Samedan

Maybe I just never registered what they were. But I’m surprised myself that such a distinctive vehicle hasn’t registered previously. Nor have I seen anything about them in books or articles. ….. No need to point me to any, thanks. I know all I need to now.

I don’t model N gauge, so can’t offer practical advice from personal experience, but I’ve looked into the subject for HO and plan to employ super-elevation selectively. I imagine that you’d need to be careful not to overdo it with N gauge, as the actual elevation would need to be pretty small, in scale. If it helps, there are videos on the subject of SE on OO on YouTube on, if I recall, the Chadwick Model Railways and New Junction channels.

Interesting stuff. Lots of detail and coverage of a part of the region that I don’t know well. But clearly has a lot of interesting traffic and infrastructure. I confess, I’d never heard of, let alone seen, a mobile substation!

Looks good. But try fitting one of those on an HO layout!

Yes, the whole Easy Track system looks really good. I like the way that they are providing all the parts you need to construct a neat, multi-level layout structure, so involving some construction but taking a lot of the stress and, for some people, chore out of it, and letting the modeller get on with the enjoyable side of scenic modelling. The hobby really needs this kind of innovation if it is to prosper. Like you, I’m heavily invested in HO and HOm, so it’s not going to be for me, but I think I did notice a brief mention that the Bergün station building will be available as an HO kit in September. I hope that the loco shed and the depot building based on Samedan will be produced in HO. And why only produce the attractive stone arched bridges in N and Z? I’ve also just had a look at the very nicely produced Faller new items video. The Bodensee Schiff looks really exciting - assuming that’s going to be in HO. The only serious model kits in HO of European lake boats that I’ve previously seen are very large and very expensive, so I’ll be keeping an eye on the Fallervmodel, although it’s bound to be pricey given its size and complexity. faller also appear to be going to produce a traditional Engadine house, complete with very well produced scraffito facade. The contemporary style house looked potentially very useful and could be seen anywhere in Europe, as did the brewery and modern glass walled office building, though they will probably be too big for my layout. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of useful structures in the Viessmann/Kibri video, which was very poorly presented in my opinion and quite difficult to follow.

Anyway, changing scales to HOm, this beauty from Bemo has got my juices flowing. I’ve coveted the “Crystal Panoramic” set (as it was originally called) for years and found good ones very hard to come by. It’ll be eye-wateringly expensive, and I don’t generally model the MOB, but I’ll have to have it. Not my preferred traditional MOB pale blue livery, but I love the Pininfarina designed lines.

It’s likely that there are differences in Continental European as opposed to U.K. (and Ireland) manufacturers. Although, to me, they seem counter-intuitive, given that the British consumer base must currently be weaker than the (Western) European norm. what I’m on about mainly, is the trend from British manufacturers, especially the newer and/or more niche brands, which seem to splurge numerous livery and period variants pretty much immediately. Perhaps the increasing trend towards limited production runs with an emphasis on “when they’re gone, they’re gone” pre-ordering is part of it? Whereas, Continental brands do seem to be playing a relatively cautious game these days. I suppose that one of the problems facing those supplying the Swiss-interested market is that brand new locos or sets, as opposed to endless livery variations, only appear infrequently. So they are left constantly fiddling about with livery and minor detail variants. Of course, the complaints that old favourites keep reappearing, rather than gaps being filled, reflects the view of the committed modeller who probably already has a lot of models in their collection. If a brand wants to attract new custom and appeal to the younger or less committed, they need to keep pushing colourful, iconic and widely-travelled prototypes. Interestingly, I’ve recently come from being involved in Pete Waterman’s / Railnuts Christmas exhibition in Cheshire. Lots of enthusiastic youngsters through the door. Based on anecdotal evidence from these exhibitions, Pete’s strongly held view is that the kids are really, really interested in attractive express trains that are currently running on the main lines. Such as Azumas. Can they be much different from their counterparts across the Channel?

You don’t say whether you have space for a “hole in the middle” circuit or if it’s got to be all in a line. If it’s the latter, then to achieve multiple levels you’ve probably got to resort to at least one helix at one end, if not both. I debated long and hard whether to incorporate a helix (on my HO layout), with the helix at one end to raise the track to a high level and then use a series of loops and curves to gradually bring the line back down (and up of course). I always look enviously at layouts that can achieve that, incorporating high level viaducts, such as Bieschtal on the Lötschberg Sud Rampe. For interaction between road and rail, without taking up a lot of space, you could simply have a private siding to a timber yard, stone or concrete plant, or any kind of factory or warehouse (bottled beer or water, sugar beet etc).

Ooh, you’ve put me on the spot. I suppose it must seem like that, relative to N or any other gauge/scale. It does sometimes feel like we mostly get a lot of new liveries, rather than new models, but that is simply a reflection of the actual situation on the network I guess. Now that we have not one but two Girunos for the standard gauge and a Capricorn on the way for the RhB, the most obvious contemporary trains are catered for. However, my budget may not stretch to either. One prototype that I would be prepared to shell out for is the lovely bronze SOB Treno Gotthardo, but there doesn’t seem to be one in the pipeline from the major manufacturers, as far as I can see. No doubt there are missing relatively historic prototypes and variants that some must long for, together with representatives of the minor lines, both standard and narrow gauge, but I’m mostly interested in the post-green eras. Moreover, whilst the RhB continues to be well covered, the ZB, MGB and MOB could be better covered I would think. Given the number of people from all over the world who holiday there, it continues to surprise me that the BOB and WAB are not represented in mainstream RTR.

Is there anybody primarily interested in HO on here…..?

Your layout ideas resonate with my own current project, coyly called “Swiss Lakeside”. The eventual name has yet to be found. This is actually now a superseded version but it shows the basic concept. As can be seen, it’s in HO and HOm, so occupies over half of a double garage. It’s not based on a specific location, but on a variety of impressions in my mind’s eye. Since the metre gauge will be based on the RhB, I’m not going to try to situate it in the Montreux region! Moreover, I want the location to be more “central Switzerland Alpine” in character. I find that largely straight platforms better convey the impression of Swiss mainline stations for me, so achieving that in HO in the space available (approx 16 ft long) was a major planning constraint. I decided that I wanted the metre gauge platforms in front of the station building, in the manner of Brig, for example, with bus interchange taking place in the same area. It will be assumed that the lake shore is just in front of the metre gauge platforms, right on the edge of or just off the baseboard. Finding a suitable station building, of reasonable scale and importance but fitting into the limited available depth, has been a bit of a headache. My original aspiration for the visible lakeside, next to the lower part of the town, was to model a sufficiently expansive chunk of lake on which to place an actual model of a paddle steamer. But I reluctantly decided that, in HO, it would require too much space. I hope to start a specific thread about the project, so I won’t say much more here. What I will say though, is that, after actual-size track planning on large sheets of paper and with construction of baseboards now underway, even more compromise has been found to be necessary. To paraphrase an old military dictum, no layout plan completely survives first contact with actual construction.

Thanks for digging out the CM cover. I’m totally undecided now! One thing that’s indisputable is that, in the 1990s, Bemo trains set incredibly high standards and that, coupled with the superb layouts that a few modellers were creating to run them on, really persuaded me to seriously start taking an interest in Swiss railways and their model counterparts. It’s just a pity that it’s taken me 30 years to get round to building a proper layout.

Thanks for the explanation @PaulRhB and @Keith Addenbrooke regarding the FO tunnel motors. I must confess that I’d never heard of this. I had wondered for a while if Barrie Kelsall was simply revealing that he was a normal, human modeller who just liked to run trains that he liked, regardless of whether they fitted with his location and period! I can’t be the only person who secretly enjoys that time towards the end of the last day at exhibitions when a Union Pacific Big Boy suddenly emerges from a tunnel on the Settle - Carlisle line. I’m not sure if Via Mala was the layout I’m trying to recall. I can’t find any photos of it after Googling it. I do seem to recall either seeing it or reading an article in CM about it. On the exhibition scene in the 1990s sure enough. Wasn’t it an end to end or “simple” continuous run with fiddle yard layout? And it was based on a “what might have been” scenario? Or I may be remembering “Maloja”? Either way, the one I saw in Derby was definitely not intended to be an accurate representation of a location.

Ah, that was very therapeutic. Bob Symes, they don’t make presenters like that anymore. Like sitting down with your uncle in his lounge. I think I must have seen Filisur live, assuming it was exhibited, but I can’t remember very distinctly. Super layout, but how come the FO were responsible for a Davos-Filisur shuttle? 😉 One Swiss layout that made an early impression on me (as in early in my interest in Swiss railways) was exhibited at the Derby exhibition, which used to focus on Continental layouts, back in the late 1990’s I’d guess. I can’t remember the name, but it was a multi-level HOm layout, not based on any real location, but showing off the operational and scenic possibilities in a fairly compact space. I don’t recall ever seeing it again.

One always needs a bigger fiddle yard!