MOB 2002

You have been busy! I have to admit all of this talk of orange liveried stock set my mind wandering too. I was also rather inspired by finally getting a copy of ‘Die Seetalbahn’ by Hans Waldburger and Martin Senn. It’s quite some age now but absolutely rammed full of great pictures of the line. The one that really surprised me was a De6/6 Seetal Krok on a pair of air conditioned ‘Eurofima-ish’ carriages. Noting from the excellent synopsis in this thread that I’d have to compromise somewhere to represent the train, I decided to go with a pair of actual Eurofima first class carriages. They’re the Roco version and pretty decent too. Not far behind some much more recent offerings in my book. Mark

Good point ... I do wonder how much one can bring back without attracting attention though? What’s the personal allowance for toy trains? Mark

Yes, closely followed by a desperate attempt to make me change my search to replica football shirts! Sadly that’s one of the smaller frustrations of a post Brexit eBay as the number of sellers willing to send to the UK seems to be decreasing all the time, judging by the lack of variety on offer in Swiss items of late. Mark

Thanks, much appreciated. I can sense a hunt for some cheap Fleischmann carriages coming, I’ve already got a couple of ideas! Mark

It’s just struck me that this thread might be a good location for something that’s been nagging me for ages as it started with lots of Swiss carriage questions. I’ve seen photos of SBB bogie balcony carriages that appear to pre-date the Seetal pattern. Although presumably they formed the basis of the driving trailers used with the Seetal carriages and De4/4s, like this (and as modelled by Hochstrasser): https://bahnbilder-von-max.ch/large-picture-containers/sbb/strecke-seetal/beinwil-beromuenster//picture_01908.html From what I’ve seen they appear to be balcony versions of the heavy steel carriages as modelled by Fleischmann. Am I completely barking up the wrong tree? Mark

I suspect this is a bit earlier than what you have in mind, but lots of varied post train formations from 1990 to be found in this gem: Mark

I’ve got to start with a warning that this post contains a compromise ... ok, a couple. I’ve come to the conclusion that, once good track is easy to come by again, I’m going to be building a much larger layout in the loft. I’ve been measuring up and doing some drawings for another Seetal inspired layout with a scale length Beinwil am See track plan as the centrepiece. But, I want to keep this layout as it sits beside me in the office while I’m working. So, I’ve done some cheating on the overheads rather than shell out £400 or so on something that is admittedly almost perfect but now hard to justify. When I looked closely at pictures of the prototype it dawned on me that the overheads are set to the maximum reach of the pantographs, presumably to keep it as far away as possible from traffic. So I’ve gone for no wires, but pans up. To do that I’ve spent about £35 on Kato masts designed for their RhB range and some gantries aimed at the Japanese market. The masts are just painted, the gantries on the other hand I’m bodging to swap the round posts for H section. I’ve also removed lots of bits and done some general mucking about. These pictures are still a work in progress, everything is only loosely positioned while I check clearances etc. I’m hoping to get some of them a bit lower still and I’ve got a couple of other bits and pieces to tweak. Nevertheless, I thought I’d open myself up to criticism before I reach the point of no return. Mark

While I don’t think that the previous platforms were enormously high, I’m with you 100 per cent on the draw of the traditional low platformed Swiss station. Although the constant creep of modernisation is everywhere, I’m sure I saw one or two very low platforms still last summer. I didn’t take any photos sadly, but I seem to remember Territet, just outside of Montreux, as being quite a low one. The replacements certainly give a different air to the layout straight away and the occasional platform is a great idea. Mark

I really need to improve my frequency of posts ... and modelling. Bizarrely, I left things at the tricky subject of cow pats. After some experimentation I’ve opted for a bit of a combination of some of the suggestions above plus some other thinking. In the end I went with a mix of PVA glue and watercolour paint applied with a cotton wool bud. Not 100 per cent sure I’ve got my scaling right yet, but I’m going to leave it alone and maybe come back later if it doesn’t grow on me. I’ve also slowly been plugging away at buildings. I’m nearly finished a Faller butchers/bakers (233336). I’ve got to say, so far it’s been a cut above the others and the interior detailing makes a huge difference. I know Faller include those ‘paper masks’ but I’ve omitted all of those in the other buildings with the aim of coming back to detail interiors later. Which brings me to overhead wires. I’ve spent some time working out what I think are appropriate distances for masts and spans on various parts of the layout so I’m about to bite the bullet. But I’m still not 100 per cent decided on whether to go with Sommerfeldt catenary and have overscale wired, or to go with N-train parts from DM Toys and omit the wires. I’d really appreciate any experience or expertise that anyone has on the matter. Overheads are such an important part of a Swiss layout so I don’t want to get it wrong! Mark

Not sure I can take any credit for the cow bell, but I was impressed. The cows are Noch and quite good given their tiny size. I’ve been really surprised by how nice some of the scenic items available in N are these days. Special mention has to go to road vehicles from Lemke miNis, which look insanely good for their size. Mark

Perhaps I’ve been working on the layout too long tonight ... but, 1:160 cow pats, any ideas? Mark

The Half Fare card is geared up for Swiss residents from what I’ve seen. I get the impression most Swiss have one. I’m guessing that the Graubunden Pass is geared up for foreign visitors. Perhaps that’s why there’s an apparent disjoint? Mark

I can’t recommend the Swiss Pass enough. It makes a holiday in Switzerland one of the most relaxing experiences on earth. it might look pricey on the surface, but when you break it down and look at what it does for you, and your time in the country, it’s worth every penny. Genuinely hassle free, multi-modal travel of the type most of the rest of the world can only dream of. Paddle steamer from Montreux to Lausanne, Metro within Lausanne then train back to Montreux without a single stop at a ticket machine or booking office ... you could easily take it for granted. It looks like I was at the other end of Switzerland at the same time as the authors of this thread. The MOB is undergoing many of the multiple unit focussed changes that the RhB appears to be. Still a few opportunities to sample the old order though thankfully. Mark

I’m one of those lucky people who are still waiting to find out the fine detail of what our new local coronavirus restrictions will entail. On the plus side, it’s given me an excuse to get back to the layout. Started on an awkward corner tonight, needs a lot of detail still (appropriately) and my internal turmoil about how to tackle the overheads certainly hasn’t been helped! Mark

Hi Lemke miNis make (or made) a Mercedes O3500 PTT bus. I don’t have one of that model, but what I do have from miNis is pretty good. There’s a limited selection available in the UK from Gaugemaster, but I resorted to eBay and a German seller for my Slightly more modern PTT bus. Thanks Mark

The saga continues ... Eriam appear to suggest they take orders directly, but I’ve had no response to emails. Has anyone had experience of ordering from Roundhouse in Olten? It looks like they stock a lot of Eriam items, but their website isn’t the easiest to navigate. Mark

The pantographs on my stock vary wildly ... the contact ranges from about 8mm wide on the Piko Ae3/6 to around 16mm on the Hobbytrain Re4/4 and De4/4. I’m guessing most are actually from the same source though, Somerfeldt? When I get further on with the layout I’m planning some pantograph swaps to replace some of those that look less to scale if possible. Mark

Somehow it’s nearly three months since I posted on the layout that is still nameless. Unfortunately that’s because progress slowed somewhat as work and other things went up a gear. It’s also because I did manage a little trip to Switzerland before travel restrictions made it impossible though, so I mustn’t grumble too much (how can anyone grumble when it involved the always impressive Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke). What little time I’ve had has been focussed on the backlog of buildings. They’ve been concentrated on two areas; the left foreground by the still to be sorted loading dock at the station, and the rear of the layout. I’m itching to get them done so I can landscape around them and lose more of the bare base. On the left I’m trying to give an impression that the station is on the edge of town, so the buildings are deliberately becoming bigger and a little more modern. At the back I’m trying to create the look of a railway squeezed in between road and homes, like many stretches of the Seetalbahn. Whether I’m starting to get that look or not is probably for others to decide. Meanwhile the hunt for appropriate rolling stock continues; one recent success was another Arnold Leichtstahlwagen at last, which should arrive any time now. Mark

I thought I’d seen advice from the Swiss end that travel from the UK is not currently allowed? Hope I have got that wrong mind as I haven’t managed to sample the Krokodile workings from Davos to Filisur yet. Mark

That works pretty well together. I suppose the issue that only Brawa have really succeeded with so far, is accurately modelling the lower edge of the door. On a real EWI and EWII the bogie, door and step arrangement is very tightly packed together, which would almost certainly never work with model railway curvature. The compromise that Lima and Eriam have means that there’s only so much you can do. But, like you, I’m happy to accept the compromise rather than leave a major part of Swiss railway character out of the mix entirely. Mark

The solution with the Lima bogies seems like a good one. BLS EW I seem to be in much lower demand so I think sourcing an extra set should be a doddle. I guess I’m going to have to brush up on my French (which hasn’t proved successful with my attempts to land an RBe4/4 from a Swiss model shop so far) and try to get one ordered ... unless there’s anyone here looking to part with one for good money that is! Mark

I’m not jealous at all! Been trying to resist a De6/6 for weeks. Keep telling myself I need to get an RBe 4/4 first.

Thanks Robert! The wheels really are horrendous, but that’s an easy thing to rectify I suppose. Wheels aside I suppose the DZt might look alright alongside the Lima/Minibahn EW I ... although even they (along with most green era SBB stock in N scale) seem to be getting quite scarce at the moment. Mark

I stumbled across the Eriam N gauge SBB DZt steuerwagen (or driving trailer in British parlance) the other evening. http://www.eriam.ch/catalogue/catalogue_page1.html I don’t think I’ve ever seen any reference to one on a Swiss layout in the UK, despite the diverse rolling stock collections most people have. SBB driving trailers are something of a rarity from the established N scale brands, (although the Piko BDt is of course on its way to our shores soon) so I’m surprised there hasn’t been a bit of demand for such a thing from a smaller supplier. Does anyone have any experience of the Eriam DZt ... or any other Eriam carriages for that matter? They also do a Seetalbahn balconied bogie carriage. Mark

From the photos that appear in the usual places online, I get the impression that working is often used to exercise the older members of the fleet?