Preparing for Summer

Most of the track on my small shelf layout is now built and both modules almost completely fitted with a very basic covering of kitchen rags, white glue and a light earth colour. Currently I'm planning for the next stages that I can hopefully begin to work on during the Summer.

With modules placed temporarily in the garden I begin to get a feel of the layout. Here the curve to the lorry ramp seen from what is usually the side facing the wall in the layout room.

My to do-list for the layout the coming weeks looks like this:

• Locate folding tool
• Bend up fishplates and fit to track
• Finish and fit point lever to remaining turnout
• Paint rails a rust colour
• Ballast testing
• Progress on loading ramp

All pretty basic tasks with all necessary supplies already available (except the difficult to locate folding tool). While railway modelling is entertaining, 1:1 preservation is both entertaining and sometimes stressful. Last year was not a good year for most preservation societies in Denmark due to the lock downs necessary to fight the corona pandemic.

With the pandemic under control in Denmark the 700 mm vintage railway I volunteer on could open for traffic as scheduled May 16. A number of chartered trains have also been running on the line, making it necessary to plan permanent way works carefully. Hopefully the railway will experience a trouble free season with a decent outcome.

Chartered train pulled by No. 3 (O&K 7459/1921) meets a permanent way train with M 30 (Diema 5145/1991) in track 2 at Brandhøj Station.

 

Railbus D 13 rolling gently into track 3 on Hedehusgård Station with Dannebrog flying from the station's flagpole.

Volvo Duett In Service

All cars and equipment on Nystrup Gravel receives minor modifications before going into service. It probably ruins the model as a collector's item, but I need models that fit my model universe and not shiny toys. I aquired the BoS Volvo PV445 Duett last summer and it has now received small added details and a very light weathering.

Shop manager Thorleif Petersen admires an almost brand new Volvo PV445 parked near the tracks in Nystrup. 

As the Volvo is a 1956 model and consequently just outside my chosen period, I didn't want it to be weathered too much. Basically I only added specially designed Danish period license plates from Skilteskoven decals and a light weathering. The weathering consisted of a very light pass with the air brush loaded with a thin mix of light sand and grey. I concentrated the dust treatment to wheels and tires, with only minimal dusting of the lower parts of the car's body.

Front license plate separated from the bumper and painted off the car. The rear plate stayed on the model, taking a bit more care to paint. The decal sheet from Skilteskoven has license plates for additional models that will show up near Nystrup in the future.

Decals are fitted and the front license plate now needs to be super glued back on the bumper.

Modelling isn't only progress and achieving results. It's also handling models and breaking parts off them. While air brushing I forgot to take care and broke off the Volvo's right rear view mirror. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some AC glue, but nevertheless annoying.

Quite a pair of practical doors for loading stuff, Thorleif seems to think. Although very interested in everything mechanical, Thorleif never went beyond bike and scooter for his own personal transportation. For longer distances he prefered train travel.

Nystrup Lister 1952

A new image of Nystrup Gravel's Lister R has surfaced. Writing on the back of the image says '1952'. The image is from the gravel works in Nystrup. With the naked ground it must be autumn as the trees still carry their leaves.

Nystrup Gravel loco no 3 on the way down from the loading ramp in Nystrup. The driver must have been quite skillful to propel 3 loaded skips up the ramp with the Lister. No 3 was usually only used for light shunting in Nystrup or the occasional light permanent way train.

I know of only two other original photographs of the Lister railtractor in service at Nystrup Gravel. I showed one of the images on the blog last year. The new image shows the Lister in basically the same condition as the 1950 photo. It's apparently even the same driver driving? 

The prototype photographs available from Nystrup Gravel makes a good source of inspiration for my modelling and I find it very satisfying to recreate some of the original scenes on my small 16 mm layout.