Indholdsfortegnelse for APRIL 2015 - 81 i Voie Libre international

Like the 60 Péchot-Bourdon locomotives, there was no way the rolling stock available in the arsenals in 1914 could possibly meet the colossal needs of the front. As was the case for the engines, the production capacity of the French factories was totally insufficient, due to the degree of sophistication of an 1888 type platform and of the quantities of equipment needed to supply the front. All this quickly led the Artillery to study a new type of wagon. Naturally, it had to be perfectly compatible with the Péchot system: able to handle the curves and turnouts, but also the turntables. The Artillery wished to preserve the principle of the carrying truck. The new model still had to be designed, a kind of “marriage” between the Engineers Corps and the…

Editions Atlas have released, in the «Tramways Légendaires» collection (as it is known in French), a Berne tramways consist. Not motorized, in H0m scale, it can be very easily adapted to H0e track. This model is available only by subscription, but can nevertheless be found by other means: in swap-meets, on auction or immediate sale sites on Internet, or via a friend who subscribes to the collection and can order a second item. This engine can remain in its original condition, or be repainted or simply weathered – the choice is yours. With a black livery, it can evoke an industrial locomotive. The prototype Some of these locomotives ended their career on the Gex – Ferney line, in the Ain département in France, and very similar models ran on various…

The layout at a glance • Mijn Stuthout: pit-props storage facility• Period: 1945 to 1970• Scale: 1/35, 16.5mm gauge• Dimensions: layout: 120 x 60cm fiddleyard: 90 x 25cm We discovered Mijn Stuthout at Utrecht during the OnTraxs show. It’s a small railway theatre whose actors are trains carrying pit-props. The actions are carefully rehearsed and unfold following a very accurate script. The layout features an on-board Ossynths sound system in the locotractor, and modular day-night ligthing. Erik Mosterd, its creator, explains the thought process behind his project. François Fontana: Hallo Erik, you created a layout specially for display in shows. This means you implemented basic rules. Tell us more. Erik Mosterd: Hallo, Mijn Stouthout is a mining layout, the modeled scene represents the storage and treatment facility for the pit-props. My first task consisted…

Once upon a time, between the Vosges and the Black Forest, there was en extensive meter gauge railway system. It was built in the late XIXth century by the SSG company (Strassburger Strassenbahn Gesellschaft), straddling the Rhine. Total length was almost 200km: 95.5km on the right bank of the river, in the Land of Baden, and 98.7km on the left bank, in Alsace. Both systems were connected by an imposing viaduct over the Rhine between Strasbourg and Kehl. From one to two After WWI, the railway was cut in two. Two new companies were created in 1923: in France, the CTS (Compagnie des Tramways de Strasbourg) took over from the SSG. Meanwhile, in Germany, a new company came into existence: the MEG (Mittelbadische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft). As early as 1894, on…

OntraXS is a railway modeling exhibition. Organized by a small group of enthusiasts, it takes place within the large Railway Museum, installed in a station in Utrecht, Netherlands. The layouts are displayed amongst the preserved rolling stock and the collections of railwayana. An outstanding location! To meet the standards of the place, the organizers have set drastic criteria: the layouts must be of a quality above reproach, and their presentation must be impeccable. A lighting pelmet and proper signage are essential so that visitors notice the layouts. To the extent possible, the layouts must be shown for the first time, or almost. Visitors award two prizes: the children’s award and the public’s award. At the very beginning of the OntraXS adventure, 40 % of visitors came to admire the layouts,…

Here we go! After two aborted attempts, I have at last started building a new layout. The principles are fairly simple: a stretch of line to run my MinitrainS models. I therefore imagined a two-level layout with a triangular station connected to a large looped fiddleyard. Such a track-plan requires two levels of benchwork connected by a curved gradient. And like a real railway, this infrastructure needs to be stable and well-built for trains to run smoothly. Somewhat put off by previous experiences with boards that were too thin, I opted this time to build my trackbed out of 10mm thick plywood. The improved sturdiness comes with significantly increased mass. I did my best to restrict it as much as possible by optimizing my cuts. The two levels of the…

To create a decrepit wall, I start by gluing brickwork to a sheet of Forex®. Then I cut out segments of this masonry, and place them flat in a tray in which plaster will be cast. I take a picture of this set-up before pouring the plaster, so as to know where the interesting areas are located. Once the plaster has set, I scratch the plaster off the areas where there are bricks, using a dentist’s tool. I decorate the wall with watercolour washes, and enhance the shadows in the cracks with a wash of India ink. A coat of semi-matt varnish completes the job.…

A rural tramway, without overhead wires, but with standard gauge transshipment, with private sidings, with junctions, with road-running through villages, with roadside stretches, with right-of-way stretches, and with the splendid Kehl bridge as the cherry on the cake! A dream comes true! The trackplan The layout is designed as a simple fiddleyard to balloon loop arrangement. The loop is hidden behind a large brewery, while the return track to the junction point is completely concealed behind the houses in the village. Along its route, the line serves two stations: one features a simple loop track where trains can pass. The other, more substantial, boasts a goods shed, providing justification for some wagon movements. At one end of the layout, I decided to model the imposing Kehl bridge. Such a splendid…

As early as the end of 1914, Allied and German troops dug down on the French front. The trenches built ended up looking like two gigantic fortresses, ever more elaborate and better armed... On the French side, the industrial infrastructure was pressed into trench war service. From Belfort to Dunkirk, the 75 artillery guns had to fire six rounds per minute in all circumstances. But all this ammunition also had to be routed to the front lines. Railways, roads and waterways were put to good use. However, despite their efficiency, these means of transport still could not reach all the way to the front line proper. The last few miles to be covered were under enemy artillery fire, churned up by troops and convoys: the land became impassable. Péchot paves…

For trains to run over it without trouble, a gradient must be as regular as possible. Above all, it must never display a “break” with the horizontal surfaces at both ends. The simplest way to avoid this problem is to take advantage of the elasticity and weight of the wood mass itself. The gradient isn’t cut out separately from the remainder of the trackbed. It is connected to the latter at its top end. Under the effect of its own weight, it will drop naturally and without any break to the lower level. In this way, the track starts going downhill very gradually, almost unnoticeably, along what is actually quite a steep gradient.…

Main supplies • 2mm thick plastic sheet: 25 x 25 and 20 x 20mm• 8mm U-shaped plastic rod: two 16mm lengths• Two 2 or 3mm diameter nuts and bolts. Maximum length 16mm• A wood or metal handle, 5 x 5 and 200mm long• Strong density felt (for Thomas, System Jörger felt, Dorfstr. 34C, D-82178 Puchheim, Germany. Phone. +49 89 803260) Thomas Schmid and Serge L. respectively explain two simple, but very convenient, devices. Both modellers were facing basic questions and imagined pragmatic solutions to them. In both cases, the result is surprising, and in both cases, these devices are easily built by any enthusiast with minimal tooling and a few standard supplies. Cleaning time! To clean the track on his new layout, Thomas built a simple device: an articulated support, fitted with a handle, carries…