A New Danish 1:32 Narrow Gauge Railway (1/35)

The number of industrial narrow gauge railways in the scale range 1:35-1:32 is growing in Denmark. The increase is an impressive 100 % ! With a continued growth rate of that size, scale and theme will soon outgrow H0 in Danish railway modelling. Well, the facts behind the story is that the number of operations has gone up from one (my own) to two! For me it is great not being all alone in my hobby. (And just because the owner of this new narrow gauge line and I share surname we are not related, more than 260.000 Danes bearing the surname Nielsen.)

On a 1:32 Gauge 1 home layout far away from Copenhagen a small narrow gauge line is steadily growing. The line is owned by a standard gauge railway company and used primarily for transport of wood and coal to supply the standard gauge locomotives. The line is different from most of the very short systems with that task. This line runs from a wooded area where firewood is collected to the loco depot covering a distance far longer than most depot serving narrow gauge lines. The line has several unique features: a level crossing with a standard gauge siding and a small bridge over the point rodding to a point on the neighbouring standard gauge line, besides crossing a major road. A wooden loco shed has recently been erected.

A view over most of the narrow gauge line. The line ends by the buildings in the background. The wooded area will materialize later in the right hand side of the image. Photo: Arne Nielsen.




The DG 26 with a short 1:32 scale train of small flats and a Bachmann skip. The DG 26 saw service on my modules at the exhibition near Odense in 2012 and is an excellent slow running loco. Photo: Arne Nielsen.

So far there is one Henschel DG-26 diesel loco from Asoa and a few wagons on the railway. More may arrive in the future if traffic on the line increases. The narrow gauge line is being built with clever use of cheap materials. The tread plate ends on the Bachmann skip based flat wagons are made from scraps of packaging band (free) and the loco shed built from coffee stirrers (basically free, too). It proves that narrow gauge modelling in a large scale doesn't have to be expensive.




The loco shed during construction. Notice the neat wooden cladding possible with simple coffee stirrers. Scale lumber may be more exclusive but not necessarily much better looking. Photo: Arne Nielsen.

The newest information from the narrow gauge line indicates that major investments are due. A new loco, a bogie flat and a closed goods wagon are among what the company plans to deploy on the little line. Several sidings awaits construction. Unfortunately the supply of PECO 016,5 points in Denmark seems to have been completely exhausted. Hints on where to shop both new and used points are most welcome - please leave a comment.

The modest loco facilities of the little narrow gauge line. Photo: Arne Nielsen.