Indholdsfortegnelse for No.110 i Voie Libre international

PECO REF. GR 340-A (SDR GREY) REF. GR 340-UG (GREY) REF. GR 340-UB (BROWN) SOON AVAILABLE FROM THE LR MODÉLISME SHOP PRICE: CA. 30€ In the beginning there was the Snailbeach District Railway, a small 2 foot 4 inch gauge mining railway in Shropshire. Until 1960, it used small hopper wagons dating back to 1877. Peco decided to produce these quaint looking items of rolling stock. Each model consists of five parts, very neatly cast in grey plastic. The assembly lines are almost invisible. The models are perfectly prototypical in appearance and there does not seem to be single piece of metalwork missing. The axles, made of injected plastic, are fitted with metal tyres. These wagons feature NEM 355 pockets into which loop couplings are fitted. They are available in…

Miguel Jimenez has included in his company's catalogue a range of flexible abrasive sticks. When in this shape, the abrasive is used like a file that is easily hand-held and follows the outline of the part being sanded. These sticks are sold in assorted sets of 6 grains (from 120 to 1500). They are particularly well suited to synthetic materials and produce an excellent finish. The type of product that soon becomes a must-have in a modeller's workshop. AMMO MIG REF. A.MIG-8567 PRICE: 4.50€…

Spotlight THE PRODUCT AT A GLANCE: XPO module Brand: Bois Modélisme Material: 3 and 6mm MDF Price: 99.90 € to 119.90€ Under the Bois Modélisme brand, Maxime Boiteux has developed a series of laser-cut MDF modules that range from a simple flat surface to caissons completely enclosed on three sides. The latter, the XPO modules, caught the attention of the Voie libre editorial team. 90cm long, they are available in three depths: 20, 30 and 40cm. Upon seeing them, we at once imagined the possibilities they offered for building a small exhibition layout in H0 or even 0 scale. THE DESIGN Supplied in a flat package, the module consists of 25 parts and an 8-page set of instructions worthy of the best Swedish furniture manufacturer. The components are cut out…

The Merker & Fisher kits having become hard to find, it occurred to me that I could build a locomotive inspired by those models. This meant starting from an extant model, to avoid having to construct the whole boiler. Furthemore, to run properly, the model needed to be heavy, so a cast metal body was required. Naturally, the model had to look like a narrow gauge German engine. The small Minitrix T3 type 0-6-0 T in N scale (ref. 12914) fitted the bill perfectly. The driving mechanism is from a Z scale Marklin BR 89 engine (ref. 8800). Both models can be found at affordable prices at swapmeets or from online auction sites. Naturally, the Minitrix chassis can be re-used for a locomotive or diesel engine in H0e/009, as all…

The layout at a glance Scale: 1/87 Gauge: 9mm Control: analogue Dimensions: 65 x 80cm Base: Narrow Gauge Train In Box + lime kiln extension. The artist is Erwan Josset, the layout is the Narrow Gauge Train'In Box. After just over a year and a half of existence, this was the first time I came across an NGTIB on a show. Complete with its station, its small houses, and on the second side its lime kiln. As soon as I saw it, I knew it had to appear in the magazine. We are well acquainted by now with Erwan, he is indeed an artist. He grabs any idea, transcends it and offers his very own vision of it. This is what he did with the NGTIB and its complement. And…

MADE TO MEASURE! Before starting to build a new layout, you have to think of which type of track to use. Off-the-shelf track or scratchbuilt. While things are straightforward for commercial HO track, such is not the case for 14mm gauge. As far as I know, the closest you can get is the 14.3mm gauge track from the Shinohara range (which corresponds to 3 foot gauge in 1/64 scale, Sn3). But the sleepers have nothing in common with 60cm narrow gauge track in 1/43.5 scale. I have been scratchbuilding my own turnouts for more than 50 years. I use code 70 Micro Engineering blackened rails, laid on limewoood sleepers and fixed with spikes – four per sleeper – from the same manufacturer, with the spike heads shortened. MY APPROACH AND…

FEATURE A large open space brought together some 30 individual or professional participants. The association organizing the event, F.M.B, had invited a few industrial and narrow gauge layouts alongside the American ones. A wide range of modelling interests was therefore available to the public. The fun side of railway modelling was not overlooked, as Benoît Evelin displayed his US layout operated with wagon bills, just the thing to spice up shunting sessions. Visitors could also discover the T-Track concept based on Kato sectional track. But also and especially a layout designed in Casani hexagon-shaped caissons. The mechanical and electrical connections were via connectors arranged on the sides of the caissons. Curves, straight stretches and junctions can easily fit into this type of shape. The principle, straight from Japan, brings to…

We have here a typical CFD crossing keeper's house. The original building is located just beyond Lamastre station, on the lifted stretch that used to lead to Le Cheylard, but this type is also found on other CFD networks: Indre et Loire, Vendée… This pre-coloured card kit of a charming building comes complete with its lean-to shed. The floors and inside partitions are supplied. ARCHITECTURE & PASSION https://www.architecture-passion.fr REF. 87CFD22 PRICE 49€ + POSTAGE…

For quite some time now, AK interactive has marketed weathering crayons for static models. In itself, the principle is not new as these are semi-soft coloured crayons that can be water-coloured, available from graphic arts stores. The advantage of the AK products is their affordability (1.10€ each) and the range of shades selected specifically for weathering. I tested the «rust» and «dirt» sets on a Bachmann wagon straight from the box. These crayons are used like… crayons! By rubbing the lead, more or less dampened, depending on the effect sought, on the surface to be weathered. The pigments can then be picked up and spread with a barely damp paintbrush. With a little practice, the results are fully satisfying, as is obvious from the many video tutorials available online. The…

Spotlight THE MODEL AT A GLANCE Manufacturer: REE Les secondaires Scale: 1/87 Gauges: 12 and 9mm – axles supplied in the box. Metal chassis, injected plastic body. Pick-up on all 4 axles, two driving axles, one fitted with traction tyres. Pre-fitted for a Zimo sound decoder, Next 18 socket. Price observed: 200€ analogue / 300€ digital sound. The body – a wide Billard A 80 D version – is made of transparent injected plastic, allowing for the application from the outside of a first coat of fine inside green paint (do you follow me?). The two outside coats are then applied, and finally the markings. The quality of the work is above reproach. A few parts are added: horns, exhaust, lamps, brake hoses, buffers, handrails, radiator, windscreen wipers… Naturally, all…

TAKE THE CHALLENGE! Port Dizan is the small layout that was built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the magazine «Clés pour le train miniature »*. It generated so much interest that we decided to take up the challenge and build the layout. For Voie Libre readers, here is how it was adapted for narrow gauge. Port Dizan is a micro-layout whose surface is less than a quarter of a square metre, a tiny layout to have fun during the summer, a tiny layout designed for shunting. The decorated part of this H0 standard gauge layout is 100 x 25cm. The same dimensions can be used for an 0 narrow gauge version, but it can also be built in H0-12 on a surface of 85 x 20cm and in H0-9…

PLAN IN VL101 Given the size of the prototype, building in 1/87 scale was pretty much a non-starter for me; so as this was a case for moving to a larger scale, why not go the full way and attempt modelling in 1/20! Even in this scale, the locomotive is barely 14cm long! And while changing scale, why not change systems? I therefore opted for an autonomous supply, meaning that while retaining an electric motor, I did away with pick-up from the track and have an on-board power and control pack. The construction side remained more standard: plastic sheet, some wood, some brass and a few 3D printed parts! THE BASIC PRINCIPLE We have seen that the engine is tiny. The motor is fairly bulky, but it does fit inside…

INTERIOR LIGHTING Rejuvenating the Liliput Zillertalbahn carriages is a pleasant summer project. What is more, the idea of having a lit carriage, waiting in the station at night time, was very tempting indeed. So I got to work. The first step consists in opening the carriage. The bottom of the body must be prised open gently, the chassis-cum-floor is removed from below. The body and roof are one single casting, and the glazing is glued on from inside. I will not attempt to remove it, nor will I touch the paintwork. Inside the body, a few seats will be added; many thanks to Raymond Duton who gave me a photograph showing the inside furnishings. My seats will be made of card, and will accommodate a few seated figures. This carriage…

FEATURE Some 20 exhibitors – layouts, workshops – were distributed throughout the aisles of the large H0 layout installed at Granges-Paccot in Switzeralnd. This layout's name is «Chemins de Fer du Kaeserberg» («Kaeserberg Railway»), an evocation of the Swiss railways, both in standard and metre gauge. The layout, which extends over three levels, is absolutely stunning and impressively lit. At the show, the presence of narrow gauge was massive and even exclusive. All the current scales were represented, from 1/22.5 to 1/87, in pretty much all imaginable gauges between 45 and 6.5mm. The gathering was a brilliant success and is expected to be repeated, which would be excellent news for all modellers. Naturally, we will keep you informed, a short weekend in the Fribourg canton is not something to spurn!…

Schmalspurbedarf, a German retailer specialized in narrow gauge, has got PMT to manufacture two Polish railway vehicles. On the basis of former Saxon wagons in H0-9, we have here an Fxh 4087 van and a Kdx 21189 box van in late 1960s liveries. The models are neatly engraved and assembled, and the markings are sharp. The wagons are supplied with standard loop couplings and they run very smoothly. They are sold at ca. 67€ each, and are avilable only in H0-9, from Schmalspurbedarf. SCHMALSPURBEDARF FRANK TÜMMELER, HÖNINGER WEG 36, D 50354 HÜRTH. www.schmalspurbedarf.de REF. 5-4413 PL. FXH VAN. REF. 5-4403 PL2. KDX BOX VAN. PRICE: 67€ + POSTAGE…

Here are three new buildings for Voies Ferrées des Landes enthusiasts and more generally for those of secondary standard gauge railways. A wood store with adjacent toilet block, a typical engine shed and its stretched version located at Sabres station and preserved at the Marquéze eco-museum (but entended in the 1970s). These kits all feature a museum-board base clad with laser-cut and engraved plywood, the bricks are engraved in brick-coloured card! ARCHITECTURE & PASSION https://www.architecture-passion.fr REF. 87VFL. WOOD STORE – WC PRICE: 23€ + POSTAGE REF. VFL032. ENGINE SHED PRICE: 59€ + POSTAGE REF. VFL039. SABRES ENGINE SHED PRICE: 69€ +POSTAGE…

Fit your Peco turnouts in 9 – 12 – 16.5mm gauge with small working levers, designed and drawn by François Fouger. If you use Insulfrog turnouts, fit the LRMleviersI reference, if you use the Electrofrog system, the reference LRMleviersE is what you need. For the latter, the lever features a polarity switch below. Assembling the levers is straightforward: remove the parts from the fret, insert the tiebar, clip on the lever. Video isntructions are available on our websites. LR MODÉLISME https://trains.lrpresse.com REF. LRMLEVIERSI PRICE FOR 5 LEVERS: 12.80€ REF. LRMLEVIERSE PRICE FOR 3 LEVERS: 12.80€…

MODEL AT A GLANCE Hornby HM 6000 operating module for two independent layouts Ref. R7292 Price: 40.95€ HM 6010 control module for four accessories Ref. R7293 Price: 47.95€ 15V/1A transformer Ref. P9101 Price: 28.95€ This is something I had been looking forward to for a long time: to do away with the wire of the regulator/transformer, to be able to walk around my layout freely with the controller in hand, to no longer clutter the space bteween the layout and the public when on shows. I had already tested, with much pleasure, the hand-held Roco Z21 controller, but this required engines fitted with decoders or, more simply, to fit the layout itself with a decoder; furthermore, this solution was costly. Thanks to Hornby and its small HM 6000 and HM…

HISTORY PLANS IN HO AND 0 « Et plus que l'air marin la douceur angevine…» («Better than sea breeze, the sweetness of Anjou…») Borrowing this famous verse from Joachim du Bellay takes us to the Petit Anjou network where will find the roots of our 0-6-0 engines. They were the mainstay of the system until its closure in 1948. A first series of 6 locomotives was ordered from SACM (1892 and 1893), under builder's numbers 4239 to 4244, numbers 21 to 26 on the railway. Then 20 additional engines, almost identical, were built by Ateliers du Nord de la France – Blanc-Misseron, with Tubize boliers, builder's numbers 114 to 133, referenced as series 6299 known as «Anjou type», delivered in 1896, and numbered 51 to 70. These engines provided quasi-sterling service…

DISCOVERY The line starts at the CFF station of Le Locle station (alt. 946m), the current terminus for the regional trains of the Transports Publics Neuchâtelois network (TransN) serving Neuchâtel. This station is also served by the French railcars that connect La Chaux-deFonds to Morteau and Besangon. After leaving the station, the Brenets railway serves Chalet halt (km post 0.60) then enters the 720m long Petit-Monts tunnel. Beyond the tunnel, the route travels mostly through woodland, with a maximum gradient of 30 %o. A halt located at km 1.58 serves Les Frêtes hamlet. Shortly before its terminus, the line runs through the short Rayat (38m) and Châtelard (300m) tunnels, beofre reaching Les Brenets station (alt. 873m), where the Company's workhops are located. History Several plans for the construction of railways…

FEATURE Two Séréde Riviéresforts* - Uxegney and Bois l'Abbé – connectedby a 60cm gauge railway, both historically in line with the operation of the Epinal stronghold, this is what we are invited to discover by the ARFUPE preservation society (Association pour la Restauration du Fort d'Uxegney et de la Place d'Epinal – Association for the Restoration of Uxegney Fort and the Epinal Stronghold). While clearing and cleaning up the forts began more than 20 years ago, this spring weekend saw the inauguration of the line connecting them. At the entrance to the forts, and for the first time in their proper environment, the Schneider LG and the Crochat petrol-electric tractors were on display. The Decauville 0-6-0 T steam locomotive from the Val de Passey was in charge of passenger services…

FEATURE Trains ran all day, with no fewer than 4 locomotives in steam and help from the petrol-electric Crochat railcar, providing a non-stop show on the line. Meanwhile, in the depot-shed, model trains, predominantly narrow gauge, delighted visitors. Such was the gala programme at Pithiviers. The 150th anniversary of the Schneider locomotive had been postponed by two years, and the centenary of the Crochat railcar by one year. Both were duly celebrated. The small 0-4-0 T hauled its toast-rack consist round the Bellebat loop, while the railcar took its turn carrying passengers on the regular line service. 10 miniature layouts displayed a wide selection of modelling possibilities.…