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.

Wolpertinger Hbf - N-gauge Era VI German model railway

After parting company with my long-time project 'Widnes Road', I have been able to concentrate my efforts on completing my other longtermer; Wolpertinger Hbf. A far more manageable sized layout, this is a European N-gauge (1:160) DCC layout set in the south-east of Germany in the current DBAG era (Epoch VI).

The layout which consists of a seven platform main station (Hauptbahnhof), loco servicing depot centred on a working Fleischmann turntable and a small S-bahn stabling point. The layout features extensive overhead catenary which is a mixture of Sommerfeldt and scratch built.

I'm pleased to say, that it is now finished, and has begun to be shown on the exhibition circuit. The first outing was to the Mid Essex Model Railway Club's show at Shenfield, and went well. Next up will be Chelmsford and District on the 18th October. An invite has also been accepted for the Perth show next June.

The overall layout is just over six feet in length by four feet deep (1.8m x 1.2m) including 9 road fiddle yard.

If anyone is interested in further details, photos or track plan, please get in touch. I would also be interested in exhibition invites: widnesroad@virginmedia.com

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.