Taigatrommel

I love the ergonomics of the Multimaus, it's probably my favourite handheld throttle on the market. That said, the PowerCab is an absolute breeze to program with, that alone almost sells it to me.

I found some DIY circuits for XpressNET command stations online, I'm interested in them. I could also simply use Lenz or a Hornby Elite (which would add a USB interface), but these are things to think about when I haven't got an exhibition looming ahead of me. I'd also like to find time to check the MultiZentrale manual to see if that has voltage control.

Hey Dominik,

I know the signals are wrong for Saxony, but I think ringing the changes at the show will be nice. Plus, I'm next to a Märklin layout at RailEx, so in comparison I'll look very accurate!

Excuse me, I'd best drink this saucer of milk...

By the way, Rich - what was the motive power you were meaning to use for the ex-DR set? I believe you mentioned this to me once.

The DBAG set, which would see the setting of the layout shift to Saxony, would comprise the following:

219 plus Halberstadts and Bybdyf^482.1. The 219 is currently in transit from Germany, and has been since 29/10. Fingers crossed it'll be here in time.

202 plus Halberstadts or freight

232 plus IC/IR Kurswagen or Halberstadts

364 plus freight

628

Spare stock includes a DBmq⁷⁷⁶, DBuz and DABuzf⁷⁷⁸. I could always blu-tack up some Dapol OHLE masts and run 143s as well

My moustached friend,

 

The weathering on the track has certainly pulled the layout together, it's all got a nice tone to it. Some general clutter and things about will no doubts finish it all off!

 

Pix

Moutsached? Nah mate, I've joined the badger hiding brigade now!

Clutter is something I really don't want- although a little run down, the branch stations such as Wuppertal-Cronenberg and Gersfeld which provide the inspiration for Bad Horn are quite tidy, weed growth and dirt excepted.

Don't overdo it for this period in the West though. Nice and clean is good.

I'm still tempted to re-power it. I remembered Piko do a 218 in the hobby range, I'll check out the service sheets and see if that has flywheel drive. It won't happen pre-RailEx though!

 

If you have time/inclination, I think toning down the black sleepers would make a big difference.

Sh*t liberally applied this evening

Hi Roger,

It's not bad operationally, I can't say as I've written a timetable for it though! The ex-DR lot should be a little more fun, as there are conventional loco hauled passenger trains which require a loco run-round. Whether I have an ex DR (DBAG) set running at RailEx depends upon whether or not the traction for its push-pull set has arrived, which is presently in the care of DHL somewhere between Karlsruhe and Wellington!

The box was from Jaycar electronics, the local equivalent of maplins. You can sort of see in the pics of the signals that it has a sloped top- in a moment of cunning I built the switch panel into the bottom of the box, so that it could be turned around to slope towards the operator whether in front of (as at home) or behind (as at exhibition) the layout. It's brittle blooming plastic though- even with sharp drill bits and a succession of pilot holes shards of plastic came off leaving untidy holes. Luckily the switches hide that!

Hi Dominik,

Is it a condition for large scale new developments that they should have public transport incorporated into them? Even if it isn't, it's good to see!

Oh, quick question! Do you know of a working points indicator at all? That'd be very useful!

Hi Dominik,

Ra12s are a must, I have some amongst the Erbert points detailing parts. I've yet to put the signal trunking in as well, but I should have done that before ballasting really. Ra10 would be well beyond the scenic break, along with the entry signals, so not one I have to worry about.

Hi Dominik,

The Zs1 doesn't light up, not a big problem really as its not needed in day to day use. It'd be an interesting one to use, but to be honest, if a signal failed, it would be easier to replace the whole thing than try to fit lights to the Zs1! For anyone reading who wonders what Zs1 is, it's a subsidiary used when the main signal head has failed, and indicates that the signal is safe to pass. If anyone is interested in German railway signalling, I'll again give a link to Wolfgang Meyenberg's Sh1.org german railway signalling website. It's in English, and an excellent resource.

I don't thing the "freir Fahrweg" will really be in use on Bad Horn as all shunt moves will involve reversals, so there's not really any possibility of a clear run from start point to end point!

I found mixing long and short fibres gives a good coverage with the look of length, while long fibres alone look patchy.

Rather than spending too much time and money on a lost cause, I'll learn from my mistakes for my longer term projects. The trees on the right are ones I made to match the colours of the backscene (and I'm fairly happy with), but I found it so utterly tedious I caved in and bough a load of trees for the rest. At the moment airbrushing isn't likely to happen either as my compressor is on the other side of the globe, and with a return looking to be in the forseeable future now I'm loathe to buy another for one job. This layout was built basically using spare materials, rather than draining resources from the main layout (which now has an uncertain future anyway!).

For the main part, the station has been toned down a lot already, and the walls are the colour I want. It's meant to look like one freshly modernised and fittings painted up into corporate image, as part of a station refurb which would have seen the new platform shelter installed. The roof and guttering needs work, as they have details yet to be fitted (there's a job I missed off my list).

A repaint to a concrete colour would probably suit the hardstanding well. I used Roughcoat as primer, which gives a nice texture, but having moved the layout into the house from the garage some filler shrank and cracked, which would lend itself to a concrete appearance.

Anyway, I feel at the moment the visual blend with the backscene mainly concerns physical view blocks of the join than trying to match colours. Look out onto a vista, and the closer to you something is, the stronger its colour appears owing to atmospheric effects, so to tone everthing down to match the backscene would make it look shallower.

Nice bit of variety there- and looks like pleasant weather. The days of the old Tatras on Leipzig's tram network must surely be numbered?

Looking at that photostrip, I have a sense that there were some lucky elements in that crash. The train stayed upright, and the damage from the lorry didn't penetrate deep into the passengers saloon. That's not to say it wasn't truly frightening for those involved, merely that if one compares to the Great Heck or Ufton Nervet, it was thankfully less severe.

Whoah! Autocouplings? Are DB planning to take NS's lead and fit some locos with auto couplings for push-pull operations?

Hi Dominik, I don't mean the "early DB" 761s and 762s, I mean in the following post you link to the same pic of a 766 twice rather than showing the latest Bombardier product!

Why do I feel an order to Ian Allan for this book coming on? Mind you, at a 2004 publication date, there's going to be a lot not covered!

Hi Dominik, in the rake of the cab I'm purely comparing model to prototype.

And I think you've done my trick and given the same link twice where you meant to give two different ones!

Nice review. But ouch the cab on the DBmq776 looks like a total after thought! Asthetic design wasn't top of the brief with that one. A former DR design I guess?

 

Never ceases to amaze me how many different designs of double deck stock there are in Germany. I'm most familiar with the

Munich, Landshut, Muhldorf and Passau areas on Germany (I have family there) and the driving cars in use there are different again.

I didn't really intend this as a review of the model, more a preview of the work I'll do on it!

I know what you mean about the number of different dosto designs, I keep thinking I should buy the book I've seen about them, but I have a feeling the story ain't over yet.

I have of course, given the wrong link... I'll find the one I meant to give and edit.

Just found a pic in the Platform 5 combined volume from 1990, all the bogie pipework appears white.

Different pipes are different colours depending on what they're for, white, blue and orange seem common. I guess your best bet is to find a pic of an ex-works 60 and work from there. Also, I think the recently replaced undergubbin is probably a compressor.

By bizarre coincidence I was just reading about the 2002 floods. I'm not up to date with the news, but a quick glance suggests these are even worse than 2002 or 2006. Three sets of major floods in eight years... I really feel for the people living in these areas, they're surely barely over the last lot.

As 60s are to me an approaching rumble, I'd say they're on loco where a bass reflex speaker is abosolutely essential. But that's only cos you can't fit a 12" cone for gut trembling thunder!