A Regeleinsbahn (a first H0m Test Circuit)

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Swiss Model Railways are new to me, so I thought it might be helpful to start a single thread where I can ask questions now I've acquired a few bits and pieces.  I hope that's OK.  I'm not an experienced modeller, despite having a life-long interest in model railways (and being in my 50s).  Over the past couple of years I have been a bit more active, and my first steps in Narrow Gauge modelling have been recorded here in the Narrow Gauge Forum.

 

Prior to that I'd had several attempts at getting started with a layout, looking first at UK OO and then American HO (here).  American model railroading is another long-standing interest, and one I plan to pick up again in due course.  Without a permanent space for a layout, changing family needs meant my ideas kept needing to be reset, and this was a primary driver behind my move into Narrow Gauge.  Last summer I bought a green Bemo RhB Ge 4/4i in H0e (see here) and I was very impressed.  It didn't quite fit my thinking at the time so I traded it on.  However, it awakened an interest in Swiss metre gauge railways, which I'd like to pursue with this project.

 

The Furka-Oberalp Tunnel motors have long been a favourite locomotive of mine, and with some time off before Christmas (following a planned operation) I've been finding out more here.  I must admit I've become rather fascinated by the Panorama Coaches of the Glacier Express, and this has been the subject of another enquiry on the Swiss Railways Forum, here.  Bringing them together requires a bit of flexibility, hence my thread title.

 

At this stage I'm only looking to build a simple test circuit, using some baseboards I was already putting together for an H0e layout and a few bits of track (my supplier had some unused second hand points, but only RH ones).  When I built a simple scenic test track for H0e / HOn30 last year I discovered I didn't much enjoy track laying, but quite liked watching a train run some laps, so my ambitions at this stage are strictly limited.  It will take me a bit of time to get going, and I also belong to the NGRM Online Forum, but I'm sure there'll be things to ask here before too long.  My target for progress up to track and wiring is Aug 2022.

 

Baseboards - refurbished from an H0e layout idea:

 

 

 

(photo also appeared in my Narrow Gauge thread).

 

Flat tabletop baseboards aren’t really the best choice for Swiss modelling, but if this test circuit works out I also have four unfinished open grid boards to use later as well:

 

These would need resurfacing, as they were built for 228mm (9”) radius H0e Peco Setrack.

Layout Plan

 

As explained in the text, this is very much a simple test circuit idea to fit the available space (and points).  There’s not room to make the station siding into a loop, which it would be.

 

 

 

The left hand siding could serve as scenic Staging.

 

My first task is to finish the baseboards - it’s a house rule they should be painted.  As that’s an outside activity here it will take some time.  When finished, the boards can rest on three IKEA tables in our attic bedroom when it is not in use.  But that’s all for now.  Thanks, Keith. 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
(add photos and plan)

[Salmotrutta]

Welcome to the wonderful world of HOm! Although I use PECO for my main layout I have a small show layout that uses Tillig TT set track  https://www.tillig.com/Bettungsgleissysteme.html

 

You have to remove the capacitors under the track if you use DCC (there are some on some straights) but it does have the advantage of being able to play about with different layouts and also the curves are fixed radius so you don't have to bend up flexitrack.

 

Just a thought!

[JimFin]

Looks like an interesting starting point - nice to have a project like that to be working on. Is it Peco track you will be using? If so, maybe a bit more of a sweeping "s"  curve on the back section may enhance the visuals.

[cornish trains jez]

Looks great and a nice plan with a few timelines to achieve wiring and track laying etc. It's good to have a focus like that to get bits done. Very much looking forward to seeing this progress and will follow with interest.

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

On 05/01/2022 at 09:40, JimFin said:

Looks like an interesting starting point - nice to have a project like that to be working on. Is it Peco track you will be using? If so, maybe a bit more of a sweeping "s"  curve on the back section may enhance the visuals.

Thanks to @Salmotrutta, @JimFin and @cornish trains jez for the encouragement - it is appreciated.  I like the suggestion for a gentle s-curve along the back.  A quick look on Anyrail and this still keeps the radius along the back to around 650mm:

 

 

(I would lay it as one piece - it’s just quicker to draw with a centre control point).

 

As an aside, when I made my first test track in H0e last year I managed to get some transitions at the end of the curves.  I fashioned a simple MDF template to fit inside the minimum radius I’d got at the ends and then simply allowed the ends and centre of the track to ease slightly.  It did take the side tracks a bit close to the edges, but the effect seemed to work:

 

 

 

 

(A couple of these photos have been shared previously on RMweb)

Edited November 8, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Keith Addenbrooke]

As the kids would say, a “shout out” to 009 Society Members’ Sales for this trio of wagons, all in excellent condition (the cement wagon has the detailing already fitted).  

 

 

Of course, for a budget operator like myself to be able to enjoy good quality second hand models such as these also relies on there being a healthy first-hand, full price market too, which I should acknowledge.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Over the past few weeks I’ve been putting together the rolling stock I’d like to have to make this project viable.  I’m almost there now so can share some updates.  Beginning a new project over a year end meant I was able to fund initial purchases from last year’s (notional) modelling budget, with some more from the start of this year’s.  Not planned, but helpful 😀.

 

I’m flexing history and geology to allow the FO Ge 4/4’’’ Tunnel Motors to be allocated to Services on my short stretch of the FO, which I’m imagining is set somewhere in the decade between the introduction of Panorama Coaches in 1993 and the formation of the MGB ten years later.  My locomotive requirements are therefore quite straightforward:

 

 

Although I like the design style of the RhB Ge series (all types), the HGe 4/4’’ is the right choice for this project and I’m very happy with it (in the past I’ve tended to buy individual items I like the look of rather than ones that fit together to make a layout). I do wonder if the design of the HGe 4/4’’ pays homage to the HGe 4/4’ balcony electrics which had a door at the front next to a single large window?  I was particularly impressed to see the attention to detail on the rack equipment when I first saw it close up:

 

 

There’s also a wealth of detailing to add - if anyone has not bought a Bemo locomotive before, the bag of bits in this photo is just for the HGe 4/4’’ in the centre:

 

 

I wouldn’t normally show a photo of a box, but I felt the original shop label on the box for #81 was worth sharing,  seeing as I bought it second hand in the UK - it’s clearly well-travelled.  It’s an older model, but it’s run really well on test:

 

 

As for trains, I’ve not managed to find out much about freight traffic on the FO, so have bought just a few generic wagons (plus one of the obligatory RhB UCE cement wagons):

 

 

I can add a bit of colour with loads on the lowside wagons.  There’s also some modelling to do adding detail here too - I’ve never seen r-t-r wagons with so much to add 😀 - looks like there’s plenty of fun awaiting me (I presume I use superglue?).

 

I’ll do a separate post for my Glacier Express, but I’ve also assembled a train of EW stock.  These are all budget models, so include some compromises:

 

 

The two FO coaches in the rear offer second class accommodation.  They’re actually in the older carmine livery which would really have been obsolete, added to which they have the same running number (I did know this, but can’t see it at normal viewing distance).  One of the things I learned trying out H0e last year was that I do like longer trains, something which is possible with Narrow Gauge modelling - the five passenger cars will still fit on a yard of track (just!):

 

 

Progress on the baseboards is waiting for an upturn in the weather.  I realise the photos in this post will just be pictures of familiar Bemo rolling stock to many, but it’s the first time I’ve owned any and the product quality really is quite something.  

 

When I was first modelling in UK N-Gauge in the late 1970s, limited product ranges meant I became more aware of the wider choices available in European outline.  It always looked impressive (with prices to match), but now I’m finally buying it I do rather feel like a kid taking his birthday money into a sweet shop, so I hope it’s Ok to share the enjoyment I’m already getting.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[grow45]

19 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 

 

 

 

I wouldn’t normally show a photo of a box, but I felt the original shop label on the box for #81 was worth sharing,  seeing as I bought it second hand in the UK - it’s clearly well-travelled.  It’s an older model, but it’s run really well on test:

 

 

 

Bought my first Swiss HOm  model from Hochstrasser in Lucerne in 1982.  Hard to realise that was forty years ago.

[JimFin]

37 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

(I presume I use superglue?):

Super selection there!

 

Be wary of superglue, I have found it can leave a white "bloom" round the edge which can detract, I have found Deluxe Materials Glue N Glaze does a very good job with less risk. 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Panorama coaches complete my line up.  When I was weighing up staying in HO (the Bemo / H0m route) or giving in to the temptations of Kato RhB Nm9, my costings and measurements assumed I’d run ‘shortie’ 3-coach trains in HO…

 

…then I saw a film of 1995 Glacier Express trains on the FO with just four 1st Class-only Panorama coaches and an HGe 4/4’’ (Restaurant Cars were shunted into and out of the trains, but didn’t make the whole trip).  After I’d bought three differently numbered coaches, my retailer then helpfully mentioned they had a fourth available, which sealed it.  While it’d be nice to add a Restaurant Car, these four just fit on a yard of track, which is really the maximum for my space:

 

 

One coach needs figures adding as the other three came with them.  Those three also have lights, and while lighting in one seems weaker than in the other two, that helps hides the fact it has the same set of people as one of the others!

 

On 21/01/2022 at 22:15, JimFin said:

Super selection there!

 

Be wary of superglue, I have found it can leave a white "bloom" round the edge which can detract, I have found Deluxe Materials Glue N Glaze does a very good job with less risk. 

 

@JimFin’s advice on fixing details will be useful here too, as the coaches also come with a lot of detail to add:

 

 

A good suggestion I’ve had is to only attach the hoses to alternate sides of the ends, so they don’t catch on tighter curves.  

 

The detail packs include small clear Perspex squares to cover the “Glacier Express” signs shown in this close-up:

 

 

I plan to run mine as a Glacier Express, but it gives the option of covering the signs for the regular use these coaches would also see.  At normal viewing distance, I can’t read the coach side detail, especially the “Pininfarina” styled writing.

 

I’ve noted elsewhere that taking photos isn’t very easy in the space I have - the tables are in front of the window (which faces North), and other stuff in the room is not mine to show.  For these pictures however, the white IKEA tables my baseboards will sit on have given me a suitable background, so I hope it’s OK to share a couple of spurious full shots I took to finish.  I think this will be all on this project until the weather improves enough for me to go outside and finish the baseboards.

 

 

 

 

Take care and stay safe, and thankyou for the advice and encouragement I’ve had already, Keith.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Samedan]

Good to see a growing collection of HOm, I’m beginning to worry that it’s very gradually being edged out by NM9 (not that there’s anything wrong with it, so don’t anyone jump on me please). I think HOm is a lovely scale at which fine detail can be incorporated, whilst still capable of being done convincingly in a small space or of filling a larger space if it’s available, as you’ve demonstrated. 
I’ve been collecting Bemo since the 1990s and still haven’t got round to building even a test track! … But, but, but, I’ve recommenced work on baseboards for a mixed standard/metre gauge HO layout in the garage, so hopefully something will emerge if I can maintain momentum. I think I’ve suffered from trying to be ambitious from the start. I should’ve focused on a modest test track like yourself.

By the way, you’ve rather coyly referred to “your retailer” a few times. Are you going to share who it is, or do you want to keep the source of supply to yourself? (I also live in the North West). 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

1 hour ago, Samedan said:

Good to see a growing collection of HOm, I’m beginning to worry that it’s very gradually being edged out by NM9 (not that there’s anything wrong with it, so don’t anyone jump on me please). I think HOm is a lovely scale at which fine detail can be incorporated, whilst still capable of being done convincingly in a small space or of filling a larger space if it’s available, as you’ve demonstrated. 
I’ve been collecting Bemo since the 1990s and still haven’t got round to building even a test track! … But, but, but, I’ve recommenced work on baseboards for a mixed standard/metre gauge HO layout in the garage, so hopefully something will emerge if I can maintain momentum. I think I’ve suffered from trying to be ambitious from the start. I should’ve focused on a modest test track like yourself.

By the way, you’ve rather coyly referred to “your retailer” a few times. Are you going to share who it is, or do you want to keep the source of supply to yourself? (I also live in the North West). 

Hi Samedan, thanks for the encouragement.  Nearly all the stock has come from Contikits, who have been excellent (usual disclaimer).  They were suggested when I was switching to Narrow Gauge a year ago and I’d be happy to pass on the recommendation (I’ve mentioned them in a parallel post on the NGRM Online Forum).  Well worth checking out their website for quality second-hand stock.  I’ve also bought and sold via the 009 Society Members’ Sales Shop - they trade in H0e and H0m as well as 009 though you do have to be a member.  The Society has some thriving groups in the North-West too.

 

For new Bemo stock, Arcadia Models are a north-west retailer with a good reputation, though I’ve not bought any of my H0m from them (I bought an H0e locomotive from them last year - again, excellent service).

 

I switched to Narrow Gauge from Standard Gauge OO / HO for space reasons and so far I’ve found the space saving with H0e / HOn30 and now H0m to be significant - enough to make projects viable in the space I have.  I am tempted by Nm9 (this has been well documented elsewhere) but like yourself I find HO to be a nice scale for modelling, for the reasons you give.  

[Keith Addenbrooke]

 

Until the weather changes, I won’t be able to progress the project (I’ve been building an American HO kit instead), but I spotted this during a random search for information on FO stations: second-hand in excellent condition from Hay-on-Wye Booksellers.  It was self-published by author Leslie Heath in 1996, and includes a short piece on modelling the FO by Peter Marriott alongside a good selection of black and white photos.

 

The publication date is spot on for my c.1995 thinking, particularly with regards to station buildings.  A number have been redeveloped since, and while there is video footage online dating back to the 1990s it mainly focuses on the trains.  The door to our attic bedroom (where I can set up my small portable layout) brings me into the room at the front of the layout, so I’m trying to visualise a scene to greet me as I come up the attic stairs: hence my interest in station buildings.  I was aware that several smaller FO stations do have something of an ‘in-house style’ - combination depots with a two-storey station house and adjoining goods shed in a rendered finish (white or light grey?).  They wouldn’t look out of place on a French metre-gauge line, most likely as the company who started the line were French.  Others stations seem less standardised.

 

I’ve noted elsewhere that my modelling time has quite dramatically reduced in recent weeks, as life has continued to get busier around me, so I may end up opting for a kit that looks close enough to an FO station (to me at least), or if I go for something else that just happens to catch my eye, then I’ll know it’s my choice 😀.

 

As for other buildings, I’ve been told the FO didn’t carry much freight - certainly not compared to the RhB, so there’ll be less to go on.  The one things that has surprised me is seeing pictures of Swiss buildings with flat roofs, which I didn’t expect. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Samedan]

I’m a massive fan of Arcadia Models. I’ve been buying from Tim for over 20 years! He’s very good with posting things out - very well packaged and prompt etc - and will try to order things in if he can get them. The shop is an Aladdin’s cave, and you get a nice cup of tea if you’re a serious browser. 
l’ve also bought from Contikits. I just wish they’d give a bit more info on the models though. And Peter Brett is still selling Bemo through Winco, despite supposedly being retired. Sadly, we lost Waltons in Altrincham a while back, a former stalwart of the Continental modelling scene. 
I’ll be at the Swiss Railways Society AGM in Crewe in April. There’ll be some new and second hand traders there I’m sure. 

[Samedan]

On 25/02/2022 at 08:35, Keith Addenbrooke said:

so I may end up opting for a kit that looks close enough to an FO station (to me at least), or if I go for something else that just happens to catch my eye, then I’ll know it’s my choice .

I presume you’ve looked at some of the smaller. European manufacturers of laser cut Swiss station kits? Like Laser-creation. Pricey though, and supply from within the EU will add to the cost. 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

9 hours ago, Samedan said:

I’m a massive fan of Arcadia Models. I’ve been buying from Tim for over 20 years! He’s very good with posting things out - very well packaged and prompt etc - and will try to order things in if he can get them. The shop is an Aladdin’s cave, and you get a nice cup of tea if you’re a serious browser. 
l’ve also bought from Contikits. I just wish they’d give a bit more info on the models though. And Peter Brett is still selling Bemo through Winco, despite supposedly being retired. Sadly, we lost Waltons in Altrincham a while back, a former stalwart of the Continental modelling scene. 
I’ll be at the Swiss Railways Society AGM in Crewe in April. There’ll be some new and second hand traders there I’m sure. 

 

9 hours ago, Samedan said:

I presume you’ve looked at some of the smaller. European manufacturers of laser cut Swiss station kits? Like Laser-creation. Pricey though, and supply from within the EU will add to the cost. 

Thank you - all good pointers and suggestions.  I used to live just down the road from Altrincham and regularly popped into Waltons - a fantastic model shop.  As I understand it they are still trading but with reduced hours (so check before travelling, as they say).  I’d rate both Arcadia and Contikits very highly, as mentioned in our Feb posts above.

 

As for importing kits - some very realistic offerings, but price and postage are rather outside my budget.  I ought to scratchbuild, but whether I could make something that would do justice to Bemo Rolling Stock would be a good question (alongside the time issue).  I’m not in a rush, but useful to share good places to look, thank you.  Keith.

Edited March 1, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Keith Addenbrooke]

As always on RMweb, I’ve been greatly encouraged by the comments and advice on this project - and on Swiss Metre-Gauge railways more widely, thank you to all: I’ve had the RhB Livestream as an open tab on my iPad for the last couple of months!

 

I opened the thread by acknowledging family needs often mean my layout plans change.  I didn’t expect it to happen again, however this summer we’re aiming to convert the attic room where I have my modelling space from a single to a double room.  The second of our adult children is getting married, and with two married daughters it’ll be nice to have a proper space for them when they come to visit (neither lives locally).  It’s obviously good family news. 

 

But as I have a bit less space than I’d expected, this layout project becomes unviable: as a minimum space H0m stepping-stone / test track to get me started I was squeezing a quart into a pint pot without any real margin for error.  While I might just about be able to fit this layout into the room on the plans still, it couldn’t be a stepping stone to anything else, and there’d be no room for modelling alongside the layout or for my HOn30 / H0e activities.

 

As HOn30 / H0e is a bit more compact, I’m thinking along those lines again (I already have a new project in mind).  I’ll only need space for one small layout so this project won’t be progressing further,  I’ve sold my H0m collection and replenished my funds.  It hadn’t cost nearly as much as it probably looks from the photos, thanks to the second hand market for Bemo H0m, the way it all lasts, and the careful way owners look after it all.  Members of this Forum will be familiar with this of course - I’ve felt more like a custodian than an owner of the rolling stock!  Although I only had it a few months, it’s been educational and fun, I have a lot of photos to keep, and I’ll continue to be fascinated by Swiss railways and model railways - it’s not like I’m going anywhere 😀.  
 

Thanks again for all the help with this project idea, Keith. 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Samedan]

Sorry to hear you’ve had to abandon the HOm FO project - though for good family reasons. Maybe we’ll see you back in the “community” in the future? 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

23 minutes ago, Samedan said:

Sorry to hear you’ve had to abandon the HOm FO project - though for good family reasons. Maybe we’ll see you back in the “community” in the future? 

Thank you - it was not an easy decision, even if it seemed quick!  The ‘bug’ has definitely bitten, and I’m sure I’ll continue to enjoy learning more about Swiss Metre-Gauge Railways and seeing how the projects shared here in this Forum develop, even if my own modelling is taking a different direction for now at least.

 

My next project is back in H0e / HOn30, but using 9mm gauge track does still leave me open to temptation from Kato’s RhB Nm9 next time I see it on sale…

 

Keith.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

A PS: The Regeleinsbahn - what happened next?  As I mentioned in my previous post, the decision I took back in April to stop work on plans for a small H0m FO / Glacier Express test layout was not an easy one, even though it was one I took quite quickly.  Given the suddenness of my exit, and the encouragement I’d had when getting started, I wanted to share what happened next.  I hope that’s OK:

 

Having sold my H0m, I had a very lucky break, as the 009 Society Members’ Sales Shop just happened to have some extremely nice Austrian H0e on sale at very good prices.  So instead of this, which needs a minimum radius of 330mm…

 

 

I’m running this on my test circuit layout, which uses a 228mm (9”) minimum radius.

 

 

The locomotive is a Ferro-Train 2095, which is a very impressive beast - it hauls these coaches almost as if they aren’t there (admittedly the Roco coaches are also excellent, and very free running).  As models, these are basically as good as Bemo (hence the relevance for this post).  

 

In prototype terms, the livery of the SLB Krimmler composite coach from the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn that is bringing up the rear of the train is a bit too new, but it’s a lovely runner (also from Ferro-Train) and came with passengers fitted. 

 

This was all such good value that I was able to get some other H0e and a bit of HOn30, and still had some budget left.  I was tempted to look at Swiss H0m again, perhaps for a small diorama, but then Peco announced the launch of TT:120 at the start of last month, using 12mm gauge track for true-to-scale Standard Gauge lines in common with both Continental and US TT.

 

Having felt very comfortable with the size and feel of 12mm gauge models in H0m, I felt confident enough to take the plunge, and while it’ll be a while before we see UK outline product in the shops, the space saving when it comes to scenery and lineside features from the smaller scale is going to be enough for it to become viable for me to try.  TT is currently available in European outline, so there’s no need to wait:

 

 

So while the Br 101 is DBAG rather than Swiss (sorry), I have another chance at overhead electrics on 12mm gauge track for my next project, so that’s what I’m trying (the second point of relevance for this post).  Have a good weekend, Keith.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke