cklammer

Yes - that is something to consider. I am sure that there will be pictures of it on Lenz R1 posted by concerned parties ... No need to buy the cat in the sack, then (as we say in Germany ..) See how it looks like with your 64 (I believe it is, isn't it - too lazy to search) once you have track down. It is smart of your design that you will be looking at your trains from the inside of the curve as it is harder to notice small radius curve overhangs by the rolling stock. Edit: signature again, sigh Best Regards, Christian

With an axle load of just over 15.2t and a speed of 80 km/h forwards and backwards it was designed by the Nazis as a engine for the use in occupied eastern territories on light branch liunes lacking turning facilities. If you do a Google image search with "Baureihe 50 Nebenbahn" you can see for yourself. DB used them in era III to get rid of the old Prussian designs and to unify on this class for branch lines, regular passenger trains and light to medium goods trains. It is really the quintessential branch line engine, really ... and very, very impressive! Best Regards, Christian

Patience, patience Howard: Lenz will get around to it. To wet your appetite from the prototype: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGxb4wcJKpk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5U9BSGTYTg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTOGCDtvgk&feature=channel_video_title Be advised to refrain from slobbering all over your keyboard Edit: but what do you with a V36 when you can wait for a German class 50 from Lenz - come on: you know that you want it ... Best Regards, Christian

Okay ... the mists are lifting: it is the Bi33 and Ci33 that you'll be wanting then ... some links with images: Here (image #57) IG Höllentalbahn and a very informative but looong thread. The red ones were being used with DMUs and V36s as ordinary coaches with linkup cables and own (coal oven) heating. The red Steuerwagen were used in the same way as the red coaches just having an additional dmu drivers stand for controlling/driving the train. The cabling linkup was somewhat standardized. The green ones were just ordinary coaches. Best Regards, Christian

Evening Howard, Unfortunately MBW's website is under maintenance and I am unable to find images of their coaches. That restricts my options somwhat. From other places I found hints that we are talking about Langenschwalbacher. Please confirm from http://www.donnerbuechse.eu/ and select "Langenschwalbacher". Could what you perceive(d) as red DB livery may have been the brown Prussian State Railways (KPEV) 3rd class livery? Just asking, mind you, absent any pictures ... Red Livery was used for coaches which could used with engines without steam heating facility like the V36. Regular coaches for secondary lines were green and the red one were rare in comparison. VS145 was a Steuerwagen (sorry don't know in English) for VT 137 and VT 60 as well as V36 post-war - it was NOT a coach. Sorry, homework not done today due to extenuating circumstances: "Honest, Guv, my gramp's dog ate the holiday essay just as I was finished!" Best Regards, Christian

Okaaay .... short version and many links (all German - unfortunenately for you): For the DB in era III there were red "Donnerbüchsen" and there were VS145 which were surplus after compared to the available VT145. Both were mainly used with the V36. I have shown you earlier in this thread the images from bahnen-wuppertal.de The red "Donnerbüchsen" had their own heating since the V36 (being a former military shunter) had no means to generate the steam required by the ordinary green "Donnerbüchsen" for heating. http://www.db58.de/2009/04/22/v36-nach-st-peter-ording/ http://www.db58.de/2009/11/01/v-36-und-vt-72-9/ (no VS145 here - two V36 - one at each end of the train) http://www.db58.de/2011/08/17/wendezugbetrieb-mit-v-36-bd-wuppertal/ (you have seen that before) http://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?10,6660520,6665027 (mentioning VS145 with V80 amd we had VS145/V36 in Bremerhaven, too - didn't even know that) http://www.db58.de/2011/02/16/bw-plattling-v-20-aufhausen-kroehstorf/ (mentioning BR64 and red "Donnerbüchse" after the V20s (!!!) had been retired!) And then we have http://www.noetzel24.de/index.php?id=89&L=%271 and the V36 detail page http://www.noetzel24.de/index.php?id=90 and the BR64 detail page http://www.noetzel24.de/index.php?id=96#c995 Edit: no red "Umbauwagen" I know of ... everything else was green unless it was the fast trains (TEE, D-Zug, F-Zug) or "Silberlinge" Edit2: see P.S. Enough I assume .... Best Regards, Christian P.S.: Forum "Railways of Germany" http://germanrail.fr.yuku.com/directory#.VYnFM7xAv7Y German Railways Forum http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?7918-German-Railway-Forum&s=bbe0be47afcd72503a3433a3477f92ef RMWEB German Railways http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/134-german-railways/

Hi Rod, That is amazing! Sorry - I pressed "like" first but as there is no super-like button available here I pressed revoked "like" and pressed "Craftmanship/Clever" instead as the picture looks like real despite the layout's edge being visible ... Best Regards, Christian

This is a seriously good-looking piece of a seriously large platform - it really does convey the sense of spaciousness I associate usually with the original only! Best Regards, Christian

This is a marvellous layout. You are right in keeping to the original simple but elegant concept.

Smart!!

I always have stuff put "specially away for extra safekeeping" and I always end searching that and finding only the non-special stuff at expected locations (aka the usual suspects). So now whenever I want to secure something I ask myself where I would expect to find that item in a hurry on the first go ... works better now. Best Regards, Christian

Hello David, Suggestions: Re: lack of back-scene and pictures: you could use a temporary (plain white or just blue sky) back-scene for taking the pictures to post ... just my 0,02€ Re: use other builds of the (same?) station building to swap out for depicting different eras as you like/require - just don't glue the station down permanently. I like this layout a lot and admire what you are achieving with it. Best Regards, Christian

Hallo Howard, Sorry for the late reply .. tired after a busy week ... just catching up on MoBa stuff. If you find the time, do go on the cable car ride ... the view over Deutsches Eck and Koblenz is well worth it. I remember the one time everywhere was flooded down there - the current had to be seen to be believed. Any news on the layout plans? Best Regards, Christian

Hello, Rod, No cable cars when I was there - it was a long time ago ... I was still a boy then ... mind But that cable car ride looks cool. But the ride should be very long the way it looks on their web site. But fair-weather-only strictly, I think. That is a problem with coach tours - no flexibility: "Der Fahrplan ist Gesetz!" Best Regards, Christian

Hi, Howard, when you are in Koblenz: try to get across the Rhine into the Ehrenbreitstein fortress - you can not beat the view from there. I still remember from when I was just a boy ... Best Regards, Christian

Och, Howard, "Brückenheim" does sound just fine but "Harbrücken" is just fine, too. A quick check with Google Maps reveals no existing locations with those names. Tongue-In-Cheek: I still stand by my suggestion of "Hoppard" .............hat.............coat...............tripping over own feet..............door .................... Best Regards, Christian

Good Evening Howard, Yes, that is correct regarding the push-pull-trains. So the English expression for "Wendezug" is "push-pull-train" - RMWeb surely broadens me horizons On the Samba Line the V36/VS145 combinations turned over in Cronenberg in three-and-a-half minutes flat - which enabled the hourly schedule on the line in first place, it is claimed. Here are some VS 145 drawings. You will need them as there are no O gauge models I am aware of .... Best Regards, Christian

Good idea - scenery is over-rated, anyway But shunting all these over a branch line ... with regular coming through every hour or two hours or so ... a connection to an industrial system may be more appropriate, I assume. just my 0,02€. Best Regards, Christian

Hello Howard, o k a y . . . . . . . sorry: it is not a railbus but a VS145 (pre-WWII-DRG vintage): V = Verbrennung S = Steuerwagen. In the image linked from bahnen-wuppertal.de you see a very peculiar combination (from the front): V36-VS145-VS145-V36 (as one V36 was not enough for the grade on the Samba Line with a V36 having only 360 hp). Regular combination was V36-VS145. These combinations ran on the Samba Line from summer 1950 until 1953 or 1955 in hourly intervals during the day with the longer combination being on the weekends as the Samba Line led to weekend excursion areas. From the mid-fifties combinations of VT95-VB142-VT95 (Uerdinger Schienenbus/ railbus "mk I" so to say) were used, which been replaced by VT98 (Uerdinger Schienenbus / rail bus "mk II") which in turn were replaced (era IV) by ETA150 (model 515 from era IV on which had by then the less than charming nick name "pot bellied pig" ). VT/VS/VB98 have regular buffers, VT95/VB142 do not. Links: db58.de DSO noetzel24.de Cronenberger Strecke (Sambalinie) Wuppertal-Elberfeld (Hbf) Pot Bellied Pig Look very closely at the track plan for Wuppertal-Elberfeld Best Regards, Christian

Hello Rod, just take a short break and surf the link I have posted with the picture. The site is an image treasure trove and ... should ... translate well with Google Translate . It is about Wuppertal and the railway lines passing through and from there. The image posted is from the ~11km long Samba Line starting from Wuppertal-Elberfeld (today's Wuppertal Central) to Wuppertal-Cronenfeld and was taken before electrification 1965 and the ensuing removal of the old station roofs and their replacement with platform canopies. Read about the Samba Line (linked) and Wuppertal-Elberfeld. If you just model Wuppertal-Elberfeld's tracks 4 and 5 in an O gauge micro layout you could run almost any era IIIb/c stock with the exception of electrics - Wuppertal was (and is that kind of place). Wuppertal is in Nordrhein-Westfalen and thus was in the British Zone until 1990 - maybe you find some pictures taken by BAOR servicemen in the UK corner of the 'net. Now I have to stop before Howard chides me again for distracting you Best Regards, Christian (edited for incomplete signature)

Good evening Rod, I got something which may or may not be of use for you in your quest for a foldable (micro) layout modelling German prototype in an urban location. Do you wish me to post my prototype info (lots) here or somewhere else? (I want to avoid hijacking this thread) A teaser : (from http://www.bahnen-wuppertal.de/html/cronenberger-strecke.html) Wuppertal is a real railwayman's town Best Regards, Christian

Rod, Over in Howard's layout thread "Brückenheim" I have put several links useable for "generic" research. As you want a small, portable O gauge layout your selection is somewhat limited - right off the top of my head I can not think of anything urban. As for an German "Minories" equivalent you would be hard put except for urban central terminus where engines were swapped anyway ... I really do not want to discourage you ... but research (with stressing "search") will have to be done in order to locate a suitable prototype. Truly small stuff is (almost always) rural ... Best Regards, Christian

Hello Howard, As long as one keeps track of all track plan versions so one may return to a previous iteration. The current plan is definitely an improvement over the previous version! Would you consider having a 5- or even 6-track traverser ... I mean the less weathered stock is touched, the better Best Regards, Christian

Hello Howard, Something for the weekend, Sir? To waste your time facilitate your prototype research: Hubertusviadukt and V 100s (a rather peculiar forum as pertains to the user interface - it renders different for registered users and for guests. Abi annoying that, I am afraid, the images are well worth it. The BLT of the Hochwaldbahn. A layout based on St.-Goar on the right-handside main line (basically right next to the Loreley) with prototype pictures. Stromberg Station on the Hunsrückquerbahn: general station history and station track plans (click on the images for large size). And now for the golden nugget find: the Mittelrheinforum with all sorts of info from historical to current events related to the railways in the region. German language but if I were you I'd register and try an English post - and they also feature a model railway section there. And for the the name of your layout: "Bruckenheim" sound so Bavarian or Austrian - as you aiming for the Middle Rhine region it should really be "Brückenheim" IMO. So, to facilitate this change for Gentlemen for UK keyboard layouts: here it is - your very own "ü" to cut and paste into "Bruckenheim". Best Regards and a nice weekend, Christian

The stinky diesels - they can stay outside and scare off any badgers stupid to hang around .... only nice steamies allowed inside Sorry, I could not help myself ... Best Regards, Christian