Happy Anniversary!

I had a great time celebrating the 40th anniversary of the heritage Hedelands Veteranbane located 30 km. west of Copenhagen. It's a lot of work to run a heritage railway and adding an anniversary doesn't ease the burden. But getting all locos out, running special trains and giving visitors and passengers something extra will hopefully give an extra boost in PR and produce more passengers during the coming season's traffic. On the modelling side running narrow gauge trains in 1/1 scale surely is inspirational and I picked up several ideas while perching on the brakeman's platform.

A selection of locos outside the shed at Hedehusgård station.

One blog update during May is the consequence of the hours spent planning and helping executing the anniversary. But surely it was worth it. I had a great four day extended weekend with my friends on the railway and chatting with visiting enthusiasts from the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

M 3 awaits M 25 arriving in track 1 with a passenger train.

The extended timetable was seasoned with skip trains, alternating locos and extra train meets at stations. A day's extended timetable filled a full 10 A4 pages when printed out. Everything worked out fine and both traffic control and crews carried out the days' traffic with no panic.

After running around the three skips in its train, M 3 meets another passenger train at Rubjerg station pulled by Da 7 before returning to Hedehusgård 3.5 km away.

At Hedehusgård a 1923 Marshall steam roller worked a stone crusher breaking up stone. The Danish steam roller society visited HVB to celebrate the anniversary.

Steam loco no. 3 with a short train of skips. Fireman poses with coal shovel and oil can.

Now that everything has settled back to normal, I'm having a little time at the work table again. I promise to have some finished modelling projects on the blog in the near future. More images from the anniversary in this Flickr-folder.

Petrol Delivery (1/35)

Nystrup Gravel relied on primarily petrol powered locomotives and other equipment well into the 1950's. Petrol was stored in an underground tank and delivered to locomotives by the fuel pump placed next to the loco shed. When fuel was needed elsewhere Nystrup Gravel's small fuel train took care of deliveries.

The Ford AA fuel tanker has just arrived at the loco shed with a supply of petrol.

With regular intervals a tank lorry topped up the fuel storage. The usual supplier of petrol and diesel was Shell, while the local Gulf depot took care of oil for lubrication purposes.

Turning around to reach the filling pipe for the underground fuel storage tank.

Almost there...

I built the tank lorry back in 2004. It started as a kit from Eastern Express of the Soviet copy of the Ford AA - the Gaz-AA built in Gorki. The tank is a shortened tank from the Italeri GMC tanker. The shortened tank was fitted with rows of home made rivets and a dome from a plastic tube. I added the pump housing on the lorry's left side and scratch built mudguards from plasticcard. I bought the Shell decals from New Zealand and made license plates myself. The driver is a mix of parts from several figures.

A view through the open doors of the loco shed.

Locomotive Lifting Jacks for Nystrup Gravel (1/35)

Realizing that the number of locomotives seems to be ever expanding on the 1:35 version of Nystrup Gravel's railway, I decided to acquire some proper locomotive lifting jacks. They are a close match to those owned by the real Nystrup Gravel company.

Jacks during construction. The kit includes parts to build four jacks.

The French company of Blitz have recently released a resin kit of four jacks. Blitz Kits are also known for their kits of World War 1 French artillery railway kits in 1:35 scale. I used some of the company's steel sleepers in my trackwork on Nystrup Gravel.



The instructions are simple, but the assembly proces is pretty self-evident.

The casting quality in my kit was quite good. Very little flash needed to be removed and only few bubbles in the resin were present.. Minor sanding was needed on some of the large parts. Fit was good and the jacks assembles well. It is an unusual model and the first 1:35 scale model of this type of jack I know of.

One jack ready for fitting of the lifting gear. The unfinished jack in the background has a certain gloomy resemblance to a guillotine!

Land Rover Progress (1/35)

Finally I have some progress to show! My model of the Nystrup fire brigade's Land Rover is now ready for primer. The kit is a mix of resin, white metal and etched brass and needs a good priming to  provide a solid foundation for my preferred acrylic paint.

Table top snapshot of the Roadcraft Models' Series 1 Land Rover fire tender.

I fitted new suction pipe brackets on the bonnet home made from left over etched metal. The fire extinguisher is a spare part present from a fellow modeller. I mounted it on a bracket made from bent up brass. It's held in place with a leather strap from masking tape. I decided against fitting any roof. I didn't want to spoil the look of a rough and simple vehicle with neither sheet metal roof nor tarpaulin cover.

The kit isn't completly assembled as some of the parts (doors, water pump, suction pipes and water tank) will have to be painted separately. The glass in the windscreen will also be fitted once all the paint is on. Decals are designed and I hope to start painting soon.

A Piece of Genuine Nystrup Gravel History!

Apart from some images, newspaper clippings and documents very little remain of the original Nystrup Gravel. Last week I was surprised when I found that a large wooden box had been placed up against the gate to my house. When I looked closer it turned out to be a box with firm connection to Nystrup Gravel! Some follower of this blog obviously had this box in his or her possesion ever since the gravel company closed down and had now handed it over to me anonomously. The box was empty but I will no doubt find use for it and take good care of it! Thanks a lot!

A real piece of Nystrup Gravel! A wooden box with 'Nystrup Grus A/S' (the Danish name of the company) painted on the lid. Now I just have to find a nice old pad lock for the box.

My modelling is going through a quiet fase. Only little work is progressing on the Land Rover and another car model.

40 Years Anniversary

The premier railway in my life turns 40. And no, it’s not the 1:35 scale Nystrup Gravel but the 1:1 scale HVB – a 700 mm. gauge vintage railway in the Nature Park Hedeland. We take the opportunity to celebrate the 40th anniversary with special trains, visiting friends and societies (some even bring their own locomotive and steam roller), fresh, local beef from the barbeque, beer, cake and tea. Politicians give speeches, a vintage mobile stone crusher will be working, old lorries moving about while you enjoy the lovely Danish spring weather. Saturday 20 May is the day and should you visit HVB just once in your life this weekend surely is the one to choose! Check out the programme here.

Da 7 will definately be working during the weekend.

Sunday 21 May we kick off our regular summer's traffic - probably with some special trains to boot and two steam locos in traffic. If you manage to stay until Monday you even have a special steam train for a group of disabled passengers to enjoy from the lineside.

We'll try to get as many locos moving during the weekend. Petrol loco M 2 should be seeing some action. Perhaps with a train of skips. Photo: Anders Lyngesen, 2015.

As I'm chairman of the society behind the HVB I will be working hard, tending the visiting VIPs, giving a speech or two and presenting locomotives at the great loco parade - not to mention hosting a volunteers' barbeque Friday evening. Hopefully I will find the time to slip into my comfy vintage workman's clothing and take a loco and some skips down the line Saturday or Sunday.

In regular work clothing preparing a spicy chili during a day out on lineside work.

If you decide to show up, please come by and say hello. I'd love to take you sightseeing if I can spare a minute.

Driver In Nystrup loco No. 1 (1/35)

Earlier this week I finished Nystrup Gravel loco no. 1. I completely forgot the driver figure I had carefully built to fit in the loco, when I had the loco and a single module in the garden for photography . The driver has no legs. Instead he's equipped with a single nut in his lower torso to enable him to be bolted to a narrow platform just below the door opening. In that way I can remove him when the loco is parked idle on a siding or in the loco shed.

A snapshot of Nystrup no. 1 perched on the wooden box that will become its safe home when the loco is not on duty.