Die Ercallbahn - Fulfilling a childhood dream.

[Jon Gwinnett]

I do love these updates. One observation, based on nothing more scientific than watching the Plattling webcam, is that nowadays the trip locos seem to do some of the assembly themselves, so your shunter move to position the local for departure could be done by the trip loco itself. I offer this not as criticism but rather in the hope it might enhance play value operations in some way. Alas I cannot offer any solution for the yard lead, although I rather think the added complexity adds it’s own dose of play value.

[ian]

On 17/03/2023 at 04:40, Jon Gwinnett said:

nowadays the trip locos seem to do some of the assembly themselves

That would be the 'Why have lots of different locos when you can just use a Class 66 for everything' philosophy currently in vogue in the UK.

 

Work has continued wiring the Rangierbahnhof along with a couple of alterations to make it better.

The headshunt has been given a sharper curve and extended.

 

By making it go around a sharper curve I can get the headshunt to accomodate the shunter plus 39" of train. This will take all but the longest 7 wagon train in one bite. Reducing the train length to 7 wagons also makes it easier to marshall the wagons - basically pulling each train out in turn and distributing the wagons.

 

This does reduce the maximum number of wagons in play - unless I add another train. So I have added an oil train to the schedule. It will bring in tankers for the Shell depot at Neustadt, the loco fuel tanks at Neustadt and Billshaven, the Esso depot at Billshaven and for the train ferry to take to the island. Taking these wagons off the normal freights actually gives a slight increase in the maximum number of wagons to be moved. What's not to like?

The three-way point has gone and been replaced by two standard turnouts this has resulted in less derailments - which were due to a mix of stock/track interaction, a sticky point blade and operator error.

 

 

The far end of the yard area is being realigned slightly to accomodate a new toy.

 

Dating from the mid-70s this appears to be unused....

 

Modellers in the UK probably haven't seen one in operation, so sit back and enjoy:

 

[Woody C]

Strange how as a child we all wanted something like this so much then as young adults it had to be prototypically exact then as we get older we not only go back to wanting it but we buy it!! Ian, I am exceedingly impressed by this. If it were not for the fact that I have several lifetimes worth of projects but only one life I would be so sorely tempted to build a layout just centered around this to be able to enjoy  playing  operating it! 

[St Enodoc]

7 hours ago, ian said:

Reducing the train length to 7 wagons

Told yer!

[ian]

16 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Told yer!

Alright, clever clogs.

[ian]

First steps with the new toy.

 

 

The track had oxidised during its nearly half a century inside the box so needed a good clean with a track rubber. The lorry, on the other hand, burst into life as soon as power was applied to its pickups.

Edited March 29, 2023 by ian

[ian]

It fits!

 

Looking along the yard to the sidings. The crane and opens are at the scrapyard. Given that this has been seriously constricted in width I may have to change this to a general unloading road with a crane and end-loading dock - the jury's out on that.
Next back is the line to the Guterbahnhof and then the container terminal.

 

From the side. The foamboard panel is where the retaining wall will go.

 

The hidden area underneath Maifeld station. This is the line to the Ford factory. I need to add a bit of baseboard but that is okay - I did fear that it or the Guterbahnhof line would have to go - or that it would need to be routed around the back where the boxes are sitting.

[ian]

The track for the far reaches of the yard is now down and knitting is underway. The Faller crane needed K-track rather than M-track so a couple of K/M converter tracks have been used back to back.

Assembly of the crane will have to wait as I need to build the viaduct sections that will link Maifeld's station with Universität and the helix which will complete the track-laying.

 

The Märklin crane has mysteriously managed to move back about an inch and a half from the track. I'm sure that the baseboard wasn't that wide last time I looked...

 

 

[franciswilliamwebb]

That viaduct looks nice.  Very Manchester😎

[ian]

1 minute ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

That viaduct looks nice.  Very Manchester😎

 

If the wife doesn't complain soon I may extend it around the living room...

[franciswilliamwebb]

1 minute ago, ian said:

 

If the wife doesn't complain soon I may extend it around the living room...

 

It's colour-matched to that cabinet, so I can't honestly see any grounds for displeasure.  Where did you get it?  (the viaduct, not the wife) 😮

[Woody C]

50 minutes ago, ian said:

If the wife doesn't complain soon I may extend it around the living room...

And I thought that you had gone to town on the garage with coving!

Brilliant work on the layout Ian. Yours is one of those layouts which has so much in it that whatever your particular persuasions on model railways people are always going to be fascinated and indeed delighted in seeing it.

Now if 20m of coving will be enough for my garage and they do that nice Laura Ashley paper at the DIY store too.........

[ian]

2 hours ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

here did you get it?  (the viaduct, not the wife) 😮

 

It's a Faller product. It is available as plain filled arches, arches with small lock-ups, arches with large shops and with station platforms (but not as an open-arched viaduct).

[ian]

2 hours ago, Woody C said:

and they do that nice Laura Ashley paper at the DIY store too.........

You are Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and I claim my five pounds!

[Woody C]

7 hours ago, ian said:

You are Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and I claim my five pounds!

Whilst I am sure to be recognised as Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen would be a huge step up in my worldly standing, I have it on good authority from Mrs. W that this would be impossible as even LL-B would be shocked by my fashion choices, colour pallet, aptitude for making the best of clothes look somewhat agricultural in nature (as stated on one of my school reports) and ability to turn MDF into anything but a useful object! I am therefore afraid the £5 is still somewhat elusive and remains unclaimed!

 

For those who remember the program Changing Rooms, you may recall the ever popular Handy Andy who tried to turn his hand from manipulating MDF into the somewhat wild creations sought by the aforementioned Laurence to becoming a pop star, unfortunately, I believe, unsuccessfully. Take yourself back to a time before the internet but recaptured for you by the internet, with this unique Handy Andy cover version of If I had a hammer.....

 

 

[TT-Pete]

On 08/04/2023 at 11:23, ian said:

 

The track for the far reaches of the yard is now down and knitting is underway. The Faller crane needed K-track rather than M-track so a couple of K/M converter tracks have been used back to back.

 

 

The yard is starting to look good! What are you planning for the rear retaining wall backdrop in place of the cardboard sheet?

 

 

[ian]

On 09/04/2023 at 12:35, TT-Pete said:

 

The yard is starting to look good! What are you planning for the rear retaining wall backdrop in place of the cardboard sheet?

 

 

The plan has always been for a viaduct/filled arches style backdrop. As things have evolved over time the corner where the cardboard is has gradually got more and more complicated - the wall will look more like a Swiss cheese than anything else so I am veering towards a basic concrete affair rather than faffing around with brickwork.

[ian]

I'm getting bored with wiring!

 

I think I need to tidy up as well...

[franciswilliamwebb]

Chocolate furniture!  Yum! 😉

[Northroader]

All those cuckoo clocks going off would drive me daft.

[ian]

3 hours ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

Chocolate furniture!  Yum! 😉

1970s style at its finest.

 

 

2 hours ago, Northroader said:

All those cuckoo clocks going off would drive me daft.

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by ian

[ianathompson]

Nice to catch up with this thread again.

I was wondering where it had gone!

Ian T

[ian]

On 03/05/2023 at 18:07, ianathompson said:

Nice to catch up with this thread again.

I was wondering where it had gone!

Ian T

 

Sorry about that! There was no specific German Railways section when the saga started so it went into Overseas. It having finally dawned on me that there was now a specific section for things Germanic I asked for it to be moved - assuming any regular visitors would have it on their followi list. Anyway, good to see yoy have found it again.

 

Progress has been slow but the Rangierbahnhof now has a control panel.

 

The inter-connectedness of all things. The blue shunter at the back was going to be the Billshaven harbour shunter but has now become the (off-scene) Ford works shunter instead.

 

Why? Well, the Faller working container crane needs K-track and the M-track/K-track transition combined with the crane's location doesn't provide a suitable location for an uncoupler. The Faller wagons don't have a Relex delay latch on and so have to be uncoupled where they need to be left, thus a V60 shunter with Telex remote uncoupling is needed to shunt it (middle line on the right). However this needs two beeps of the reverser to change direction which would make shunting the yard rather tedious hence the non-Telex fitted V60 for shunting the yard (front). As the second V60 neeeds more of a purpose in life than just shunting one siding it has also been entrusted with the scrapyard , (off-scene) Güterbahnhof and the odd trip to the harbour. The BR212 is the yard trip loco and is just there for the family portrait.

 

 

Which leaves the Köf that was to trundle back and forth from the Güterbahnhof as the new Billshaven shunter. This is a more modern Märklin loco and has an electronic reverser and motor controller rather than electro-mechanical gubbins and, as a result, doesn't respond to the 1980's 6699 transistorised controller that was installed at the harbour. On the plus side there is no longer a need for a ferry reach wagon as the Köf is a feather-weight 35t and not going to rock the boat.

 

 

Given that the Billshaven panel is just below the fiddle yard one and that is equipped with a controller to which the Köf does respond the wiring has been modified to use that and leave an empty space on the panel where the old controller was.

 

 

Of course now that the Rangierbahnhof is functional the helix needed a control panel for the points and power. In turn this has meant that there is now nowhere for the temporary (but very long-lived) Neustadt panel to perch, so work has had to start on the proper one. The first stage being to disconnect the wires, label them and bundle them for their future connectors - having run out of labelling tape that is now on pause.

 

 

Since the various transformers are now fed from three different sockets spread around the garage, all of which require some form of contortion to reach, sonething needed to be done. Especially as one of them shares a double socket with the freezer and it is only a matter of time before I turn the freezer off by mistake. The answer came in the form of some remote control sockets. These allow me to turn the layout on and off without having to bend, stretch, twist or grovel.

 

However the shelf that holds the helix controllers was too close to its socket to accomodate the remote unit. A cut-out section was required and to do that the controllers had to be disconectted and the shelf removed. Then reinstated.

 

So once the new Neustadt panel is made, wired and installed I might be in a position to move on a bit further. Or not, as the case may be!

 

[Woody C]

2 hours ago, ian said:

Why?

I understood up to that point! Sounds very complex Ian, but I am sure you will make it all work!

[ian]