Indholdsfortegnelse for No. 103 i Voie Libre international

I wanted my locomotive to run on one of my narrow gauge layouts, which meant compatibility with the H09 or H0n30 loading gauges. As the model did not appear unfeasible, I decided to go for scratchbuilding. Basing it on a Tomytec chassis, using a few perspective diagrams found on the internet and by opting for a simplified transmission, I built “my very own” Climax, or “my very own ugly locomotive“ as I call it. Let’s take a look at a few building methods I used, as well as some of my tricks of the trade. 1 A large assembly, built out of 1mm thick plastic sheet, fits over the Tomytec TM10 chassis. 2 The water tank is made out of a plastic tube, cut in half lengthways. Two flanks connect…

The U-Models brand took over the range created a good while ago by the «13th DLM», in particular the Billard T75 diesel tractor and the Péchot flat wagons, whose splendid master-models were created by Raymond Duton. U-Models carried on where the 13th DLM started, by developing the range of 60cm gauge models, including inter alia: the Baldwin 50HP, Jung ZL114 tractors, or the short and long chassis Campagne tractor. This is the model we chose to illustrate this article. MOTORIZATION This kit est is a static model designed for the militaria market. But it can easily be fitted with a 24.5mm wheelbase Tenshodo bogie. The 10.5mm diam. wheels, fitted to this bogie, must be replaced by 11.5mm diam. wheels, suitable for this model. As the performance of these bogies is…

Designed and built by Thierry Josset for the 2019 LR Presse/RAMMA challenge “Trains in the Night”, Au Pif* is a micro-layout in 1/35 scale, extremely simple but exceptional in terms of artistic quality. A small impressionist picture in three dimensions. Broadly brushed with ample feeling, particularly well lit, it sweeps us away at first sight exactly where its creator wants to take us. The nightime chilliness of this canal - or laguna -side scene is such that one almost feels the need for a pullover! François Fontana: Hello Thierry, I can picture myself in Au Pif! Tell us about your creation? Thierry Josset: This layout is a total invention. When I build a layout, I have a basic concept, I arrange the volumes, but I always let my imagination roam…

The distant origins of the Vevey - Chamby line can be traced back to the ambitious project of a 128km long narrow gauge rail link from Vevey to Bulle and Thoune, for which permission was granted in 1890. Having failed to obtain the necessary funding, the promoters of the line had to give up. However, the idea lived on: a decade later, the construction of the metre gauge network consisting of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB), the Chemins de fer Electriques de la Gruyère (CEG) and the Chemins de fer Electriques Veveysans met, modestly, the original objective. The Vevey-Chamby provides access to the Bernese Oberland, by connecting with the MOB at Chamby, while serving the villages of Saint-Légier and Blonay. Having obtained Federal permission on October 6th,1899, the line was opened…

When I saw this engine in its display case in Nuremberg, I fell for it at once! It’s the true representation of the steam locomotive as drawn in comics and graphic novels, a combination of clichés that are the very essence of a Western steam engine! Created from scratch around an industrial 0-4-0 T built by Henschel, Greif, as such is its name, runs every day in a park in Karlsruhe, with a string of low-slung carriages, whose bodies are evocative of the famous Airstream caravans. Out of the box On opening the customary yellow-lettered black MinitrainS box (Ref.2060), Greif appears, safely installed in a thermo-shaped white plastic cradle, with its small bogie tender slotted vertically on one side. Unsurprisingly, the engine is fitted to the brand’s usual 4-wheeler chassis…

H0-12 FERRO-TRAIN : A STLB DIESEL Six of theses engines, VL 11 to 16, were built between 1965 and 1967 for the Steiermärkische Landesbahnen StLB, an Austrian private railway, by ÖMAG and Brown-Boveri to replace the last surviving steam locomotives. They weigh 31 metric tons, have a length of 9.80m and can run at 50 kp/h. Originally fitted with a 265kW MAN diesel motor, some (such as VL 12, 13 and 16) were re-motorized with a 390kW MTU unit in the 2000s. These engines are of the diesel-electric type, and as buit they featured a boiler for steam-heating the passenger trains. They are fitted with automatic air brakes for both the engine and the trains. Originally, they sported a bright orange livery, then an StLB monogram was added to the…

Long before 1914, France was actively preparing for war. Most prefectures and a number of sub-prefectures accommodated at least one active regiment. Rennes, the seat of the 10th Military Region, was naturally no exception to this rule. All the more as two artillery regiments and one of the 9 national arsenals were located in this city. Distributed over two sites – Arsenal-Ville and La Courrouze – the arsenal comprised in particular a powder store and shell loading workshops. Naturally, WWI and its duration boosted the activity of these establishments. The Arsenal facilities were enormously extended between 1914 and 1918. The number of staff employed, essentially women, grew in proportion, so much so that line 3 of the city’s electric tram network was extended as far as La Courrouze in 1917…

In such a large scale, a line cannot possibly be modelled in its entirety. Fortunately, the factory itself can provide a topic for a small layout. So we suggest building a 140 x 80cm showcase. The buildings will determine the space available for the trains, while a small market gardens area is located in the foreground, as a reminder of the local environment in the early XXth century. The trackplan is essentially designed for shunting. The dead-end siding and the triangle provide scope for shunting the wagons and running an engine round a train. The fiddleyard is used to switch consists. Peco 0e-16.5 track, partially embedded, is perfectly suitable for this project. One of the strong points of 1/35 scale is the availability of a wide range of military models,…

The principle is fairly simple: replace your old 3-pole motor, noisy and jerky, by a small coreless unit, smooth and powerful! Every modeller can get that far. However, as it turns out, the diameters of the shafts aren’t right, the motor is a different shape, the dimensions are incompatible! TRAMFABRIEK AND ITS SOLUTION Fortunately, the solution pops up in a small pouch, via the post office! Sven van der Hart, whose company is called Tramfabriek, has developed a series of driving mechanisms specifically adapted to old favorites from the H09 narrow gauge world. His online catalogue is quite extensive; take a look for yourself. The kits consit of a coreless motor, of a 3D printed motor cradle, and of a connector or sleeve to fit the worm gear. The conversion…

Unlike the Blonay-Chamby section, which is now a heritage railway and recalls a railway world that only elderly people remain familiar with, the Vevey – Blonay section has undergone a complete transformation. The efficiency of the latter combines perfectly with the atmosphere of the former! Since 1968, the Blonay-Chamby heritage railway has operated a tourist service over this stretch, using its large collection of vintage stock.…

As the viaduct described in Issues 78 and 80 of Voie Libre led to a dead end, I extended the track by a good dozen metres to the next corner of the garden where I installed a balloon loop. To ensure access inside it, I imagined a lifting bridge based on a prototype. 1 The structure of the bridge consists of two garden fence posts, 30mm T-shaped girders. They are held together by 10mm diam. threaded rods, with lengths of 12mm diam. steel tube used a spacers. This assembly is extremely sturdy (drawing 1). The railway sleepers, from the Sunset range, are screwed onto the T girders and drilled out to M3 wherever needed. 2 View from above. The end of the bridge on the hinged side is designed to…

The station buildings on the CFD secondary networks were very largely standardized. Small, with a semi-detached goods shed and a little garden featuring a well, these structures, sometimes prettily decorated with flowers, contributed to the charm of narrow gauge railways. Régions & Compagnies helps you bring this charm back to life on your layouts with a CFD station building, featuring the goods shed on the left-hand side and the garden on the right-hand side. Except for the figures, the railcars and the track, everything shown in the photo is included in the laser-cut printed kit: base, complete platform, fencing, telegraph poles, well, garden tools, creeper… The inside furnishings are lit. Two CFD level crossing gates are included as a bonus. RÉGIONS & COMPAGNIES REF. MET 008 BV CFD WITH SEMI-DETACHED…

This new range is called “REE Les secondaires” [“REE secondary railways”]. Sold by two in a thermoformed blister pack and a simple grey cardboard box with green lining, the wagons are supplied with a pouch of detailing parts and a small sheet of instructions. DETAILS The wagons are supplied with tiny parts that modellers must fit into the chassis and buffer beam housings. This will make the wagons even more realistic. Use tweezers, the parts are so small that fitting them is a tricky job. If you are afraid of losing them, add a micro-drop of wood glue to the tabs. This will form a joint that will hold these parts, made of POM (polyoxymethylene, a plastic that is virtually ungluable) in the wagon bodies, made of injected plastic or…

The line serving the Rennes arsenal is far from being an exceptional case. Right from the beginning of the Great War, various establishments linked to the war effort were given 60cm gauge railways. Without being exhaustive, one can mention the well-known case of the Bergerac powder works. The administration in charge of producing powder operated an internal railway network with a total length of almost 60km, using three Decauville 0-4-0 Ts. In 1916, the same entity went as far as having a proper 60cm gauge tramway built between the factory and the town, operated with stock bought second-hand from the La Trinité to Étel tram line. Other examples include the Jacob Holtzer forges at Unieux (Loire). They were issued with Decauville 0-6-0 T N° 1632, an Artillery order. Military forestry…

For Uwe, it all started with the offer from the Dingler artisan company: the reproduction of a tender 0-8-0, built by Vulcan in 1925. This model in If, meaning 1/32 scale running on 16.5mm gauge track, is a perfectly accurate scale model of prototype 60cm gauge track. A splendid all-brass locomotive whose prototype, preserved on the Froissy-Cappy-Dompierre heritage railway, still sees regular service. François Fontana: Hello Uwe, tell us the story of your small depot. Uwe Haas: It’s a model of a real site. It was located north of Berlin in the province of Mecklemburg-Pomerania, specifically the Friedland depot. The MPSB 60cm gauge railway was more than 200km long. Built from 1892, the line carried building materials, passengers, but mainly sugar beet. There were several sugar mills in Ankjlam, Jarmen…

Having the sea nearby, wanting to evoke marine activities from a few decades back, the pleasure of working on a layout in a scale that allows to model the tiniest details, such are Claude Devaux’s motivations. We met him at a show with his latest layout, Le P’Tit Port [The Tiny Harbour]. Overview of the layout seen from the right-hand side. The twilight atmosphere is provided by the street lights and those inside of the buildings. François Fontana: Hello Claude, here is a new creation in 1/35 scale, tell us about Le P’Tit Port please? Claude Devaux: It’s a small layout, just 80cm long and barely 40cm deep. The trackplan is very simple: coming from the fiddleyard, the track enters from the right, and two turnouts, located toe-to-toe, give access…

FIRST GENERATION: LILIPUTWIEN, FROM 1968 TO 1986 With their very sober superstructure and all-plastic motion, these models are the easiest to recognize. There were three successive production runs. At first: metallic grey motion (very fragile) + full disk wheels. Then: light grey motion (more robust) + full disk wheels. Towards the end: light grey motion, perforated wheels, no figure in the cab. The G.Thommen 0-6-0 T belongs technically to this first generation, and its motion and wheels evolved in the same way as the U class. SECOND GENERATION: LILIPUTWIEN, FROM 1986 TO 1992 This radically improved version must no be confused with later Liliput by Bachmann productions, as it differs from them by: - a motor without flywheel; - motion that is not blackened and small hook couplings, without a…