Politics at Nystrup Gravel

Most model railway enthusiasts are not incorporating politics on their layouts. On Nystrup Gravel on the other hand it's actively integrated into the history of company, layout and the figures giving character to my Nystrup universe. For general elections period election posters are hung on telegraph poles and prominent personalities on the layout have political views representative of Danish political history. Sometimes small anomalies creep in, though. 

The fuel and lubrication shed was a favourite spot for posters. As many political observations were present among Nystrup staff the political posters were often changing. The Vespa posters have been up for ages.

The new poster glued to the fuel storage shed is nothing out of the usual despite being in English. The design is 1950's with a simple slogan, although one of the symbols seems to be a little off for the modelling period.  You can't get everything right. It turned out the conservative owner of Nystrup Gravel didn't approve of the poster's anti-royal statement and as the chief mechanic didn't like the anti-communist hint they both agreed to let it quietly dissappear. 

Ballasting and Reality

The cab detailing on the Fowler has been hit by the reality of my work life. Not much progress on the small plastic parts to be hidden away in the cab. I have had more succes with adding some vegetation and ballast. Somehow I find it much easier to spend five minutes pouring out a little ballast one evening and then adding glue a few days later.

It's friday and the last train of the day has arrived in the Nystrup Gravel Yard. The Fowler locomotive is shunted by the little Lister. Probably for an evening check of a mechanical issue before the first train saturday.

The locos having departed through the building complex a few skips are now checked for oil in the bearings. Even though vegetation and ballast are now in place there is still detailing and weathering to add.

So despite a busy work schedule there's progress on the little Nystrup Gravel layout. I have begun to think it's realistic to have the entire layout fitted with ground cover before year's end. That is an accomplishment as my modelling speed can best be called moderate. I continue having high hopes of greater speeds, but I have to be realistic, as 1/19 scale Nystrup Gravel is only one of my railway endeavours. 

The different railway activities may sometimes limit each other, but mostly they actually add value to one another. And while some readers may wonder if there is a serious fault in the time continuum in Denmark the image below shows that Nystrup Gravel director Erik Holm is actually attending the world's largest railway exhibition Innotrans in Berlin later in september. I'm attending as well, and I have a few questions to ask if I bump into Mr. Holm.

Trade visitor pass to Innotrans for Nystrup managing director Holm.

Nystrup's Timber Bogie Bolsters

Several of Nystrup Gravel's pits were located in wooded areas and before removing the overburden over the gravel deposits, trees had to be cleared away. For transporting felled trees from the pits Nystrup Gravel used a pair of bogie bolster units. I have now aquired 4 bogies and will in no time have them up and running on the layout.

Four timber bogies fresh from the producer in the UK. Chief mechanic Petersen inspecting the new equipment.

The bogie bolsters are from the British producer Rail Print and 3D printed in resin in differing colours. The print quality is from fine to moderately fine. On some spots the prints will benefit from sanding. As usual for 3D printed models in the scale an assortment of bolts and rivets are missing, particularly on the buffer planks. I note that brake shoes and rods are also missing on the braked bogie. As they are not particularly visible I haven't yet decided if I will fit them myself.

Braked bogie with plank deck for the brake man. Railing and brake handle is supplied in the kit ready to fit in the corner brackets.

My timber bogies as delivered. While they basically only need a single part fitted and paint to finish, I will be working a bit more on them adding details.

A pair of bogies seen from above.

On the real Nystrup Gravel felled tree trunks were pulled to the 600 mm narrow gauge line with horses and after WWII with a huge Soviet made crawler tractor. The timber was then loaded on a pair of bogie bolster units and taken to Nystrup by rail where they were sold to a local timber merchant selling them on to a saw mill in the other end of the country in the town of Sundborg. Must have been some rather good timber to warrant such long transport!

Bogie bolsters were seldom seen on Danish industrial narrow gauge railways and Nystrup's 4 bogies are thus quite unique. Most likely they were brought to Denmark by the German authorities during the occupation of Denmark 1940-1945 for work at the airfield at Mellemåen (Middle Stream) not far from Nystrup. A selection of locos, track and wagons was aquired from the airfield by Nystrup Gravel after the war. Read more about the airfield and Nystrup Gravel's relationship here.

German timber bolster bogies at the 600 mm gauge Waldeisenbahn Muskau. 2012.

Two unbraked bogies coupled. Notice the dangerously narrow spacing between the bogies leaving very little room for the worker doing the coupling. Photographed at Waldeisenbahn Muskau in 2003

The Rail Print bogies are a good and reasonably priced way of getting some charateristic timber bolsters on my little 1/19 scale layout. For me the task of removing some of the traces from the printing proces and adding a little extra detail doesn't detract from their quality. I like to work on any model regardless of quality to make it my own personal interpretation of the prototype. For the modeller needing a a pair of bolsters in 32 mm gauge with no need for extra detail, all that has to be done is fix the railing and apply a coat of paint. Ready to roll! And speaking of rolling, the 3D printed wheels worked fine on my short test run. I expect them to perform quite well in traffic. Time will tell.  

The 3D printed part for the brake platform. Detail isn't super sharp, but nothing that I can't fix.

Image of 4 bogies printed (or painted?) in black with loads. With a load of tree trunks they are looking really good. 

With loads of new stuff having now arrived I better get the worktable geared up for some modelling!

Snow, Frost and Gravel Extraction

It has been rather cold in Denmark lately and with a cover of snow all over the country. It's been a few years since we have seen that. Snow didn't hamper gravel extraction as such. As long as the temperatures didn't drop too much below zero making the ground's top layer frozen, an excavator could force it's way to the gravel.

Winter in a gravel pit. Photo: Mimi Kristiansen.

The main reason for Nystrup Gravel's low production during winter and snowy conditions was the demand for gravel from construction projects. Most construction projects were stopped or reduced during winter to limit the risk of stoppages due to frost and snow. Winter was thus a season of repair and maintenance of equipment and production facilities.

Some of the workers at a Danish gravel company taking a break in the shadow of the company's loco shed. If they had good skills for maintaining equipment they kept their job during winter and frost periods. Otherwise they were laid off and had to find other jobs to help sustain their family. Often hard during winter where manual labour wasn't needed in agriculture. 

UFO Sighted at Nystrup

From time to time I think it's nice to be able to season the rather drab and boring business at Nystrup Gravel with something different. The other day I was fortunate to find an old photograph in the archive from a Nystrup newspaper. The photo was in an envelope marked 'not to be published'. From the hand written story also in the envelope it turned out the image was from nothing less than an UFO sighting in Nystrup on the 24 august 1954!

The 'not to be published' photo is now online! Clearly photographed from the Nystrup Gravel tracks west of Nystrup the photo shows a round flying object over the meadow to the north. Looking carefully, one can see that the object carries a sort of pixelated camouflage pattern on the upper surface.

The paper in the envelope contained a short eyewitness report given to one of the newspaper's jounalists as well as small scrap of paper attached with staples. The small note said 'not to be published' with reference to Danish law on national interests and the relations to foreign powers signed by the local police authority. One wonder why they just didn't confiscate the photograph?  

While the so called Space Race did not really begin until the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik in 1957, tensions with the Soviet Union were increasing in the early 1950s. Large numbers of UFO sightings in the West after WW2 could have been prompted by the rising number of modern aircraft in the skies (many people having not seen jets before), natural phenomenons, or even Soviet airplanes - or real flying saucers, of course!

A US newspaper's mention of UFO's over The White House. 

Of course the UFO sighting over Nystrup wasn't real. It was simply my urge to do something different not having the faintest relation with Nystrup Gravel (which of course wasn't how it ended). 

Colour image of the 'UFO' making a final pass over the meadow and tracks before flying on. In reality the craft is an advanced drone with an unknown propulsion system.

Close-up of the drone and its companion. The drones are kits from the Warhammer-universe slightly rebuilt and painted.

Seen from above the pixelated camouflage stands out and the Ukrainian flags make it clear where the flying crafts belong.

The donor kit with the drones is the 'Tau Empire Pathfinder Team' set from the Warhammer 40.000 series. Picked up for a modest sum because of a damaged box I figured I could build a few advanced drones 'dressed up' as miniature Ukrainian aircrafts with the characteristic pixelated camouflage. I changed the drones a bit by swapping and omitting parts as well as adding a few items from scratch. The building part of the work was quickly done, but the painting took a little longer. The pixelated camouflage took several rounds with airbrush and masking tape before being ready for weathering. I painted the Ukranian flags by hand.

There are plenty of parts left in the box. Perhaps I one day decide to use the parts from the large drone in the box. The rest will probably lie unused in a box until disposed of.

The two drones seen during painting. One of them with masking tape all over it. The lower half of the drone is in dark grey painted and weathered with brush. Lenses for sights and observation devices were painted black with a final covering of gloss varnish.

Some readers may shake their heads and wonder why I waste time on completely crazy projects like this. Other modellers will know how a different project can add new energy to other, more serious modelling projects. That is what the two small drones and the photo work did for me. Now I'm working with the wooden cladding on the relief building. All very serious and correct.

From a Newspaper

From my stash of old newspaper clippings and documents from the Nystrup Gravel archive I have dug out a photo completly detached from any information. It has been cut from a newspaper or a document printed on the same kind of low quality paper. The picture is stained (with coffee?) in the lower half and has a tear in the upper right corner. This kind of image is often a major challenge to identify and locate - in geography as well as in time. This one was easy, however!

Even without original caption or any other information it is easy for me to locate this image as being from the Nystrup Gravel loading ramp at the company's facilities in Nystrup. The Lister loco was a rare bird (in fact the only one) on Danish rails and the loading ramp is a dead give away with its flimsy walkway. The image is most likely from the beginning of the 1950's.

The Lister was a chance investment at a time when it was extremely difficult to obtain new locomotives in Denmark due to import restrictions and a general post-world war disruption of normal production and trade. The loco was never intended to be used for hauling gravel trains, but rather for light shunting and small permanent way trains. That left the more powerful locomotives, like the Fowler, to do what they did best.

Fowler History

The Fowler at Nystrup Gravel was a rather seldom seen locomotive from a foreign manufacturer in Denmark. Only three other Fowlers are known in Denmark. Apart from the chance sale of the loco to Nystrup Gravel in 1934, Fowler only succeeded in selling a six coupled 700 mm gauge loco to a sugar factory in 1948 and two standard gauge shunters in 1952 to a railway in northern Jutland.

My 1/19 model of the Fowler F 30 is carefully being shunted toward the workshop by the Lister while workshop manager Thorleif Petersen watches the operation (as usual with a cup of coffee in his left hand).

 

 

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The Fowler at Nystrup was most likely originally meant for a customer in the tropics using Imperial measurements. Fowler had a good business selling locos, wagons and track for sugar plantations in the Pacific area. The gauge on the loco was in fact 2 feet (610 mm) while Nystrup Gravel used 600 mm gauge. The Fowler was consequently slightly 'over gauged'. There is no indication from archive scources that the loco ever derailed more than any of the company's other locos. 

The Nystrup Gravel management was aware that the gauge potentially could cause problems and had consulting engineers deliver a short analysis of the consequenses.  The consultants concluded that the difference in gauge didn't matter considering the track's condition.

The Fowler loco was instrumental in the expansion of the gravel production at Nystrup and the primary locomotive for a number of years. It was out of service for most of the German occupation of Denmark 1940-1945 due to lack of spare parts and fuel. As soon as parts were available again it was back in service, being in use at least until 1963 according to surviving maintenance records.

Illustration from a Fowler catalogue showing a 6 wheeled loco of the same type delivered to the Danish 700 mm gauge beet lines in 1948.

The Fowler's arrival at Nystrup Gravel was big news in the rural area and received mention in a newspaper article dated 17. January 1934. The visiting press was invited for a ride and one journalist wrote: "The cab allows a flow of fresh air and provides a great view for the driver, something the workers will no doubt appreciate during shunting”. Obviously the journalist hadn't much experience of loco driving in the cold Danish climate. Only on warm summer days did the drivers appreciate the cab designed for much warmer climates. Most of the year they were freezing despite trying to close the cab with a variety of tarpaulins and wooden boards. 

Photo of a Fowler F 30 in service at an Australian sugar cane mill. Many of the loco's features are identical to the Nystrup Gravel loco, reinforcing the theory that Nystrup aquired a loco ordered by an Australian customer. The open cab was well suited to the hot Australian climate, but didn't go down well with the Danish weather.

Donation Giving New Insight into Nystrup Gravel History

The family of Nystrup Gravel's late workshop manager Thorleif Petersen has on several occasions donated documents, photographs and small items with relevance for my study of the gravel company's 600 mm line. Back in 2014 Thorleif's graddaughter gave me a heap of papers and some photographs from a trip Thorleif made in the 1980's to Nystrup. Now I've had yet another donation from Thorleif's family.

Metal sign, camera and maps. Some of the items donated by the Petersen family.

While the old Agfa 600 Synchro Box isn't particularly collectable, it's funny to handle the camera used by Thorleif to take a lot of photographs around Nystrup. Most of them still unpublished. The maps however is a tresure trove of info. Apparently Thorleif marked his visits to locations where he searched for spare parts and equipment for Nystrup Gravel. Some of the locations are well known as other documents have previously shown Thorleif to have visited and in some cases bought equipment. It is however a huge surprise to see the sugar beet railways clearly marked out on the maps and a note made in the margin: "One English loco 150 hp Sakskøbing". It's not known what the note means and so far I have failed to find evidence for a loco made in Britain with 150 hp effect at the sugar beet railways at all. A matter I will be looking into during 2021!

The sheet metal sign (a bit larger than A4-format) is an early health and safety measure giving a short notice on the rules of maximum gradients when excavating gravel. Current rules when excavating are quite different in Denmark today, allowing only gradients of 1 to 1 in contrast to the 2 or 4 to one mentioned on the sign.

Previous donations have included a wooden box from an anonymously reader of the blog.

Post Cards From Director Holm

"I wish each of you a happy summer!" Director Holm from Nystrup Gravel writes on the back of a post card posted in July 1938 from the Danish island of Rømø. Holm accompanied by his wife seemingly took 14 days of vacation on the island and posted post cards to his employees twice. The two post cards have surfaced during a recent visit to the archives on a quest for something quite different. The two postcards reveal interesting information about the railway at Nystrup Gravel.

On the front of both post cards sent by Holm are motives from the hotel's own narrow gauge railway. The hotel probably carried a selection of post cards with motives from the beaches and scenic surrounding as well as its little railway. Having a business dependant on a railway himself, the post cards must have caught Director Holm's attention.

Posted Wedensday 13 July 1938 this post card has a traditional holiday greeting written on the back. "I hope you are all truely well and enjoying your holiday. I wish each of you a happy summer! All the best summer greetings from Director Holm and Mrs Holm". The photo shows the 'train man' and his horse on the hotel 'Vesterhavsbad Rømø' own 750 mm railway across the sparsely populated island of Rømø.

The island of Rømø has excellent beaches, but suffered very bad communications in the early 20th century. Particularly challenged was a hotel on the island's western shore as no road connected it with the ferry landing 4 km away on the island's other side. The hotel opened in 1898 and built a 750 mm gauge railway to supply transportation for guests, staff and supplies. While equipped with rather fancy coaches, traction was provided by horses all through the railway's existence. The railway was closed in 1941.

Holm's second post card from Rømø (posted Friday 15 July 1938) is this old card from the island's German period (Rømø was part of Germany from 1864 to 1920). The wagon has prompted Holm to ask one of his employees to check a Nystrup wagon for markings as he thinks it bears resemblance to the one on the post card: "The coach on this post cards reminds me of our own little coach. Could somone please check if there is lettering saying 'Nordseebad Lakolk' or 'Vesterhavsbad Rømø' under the heavy layers of paint on our wagon?"

While the two old post cards are interesting in their own right, they also indicate that Nystrup Gravel had not only two bogie coaches for transport of workers, but also a smaller four wheeled coach. I have yet to find a picture of the little coach. From Holm's post card it is fair to assume that the Nystrup Gravel coach looked quite like the coach from Nordseebad Lakolk seen above. I'll be on the lookout for more info on the coach as I have obviously developed ambitions of building a model of it for my 16 mm scale version of Nystrup Gravel's little railway.

New Historic Image from Nystrup Gravel

Always on the lookout for historic facts about the railway and company that I try to recreate in model, I am happy to have found proof that Nystrup Gravel had not one, byt two very early Danish built internal combustion locomotives. The newly found 'dinosaur' is a Kramper & Jørgensen single cylinder loco probably built in 1910.

'Nystrup May 1912' says the pencilled text on the back of the picture. We see a full train of skips pulled by two horses, a Kramper & Jørgensen loco and some empty skips. Part of the work force posing in front of the equipment. A young girl  has managed to get herself immortalized with her puppy.

The image above comes as no surprise, as rumours have long had that Nystrup Gravel owned two early oil engine locos from two different manufacturers. A brief post on what I currently know about the Nystrup Gravel history can be found here.

Since years it has been documented that Nystrup Gravel experimented with an early internal combustion locomotive from the Frederikshavn Iron Foundry. I finished a 1:35 scale model of that particular loco in 2017. Now I'm thinking of making a model of the Kramper & Jørgensen in 16 mm scale. It will no doubt make an impressive model in the large scale.

More research is needed before any work can be done, and several other projects have higher priority. I look forward to the design and build process of this unique piece of Danish railway history.

Old Photograph from Nystrup

Always on the search for information about Nystrup Gravel's history I have finally managed to get hold of an image of the company's little Lister locomotive. I found the picture in a newly donated box of pictures at the Skovby local historical archive. I'm in regular contact with the archive and in 2019 they have even begun to contact me if info on the gravel company shows up.

A slightly blurred black and white photograph from Nystrup Gravel's main yard in Nystrup. Pencil writing on the back of the image says: "Nystrup, 1950. Where Poul worked 1947-1951."

A copy of the image has been in my possession since August. The image shows the Lister at the petrol pump near the wooden loco shed in Nystrup. There is a clear view over a field to farm buildings in the background. Nystrup town is just out of sight behind the brick shed to the right. It seems to be autumn or very early spring judging from the leafless trees.

The new picture was what prompted me to build the brick shed and to buy a model of a petrol pump from the 1920's. The brick shed is finished and the petrol pump is on my workbench being modified at the moment.

Three Wheeler from Banke's Bakelite

The small company Banke's Bakelite is known from previous posts on this blog. I have built part of the company's factory and one of their lorries in 1:35 scale. Now it's time for a 16 mm version of a lorry from Banke's Bakelite. The factory itself was located right next to Nystrup Gravel's track in Nystrup, but used lorries for transport of both raw materials and finished goods. Only on a few occasions due to flooding of roads did the bakelite factory use the 600 mm railway.

... und noch weiter! German advertisement for the Tempo Hanseat showing a Hanseat with a hefty tire pattern on its front tire.

The Tempo Hanseat in service at Banke's Bakelite is fitted with much a more relaxed tire pattern. The driver has left the cab and is obviously examining the little lorry. A mechanial problem, perhaps?

I decided to keep the vehicle in the colour as supplied by its manufacturer Minichamps. I only air brushed the rear end with yellow paint. This would enhance visibility and traffic safety of the little, slow lorry in the dark months of the long Danish autumn and winter. I had decals custom made using the same artwork as my previous decals in 1:35 scale. The decals were applied on surfaces prepared with gloss varnish. Mr. Hobby decal solutions helped get the large decals integrate well with the surface of the model.

I used a combination of Tamiya masking tape and a plastic bag to make sure I only got yellow paint where I wanted.

Decals being fitted on the lorry. Company name and telephone number. Rear license plate removed awaiting fitting of a new plate in line with my modelling period.

The plastic injected tarpaulin was also gloss varnished in preparation for the decals. After decal application the tarpaulin was air brushed with flat varnish. The tarpaulin was then treated with detail painting and diluted oil paints in very much the same fashion as when I paint clothing on figures. The model's original black license plates were exchanged with new ones made from plastic card, painted yellow and fitted with decals.

Decals are on and the tarpaulin is getting details painted and some general weathering added. The new license plates are glued in place. Next task is to paint details and add weathering to the rest of the little lorry.

I picked out a few details on the lorry with acrylic paint. Windshield wipers were painted with chrome and the head lights also got a shiny chrome ring to keep the lens in place. The exhaust was painted with a thick layer of acrylic paint stippled with a stiff brush while drying. That creates a nice 'ripple' effect on the exhaust looking like a layer of rust. The exhaust's texture was enhanced with a wash of rust coloured diluted oil paint. Several other parts of the engine was treated to somelight wrathering as well. The underside of the opening bonnet wase air brushed lightly with dark grey.

The doors were given an unfair number of dents and scratches to represent a victim of rather careless drivers. The load area was also distressed with both acrylic and oil paints using several sizes of brushes. I gave the car a few light passes with two tones of sand coloured paint to represent dust thrown up from the road surface. I will probably add a bit more later.

The Hanseat was primarily used to ferry finished bakelite products to the standard gauge railway station in Skovby. As most products were shipped out in cardboard boxes the tarpaulin protected them from the wetness of the Danish climate.

A splash of yellow helps to protect the slow Hanseat with dim lights being hit by faster cars on the dark roads around Nystrup.

The driver now seems to have given up all hope getting the Hanseat started again. He will now have to walk to the nearest telephone to phone for a mechanic to help him take his load of bakelite products to their destination.

The Tempo Hanseat is my fourth road vehicle finished as Danish cars matching the Nystrup Gravel universe. Now it's back to finish the brick shed and finishing the build sketches and design planning for my Pedershaab locomotive. And soon it's December with all the associated activities. After more than 15 years of modelling Nystrup Gravel, the company has not once sent out a Christmas Card. Perhaps it's about time?

Nystrup Gravel Track Plan

One of the blog's patient readers recently asked if I could provide a map of the Nystrup Gravel company's 600 mm line. I have through the years mentioned how the Nystrup Gravel line winded its way from pits to sorting facility and lorry ramp in Nystrup.  Now a sketch is finally available showing the railway's route. My sketch shows the gravel pits served by 600 mm. tracks with the lines converging east of the town.

The company 'Nystrup Grus A/S' was situated on the Danish island of Zealand, some 80 km. south west of Denmark’s capital Copenhagen. A short history of the company and its railway can be found here.

Legend:
1 Nystrup Gravel sorting facility and lorry loading ramp
2 Old gravel pit and original 600 mm line
3 Loco shed
4 Gravel pit opened 1909
5 Gravel pit 1932-1955
6 Gravel pit opened 1950

A Lille Å (Little Stream)
B Mellemåen (Medium Stream)
C Old machine gun positions (from the German WW2 airfield to the north)

Nystrup Gravel's Menck 60 excavator photographed in the pit marked '6' on the map above. The pit remained in service until Nystrup Gravel closed. The area was subsequently aqcuired by a UK based consortium Conglomerated Aggregates and quarried until completely exhausted.

Through the blog's existence I have now and then had the opportunity to find some of the places where the railway was once located. One spot was where the gravel line squeezed between buildings and fences in the small industrial district in the eastern part of Nystrup. A part of the line that I liked so well that I made a small module in 1:35 of the scene.

The road viaduct east of the loco shed. The viaduct carried the road from Nystrup to Ubehage and Dimholt. Here seen with loaded skips pushed by loco no 5.

I'm currently planning to model a small part of the company's Nystrup facility in 16 mm scale. Just a few tracks, two or three points, some buildings and perhaps the ramp for loading lorries. With clever use of relief buildings and fences I hope to be able to make a credible model in a large scale in a limited space.

Lister History

In a recent post I mentioned that I had found a letter with info on Nystrup Gravel's Lister locomotive. From the letter it seems Nystrup Gravel was searching for a locomotive in the 4-5 t. range, but had to contend with a Lister. The steel and machine trading company P. C. Petersen informs the shop manager at Nystrup Gravel, Torleif Petersen that they have two locomotives on their site, but advise Thorleif not to buy them due to their deplorable condition. Instead P. C. Petersen's salesman suggests acquiring the Lister.

In the letter posted Friday June 18 1948 (obviously sent in a hurry as it remained unsigned) the salesman writes that the Lister has been taken as partial payment in a recent exchange of goods with another customer and that Nystrup Gravel can have it for a price of 637 Danish kroner. The salesman writes: "...we need immediate response from you as the rail tractor is the object of much attention from other potential buyers".

The salesman describes the Lister as "... built on a frame of steel profiles with a one cylinder engine under a light bonnet. The driver's position is open and the tractor is equipped with ballast weights and buffers and couplings both front and rear". The letter confirms old workers' reports that the Lister was a mid-thirties model bought second hand after 1945. The Lister was mostly used for light shunting duties at the gravel works in Nystrup and the occasional light permanent way train.

A Danish Hudson-Hunslet

I have been fortunate to be able to acquire what must be a small part of the Nystrup Gravel company archive. In previous posts I have shown some of the old documents. The documents, newspaper clippings and pictures have been a huge inspiration for my modelling.

Due to the overwhelming succes of Danish manufacturers of small internal combustion narrow gauge locos foreign locomotives are comparatively rare in Denmark. We have had a fair selection of German locomotives from Gmeinder, O&K, Jung and Deutz. British locos, on the other hand, were few and far between. In a small advertisement from P. C. Petersen, Aalborg a brand new 3.25 ton Hudson-Hunslet with 20 hp is mentioned being for sale in 1947. There is currently no evidence as to where the Hudson-Hunslet loco went from P. C. Petersen, but the demand for locos was great after the war. It's unthinkable a brand new loco wouldn't be a prized item for any gravel company or contractor.

The advertisement is a scan from the newspaper 'The Engineer' 18. July 1947 found in a box with Nystrup Gravel documents. It also mentions 20 new British 600 mm gauge skips. Nystrup Gravel had British skips but bought from the Danish dealer V. Spøer.

In the Nystrup Gravel archive I have also found half a list of the company's skips. The British skips are simply mentioned as being of 'British type'. From photos we know they were of the Hudson 'Rugga' type. The list of skips was originally mentioned in a post in April 2013.

A torn off upper half of a list of skips at Nystrup Gravel dating from 1951 and 1952. Six skips of British type are listed numbered 47-48, 50, 52 and 54-55.

Auto Union Sports Car

Looking out for cheap cars in 1:18 on ebay has resulted in the arrival of an Auto Union 1000 S - a sports car with a 55 hp two stroke engine and a top speed of 130 km/h. The model came out in 1958 and its relative modest price and size seemed to be a good fit for a small business man's sports car in rural Nystrup. It could be Nystrup Gravel director Holm's replacement for his pre-war Opel Kapitain. His daughter having moved to Copenhagen to go to university, he could now manage with a sligthly smaller car.

My model is a Revell 1:18 die cast model with two opening front doors, opening bonnet and detailed engine. Once again a boxless bargain at 20 € . This car has obviously been in a collection in a smoker's home. After some careful removing of dust it has consequently spent 14 days in one of my sheds and is now practically free from the odeur of old tobacco. I have used the same trick with second hand books.

When I get around to it, the car will have Danish license plates, minor weathering and perhaps the rear license plate will have to be replaced? It looks enormous.

Trainspotters Spotted Near Loco Shed (1/35)

Trainspotting was in its infancy in Denmark in the early 1950's. No railway society existed and people (well, men) interested in railways met in model railway clubs. Most railway enthusiasts didn't care much about industrial narrow gauge railways. Some of those early pioneers must have had a particular interest in narrow gauge, though. Below are images of two gentlemen engaged in some intense exploration at the Nystrup Gravel loco shed.

This must be a particular well off enthusiast. Equipped with a 16 mm. film camera (probably a 1940's Maurer) he must have had considerable means to spend on his hobby. Being dressed in sporty plus fours and gloriously striped yellow socks he is well equipped for cross country trainspotting.

Dressed in a rather less dandy-like fashion, the other visiting trainspotter is bringing a classic Rolleiflex and a sturdy bag for notebook, maps and pencils.

Waiting for Nystrup Gravel's steam loco to pass the loco shed? Hopefully the two spotters will get good shots of what they see.