MOB FAN

SBB1 made this comment on another thread: “What I have in mind is a scenic test track based on the well-photographed, snaking section of line between Burgdorf and Wynigen.” I went the Google Maps and looked at the area mentioned. This looked like something that could be replicated using Kato Unitrack super elevated curves. Has anyone done this or know of track plans that feature snaking curves using Unitrack? Seems like it could get expensive buying track sections to experiment with. I did come across an N scale layout that featured track work like this but was hoping for more detailed track choice from the owner. Perhaps he’ll come across. Any thoughts?

I’ll be on the Interlaken-Montreux train on Christmas morning. At this time it’s one round trip daily (from what I hear). West bound and east bound trains meet at Gstaad.

Check with Buhler in Interlaken.

Isn’t this town slated for closure in the future when the nearby ammunition storage is emptied out?

I live in the US and bank transfers always stymied me. Ungodly expensive to do at local banks, as the US isn’t set up to do them. Found PayPal’s Zoom which allows me to make bank transfers for a reasonable fee. I’ve also found many Swiss, and other European and British, sellers reluctant to ship to the US.

In your first post you said you had the same problem with an ABe 4/4 III. What happened with it?

Have you entertained the thought of switching to another brand of decoder?

I went to the bike shop in Kublis in June 2014. I recall the station area being torn up at that time. On a side note, the Terminus Hotel in Kublis looks like a nice place to stay. Ah, the wonders of Google Maps.

I killed some time on YouTube. None of the BEMO Allegras had lighted destination boards, even ones with sound detectors.

Looks nice. The interior lights are standard? What brand decoder and does it do Swiss forward/reverse lighting?

I placed an order with MSL on the 7th. They shipped on the 10th and it was on my front porch in Mascoutah, Il. on the 15th. No complaints at all. While shipping was 27€, it was cheaper than a trip to Germany and much better than waiting 6-8 weeks for a US dealer to get the items in.

Many of my vacations occurred when the Schynige Platte wasn’t running, but I did manage to ride it one time. I hiked back down from the top (gravity assist). The views down the valleys were superb, and everything looked oh so tiny. I highly recommend it.

What was your vantage point for photos 4-6? Sadly, the BOB is like all the other narrow gauge railroads, losing it’s identity with lookalike equipment. I go back to the old brown and cream days. Thanks for the pics. David

Site maintenance or something today. Sometimes it’s just hard to get it to load. That’s when I get frustrated. I’ve noticed locations of cameras and stations have been changing a bit since the relaunch. Sadly, some of the shots (Filisur immediately comes to mind) now are from a farther distance that before, losing much detail. But for someone longing to go back to the country, I’ll take what I am offered. I just caught a departure from Tiefencastel at 06:14. Amazing light show provided by arcing between the catenary and pantograph.

The RhB updated it’s livestream today. New stations, new camera angles, new timing, some deletions. https://www.rhb.ch/en/interactive/rhb-livestream David

Any further information on these diesels?

I was referring to using standard N gauge Unitrack for converted Bemo stock. The largest radius is 15”, or 381mm, the minimum “good” radius for Bemo. While the ties don’t look that good, Unitrack is good for temporary or speedy track laying, or for track klutzes. For an eye level layout, you see mostly rails and ballast, so ties really don’t matter.

“The very point of Kato launching the items was in order to benefit from their already available 'plug and play' Unitrack system.” If one is more interested in using Unitrack that compromising on gauge, why not use N scale Unitrack with Bemo items converted with 9mm wheelsets? There’s a rather old gentleman near me that has tons of Bemo running on N gauge track.

Regarding the locomotive in Rochelle - Whitcomb built locomotives in Rochelle until 1952 when production was moved to the Baldwin plant in Eddystone, Pennsylvania.

What is the white and red unit to the left of the photo at 1:27? David

In stock at Walthers: https://www.walthers.com/scenic-snowflakes-500ml

No one else in Sparta will know....

The Fama/Utz/AlpinLine uses 22.5 mm gauge track, while BEMO uses finescale 22.2 mm. In the US we have readily available S Gauge track that has a track gauge of 22.43 mm. The F/U/AL products run well on this track, although the flanges are too deep for the turnout flangeways. Would BEMO finescale products run on this track? If not, where would the problem lay? Thanks, David

To clarify - the Crystal Panoramic picked power up by the driving trailers and coaches, then power was transmitted through the coupler? I saw one on an auction site that mentioned issues with the couplers. This would indicate bigger problems than just keeping the rolling stock coupled up. David

That must one sharp turnout. https://map.geo.admin.ch/mobile.html?lang=en&topic=ech&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisstopo.zeitreihen,ch.bfs.gebaeude_wohnungs_register,ch.bav.haltestellen-oev,ch.swisstopo.swisstlm3d-wanderwege&layers_opacity=1,1,1,0.8&layers_visibility=false,false,false,false&layers_timestamp=18641231,,,&E=2771071.07&N=1184107.53&zoom=12