A journey from here to there

 A personal philosophy 

In order to be a modeller of railways there needs to be a model railway. It doesn't matter if it is a loft or an Ikea box, there has to be a railway, otherwise we are mere collectors of things in boxes.

Occasionally, a thought begins to become a concern, why build a model railway and why choose a particular subject? My obsession, for it is an obsession, is to create something naturalistic that pleases the eye and restores old memories of quiet rural railways of Thuringia. 

I greatly admire those individuals who devout a lifetime to build a perfect representation of a actual location, set at a specific time/date. Their dedication is admirable but there are constraints, as they can utilise space and have access to information, neither of which I enjoy. By contrast, my world is one of limited to just 5m x 1m and limited information from both the internet and the few books that feature my chosen subject.

My project is based upon the tiny station at Grafenwalde on a modest rural line in Thuringia

The generic trackplan is simple, the style of the station buildings is typical of the builder. 

Various features (LDEs) from around the location are recycled, all chosen for their similarity to other local features. Colours are carefully chosen from a palette used in the location, mostly natural, a mix of greens + earth, subtle rather than brash. 

The stock was carefully selected with help from local experts, there are no 'special' visitors as everything must have been used on rural lines within 25kms during the timeframe 1950-68. 

The wherefore of operation on Grafenwalde

 

The layout in the shed is small, a 4,8m long by 0,76m wide. 

 

There were just four trains per day on the branch in the mid ‘50s.The stocklist reflects the purpose of the layout, just a few wagons and coaches are the trains that shuffle backwards and forwards, the wagons are one train, the coaches another.

 

Each road an uncoupler, the shunting can only take place with the train running in one direction, the loco can pick off vehicles from the train and set them into the sidings. 

 

Running through all the trains should take about 20 minutes of intense concentration, enough to keep me happy.

I hope that this explains the approach.

Plausible fiction

 

The blog is about building a small fictitious terminus based on a location in Thuringia,  it is merely an amalgam of features of existing locations in the area, in short, a plausible fiction.

 Kleinbahn means little in the sense of short, in this case only 4.9 km (3 miles). It was a normal gauge extension of a Y which served Rennsteig (see map) in the wooded hills of the Thüringer Wald and lasted from 1912 to 1965. The railcar shown was built in 1912, although a Bn2 tank loco with road number 5 plus passenger cars and goods cars was also employed. This loco was supplemented by one obtained from the Kleinbahn Neuhaldensleben–Weferlingen, likewise a Bn2t. After WW2 steam locos worked the line until 1960 when diesels took over.  The former roadbed is accessible today as a Wanderweg (walking track).

 

 

 A short description 

The facts

 

Buildings

A few images of the station buildings at Grafenwalde

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The cottage

 

Loco shed

 

Other than the station, the other major railway building is the locoshed, the first is a simple single road wooden shed from MBZ

 

 

 

 

The locoshed has a small coaling stage and a water crane.

 

Details such as a water tap outside the locoshed and inside the lean-to

 

 

 

Stocklist

 

Most of the models represent the stock that may have been used on a quiet rural branchline in Thuringia although maybe not at the same time.The passenger and goods stock, just a few.