New HOe Wagon Arrived

Ice cooled reefers on Soviet narrow gauge? Yes, particularly the narrow gauge lines located in the agricultural regions of the Soviet Union were equipped with isolated refrigerator wagons. The 1/87 scale model of a Soviet narrow gauge reefer is part of a larger order that will arrive piecemal with irregular intervals from Ukraine. I was so satisfied with the quality of the two platform wagons that arrived in September that I had to have more!

Fresh out of its box. Another item for the Soviet narrow gauge collection.

The model is handbuilt in Ukraine by 'Miniland', the organisation that operate Ukraine's largest 1/87 scale model railway in Kyiv. The reefer is supplied in a tailor made wooden box with a laser cut outline of the reefer on the top of the lid and foam lining cut to fit tightly around the model. 

The prototype 'isothermic' wagon was built by the East German manufacturer 'VEB Waggonbau Bautzen' in 1954. As the term 'isotermic' reveal the wagons weren't exclusively for keeping their contents cool but rather at a constant temperature. In fact, the wagons were equipped with a heating stove and could consequently also keep the freight from freezing. Bautzen called them 'Kühlwagen' and in Ukraine they were known as 'Льодовик' literally 'glacier', so I guess the main role of the wagon would be to keep meat, fruit and vegetable cool in the warmer months of the year. The wagon was insulated with a layer of 20 cm thick insulation material and could carry 2 tons of ice in compartements to keep the freight cold.

As everything on the Soviet narrow gauge railways the reefer wagons were quite large with a carrying capacity of 15 t. Via thermometers the temperature could be monitored from the outside. Ladders on the ends gave access to roof boards that were used when filling the ice compartments.

Works photograph from Bautzen showing a light coloured 'Kühlwagen' - cooling wagon. The wagons were seen in light grey (perhaps white?), green and brown colours. 

A preserved reefer in the railway museum in Anykščiai at the 'Aukštaitijos' 750 mm narrow gauge railway from Panevėžys to Rubikiai in Lithuania. The thickness of the doors are evident. The wagon has lost many fittings, including the end ladders.

The wagon is priced at 116 € and that is only a little more than a pretty standard H0 Danish passenger car  - and the reefer comes with a nice storage box rather than a flimsy one made from cardboard. Being very good quallity, a rare prototype and handbuilt by a craftsman/woman, I don't consider the price high.

Brake cylinder, back up air tank and piping. Hard to believe this is 1/87 scale and hand made. 

Good, clean decal application. Paint has been applied without faults. Nice work.

Roof running boards around one of the openings for filling the internal ice boxes. Notice the drain leading water over the wagon's end.

Delivery was swift and from ordering to delivery a mere 6 days passed. Quite hard to understand how that is doable from a country being the victim of a Russian invasion and suffering devastating air attacks on its cities almost every night. All the more reason to appreciate the careful work laid in the detailed model!

Soviet Bogie Platform Wagons

In my continued proces of building up a collection of Soviet narrow gauge rolling stock, two platform wagons arrived today by mail. Quite unusual for such rather rare prototypes they are out of the box delivered finished and ready for service (even if I don't have a layout to use them on).

 

Two new platform wagons unpacked and photographed in the garden with a MD-54-2 and a piece of mining machinery as load.

The protoype for the models is a simple steel framed platform wagon with sheet metal floor and cast steel 'american-style' bogies and central couplings. Pockets for stakes to enable transport of wood etc. are placed on the outside frames. Several types of platform wagons were built by Demikhovo Engineering Works (DMZ) with some of them having very low sides and some strengthening beams across the load area - probably for transporting logs. The Demikhovo Engineering Works (Демиховский Машиностроительный Завод, ДМЗ) in Demikhovo near Moscow was founded in the Soviet Union in the 1930's building machines for the peat industry including bogie hoppers by the thousands. Today the company is the Russian Federation's main producer of EMU's. 

Drawing and data sheet of almost identical platform wagon built by DMZ. It's fun that the gauge is stated as being 1520 mm - clearly a mistake!

Works photograph of a platform wagon from Demikhovo.

The wagons are handbuilt in Ukraine by the Ukrainian 'Miniland' model railway organisation that is best known for operating Ukraine's largest 1/87 scale model railway in Kyiv. They are not what I would consider cheap, but the quality/price ratio is well balanced and I already have more models on order. Packaging on arrival from Kyiv is top quality, and once cardboard box and bubblewrap was removed I had a tailor-made lasercut wooden box in my hands. The box will help protect the models from all but the most viscious mishandling.

The contents laser engraved on the lid of the wooden box supplied as a safe home for the models.

With the lid off the wagons can be seen fitting into the foam lining of the box. Thin plastic wrapping makes it easy to extract the models.

The models correspond to available drawings of Demikhovo platform wagons and both are assembled with care, bearing no visible marks from glue, solder or files etc. The wagons are equipped with full underside detail like air tank, pipes and brake rodding. Paint is well applied, probably by air brush, and the lettering is clear and the wagons carry individual numbers and appropriate data.

Platform 1930 in light grey livery.

Braked platform 1262 with brake compartment built from steel sheet and profiles.

Underside detail on platform 1930. The only thing missing is the brake shoes.

As an extremely utilitarian design the Demikhovo platform wagons weren't the kind of rolling stock anyone took a particularly interest in. Consequently most images show prototype wagons heavily weathered and worn. As long as all eight wheels touched the rails and the couplings pointed in the right direction all seems to have been fine. I look forward to add weathering to the models in the future. For the time being they will stay in their nice box.

Platform wagon loaded with two substantial concrete elements. This particular wagon seems to have been light grey in a distant past. Surely an inspiration for my future weathering work on the two models.