rekoboy

Your townscape looks fine - I like the row of shops very much!

Thank you, Michael! Auhagen's products are great! The firm, based in Marienberg in S Saxony on the Czech-German border started life as a manufacturer of packaging, began making largely cardboard model railway buildings in the 1950s, moved in the 1960s and 70s on to plastics, was nationalized by the E German authorities along with many other small firms in 1972 and was re-named MAMOS (Marienberger Modellspielwaren), then joined up with the other main E German railway accessory company, VERO, Following the fall of the Wall and German re-unification the Auhagen family got the company back from the state and has developed it since then. I am gradually working my way through a store of their kits, some bought in E German days. If you get the chance, get your hands on a copy of Auhagen's excellent catalogue which is huge, and packed with modelling tutorials and tips.

You can try Frizinghall Models and Railways in Baildon, near Bradford. Their shop is very well-stocked. Here is the web-address: www.modelrailshop.co.uk

I have, sadly, not contributed to this site for quite a while - for that I apologize. However, no posts do not mean no activity! I have in the meantime air-brushed the bridges that were built out of Peco N parts, and I have rejigged and simplified the tram terminus with a simple run-around loop with spring-points - Minitrix N. I am about to add the cobbled surface to the street and maybe make a start at last on erecting the overhead contact wires. Maybe! There has been a degree of afforestation - I have bags of trees still waiting to be planted , but I need to make sure that everything around is finished before the trees are fixed, otherwise I shall be knocking them down as I reach over the layout. As I mentioned before, I like to add buildings and groups of buildings as separate modules which can be safely removed if I need to dismantle the layout - my latest venture is a heavily weathered Auhagen signal box which, I think, expresses very well the general dilapidation and grime of the Reichsbahn in its later years. I can be only to easily diverted from layout construction by bright ideas - I include three of them in this photo series. Firstly, I have always regretted the relative lack of road vehicles for TT - so I am steadily building up a fleet of trucks based around the MK/Klose/ Schirmer chassis and MAN/Roman/RABA cab. You can see one of my creations in the form of a 6x4 RABA timber truck and trailer on one of the shots. RABA is or rather was a Hungarian truck manufacturer which was licensed by MAN and DAF to build heavy trucks largely to their designs in the 1980s - they were a common sight on E German motorways. Another big project was brought about by the overflowing of a junk box (bits left over from kits etc) on my work-table. So I set to work to make 6 loads of scrap for Tillig 2-axle and 4-axle open wagons. The loads were airbrushed and then weathered with a solution of a few drops of black ink in surgical spirit. See photos. The big project, though, was to rebuild my BR 58 2-10-0, which was based on an extended BTTB BR 56 chassis and body/. The chassis worked well enough but I was never satisfied with the body shell - and then by chance I came into possession of a botched rebuild of a BR 56 into a BR 58. The chassis was a mess but the body conversion was slightly shorter and rather better than mine. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought, and improved the body shell conversion and re-motored the chassis with a Chinese motor and flywheel. The motor and flywheel are significantly smaller than the old BTTB motor, so there is room for a crew on the footplate. See photos!

Activity of late at Kirchheim has been largely connected with bridge building, but there are other developments, too.. The large skew bridge in the centre of the second level which carries the main road and the tram line was constructed (as you might notice from the photo!) from a set of Peco N girders and quite a lot of plastic sheet and profiles. It leads to what will be a two-road tram shed. I was so pleased with the finished product that I decided to re-do the road overbridge nearest to the tram terminus in the same style, using Peco parts. Again, I was very happy with the result, and now need to paint both and add the cobbled road surface. Then a chance encounter with the junk box at Hünerbein's excellent model shop in Aachen got me the remains of an N-scale bridge for €2 (!) and the idea for a scenic break and a link to the 'outside world' for the road with the tram line that leads across the layout - now, I thought, I could builds something moderately eyecatching that fills up an otherwise uninteresting corner! The bridge, on the skew as it is, was a fiddle to get right at first, but now it is complete with a tiny piece of finished scenery around the left-hand abutment, I am very satisfied. The empty area above the tunnel to the right of the bridge abutment will shortly be filled with a signal box. All of the bridge abutments across the layout have been covered with Noch's N-scale Strukturfolie, which looks great. I have also chucked out the original module board for the tram terminus and started again, as the track layout for the tram was too complex and built with dodgy old Minitrix turnouts which were unreliable. In connection with the tram terminus I have also added a ramp down to the station platform for the residents of the block of flats, and put in the foundation panel (with a mini-spirit level!!) for the waiting shelter. I have also tidied up the rock face of the cutting below the tram terminus. The first move was to surround the re-jigged board with a plastic border (from a kitchen studio!), then I covered the plastic and the existing cutting rock face with fine metal gauze, firmly stuck on with strong glue, and then added a plaster finish. Additionally I have kitbashed Auhagen's model railway shop (not a joke, I add, it is a version of one of their shop kits which was for model railway dealers to reward their best customers!) into a little self-service store which has shelves full of beer and Schnapps, a till and some thirsty customers. I am in the process of building a snackbar for the Bratwurst which will go next to the shop at the tram terminus.

The Roco version is more robust, and, like most Roco locos, a good runner

Rekoboy has been very, very pleased to receive an early Christmas present in the form of the latest product from Kuehn-Modell, the BR 94 , Prussian T16. I think it is probably the best rtr TT model that I have ever owned - exquisite detail and excellent running. As you can see from the attached photos the driver has been busy explaining the Riggenbach counter-pressure brakes to some interested onlookers before he went on to shunt some wagons full of scrap metal!

Sorry, no!!

Here are three photos illustrating my building techniques. Buildings, single or grouped, are built as dioramas and then slotted into the landscape. Making the templates to ensure an exact fit of the modules is a bit of a fiddle! You can also see the phase in the construction of the block of flats when I installed the Viessmann light boxes. Originally, I was planning some electronics which would ensure individual lights being switched on and off - but life is too short. All of buildings employ Viessmann lighting kit in one form or another.

Glad you like my works! The single illuminated windows are thanks to Viessmann's light boxes. I am not on tt-nut - what is the address?

I have returned! The arrival of a further granddaughter, my Dad's serious illness and other issues put a brake on my modelling for quite a while - and allowed me a lot less time at the PC. There has been quite a lot of progress on Kirchheim, though, when I look at things. The main developments have been with the upper levels of the layout which now include a reverse loop - the upper terminus id now a through station - but it might just be left as more hidden sidings. We shall see. The tram route is coming on - slowly - and there has been some housing development! The loco stud has increased - the very lovely Piko BR 55 is in service, along with a Hornby-Arnold BR 95 and a further BR 50 from Tillig. There is a lot from behind the scenes to report on in bite-sized chunks - in the meantime here are a number of recent photos of the layout.

I have managed to fit in another couple of half-days on the layout and I am pleased to say that the turnouts and dead sections at the upper terminus are all now wired up and working. My test train for turnouts - especially for curved ones - is an articulated twin-unit with the Roco BR 110. If that train does not derail once during 12 or 13 high-speed propelling and trailing movements then I am satisfied that the turnouts have been correctly laid. This test phase is the result of a good deal of thought after previous disappointments and annoyance! The other test train consists of a mixed goods set which is propelled at speed by a loco. I have also added the final backing piece of ply which hides the upper storage sidings and which will form the support for the next lot of scenery which has been started, too. Much of the hillside areas will be afforested in due course - there are bags of trees waiting to be planted! The bridge for the tram and the road is now taking shape - the styrene components are marked out for cutting and the supports are complete. They have been made by halving and lowering Auhagen components.

Nearer to the final track layout at Annaberg! And the Mehano unit is in place!

I am very pleased to be able to report that there has, at last, been some considerable action at Kirchheim in the fields of electrics and scenery! Firstly, the scenery. I decided a while ago to have the road with the tram-line to cross the branchline by means of a skew bridge. That is now on the way to completion, as is the track layout (more or less!) for the upper terminus, Annaberg. You can see from the attached photos that the risers for the road (foam-board) are more or less in place, and one bridge abutment is complete, too, but not yet stuck down. I have added the first load of 'gloop' to the polystyrene base for the hill alongside the road and used a mixture of real stone and home-made castings to indicate the rock faces. In an old copy of the 'Railroad Model Craftsman' I read an article about producing small scenery modules away from the layout, in order to make detailing easier. I was inspired to make styrene bases for the two levels above the tram terminus - at present these two modules are obviously not fixed down and I shall build the structures and add the details at the comfort of my desk or the dining table. As you can see from the photo with the example of 'Pension Ilse' I make the buildings a friction fit on a fixed base so that LEDs or lamps can be changed. By the way - I buy my styrene sheet in bulk from a plastics firm in Leeds - sheets of 1m x 50cm - which is a lot cheaper than going to a model shop!! Secondly, to the electrics. While tidying the garage I found half a reel of 4-core telephone cable, bought when we moved our home office. Mmm, might be useful, I thought. When I was trying out track plans for the upper terminus I realised that the shape of the layout would make shunting a nightmare as one cannot reach from the controllers, or indeed see exactly what is going on. The inspiration came when I was out for a walk with my grandson - use the 4-core cable to establish a slave control-point by the branch terminus! Then I remembered the Mehano controller that I had bought in Germany - just in case! And in a box of electrical bits and pieces I found an unused Triang-Hornby yellow switch - two positions, either permanently on, designed for colour-light signals. There was the answer. The switch does not need to be one input, two possible outputs, I thought. I can reverse that to make a two input, one output selector switch for the branch - power either from the Piko unit as before, or from the Mehano controller. In the bits box were also two handsome but very elderly bakelite turnout switch units ( probably early 1960s E Germany) - so a control centre for the branch terminus was not only realisable but quick to install. The 4-core cable carries an output to the track at the terminus from the Triang switch ,an output to the Triang selector switch from the Mehano controller, a 16 V AC feed for the turnouts and an additional return lead, just in case! And it works! So now I can dispatch a train to the branch terminus, switch over to the Mehano unit, shuffle round to the terminus, shunt to my heart's content, and then return to control departure from the Piko power unit. Happiness!

Guten Abend! Sorry about the very long break in communication, but work, the grandchildren, my very elderly Dad and a certain campaign have all kept me away from the layout. There has been a little progress which I shall report on soon, but the main change has been the arrival of a new locomotive at Kirchheim - the price of which caused my wife to catch her breath somewhat! It is an ex-Prussian State Railways G7, DR class 57 manufactured in very small numbers by Modellbau Jago, founded by the owner of Jatt TT after he sold up to Tillig in the 1990s. The loco is more or less entirely made of white-metal castings with some plastic detail - and she runs like a dream. As you can see, some of the staff at Kirchheim made a dash to admire her when she arrived! I need to do something about the very ugly bunch of cables linking the tender and the loco - but there is no need to rush! The prototype, which was built around the time of the First World War in huge numbers was a very interesting hybrid - it was built around the chassis of the BR 94 0-10-0 tank loco and included the boiler designed for the BR 38 tender loco and had the same tender used for the BR 56 and BR 58. Efficiency! The class was very robust and powerful - they lasted until the 1960s.

Good evening folks! Sorry about the complete lack of any signs of life of late - but grandfatherly duties and work have taken up my time! There was also a visit over the Easter holidays by my good friend Günther and his grandson Anton who asked me a question that I should have asked myself! The question was - where are the tram and the main road actually going when they have crossed the bridge? My very unsatisfactory answer was - I am not sure! But since then there have been scribbles on lots of bits of paper and a good deal of measuring and now I know!! The main road with tram line will continue to rise and cross the upper branch line by means of a skew bridge - for viewing purposes the branch upper line will be slightly under eye-level and the road with tram somewhat higher. Perfect for viewing - I hope! As you can see the foundations of the road are being built up with foam-board. A good deal more scenery has been completed since then as you can see and the rock faces, cast with Polyfilla, using a Woodland Scenics mould or simply sculpted are looking good. The first and second coats of green on the scenery are school powder-paint with a splash of white glue and a drop of washing-up liquid! Both my BR 24 by Gützold and my Tillig BR 52 have cost me a lot of money of late - the BR 24's motor failed (apparently common, they tell me!) and a derailment caused a piece of plastic valve gear to break on the BR 52. So good old Herr Ludwig worked wonders for me and both locos are now back in service. As you can see, the 52 is already out on duty on a line that goes nowhere!

There has been more steady action at the tram terminus at Konradsweiler - but the works are time-consuming and fiddly! The base for the tram terminus has been removed so that it can be worked on at the dining table or wherever and the pavements and raised areas for the tram passengers are taking shape in balsawood. The track will be ballasted with budgie-cage sand or will have a paved infill. The final piece of the cutting approaching Konradsweiler is taking shape as is the area above the tunnel mouth - for all of my scenery I use a form of 'gloop' made of one third sawdust plus two thirds Polyfilla plus white glue and powder paint. That gives a robust structure that shows no white flecks if a chunk breaks off. In the case of the cutting there are slices of genuine rock mixed in. In order to accommodate the terminus board there needs to be a suitable gap under retaining walls - I have made a template or gauge out of a piece of MDF to locate new sections of wall correctly. Next stage - final gluing and pinning of the tram tracks plus power feeds and CATENARY! [

More action at Konradsweiler! The ramp down to the platform is complete - it and the platform surface are made of layers of white glue and budgie sand which when solid were soaked in diluted oil paint. As you can see two local teenagers are already doing speed trials down the ramp! The main focus over the last day or so has been the tram terminus - of which the track is now complete, lightly pinned and, temporarily at least, wired up for testing to ensure that my idea of using elderly Fleischmann Piccolo turnouts as spring points actually works. It does. The test loco is a very elderly Minitrix diesel which was bought as a non-runner for € 8. The repair was a five minute job - loose connection - and she runs beautifully and opens the blades of the spring points with no problem. The chassis will eventually be used for a freight motor or works car on the tram network. The box of catenary is open and ready - but I need time!

At last! I have finally stopped doodling on endless bits of paper and day-dreaming for hours - Konradsweiler is finally taking shape. I have made and fitted the removable base for the main street with its tram terminus, and have, at long last, worked out the exact positions of most of the buildings and produced the rising access road to the buildings at the rear of the scene. I am finally happy - more or less - with the different ground levels. All of the structures except for the kit-bashed bar, Zum alten Konrad and Pension Ilse at the back will be Auhagen kits - the block of flats, 2 modern-ish smaller houses, a snack-bar and a waiting shelter. With a bit of luck you may see them all in position soon! Phew! The track layout for the tram terminus is now clear - and I am using Fleischmann Piccolo turnouts which are ideal as spring points. More of the trams shortly!

For some time I have been seeking a cheap and cheerful (and reliable) means of lighting my collection of BTTB, Zeuke and Tillig coaches. A while ago I discovered a Chinese online trader which sells electronics bits and pieces of reasonable quality at astonishingly low prices – and with no postal costs! So far everything that I have ordered has arrived in good time including the pictured long strip of LEDs which is set up for a USB connection at 5V and which is already equipped with resistors and has an adhesive strip provided on the rear. The strip can be cut with scissors into short lengths of not less than three LEDs – soldering points are provided for. As the LED strips are set up for 5V I needed, of course, to include a suitable additional resistor when installing them in my coaches. A major problem is that the LED strips will, of course, light up in one direction only – that issue was resolved with the pictured double deck set by installing a total of 4 three-LED strips, two for each direction. My son tells me the result is a little too bright – and I need to solve the problem of flickering caused by slight intermittent rail-wheel contact with a couple of capacitors, I think. Otherwise I am reasonably happy. If you need the web-address of the Chinese supplier let me know. He takes PayPal!

Evening All! I apologize for the lack of any new content of late, but grandson Lucas plus work have filled up my time quite a bit. Things are happening - albeit too slowly - at Kirchheim, and I hope to have some evidence shortly! However, the main news from Kirchheim is the arrival of a new locomotive from the Roco works. It is the DR V 100 which is a lovely model. I have still to attach all of the fiddly extras from the accompanying plastic bag (handrails, pipes etc) and to change the couplings. Roco fits Fleischmann N Profi couplings as a matter of course to its TT stock - TT coupler pockets on all modern stock are the N type, of course, so it is a 30 second job to swap them for Tillig couplings. As you can see, the railfans on my layout are quite enthused by the new V 100!

Happy Christmas to all fans of the TT-Bahn. I may even find some time this holiday to get back to work on the railway.

Hello Hobby! I love your layout - is your rolling stock based on German or Czech kits or ready to run? Are you using standard Z-gauge track? Yes, the Brigadelok looks quite sweet, doesn't it? But it is a very simple plastic kit, as you can see in the next photo, designed as a souvenir for the museum. I do not know whether other items of stock have been produced - I shall mail Matthias this evening and ask him if anything else is available. I do know that he brought back about 20 loco kits(!) for friends and club members!

I have still not had much time for layout activities, but thanks to a friend in Dessau I have had something to keep me busy! Matthias offered to bring back some TTf loco kits from a railway museum in Lithuania where they are sold as simple souvenirs. You might ask - what is TTf? It is used to describe 1:120 scale models of rolling stock built for 600mm gauge, and in the case of these models, so called Brigadeloks built by several loco works for service on the Western Front in WW1. Several have survived and are still in service on the Waldeisenbahn Muskau (http://www.waldeisenbahn.de/de/)and on at least one Pioniereisenbahn. The kits are quite simple but have some fiendishly small parts which are quite demanding for a 60 year old with sausage fingers and short sight! The big plan is to motorize one kit using a Märklin Z gauge mechanism - a pipe dream, I fear - but one loco is now assembled but not completely detailed and is being delivered to the Pioniereisenbahn Kirchheim as I write this - see photos! The slightly overscale chains which do actually secure the loco on its transporter came from a girly shop called 'Claire's Accessories' which you might know! For eight quid you get two long fine necklaces and enough chain to keep me busy for months! So there you have it - diesel and oil stains from cheap black nail varnish and chains from the shop favoured by teenie girls!