Wolpertinger Hauptbahnhof - Era VI Spur N 'Bavaria in Minature'

A short photo update showing the layout as it stands in December 2014. Many smaller details have been added recently, including populating the station and town with around 80 more passengers and pedestrians, lots more vehicles including a rather nice Rietze single-decker coach, plus numerous additional trees, planters and details such as litter bins  and bus stops etc.

Bavarian Layout - Picture Update

The river bed is no longer dry, and the eastern side of the river has had a river wall and railings added. Oh, and all the cars now have authentic Bavarian number plates; a tiny detail but one that makes a surprising difference up close.

Bahnland Bayern - Hidden sidings

The track plan for my Bavarian HO layout was largely frozen in the middle of 2013 and subsequently all the track laid, point motors and decoders fitted and tested. This has given the chance to get to grips with the 'finished' operation of the layout, and start to see what does and doesn't work. The one outcome of the testing was the lack of a real yard for the shunting and forming of freight trains. As there was no space within the built layout or in fact the room it's in, there was only one way to go; outwards. Next door to the room the Bavarian railway is in is an outbuilding that largely contained parts of layout and offcuts of wood. A few trips to the 'municipal recycling center' (tip) and a lick of paint and some extra space was available. There was the small matter of the available space being on the other side of a wall and/or window, but this was not insurmountable. The center pane of the window was replaced with a thick sheet of wood with a suitable slot cut to allow access between the two rooms. A sliding hatch was fitted to prevent drafts in the winter. Track has now been laid, and with a pair of DCC Telex remote coupling fitted locos, three addditional sidings have been added to the yard situated on the station approach, bringing the total to five sidings and a headshunt; enough for plenty of operational flexibility. The hidden sidings will be accessed between some low relief industrial buildings on the layout side. I am also giving some though to a remote camera so the sidings can be viewed from the control area, although having walkabout handheld controller should mean this is a nice to have rather than a necessity.

Bahnland Bayern - December Update

Some more progress to update on the Bavarian HO layout; the overhead catenary (by Viessmann) has been installed over the rive bridge and towards the eastern end on the first large scenic board. The campsite at the 'country' end of the layout is largely complete, just some hedging to fit between the caravan pitches. I've now begun the main Bavarian riverside tavern, on the eastern bank of the river. I'm also planning a small loco fuelling point to the rear of where the two electric locos are stabled to the rear of the second photo.

Bahnland Bayern in HO

Some more progress shots, apologies for the poor lighting, these were just taken with my iPhone once modelling had finished for the day to record the days activities. The basic elements for the Bavarian scene are all pretty much there; the Schloss, complete with beer garden, the Black forest imbiss & bier chalet, and the mountains.

I've also begun to install the overhead catenary, this time I'm going for Veissmann, rather than Sommerfeldt as the masts are more accurate for the region and era I'm modelling. Many more to be fitted before I'm done.

Compare the second photo with one taken from roughly the same angle just over a year ago and the progress is quite dramatic.