Digging Up History

Apart from modelling a small Danish industrial narrow gauge railway in 1:35 scale and assisting in building and running a full scale heritage narrow gauge railway, I'm always on the look out for info on Danish industrial railways. On a flea market this summer I was leafing through old popular science magazines. In one of them was an article on how to make a peat bog fit for agriculture. The Danish government ran several such programmes in the 1920's and 1930's - most of them employing narrow gauge railways for transport. By keeping eyes open a visit to a flea market turned out to be a pleasant afternoon activity.

A very charming little train ready to venture out in the bog with a supply of fertilizer in steel barrels. The last wagon is loaded with barbed wire for erecting cattle enclosures. The loco is one of the very first models from Pedershaab Machineworks - the largest Danish producer of locomotives for industrial railways. Later models were fitted with chain drive and much studier frames. Pedershaab-locos are still in service today at the Danish peat producer Pindstrup in Latvia.

My first home built 1:35 loco was in fact a Pedershaab. Built from plastic card it has since had parts added several times to keep up with my increased demands for detail. I'm planning to replace my current Pedershaab model with a new one in the coming years - perhaps using 3D-printed and etched parts.

Nystrup Gravel's loco no. 14 built by Pedershaab. The loco is from type FD or BWD and is here seen pushing empty skips to the gravel pits.