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Part 4: Storage I (April - October 2023) Hello all, With resilience being a key requirement - along with the desire to keep the layout compact and discreet - a storage solution for controls and rolling stock has been on the agenda since the early days. Plus, I have far more time to ponder and plan than actually model, so further complexity in the build is inevitable! There were a number of possibilities here, but I decided to go with a scratchbuilt underslung drawer constructed primarily from the same 9mm ply as the rest of the layout, with 3mm used for the base and appendages. Once the runners are taken into account, the drawer will have external dimensions of approximately 270(W)×250(L)×80(D)mm, with enough space inside to accommodate the controller, switch boxes, rolling stock storage and some electrics. A clear plastic lid will protect the aforementioned from dust and damage when not in use. Beyond the track plan, Anyrail was useful for fleshing out a number of different ideas, including the drawer design. In order to maintain clearance between the drawer and the metal ring upon which the baseboard sits, the runners would have to be suspended from angle brackets - at least, this was the best solution I could see. The drawer will be built seperately and attached to the runners on completion. As with everything else on the layout, this is very much a 'how-I-did-it' as opposed to a tutorial. The first step: suspending 250mm Häfele drawer runners beneath the baseboard. The positioning of these had to be quite precise; low enough to clear the metal table ring, far enough forward to allow access to all controls, and far enough back so that the drawer could sit flush with the baseboard when closed. Make hay while the sun shines - time to head outside and do some woodworking! Here I'm gluing 10×10mm pine sticks onto the inside of the drawer sides. These will eventually support the drawer base. Scoring plywood with a sharp knife then sawing with a run-of-the-mill hand saw is a pretty fool-proof, low-tech method to achieving neat cuts and avoiding the frayed edges, such as in the top right of this image. Testing the fit prior to gluing everything together. Adding 3mm ply on the inside to support a lid. Rolling stock storage in situ. This was made by gluing together two pieces of 15mm medium density foam, with slots for the loco and coaches cut out of the top piece by hand using a sharp knife. BR24 and coaches in their new home. The foam is not glued in place, so is easily replaceable if it degrades over time. Ditto the piece of wood at the back covering the electrics (more on that soon!) Cutting the perspex lid. I managed to ruin one piece by using too coarse a saw blade; in the end, a straight edge, sharp knife and plenty of elbow grease did the job. Unfortunately I didn't capture any footage of the ultra-satisfying removal of the protective film... ...but here is the lid in place. The drawer is pretty much complete as a functional item at this point, however there is still much to do before this job can be ticked off. Stay tuned for finishing, painting and general beautification in the next part. All the best, Andrew Next time: Storage II

Nice one Jeremy, and perfect for your layout! I picked up one of these about a year ago and it performs as well as it looks. Plenty of oomph in the powered unit. Looking forward to seeing it bomb around Gelternau! Andrew

Part 3: Baseboard Construction (May - September 2022) Hello all, With Spring in full flow, it's as good a time as any to get to work on the layout. I'm starting completely from scratch in every sense of the word, with only a handful of very basic tools around the house and none of the materials needed to construct a model railway. It takes time to accumulate these things, especially when you don't necessarily know exactly what you need! But I'm now in a place where I can get started. The layout will slot snuggly into the space previously occupied by the lower piece of glass on the table, so the first step is to shape a ~52cm diameter baseboard. I measured this out using the screw-and-tape-measure method, then cut and shape using mostly hand tools. This can be hard going at times when your toolbox is lacking, and I've concluded that choosing a small, circular area to work in for a first project probably isn't optimal! Still, I'm enjoying the challenge. Making a start. The baseboard is constructed using 9mm ply, with 33×27mm pine for support. As I understand it, 9mm is on the thin side for a main baseboard, but it should prove more than adequate for a layout of this size. I had to go as thin as possible to maximise clearance for the dual-layer design, which in turn allows for some lower relief on one side of the layout, facilitating the viaduct and adding some scenic variation. A second layer means a second round of cutting and shaping. After some additional refining, the result is a pair of circular boards which dovetail together. Upper (left) and lower (right) baseboards, with the first of the pine supports screwed 'n' glued in place. More support added to the lower board. The large square cut-out allows easier access to the underside of the upper board. Upper and lower secured together, with the pine supports cut and filed to shape. Baseboard = complete. I'm still a way off running trains, but it feels great to have something tangible to show for my efforts. All the best, Andrew Next time: Storage

Welcome to Kleinelautwen The following is a blog I've been noting down over the past couple of years as I've worked on this project. I'm going to post in parts and dive into each stage of the process in detail. It'll take a little time to get the posts and images together, but it shouldn't be too long before we're caught up to the present layout state. Here are parts 1 and 2 together - enjoy! Part 1: Introduction (December 2021) Hello all, Welcome to Kleinelautwen! Join me as I attempt my first ever model railway project: a Z gauge table layout. Hopefully it will provide you with some inspiration, while allowing me to show off all the mistakes I make. Kleinelautwen has its origins in 2021, although the journey starts long before. Railways have always been a big part of my life, but for the longest time I'd never really felt the appetite to build something myself. Like many things, this was changed by becoming a dad. Seeing my little one's fascination with trains (and just about anything else that moves/is loud/has bright lights) made me think that I could bring some of that into our home for everyone to enjoy. I decided that whatever I build should be discreet. We don't have swathes of space that would facilitate a vast layout and progress would probably be slow due to work/family/other commitments, so I don't want something that will be in the way. We had this lamp table that wasn't really seeing any use and it seemed like the ideal starting point. The layout will be out of the way and the question of storage is answered from the outset. Apologies for the rug! The basic idea is to remove the lower glass section of the table, slot in a baseboard and add scenery and track. Simple, right? With the help of some back-of-envelope sketching (quite literally!) on a cold, dark winter evening, a very rough outline of the plan takes shape. Crude beginnings. Note: the idea of removing the lower glass and reinstalling it as a shelf above the layout was quickly abandoned. Although convenient for storage, it would have limited the already-constrained vertical space. Further musings have resulted in a list of four requirements that will inform the design: • Rural alpine/forest setting At the same time as the layout idea was formulating, I've been developing a real interest in contemporary Swiss N gauge. I've always found the railway network in Switzerland interesting and, looking into the models that are available in N, it's become an attractive setting for modelling. Rocky cliffs, tunnels, meadows and evergreen forests will feature in stereotypical Swiss style. However, N is not viable because of the second requirement... • Some operational interest It's not enough for the layout to simply be a display piece. I want something that has a bit of operational interest, perhaps even accomodating two trains at once. With a ~50cm diameter space to work in, this would be difficult in N, so I've gone even smaller: Z gauge. • Minimal scratch-building With my lack of experience and the small space I have to work in, I wanted to get as much 'off-the-shelf' as possible. Fortunately, while Z is far from the most popular scale, there is still a good range of scenic items on the market from the likes of Faller, Rokuhan, Kibri and others. • Operable by - and resilient to - small children Possibly the most important element of the layout: it should be operable by small hands under supervision, while not being by vunerable to damage by them. So that means simple controls and solid construction; the former will be taken care of by Märklin's intuitive Z gauge system, and the latter by my questionable DIY skills. This requirement will inform many of the design decisions. If it wasn't already obvious, this is not a tutorial or anything like that, but hopefully it will provide some insight for novices taking on their first project, or anyone attempting something similar. Feel free to comment, critique and question as we go! All the best, Andrew Part 2: Starter Set & Planning (January - April 2022) Hello all, Even the best laid plans can change! Having given myself a crash course in the Z gauge market, I decided to move away from the alpine part of the setting. I haven't been able find Swiss rolling stock in Z that ticks all the boxes in terms of suitability and affordability, so I've crossed the border into Germany and settled on a 1950s Black Forest theme. This will allow me to keep some scenic elements the same and potentially run Swiss stock in the future without it looking completely out of place. I'm attempting a 'serious' model, but central to the project is family enjoyment, so a rigid setting is not absolutely integral. To kickstart proceedings and get some trains running, I've picked up Marklin's 'Museums-Personenzug' Z Gauge Starter Set (81874) from eBay. This set will be the backbone of the project, providing the initial rolling stock (BR24 2-6-0 and 2x coaches - the restaurant car will be swapped out for a regular 3.kl in the future), controller, power supply and some of the track. Getting my hands on this really helped to light a fire under the project and bring out some ideas. It helps that it's a great little set. The first and biggest single purchase for the project arrives. No turning back now... A classic feature of famous Swiss railways such as the Gottardbahn and Albula line - big inspirations for this project, despite its now-German setting - is the helix loop. As my first scribblings show, I was keen to build a loop into the design from the outset, and excitedly went ahead with fleshing out plans in Anyrail. Layout design software = hours of fun My inexperience was on show as I initially didn't consider the most fundamental of questions: could this up-and-over feature be incorporated into the small space I had to work in and still facilitate reliable running? Fortunately, the answer is: yes. Just about. Testing shows that the BR 24 can haul its three coaches up a curved ~1-in-28 gradient. Any steeper, and the wheels begin to slip. I set about trying to work this design limitation into the final plan, and came up with a way of staggering the gradients so that the maximum ascent will be 1-in-30. The only compromise is that the inner loop effectively becomes one-way. Trains can enter via the points on the right and rejoin the outer loop on the left, but not in the opposite direction; the gradient from the points on the left to the bridge is approximately 1-in-20 and thus too steep. It felt like a big compromise, but realistically, how often will anyone want to reach in and change the direction of a train? Two-train running is still viable, so I'm content, not to mention relieved that I've caught this potential flaw before it's too late. In terms of scenery: steep cliffs, tunnels, bridges, forests and meadows will all feature in a space a little over 2m². With the scenic area viewable from two directions, a central forested hill creates a natural divide and hopefully adds some depth. Just two buildings will occupy the layout, as I feel any more would make it too crowded and spoil the rural feel. The station building and cottage are both Faller kits. Details will likely be added to the plan and change over time, but the basic concept will remain the same. I'm already envisaging the viaduct sandwiched by two tunnels being a real challenge to pull off - a bridge too far, you could say - but it's proving difficult to steer away from this idea now that it's taken root. The concept was taken from a similar feature on David's Swiss Layout, a US N layout with Alpine-inspired scenery. The layouts I've been inspired by encompass just about every scale, setting and period, but perhaps the biggest overall influence has been James River Branch, a now-defunct 36"×15" US Z layout. If I could achieve anywhere near the same atmosphere and detail, I would be delighted. Challenges have already had to be overcome without so much as a nail being hammered in anger, so I'm looking forward to seeing what awaits when the real modelling begins! All the best, Andrew Next time: Baseboard Construction

You can see this with the Re 484. A standard-liveried Cargo model would be popular I'd imagine, but so far they've released a modern one-off and the short-lived Cisalpino variant. I think Fleischmann know what they're doing, for better or worse!

If you're UK-based, I can highly recommend Scograil. Excellent service and prices. Free shipping for orders over £35. The one time I did have to return an item (an IC2020 ironically!) they were very helpful and processed it with no fuss. https://www.scograil.co.uk/

I imagine that when Fleischmann tool up for a model like the Re4/4II, with so many variations possible coupled and a seeming lack of production capacity to release more than 2/3 variants at a time, they have a roadmap set out for the next 10+ years. So I wonder how much thought actually goes into what will fly off the shelves fastest. Maybe I'm assuming they have a plan and giving them too much credit! Arnold have done a similar thing with the New Pendolino - any number of variations on the market, but no sign of the "obvious" RABe 503 in plain SBB livery.

Another shot of the KISS from Facebook a couple of days ago. Perhaps they are gearing up for a 2024 release? Would be nice!

Just a couple of pick-ups for me recently: new release wagons from Hobbytrain and Arnold respectively. Both are excellent, with some lovely etched metal detail on the tanker. Merry Christmas all! 🎄 Andrew

In light of the fact that, yes, 2024 is somehow already upon us(!), I've updated the thread title. Seeing as the wishlist has already spoken the Re4/4 IV into reality 😉, we'll keep it going, but primarily this can be a place where we keep abreast of manufacturer announcements. All scales/eras/categories welcome! Andrew

Lemke's Autumn 2023 announcements; amongst other things, it looks like there will be a new run of IC2000s:

Not off-topic at all @Gordonwis - while the it's clearly possible to recreate some of these trains in N, I 'wish' there were more examples produced and with more regularity, so definitely appropriate for the wishlist. Another great example of the variety you see on Swiss railways, within just one type of wagon.

Great detail @Gordonwis, thank you. It looks as though I won't have too many problems assembling a prototypical mix-and-match consist. Cheers, Andrew

Thank you for the info and images @Gordonwis A little bit more digging and it looks like Fleischmann have some tankers in the 82581x range with new variants still being produced. Minitrix suggestion was spot on - this is exactly the type I'm looking for: https://www.trix.de/en/products/details/article/15367 Their numbering system is a little less intuitive but hopefully with a bit of digging I'll find more examples. Still no VTG in present day configuration. Maybe that's one for the wishlist!

Question for the forum hivemind: are there any N bogie tank wagons that would be appropriate for Swiss standard gauge set 2017-present? Specifically types that convey fuel/other flammables. 'Zacns' seems to crop up a lot in photos in various liveries and states of cleanliness - hopefully this gives you an idea of what I'm after! Cheers, Andrew