My rail layout

Background

Märklin in Germany is a long established company which excels in the manufacture of model rail locomotives, coaches etc.

In 2013 whilst holidaying in Germany, I purchased this digital starter set. It came with two digitally operated points/switches. Points=UK, Switches=US, Weiche=DE

BR 81, DB | Gauge H0 – Article No. 29539 “Freight Train” Digital Starter Set. 230 Volts.

Prototype: German Federal Railroad (DB) class 81 steam locomotive and 5 freight cars.

Shortly after I returned from Germany, I purchased from Amazon.uk:

BR 24 DB, ABi, Bi, Rr 20 | Gauge H0 – Article No. 29240   “Branch Line” Digital Starter Set. 230 Volts.

Prototype: German Federal Railroad (DB) passenger train with freight hauled (PmG). Class 24 steam locomotive with a tender and Wagner smoke deflectors, 1 type ABi “Donnerbüchse” / “Thunder Box” standard design car, 1st/2nd class, 2 type Bi “Donnerbüchse” / “Thunder Box” standard design cars, 2nd class, and a type Rr 20 interchange design stake car.

Layout 2013 – 2014

These two sets with some additional track and other bits and pieces made up my first attempt at a HO scaled 1:87 layout. It comprised of a single track with crossover loop and a passing loop for a station and a small siding . The orange section was a raised incline that looped back on itself. In retrospect the incline was greater than the recommended 4% and caused occasional slippage of the locomotives. The crossover loops allowed a locomotive to reverse its passage around the main route..

Layout 2015 – July 2019

I kept the layout until September 2015 when I created the layout below. It is designed as a double tracked oval with crossover loops and sidings providing chances for a back to back operation as well as the two other locos passing.

I now operate three digital locomotives two steam locomotives and a diesel given as a 2015 Christmas present.

Layout 2019 – work in progress!

In this revision of my layout I’ve added a high level reversing loop which should provide a continual looping of locomotives plus the possibility of two other locomotives working on other routes, that is if ever I get a CS3 and S88’s working in concert. I’m also hoping to operate a shuttle service between the station and the goods yard.

The base stripped bare

Just toying with the idea of a hillside going across the valley between the two hillsides. I enjoy this part of the building the most as I try out different landscaping options before the detailing begins.

This layout will also provide me with the opportunity of refining ie completely removing and redoing the lighting circuits I’ve been using.

 

Photographs of 2015 Layout

East side of Neuenburg featuring hill with FKK park, town house and its vegetable garden

West side of Neuenburg featuring Church Hill village and and below it the locomotive shed sidings

West side of Neuenburg featuring Church Hill village and and below it the locomotive shed sidings

Information about the Prototype

Class 24 – Prairie Pony in Prussia.

Between 1926 and 1938, a total of 95 units of the class 24 were purchased for the flat, long branch lines in East and West Prussia. These locomotives were nicknamed the „Prairie Pony“ and were designed as a passenger locomotive, but were soon used as a general-purpose locomotive. This 1 6.96 meter / 55 foot 7-11/16 inch long locomotive reached a maximum speed of 90 km/h / 56 mph. It was a parallel class to the class 64 and gave very good results in the tasks assigned to it. The division of Germany and the areas surrendered to Poland resulted in 38 units finally coming to the German Fed- eral Railroad, where they continued to perform valuable ser- vice on branch lines, often with „Donnerbüchsen / Thunder Box“ passenger cars. Gradually, they were replaced in many locations by the class VT 95 and VT 98 red rail busses, were retired and scrapped. They last home base was Rheydt; there they left regular service in 1966 on the German Federal Rail- road. In Poland the 34 locomotives left there after World War II were indispensable up to 1976. Four Prairie Ponies remain preserved as museum pieces; one of them is from the roster of the Polish State Railroad (PKB).

Information about the prototype

The German Federal Railroad class 260/261 is a three-axle, diesel-hydraulic locomotive with a jackshaft and side rods. It was developed because a distinct need for powerful switch engines arose in the mid 1950s on the DB. All of the famous German locomotive builders participated in the development and manufacture of the locomotives classified as V 60 until 1968.

The 10.45 meter /33.96 feet) long locomotives have a maximum speed of 60 km/h (37 m.p.h.). A 12 cylinder diesel motor from Maybach serves as the power plant. To reduce labor costs these locomotives were demoted in 1987 to the classification small locomotives with the class numbers 360/361. The classes 364/365 are equipped with remote radio controls. A signal light on both sides of the engineer’s cab indicates unmanned operation.

A sturdy little puffer, that keeps on going …

Information about the Prototype

Tank locomotives with a 20 metric ton axle load and three, four, and five coupled driving axles were planned in the German State Railroad Company‘s standardization program. Initially, the only units built were the 0-6-0T as the class 80 (39 units) and the 0-8-0T as the class 81 (10 units) in 1927. The boiler on the class 81 was about one meter / 39 inches longer than that on the class 80. The coal bunker and the water tanks were also larger. The essential parts of the running gear are the same
on both locomotives, including the wheels with a diameter of 1,100 mm / 43-5/16“, so that these parts were interchangeable on the locomotives.

With a power output of 860 horsepower at a maxi- mum speed of 45 km/h / 28 mph the class 81 was even able to switch heaving freight trains of 1,100 metric tons. Since there were enough heavy tank locomotives left over from the provincial railroad period, a subsequent order for 60 units was not placed until 1939. However, the Second World War prevented these additional quantities of locomotives from being built. The number of class 81 locomo- tives thus remained at 10 units that came to the DB after 1945 and that were used in the area of Olden- burg and Paderborn until they were retired in 1963.

Information about the Prototype – Henschel Baureihe DH / DHG

Henschel’s standard diesel locomotives are used all over the world on industrial and harbor railroads.They can be found at steel factories and mines aswell as in the automobile industry and sugar refineries.A unit assembly approach with motors between 360and 900 hp has significant economic and operatingadvantages due to the interchangeability of manycomponents. The original DH design was powered mechanicallyusing a jackshaft and side rods. The typical shapeand form of the superstructure for these small Henschel locomotives with a center cab and roundedhoods was changed slightly for the heavy type DHGwith hydraulic drive gear. In the 1970s the units thathad been delivered were given a facelift with modernsuperstructures with squared off corners and edges.Starting about 1980 the frames were mounted oncoil springs instead of leaf springs. All of the variousversions of these locomotives can still be seen today.Some of these units have changed owners severaltimes and habe been rebuilt to meet the requirementsof individual customers.