MOB 2002

Does anyone have any views on when we have to stop referring to this as a hobby and start calling it an addiction? Piko Ae3/6 No. 10710 joined the collection today. I’ve wanted one of these for ages and nearly bought one from Germany, but one finally came up on UK EBay and I was weaker than I realised. It’s actually a pretty old model now, but I don’t think it had ever run. Took some liberal application of graphite to the rails and a spot of lubrication for satisfactory running. May need a bit more attention yet. Mark

The pantograph is sprung. Certainly not the best on the market, but not the worst either. Windscreen wipers, front hand rail and mirrors are all separate parts. The mirrors in particular are an immediately noticeable improvement on the old Roco models big plastic lumps. Mark

This month really hasn’t gone well. Just when I thought the new Hobbytrain Re4/4 IVs might never arrive - this appeared on the Scograil website: Looks pretty good, runs really well and of course a vast improvement over the old Roco model in terms of detail. Must resist getting another! Mark

I’ve had another Contikits splurge. Some more FS passenger stock, and some other little gaps filled. The rarest addition was probably this Wabu small series full brake, obviously adapted from Hobbytrain RIC parts. A lot less sophisticated is this Lima FS full brake. It’s not accurate at all, but it’ll be a useful stand in as there’s no sign of this livery appearing on something more accurate any time soon. Just like 95% of people who have bought the Kato RIC pack with two couchettes and a green/grey RIC rebuild I suspect, there was only really one of the three that I ‘needed’ but they don’t come up often in the U.K. so never mind. I’ve seen some suggestions that the livery doesn’t sit well next to Roco/Fleichmann EWIV, but I don’t think it’s that bad. And I’ve now got an excuse for an EWIII to make an appearance in due course. A pair of the Sputnik brakevans used as barrier vehicles for moving EWIII stock. The Arnold Ee3/3 was also a new purchase. I think I’ve added a dozen carriages, two brakevans and two locos in a little over a fortnight. The modelling budget has really had a battering this month - whoops! I’ve also just realised that I’ve now got more than 100 carriages for a layout I haven’t even started 🤦‍♂️ Mark

A real bargain just arrived today. Hobbytrain Re4/4 II of the first batch in green. There’s a 2021 date written on the box, but it looks like it’s never been used and ran well straight from the box. Even the most discounted price I’ve seen for a ‘new’ one was in the region of £120. This one, £50! And I thought the days of the eBay steal were long gone. Mark

The actual ticket is only one element though … I paid more for parking at the airport than I did the return flights last year, then there’s the time penalty of insane check in requirements and in most cases exorbitant additional costs if you want to take a decent sized bag - it all adds up. Mark

I’m not even sure it needs to be direct, just avoid the complications of a cross Paris connection. A simple cross platform change somewhere and I’d be sold. Given that year-round Newcastle - Geneva flights are no longer a thing, it’s only the time lost and aggro involved in the current connections that tips the balance towards flying for me now. Mark

Do you still consider your project ‘stalled’? Mark

Agreed wholeheartedly- it is very frustrating that every possible version seems to have at least one error! My cant rail observations are merely from photos on the likes of Polier.ch, although even ScalaeNNe has a comparison photo showing that various nations got their cant rail treatment completely different. As far as I can tell actual uniformity only arrived at the UIC Z family. My donor bogies are on the way and I’ve worked out how to dismantle the Fleischmann roof so all being well I’ll get something passable in the end. Mark

In a word … yes: It turns out that Rivarossi bogies clip straight in and what a difference they make! Buffer heights now line up and the overall height is much more acceptable. I’ll need to take the razor saw to them to lose the moulded in steps and coupling pocket, but that looks doable. Just trying to source some more now as I don’t want to destroy the FS sleeper I’ve borrowed this one off to test the concept. Thanks so much for the suggestion - I guess I didn’t expect the solution to be that easy! Now to decide whether I try to tackle the roofs. Mark

Part of the problem seems to be the size of the wheels. They look enormous. I might gamble on some small diameter wheelsets before I write the job off completely as a lesson learned. Mark

This is technically Italian stock … but very definitely for a Swiss layout - so only partial apologies. I’ve picked up a trio of Fleischmann UIC carriages in FS liver and grey livery. Now I know they’re less accurate than ideal, particularly around the roof, but the scarcity of vehicles in that livery and the mix and match nature of stock during the era I’m modelling still made a purchase fairly desirable. I also knew in advance that the Fleischmann UIC stock rides high - but I don’t think I was quite prepared for how high! In reality the cant rail of the FS UIC is higher than the SBB equivalent on the right. But not that much higher. Has anyone successfully lowered the overall ride height of a Fleischmann UIC? Mark

It’s been a long time since I’ve had some time for this layout, but things have conspired to give a few hours. I was never really happy with the Kato office building that was screening the exit to the fiddle yard. A while back I bought an alternative, a grain warehouse and silo set from Faller. This is them nearly complete and posed in place to allow me to adjust the scenery and check clearances before the last detail components get fitted. The silos also come with enough bits to create a conveyor belt bridge over the railway to add a proper scenic break for the first time. I need to get everything perfectly in location before I build and install that though. Lots of tidying up to do, but a definite improvement in my mind. The Fleischmann Re4/4 II is another project. One of a pair acquired to improve the glazing and replace the pantographs while awaiting the next generation model. Mark

Scary isn’t it … I still consider them the ‘modern’ locos that displaced the ‘interesting’ stuff! 😳 Mark

It’s a 1st / 2nd composite (ABm in Swiss parlance) of the UIC X type, a 1960s design primarily intended for international traffic. Mark

Just back from a work trip to the South Coast - if that’s still available after I find out how much it’s going to cost for repairs to my car caused by the utterly horrendous road surfaces in Kent and Sussex (at least one shock absorber now on the way out) I might be very tempted by a bit of articulated MOB filth! I think I’ve got space for a shelf style HOm layout, but not a lot more without scrapping my N scale plans at great expense. Mark

Being on board during a coupling is an experience to say the least - anyone who isn’t expecting it or steady on the feet is going to be stumbling at best. I wonder if anyone has actually been hurt. Presumably they need quite a thump to join reliably? Incidentally I did see a passenger totally wiped out by the retracting steps on a Capricorn at Wiesen. It turns out the steps retract before the doors actually shut, so at a low platform the step can be literally taken away from underneath passengers. I suspect a moderately updated Allegra (or something similar to the Zentralbahn Adler sets) would have been a whole lot better. Mark

Some lovely stock there - I did the chocolate train in its latter days, not long before the Broc regauging, with the branded Gde4/4 and it was a good day out. Fully booked too so it must have been worthwhile for the MOB. And you’re totally right on the Dze6/6. I’ve only ever sampled it at Blonay Chamby. Even during the big anniversary steam gala they did a few years back (eight or nine locos in steam I think), there was still a group of photographers around No. 2002 whenever it moved. A really special loco. One day I’ll succumb and buy a model of it too - but I’m scared I’ll want to build a layout to go with it … and seeing your inspirational work isn’t helping either! 🤣 Mark

I’m not basing my thoughts on the old loco vs unit debate. I’d prefer to be in an EWI, but I have to admit the Allegra and Capricorn are very decent trains. I’m more basing it on the fact that I don’t believe the RhB of even a few years ago would have had months of bus replacements. It also feels like the Bernina and Albula lines are increasingly seen as of much greater importance than everything else. I think Davos has probably suffered more than most. The Landquart-Davos line has felt like it was seen as a lesser route even before Covid. I hope it’s a blip, I still love travelling on the RhB. I’m a long day out kind of person who likes to squeeze a lot in - so buses on the later and earlier trains is a massive turn off for me. I commented to someone the other day that Graubunden seems to get far less attention from marketing to international visitors than it once did. The Jungfrau area seems to be pulling that off better than most these days - certainly for summer visitors. Perhaps there’s a bigger trend at play? Mark

Agree - I’ve worked in journalism and media relations for long enough to know that the truth will be much more complicated than conveyed. Mark

Only the ‘replicas’ are in traffic now, and even then sandwiched in the middle of a multiple unit. I seem to recall that the original cars (101 and 102 I believe) were never converted to feature the couplings now in use with the Stadler motor cars? I’m not quite sure what became of 101 and 102, I’m sure there was some reference to them being sold by the MOB, but if that has happened I’ve missed it. The MOB seems to blow hot and cold on its heritage. A couple of years ago I ended up travelling in one of the replicas from Montbovon to Montreux. A couple opposite were raving about the historic features. My other half innocently asked me how old the carriage was and the couple opposite looked quite cheated when they overheard as I told her it was less than 20 years old and it was all essentially fake. The replicas clearly do convince most people though. Mark

It looks like there are many other things going on at the RhB that might be contributing to the lack of demand for Ge4/4 II’s … and everything else: https://www.bahnonline.ch/61325/produktionsanpassungen-bei-der-rhb/ There’s some pretty drastic service cuts in there - Davos to Filisur almost completely replaced by buses for example. The additional Rhine Gorge trains are gone this year and although the Krok scheduled trains remain, using them without any other trains between Davos and Filisur isn’t exactly going to be attractive. I was already considering giving Graubunden a miss on my Swiss trip in 2024 - this pretty much confirms that decision. The RhB seems to be rapidly becoming a shadow of its former self. Mark

Hobbytrain and other Lemke brands 2024 announcements have appeared. Actually the most disappointing yet - one extra livery for the already close Re4/4 IVs while all references to the Bpm carriages have vanished. https://lemkecollection.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Lemke-Neuheiten-2024.pdf On the plus side, I think my travel budget for 2024 has grown substantially in these last couple of weeks! Mark

Maybe it’s no coincidence that my wallet seems to open for Piko products quite regularly 🤔 I think I’ve only managed to buy one new (as opposed to second hand) Fleischmann loco (under £200) since I returned to the hobby during covid. In the same time I must have spent about four times that on new Piko traction despite their more limited range. Mark * actually the same is true on carriage stock too - a couple of Fleischmann EW IV vs a full length rake of Piko EW I.

It occurs to me that human behaviour is not fixed. Has research caught up? Particularly in something like model railway stock purchases, that behaviour will be impacted massively by external factors. I wonder if some of the problems currently being seen aren’t a slow reaction to changing spending behaviours? We all justify our model railway expenditure in different ways. But in this example I suspect most will think it’s much easier to internally justify an Re4/4 II that will fill a substantial gap (the last generation never adequately covered green or red variants at all), than another model of exactly the same loco in a livery that’s always a bit niche. If money isn’t going as far as it once was, the decision could easily change. Adding the apparently fixed dominant model of releases, to changes in spending habits could actually be a recipe for disaster. If everyone is following pretty much the same model then the opportunities for the dangers of group think to creep in are clear. Are manufacturers holding on for a pay day that may never come? I’m not going to change a manufacturers mind - I am but a random interested individual, but it’s in all of our interests that they get it right and flourish really. Personally, if I was running a model railway manufacturer right now, I think I’d be looking for a cash cow. Mark