Warehouse Wednesday: Swiss goods sheds

The Swiss seem to like moving things by rail. I lost count of the number of rail-served factoreis and businesses we passed travelling around. Many looked like the sidings were still in use too. 

However, the subject of this post is the traditional, wooden, Swiss good shed. There are plenty of these around too. I'm not sure many are used as much as the one at Lauterbrunnen, but some certainly are. 

Interlaken Ost's isn't railway, but it's still in place. At the other end of the town, near Inerlaken West, the shed is larger, but taken over by a sort of market style trader that reminded me of Jurby Junk on the Isle of Man many years ago. I suppose it's a tribute to these buildings that they are still standing, and ideal for his business. 

Working narrow gauge freight

Tuesday of my holiday involved a trip up the Jungfrau, an impressive series of trains and an incredible view from the top of the mountain. However, on the way back, as we passed through Lautebrunnen, I was amazed to see an ancient electric locomotive - shunting!

Since the next day was free, thanks to the Schynige Platte railway having closed for winter the week before, I decided to head back and see if I could get a proper look at this anachronism. To be honest, I didn't expect much luck, but as it involved a trip through the mountains, I was happy with a gawp at the scenery. 

On arrival, I spotted another target for my camera, and old-looking railcar tucked in a shed. Working my way along the street, and using the car park of a hostal, I bagged the photo above. It turns out that overhead electrification equipment gets in the way as much on the real thing as it does on models!

It didn't take long loitering on the station platform for me to get a better look though, as these things are still working. It seems that there are communities on the mountain without road connections - so everything has to be sent up by rail. The result - a parade of short goods trains running on narrow guage rack track!

It seems that these are the original railcars that have since been displaced by more modern, and less stylish to my mind, units. 

The little green loco, a WAB He 2/2 51–58, is over 100 years old. The class used to be used on the mountain, but this one is now kept as the shunter in the small yard. A yard which would make a nice model, apart from the knitting. 

Nowadays, more modern machines have taken over the mountaineering, but they are no less interesting. They are also very busy, in three hours, I saw a good train depart at least every 30 minutes, alternating with the passenger trains. 

You can tell the photo above is Switzerland - look at those corner protectors on the plasterboard. No strapping it down and wreaking the top couple of sheets here!

It was interesting that some trains had a proper driving cab at the front, but the plasterboard service was driven by someone standing on the front of the wagon, presumably using radio control. I saw this on the standard gauge a few days later, as a freight diesel shot through Thun station at speed with a couple of orange-clad guys on the front of a two bogie train. 

So, a fun morning on a day to misty to go up any mountains. Until this point, I'd never actually seen narrow guage railways earning thier keep with freight, and certainly not as much as this, on such a modern system.

Bühler AG, Interlaken

 

If you go down the Bahnhofstrasse today, you are in for a slight disapointment. They don't open on Mondays. Yes, you can look at the somewhat faded items in the display windows, and it's still more interesting than a lot of the shops in Interlaken, but frustrating. 

Get past of the odd opening hours, a feature of many Swiss model shops, and you are rewarded with a cornucopea of models. 

Four rooms and the corridor are stacked with models. Mostly HO scale trains, but plenty of other stuff too such as RC models and construction kits. There are paints and modelling materials, it really is well stocked. 

This being Switzerland, there aren't any obvious bargains, but for the UK enthusiast, it's the breadth of product on display that appeals, at least it diud to me. I came away with a pack from the Faller Basic Range, which weirdly, isn't on their website, and a Marklin Christmas wagon, which you can be sure will appear on this blog at some point. 

Well worth a visit, especially if you get bored of endless shops selling watches, penknives and fridge magnets. 

Buhler website.

Great British Model Railway Show 2024

 

Did I mention I've been on holiday? Well, due to my incompetance with a calendar, on the Saturday of the GBMRS, I was on an epic trip from the middle of Switzerland to home. 

Plan B had been to recruit a couple of people to stand in for me on the first day, but those I had in mind weren't available. So an embarassing email was sent to the organiser, promising that I'd be there on the Sunday only. 

This is despite not arriving at the local station until 11:25pm. Fortunatly, a mate gave me a lift back home, in return for some chocolate, but this still meant an early start on the Sunday. Thank goodness the clocks went back. 

I had prepared most of my display before leaving, and wrote a list of stuff I'd forgotten, while away. So I was waiting for the doors to open at the show, and quickly, with the aid of the building manager who found me a table, set up ready for some chat. 

And chat I did. Like any good demo, hardly any modelling was achieved - two bits of a Metcalfe building were glued together. 

Thanks to everyone who dropped by for a chat. Sorry if I wasn't at my absolute best, but the previous days trip was catching up with me by the end of the day. 

I didn't have time to take photos of the layouts either, so here's a land speed record motorbike that was by the door we walking an out of for loading. 

Saturday Film Club: The Story Of The Real FAB 1!

The story of the real, iconic, pink Rolls-Royce, used to promote the Thunderbirds films. This film covers bit the original, proper one, and the more modern version. Some nice behind-the-scenes photos and films too.

That's not a model shop!

 

You're going to be hearing a lot about my recent Swiss holiday on the blog - partly because I enjoyed it, but mostly because prepering to be, and being, on holiday, hasn't left much modelling time. 

Anyway, here's the first post.

Arriving on Lucerne station, what do I see, but a Bachmann shop.

Is it full of model trains? 

Nope. 

Sadly, this is the boys from Barwell branching out. Pity really, as I was looking forward to some rather tasty review items from them...

As it is, I can say the vanilla donut was delicious, but it took ages to clean all the icing sugar off my clothes afterwards!

Hedges, backscenes and track in December's BRM

Some good, basic, railway modelling from me in the latest issue of British Railway Modelling magazine. 

Starting with track, we all have to lay it, so I'm using the NG7 layout (I must come up with a name) build to demonstraite a few techniques. Doubtless, some with feel that is all a bit simple, but if you are a beginner, then hopefully, I'm helping. And as ever, I try to drop something in for the more advanced modeller too. 

Next, we have a walk-through of the options for layout backscenes, including why it's a good idea to have one!

Finally, some budget hedge making, so show that this hobby doesn't need to cost a lot of money. 

I've been out with the camera again, this time shooting our lead layout, Sharnbrook Summit. 

As a bonus, I also took a load of video, which forms one of the features for BRM TV, as seen by subscribers. There's a lot of action!

BRM is available from all good newsagents, or our online store: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Store/Latest-Issue/british-railway-modelling

Warehouse Wednesday: TEA wagon

Spotted at the Great Central Railway, and destined for preservation I hope, A TEA wagon. Sadly, not a wagon full of tea, but one introduced in 2001 to carry fuel. 

Because I am a bit thick, I don't know what TEA stands for, and digging around online hasn't helped much. There are lots of models, and it seems the prototypes vary a bit, but explain the acronym? No chance. 

Anyway, wagons like this are a vital part of the rail network, but preserving a block train would be a big ask. However, as the GCR seem to be able to run the Windcutter 16ton mineral set, and some oil tankers, maybe this will one day be thindering along the line behind a preserved Class 60?

Cab work

 

First job, fit the brake standard. Easy. Poke the spigot through the hole in the floor, and solder underneath. 

Then the roof. This is supposed to fit between the sides where they curve up. It doesn't. A couple of mm has to be cut off, and a bit of filing then makes it sit down properly. Easier to write than to do!

One advantage of soldering, is the solder acts as a filler. 

That is handy, as there is a step along the front edge. This is why I thought the sides fitted either side of the front sheet. The step would be gone, but then the centre section would have been too narrow!

Anyway, I blobbed a lot of solder along the step, and then proceeded to file it to something like the right shape. The result isn't perfect, but with a little weathering, it's not half bad either. At the same time, the join lines along the top have been hidden. 

And the whistles have fallen off. The old glue isn't so strong after all!

Sandboxes and (gulp) chimney

 

Time for some detailing. The sandboxes are easy, each has a spigot that sticks through the footplate. All I had to do was run some solder around this, underneath and out of sight, and they were done. 

The chimney was a different problem. The previous builder had removed the spigot (why?) and messed with the apro around the bottom. Cue several attempts at tacking it in position. With the use of a square under the footplate, and looking carefully at the side, I think it's OK, and checking it again the morning after, I still think we are fine. 

There is a slight snag. None of the fillers and dome are in the centre of the tank, even though they are fitted with spigots. I wonder how strong the aged glue is?

Off to Gaydon

Back from holiday, I should be at the Great British Model Railway Show today, sitting behind a couple of tables covered in various models I've made for magazine projects. 

I should have been there for the full weekend, but didn't put the show on my callendar, and accidentlly booked a trip that didn't get back until the Saturday. Efforts to find someone to cover the stand for the first day floundered on various freinds illnesses. 

Still, all being well, I'll be ready to greet you at the show, even if I doze off half way through!

On holiday

If everything is going as planned, by the time most of you are reading this, I should be at St Pancras station, awaiting the first of a series of trains, that will transport me to Switzerland. 

I've booked a trip through Great Rail Journeys, and should be heading to Wilderswil, for a week. 

Part of the holiday includes a trip up the Jungfrau Railway, so I hope the weather is good!

I'll also be near Interlaken, and have identified a couple of model shops, among other attractions. Well, it's a good way to make yourself visit different bits of a city. 

All this means no modelling content for a week, but you can (hopefully, technology permitting) follow my travels. 

On Instagram, I am Practical_Phil

 

 On Flickr, I am Phil Parker

Feel free to head over to either of these sites for your daily entertainment. And, all being well, I'll see you on my return in a week.

Hamblings catalogue

 

Found in a box of stuff under a second-hand stall, a rather tidy Hamblings catologue. 

There's some lovely stuff in here. A complete Jinty kit anyone?

Those lever frames would still be useful today.

One of the earliest 08 diesel kits too. 

All this speaks of a time before RTR models, when people had to make pretty much everything, but there were stores where you could go in, and buy all those bits. My guess is that some of them weren't as good as we remember them to be, but it didn't matter. Standards in the hobby were lower, but were modellers happier? (Probably not. I bet they still moaned about everything). 

Sadly, there's no date on the catalogue. I'd guess early 1950s, and would love a time machine to go and take a look. 

Bunker time

 

The imaginary bunker is a simple afair. Four sides to be joined together, and fitted to the footplate. Raised beading on the sides indicates these go outside the front and back. 

Once fitted to the footplate, they didn't seem parallel to the cab sides, so I loosened the joint, and gently levered them back a little with a long, thin screwdriver. At least the doorway looks right, even if it's a bit tight for the normal, portly crewmembers. 

A top is supplied, but that's going in the spares box as making a solid box would preclude getting anything in to clean out the flus. Also, it's pointless, as I'm going to put some real coal in the back eventually. 

The sharp eyed will spot I've fitted the bufferbeams too. Quite a bit of glue to be removed to do this, but now they are firmly fixed.

Mike Buttell - RIP

 

I'm sad to report that my friend Mike Buttell passed away this week. 

Mike was the Isle of Man steam railway in many ways. He was an ebullient figure who was responsible for many of the Enthusiast Week celebrations. You'd see him sheperding people around the sheds on official visits, providing entertaining commentry on the progress of various restorations. He'd then be climing on locos to fit headboards that he had arranged to comemorate figures from the line's history. 

I have a couple of reasons to remember Mike. 

First, I was over there on holiday, but planned to grab some content for a BRM DVD, and arranged to interview him about the history of the lines. This was to take place after the late train to Port Erin had arrived, and everyone was looking around the museum. Obviously, this made it a bit noisy, but Mike quickly dragged my Dad and I up into the locked royal saloon, he had a key, which made the perfect studio for our chat. 

The other occasion is when Sea Lion's side tank and cab back came up for auction. I was keen to buy them, but didn't have an easy way to collect, or anywhere suitable to put them. Mike volunteered to not only get the things from Groudle, no easy task, but find them a home in the Port Erin railway museum, where they lived until recently. 

Without Mike's help, it's unlikely that I'd have aquired these items, and they would probably be say, rusting, in someone's garden. 

I'm going to miss Mike's updates from the Isle of Man, and his jolly help when on the island. A sad loss to this very special corner of the railway world.

Shim brass

 

Shim brass is basically just very, very thin brass sheet. Modellers in the old days seemed to make pretty much anything from it, and I was always impressed by the versatility of this wonderful material. 

Of course, I aquired some, and have hardly ever found a use for it. 

Until I came to fit the backhead to Ghillie. 

The whitemetal backhead is fitted to a U-shaped lump of the same material. Said U-shape is to be cut back so the backhead just clears the rear fixing screw. Trouble is, when you do tha, you are still left with a gap between the back of the backhead casting, and the cab back. 

No problem, a strip of shim brass, soldered to the backhead with some 100 degree solder (a process that sounds simpler than it turned out to be) covers this, and makes the whole assembly look much better. 

And I've still got loads of the stuff left - probably a lifetimes supply!

Tack soldering win

 

I mentioned that I was soldering the kit together last week (and yes, I must put a guide on whitemetal soldering together one day) and starting on the body demonstraites why I am right to do so. 

The cab front consists of three parts - two sides and the front. Easy enough to assemble, except do the sides attach either side of the front, or on the back? 

I guess on the sides, so tacked them in place. Then I put the assembly on the footplate, and realised its too wide. They should go on the back. 

No problem, heat the solder, and the parts are seperate again. A little cleaning up, and we are good to go again. This time with them as the designer intended. If I'd glued them, I'd have had to wait for the stuff to dry, and then broken the joints. A much slower process.

Trainspotting at Quorn

 

Phew. Good job I didn't do any of that train spotting then...

Nope. Didn't see those Airfix tank wagons going through. 

Ummm. Look at those bad boys spotting trains. I'm going to tell on them!

Saturday Film Club: Model Railways Make Me Happy

Beer and S gauge

 

Supping a pint at The Model Railway Club a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to enjoy this vintage S gauge model. 

Built to 5mm:1ft scale, the model has an interesting history. In 1947, there was disagrement within the S Scale Society as to which scale they should work to - 5mm or 3/16" to the foot. The decision was that the next person to join should decide. 

That person chose 3/16", and the model found itself too large. So, the builder took it apart, reduced every part, then put it back together again! I'm assuming that this expediency was forced because of the difficulty in obtaining materials for modelmaking. 

Now in safe hands, along with a large number of other historic models owned by the club, this loco is being rebuilt so it can run again in the future. 

A fascinating glimpse into the history of our hobby, over some nice beer.