Patrick SPF

I have gone into the local warhammer shop with a photo when looking for something and they usually can find something suitable (complete with a strange name..)

The final track plan for the scenic section of the layout: The basic construction is 9mm plywood sides with a 6mm top with cork floor tiles laid as a track bed, the width varies from the track depending on where buildings were originally planned, the two curved boards use Woodland Scenics underlay which is a lot less work to profile. Track is code 100 as some of my older stock (Lima and East German Piko) have very deep flanges which do not like anything finer, the bridge is Walthers code 83 bridge track and they bump along the sleepers.. Having said that it is now possible to get RP25 profile wheels for these vehicles in the UK (Peters Spares sold me some recently) so if I was to build the layout again I would change out the wheels on the older stock. The only small working turntable I could find at the time is the old Fleischmann one which is about correct as the original one was 12m. Early in construction with track laid and a couple of Humbrol - Euromod buildings and vehicles placed on the layout to see if it all looked OK.

Looking the other way towards the original station throat: The narrow-gauge industrial line is on the left, originally beyond the end of the station was a three road 1m long traverser. During test running it quickly became clear that the traverser was too short and also more tracks were needed as the timetable ended up with the following trains being required: 1. Local Railsbus 2. Express passenger 3. Mixed Goods 4. 2 other goods trains (giving more variety of stock) 5. Later with the purchase of a HNJ Verkstad Snabbmotorvagn it was added to the sequence I had a suitable if too long fiddle yard that was built for Strömstad (My 1960's layout) some year earlier so an extra pair of boards were constructed to add the requisite ninety degree curve and give a longer headshunt for the factory. The curved boards in the process of construction

I did manage to get a trip to the Banverket museum in Ängelholm owned by the swedish version of Railtrack which skews some of the exhibits. Da 903 painted as the well known Marklin model in the export green scheme A flanger SJ 0-4-4T Class W2 No 1229, the loco has a strain gauge and rope attached to the front buffers so you can try an giving it a pull.. A pantograph on a mock H type loco cab Finally a trackside train heating post.

More photos of the yards a Malmö taken from the train as it headed north, unfortunately once I left Malmö the run up Västkustbanan had a low and bright sun so no more photos could be taken. A Pågatåg - Skåne regional EMU of class X51 A rake of diesels of classes Z70 (former Z65) and Td (former T44) and a V5 A rake of Co-op container wagons Eailpool and TX Logistik class 185 electrics

This is in some ways an extended version of the article in the October 2008 issue of Continental Modeller. The idea behind the layout was to build something where my selection of Swedish private railway stock could be run, my other Swedish layout being Stromstad which is very much based in the 1960's on an electrified SJ line. My intention was to produce a reasonably accurate model of the former Halmstad Nåssjö Railway branch terminus at Hyltebruk. However issues with obtaining information as to what was happening under the bridge just before the station (I was only able to see and not photocopy a photo of the large wooden pipe used as part of the Hyltebruk factory HEP system), meant that I needed to make a proto freelance model instead so Smatörp was born. The real branch, is currently out of service but served a large pulp and later news print mill, along with some passenger traffic though this ceased finally in 1996. The back story for the model is that the branch line of which this is the terminus was built in the late Victorian period to serve a pulp factory / sawmill connecting to the HNJ main line at Oskarström by a small private railway company, however the line fell on hard times in the early 1930’s and was taken over by the HNJ but some of the original locos continued to be use. The model being set in the summer of 1939. Using the official plan for Hyltebruk and the The Swedish Narrow Gauge Society (Mjf Smalspårsfrämjandet) in their 25th anniversary book which had an article on what should be found in a small rural Swedish station: 1. A station building, which held an office, waiting room, baggage room and living accommodation for the station master. The station building also would have a quantity of enamel advertising signs attached, a clock and either a signal panel on the outside of the building or inside the office – in the case of my model it has been treated as inside the office. 2. A goods shed for LCL traffic 3. Possibly a news kiosk – I did not add one as Hyltebruk did not have a kiosk 4. An Avträde – a toilet block 5. A loading ramp, which is beside the goods shed. 6. On ground storage areas – in this case part of the factory area. 7. A flagpole 8. Various outhouses as needed and an earth cellar for use of the station master 9. Station gardens – both public flower gardens and a private vegetable plot. A loco shed, coaling stage, water crane and turntable were added as per Hyltebruk (they were usual branch terminus facilities) Following Swedish modelling conventions the narrow gauge industrial line serving the factory and its surrounding woodland is 10.5mm gauge which is used to represent an 891mm (3 Swedish feet) line. There are a set of industrial sidings serving the factory, at Hyltebruk they wonder off at 45 degrees to the branch line but to keep the baseboards a sensible size the sidings run parallel to the branch. With that all decided construction started by building three 1200 x 600 boards to hold the station. the photo below shows a early construction photo:

My most recent trips to Sweden have been for family reasons so little train spotting was involved but I did manage to take a few photos while traveling, these photos being taken in mid-August 2023. Öresund Tåg units at Copenhagen Airport station, both photos were taken looking towards the bridge. Various stock in the yard at Malmö C Snälltåget class 193 - it says the loco on this side of the unit

There was a discussion with Pete Waterman on Radio Scotland at about 8am this morning in which he had to dispel the malicious rumor that the hobby was dying due to the demise of Hattons and the Warley National Show, Model Rail Scotland did get some free publicity from it however.

Mech Models would be a good starting point

There was one more treat for us before moving to the museum Pa27 (ASEA 1914) was added to the front of our train to pilot a run on the industrial line to Bomhus. There had been some concern about her running capabilities hence her use as pilot. For the run back she ran round and hauled the train back on her own with D101 in neutral at the rear. There was a visit to the railway museum: Gävle Model Railway Clubs facilities in the basement Preserved narrow gauge industrial electric Frykstad (Munktells 1855) 1101mm gauge We then departed on our sleeper train back to Stockholm arriving just before 6pm. The photo below shows the arrivals board at Stockholm Central I will continue digging through my photos in the new year for more Swedish Wonderings till then God Jul och Gott Nytt År!

Budget 2-6-0 a nice little engine Early Spectrum 2-8-0 converted to oil firing

On arriving at Gävle Central en-route to the Railway Museum we were met by Cc 404 (NOHAB 1892), which later in the day hauled a demonstration vintage passenger train past the museum on the Stockholm Main Line

The final day started with a steam hauled excursion down to Norrsundet on the widened section of the Dala Ockelbo Norrsundets Järnvåg, hauled by S1 1923 (Nohab 1952) Standing at Norrsundet Photo run-by on the way back to the main line The loco caused a small grass fire (back right) so we had to pause Waiting for the off

Once we arrived in Malmö I wondered off to Stenvalls Bookshop rather than have a ride to Limhamn. A X2000 Set in Malmö Central before we set off to the north in our sleeper train. Marma Sandarne Railway No3 preserved at Bergvik Kylbro Station Ockelbo Station

After another very long gap, here we go again.. Vintage box van (from a steam tramway) and Du 188 (ASEA 1932) at the now closed Trelleborg railway museum. Our loco for the day Ra 987 (ASEA 1961) or Rapid 3 at Åstorp With a loco change Rapid 3 was put on the front of a short train moving the Halmstad Nässjö Railway (HNJ) stram inspection car back to its home in Nässjö. At the same time we departed towards Malmö..