bantam61668

Thank you for the comments, I'm aware the Swiss system is very different, I just wanted to have a practice run and positioning masts and soldering wires before attempting on my much larger more complex SBB layout. I figured if I make a complete mess of it or find its just not for me better to have spent £20-30 on catenary than many hundreds....

A great Flickr site for European railways, 2 albums of Br 23 https://www.flickr.com/photos/42309484@N03/albums/72157638139895435 https://www.flickr.com/photos/42309484@N03/albums/72157630356060524

I am building a small German depot layout based around a Faller kit and want to install Sommerfeldt OHLE on the line at the back (see attached photo) with the 2xBr01 on it. I want to have a practice run at installing catenary before having a go on my main Swiss layout. The line is 70 cm long so I plan to use 2x360 mm lengths of wire and have 2 masts (Sommerfeldt 185) and an anchor mast at the end of the line (Sommerfeldt 124). Would it be prototypical to feed the wires straight into the anchor or should I use a tension assembly (Sommfeldt 159) on the anchor mast at the end of the siding? I'm currently just planning what parts I need to order ready to get started. Does what I have planned sound about right, am I missing anything? All help and advice gladly accepted as I've never built any catenary before.

Latest addition to my fleet BLS 192 on shed with some friends

Thank you both, will get on with it at the weekend

I plan to hard wire an old Roco Swiss electric (Ae 6/6) an have done a few similar Roco conversions before but this one is a little different under the body and seems to conduct via the metal chassis block through the two screws in at the top of the picture. I have sketched on the picture where I plan to solder the wires and cut the PCB, does this look the right way to do it? Would rather get a 2nd opinion before butchering my model. Many thanks in advance

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Latest one off the workbench a Roco AM 4/4 converted to DCC and weathered. Seen here on shed next to a pristine version straight out of the box as a comparison

Kibri do quite a few buildings suitable for a Swiss model some of the ones I have: 38015 – H0 House Maple in Davos 48816 House Casanna in Davos 48817 House Surselva in Davos 38021 Tourist office in Davos 38035 Gauge Barn and shed 38814 Swiss Barn 39495 set Walser village 38813 Antonius Chapel in Saas-Grund 38808 Farm building in Emmental 8056 Hotel Bären (not sure if still available) I'm sure the other major manufacturers Auhagen, Faller, Viessmann etc do suitable buildings too for example Faller 120279 H0 Bausatz Lokschuppen Filisur There is also a Dutch manufacturer Tilly who I have bought a couple of models from, they are very reasonably priced https://www.tillymodels.nl/categorieen/categorie/17-h0-zwitsers there is also Swiss one which is a bit more expensive https://www.mbapiro.ch/produkte.php?content_id=3 and if you really want to splash the cash there are some lovely buildings here https://www.nm-bahnen.ch/index.htm I also have a couple of wooden kits of RhB buildings made by Fides that I picked up cheap on ebay, I've not got round to making them so no idea what they are like but they seem to sell them here https://www.hobby-shop.ch/de/Fides.c427.2.html and a couple of other manufacturers https://eyro.ch/onlineshop/index.php?cPath=71 https://eyro.ch/onlineshop/index.php?cPath=71_206

Wow, that's quite some trackplan!

Thanks, it’s a location I know pretty well too, my father in-law lives just down the toad in Zäziwil so I visit the area more often than I would like;) I think the West end of Konolfingen would make a great model if only I had the space. As well as the Nestle factory there is the junction and the small depot between the lines to Thun and Bern, lots of operational interest. Looking forward you seeing your version of Spiez, the retaining walls on my depot layout took inspiration from there.

Agreed but looking at the layout at Konolfingen there isn’t much room in front of the shed either, guess they can fit the small internal shunter and 1 wagon there. Maybe moving the shed over to the parallel line would be better, should still be room for a small loco to run round in front of the shed building and gives better access to the sidings.

Yes I have a Rivarossi Em3/3 that I plan to use or if I want to go back in time aTigerli, both are dcc fitted. My other possibilities are Bm4/4, Am840 or Am843 but they are probably all a bit big. I guess a small industrial shunter might work too, I have a Liliput fireless 0-4-0 that could be a good fit

I'm starting to plan my next layout and thinking of a shunting plank based on the classic Timesaver track plan. I've been looking around for some inspiration and come up with an idea of basing the track loosely on the Nestle factory at Konolfingen but plan to use a variety of building kits I have accumulated over the years to allow plenty of wagon types.Here is my idea for a 6ftx1.5ft layout, I've never attempted anything like this before so any feedback on the plan and any ideas for modification are most welcome. I've based it around about 19cm for a wagon/loco which seems to be about right for most of my Swiss wagons and each siding been 2 or 3 wagon lengths. Here is the satellite view and track plan for the small yard at Konolfingen

Thank you, will see how it goes the plan is a semi-roundhouse like the one a Brig so should still be able to most of it

A selection between Bergün and Preda from years gone by. I also have quite a few taken from the rear of the train when I travelled up there in a panorama wagon behind a krok in 2013. I’m sure I could find some of these and share them if your interested

I never realised that was the reason for their ‘un-Swiss’ shape. Of course there are also locos with the same body design on the MOB and BAM but the RhB ones came first. I’ve never really been a fan of them preferring the Ge 4/4i and Ge 4/4ii, I do think the nickname “Krytens” as used by many UK enthusiasts is really quite apt

Recently been working on the hard standing around my turntable which has been a pain to do. Made from lightweight filler then painted and weathered. Pictures of it in progress with lots of sanding still to do and finished with most of my heritage fleet present. Now to build a semi-roundhouse to hide all the hard work... DSC_9430 by Bantam61668

If you want locos (Ge 4/4ii) and spirals you could always model part of the Albulabahn (Bergün-Preda) although there are no stations in-between to model. I've always quite fancied modelling somewhere on the Sagliains-Scuol-Tarasp section mostly for the variety of trains and the stunning scenery. This section has the hourly Pontresina to Scuol-Tarasp service, usually a Ge 4/4ii on a short push-pull set and an hourly Disnetis/Muster to Scuol-Tarasp which is usually a Ge 4/4ii on 7-8 coaches. There are also a couple of freights a day to Scuol-Tarasp and it is a semi-regular route for historic workings (krokodils and steam). I've always wanted to model Scuol-Tarasp which I think would make a great terminus station model but never had the space. One day I will get those boxes full of Bemo stock out the loft and get to work on a layout....

There are a number of SBB Re482 (and a few Re421) on long term hire to other operators, mostly in Germany. I suspect that these are the ones most often seen in Austria,p. Although they still carry SBB livery and are SBB owned in reality many of them haven’t worked for SBB for over 10 years. Railcolor.net should have the details BLS Traxx and Vectrons are now used in numerous countries working right through from the Netherlands to Italy so are no doubt often seen in Austria.

Here's the one at Balsthal on Google maps, next to the OeBB depot, no idea how often its open https://www.google.com/maps/@47.3121567,7.6939694,3a,75y,355.45h,94.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s57Ags-mQzUYm3zwdgC8vLQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Not sure about how often it’s open etc but there is layout I have visited in zweilütschinen https://www.mefez.ch/index.php/verein/der-verein There is also one in an old coach at Balsthal, was open when I traveled on one of the semi-regular steam trips along the OeBB

This weekend has seen the addition of ground signals (still to be wired) and some other small details around the front of the depot along with a new buffer stop on the headshunt. The signals are from Schneider with 3D printed backs to hide the backs of the LEDs and wires that show as purchased. This makes them far too deep but I think it is still an improvement. The buffer stop is also 3D printed from Shapeways.

Thanks, that looks much easier than using 6 diodes per signal, I’ve got 8 of them to wire up so looks to be the best option.

No, instructions and can’t find anything useful online. Looks like each of the grey leads has a resistor on the end, does that change how I need to wire them other than obviously removing the resistor in the previous diagram? Thankfully I didn’t pay anywhere near full price for them...