per square foot' award.  I was thinking at the beginning of your post that you were going to have 'Fun with diodes' in making up a matrix for switching that lot! Standing easy awaiting next update!

Edited February 28, 2023 by Woody C

[ian]

48 minutes ago, Woody C said:

Fun with diodes'

Glad to see that you have been keeping up with your bedtime reading.

[Woody C]

1 hour ago, ian said:

Glad to see that you have been keeping up with your bedtime reading.

I was actually reading that chapter last night and whilst possibly too much information it was bed time reading!. A very good read too! Meanwhile Mrs. W was reading yet another murder crime mystery. Should I be worried?

[ian]

50 minutes ago, Woody C said:

Meanwhile Mrs. W was reading yet another murder crime mystery. Should I be worried?

Check for how much she has you insured.

[CameronL]

9 hours ago, ian said:

Check for how much she has you insured.

And does she have a list of your stock with its value on eBay?

[TT-Pete]

12 hours ago, Woody C said:

this week's "Most points per square foot" award. 

 

Ah yes, that sounds just like the sprawling layout trackplan doodles I used to scrawl in the back of exercise books during lessons at school when I wasn't paying attention (most of the time), erm, or in my professional life in the back of notebooks during meetings when I wasn't paying attention (also most of the time) :^)

 

[Woody C]

6 hours ago, CameronL said:

And does she have a list of your stock with its value on eBay?

I do worry that if Mrs. W sells my lifetime collection for what I told her it cost to buy someone is going to get one tremendous bargain!

[Woody C]

6 hours ago, TT-Pete said:

Ah yes, that sounds just like the sprawling layout trackplan doodles I used to scrawl in the back of exercise books during lessons at school when I wasn't paying attention (most of the time), erm, or in my professional life in the back of notebooks during meetings when I wasn't paying attention (also most of the time) :^)

I am so glad I am not the only one to have spent lessons track planning. Sure made double chemistry or maths more bearable! As for work meetings it was more creative then playing BS bingo.!

I am presuming Ian must have had ideas for this long dreamt of layout jotted in some school exercise book somewhere?

[ian]

5 hours ago, Woody C said:

I am presuming Ian must have had ideas for this long dreamt of layout jotted in some school exercise book somewhere?

Sadly any unauthorised use of school exercise books was a ritual humiliation offence.

 

One day I had filled my German exercise book whilst doing my homework so removed the centre pages from my French exercise book, stapled them to the back cover of the German one and completed the work. The German master was happy. The French master went ballistic and hauled me out in front of the class for a dressing down.

 

Doodling track plans? In your dreams buddy.

Edited March 1, 2023 by ian

[TT-Pete]

4 hours ago, Woody C said:

I do worry that if Mrs. W sells my lifetime collection for what I told her it cost to buy someone is going to get one tremendous bargain!

 

"How much did that cost then?" She says, outside a train show venue eyeing a box that I am surreptitiously and unsuccessfully attempting to slide under the car seat without her noticing. "Ooooh, about a tenner..."

[ian]

At the moment it is colder in the garage than in the fridge!

 

I did play with the more complicated track layout but had trouble finding two three-way points that would play nicely together so, in the interests of reliability ended up with the simple scheme.

 

So now I am mostly under the board again. Still, the L-girder makes a useful cable duct.

[franciswilliamwebb]

26 minutes ago, ian said:

At the moment it is colder in the garage than in the fridge!

Is there a separate thread for the layout in the fridge? 🤭

[DenysW]

On 16/02/2023 at 20:52, ian said:

the time-honoured method of two blokes wielding shovels

In the 1980s this was the London Borough of Waltham Forest's strategy for applying winter salt to the main drag in Walthamstow - the blokes in question being on the back of a slowly moving truck.

[ian]

The Rangierbahnhof is still a work in progress but a little bit of testing was in order. A freight is arriving on the left. The local trip freight loco is on the loco spur and the shunter is on the yard lead.

 

During the early morning three freights arrive and depart, The yard contains two that have arrived and one that will depart behind the electric loco.

 

The loco uncouples from the incoming train. The line continues on to a small Ford factory. It doesn't make cars, only sub-assemblies.

 

Ths shunter moves the incoming wagons.

 

They end up on the only free road.

 

Then it collects the outbound train.

 

Meanwhile the electric loco shuffles back up to the yard throat.

 

I need to look at the yard lead as it isn't long enough...

 

This wagon couldn't fit so will need to be moved over on its own.

 

Extra movements take extra time.

 

The electric loco backs down and is ready to depart.

 

The stumpy lead and the limited length of the marshalling roads mean that most of the wagons get shunted onto the arrival road so that the sorting can be done in bite sized chunks of six or so wagons at a time.

 

An after much to-ing and fro-ing the wagons are all sorted. Left to right: local (Ford factory, Maifeld Guterbahnhof and the two sidings at the far end of the yard, next - Billshaven Harbour and the train ferry, the - Neustadt and the branch, finally - Klinkerhoffen (Herr Rudyards). For future shunts Klinkerhoffen needs to be on the left and local on the right.

 

The shunter has moved the Neustadt train to the departure line and now the trip loco moves over to it.

 

Then the shunter trips the first batch of wagons over to Billshaven.

 

On its return it positions the Ford traffic ready for the works shunter to collect.

 

The Klinkerhoffen wagons are now on the departure road awaiting the trip loco and the sunter turns its attention to the local traffic.

 

The container crane and scrapyard each get a wagon and the remaining two vans are propelled to the Guterbahnhof.

 

Meanwhile the trip loco returns and collects the wagons for Klinkerhoffen.

 

On its return from the Guterbahnhof the shunter picks up the final cut of wagons for the ferry at Billshaven.

From this point wagons will start arriving and being sorted for the night's outbound trains.

[St Enodoc]

47 minutes ago, ian said:

I need to look at the yard lead as it isn't long enough...

 

47 minutes ago, ian said:

This wagon couldn't fit so will need to be moved over on its own.

 

Possibly run the trains with one fewer wagon?

[ian]

1 minute ago, St Enodoc said:

Possibly run the trains with one fewer wagon?

 

If only it was that simple.

 

Reducing from a maximum length of 8 to 7 reduces by 3 the wagons in play during the day from a maximum of 24 to 21 which is okay but not ideal. More importantly the wagons do vary in length. 8 oil tankers will fit, 8 container flats or long vans won't.

 

I think I might be able to squeeze a few more inches out of the lead by curving the end a bit more sharply.