Voie Libre international APRIL / MAI / JUNE 2025 - 121

There is an artistic side to our hobby, no doubt about that. Modelling a surface, harmonizing the curves and the volumes, creating nuances of colour, generating atmospheres… all these actions are related to our sensitivity, to making the best of what we have observed in reality. But railway modelling is also a technical pursuit, that requires care, subtlety, accuracy. So, in this issue number 121, we have blended both, some pages in the magazine being incredibly poetic, and others highly technical. Some pages where dreaming takes charge, while in others, accurate drawing or mathematical calculations are the rule! And at the very end, it is this subtle combination that makes railway modelling a great occupation. When thoroughness and technique join hands to serve artistic expression!…

The SPMR locotracteur, designed by theP'tits Kits team, is now available. This model reproduces the SPMR (Société Parisienne de Matériel Roulant) locotractor built for the «Régie Départementale des Tramways de l'Ain». Fitted with a UNIC motor, this machine did not leave a mark in history: its career is poor in memories and images! This is exactly why we decided to offer it a future in scale form. With its coreless motor, directional headlights and its six-pin digital interface, it actually works far better than its prototype ancestor, and that's a good thing for our layouts. The body, supplied ready-painted in green, is 3D printed in a very fine and unbreakable photosensitive polymer. The handrails are printed in a flexible material, removing any risk of bending or breakage. The buyer will…

This is a new version of the Bernina RhB driving unit, which ran on the Coire to Arosa (Ch-A) stretch between 1946 – 47, when these units were rebuilt, until the time of 11kV electrification in 1997. The new driving units have a few additional features, the possibility of operating them with an ESU sound decoder whose sequences ar realistic, and the 3 front lamp/1 rear lamp LED lighting. What is missing is the typical rooftop equipment, known as «Dachruten», used for supplying the train heating on the Coire – Arosa route. This is especially unfortunate as Bemo produces the carriages required to make up realistic consists. The model can be re-gauged for 9mm. BEMO REF. 1368 134 PRICE: ANALOGUE €330 DIGITAL €440…

Two new versions of Liliput's famous 0-6-2 T are available: U37 002, of the JHMD railway, built by Krauss at Linz in 1898 under nº 3814, delivered to the Austrian royal railways, and which runs nowadays on the Jindrichuv-Hradec to Obratan or Nova Bistrice railway in the Czech Republic. The model is identical to earlier versions, but features the very fine original livery. N° 298.05, built by Krauss at Linz under nº 3804, put into service on the Ybbstalbahn in 1898, saw service on many railways before ending its career on the Steyrtalbahn, where it is now preserved statically by the ÖGEG association. The two turbo-dynamos used for lighting the engine and the carriages are fitted to the top of the water tanks. The two models runvery smoothly and realistically…

After years of experimenting and developing, Sven has released a driving chassis with a great many possibilities for adaptation: wheel diameter (6.2 – 7 - 8 or 9mm) and wheel gauge (9 – 12 or 16.5mm), chassis wheelbase (16 – 17 – 20.7mm). It is supplied with a set of different height wings for fixing it under a body, by the front, the middle or the corners. The coreless motor drives both axles via two worm gears and a series of straight gears, ensuring smooth running and a realistic speed. The chassis is supplied in a small protective box; you can add many options to your order: decoder fitted with a «stayalive» device or a chassis maintenance kit. We shall describe how to make use of this product in a…

We recently discovered this top-of-therange artisan production, which calls on 3D printing with a flexible photosensitive polymer. The Micro website is packed with various items for accurately modelling a mining site. Among these accessories, an incredible number of electric locomotives, operating on batteries or fitted with pantographs. The kits are supplied on their frets and are extremely fine. Despite the small size of the parts, they are assembled in no time. They are not motorized, this seems to me complicated, maybe even impossible, but no doubt some modelling genius will send me a picture of a working model some time in the future! Painting is made simpler by the sub-assemblies, but less adventurous modellers can also purchase a painted model for a handful of additional euros. MICRO-MINERS WWW.MICROMINERS.DE BBA B360…