Track Works 1:1 Scale #1

 As the first rails have been spiked on the small Nystrup Gravel layout, I tried to find images of track works on a real Danish narrow gauge industrial railway. Not an easy task, as it seems to have been a type of activity not considered particularly photogenic.

A team of six workers at the Funder Skovhuse brick works building and adjusting track. Notice spare track and a wagon turntable in the left background. Sleepers are a charming variety of what seems to range from cut down standard gauge sleepers to fence posts. Probably 1930-1940. Photo: Silkeborg Arkiv, B20167. 

Track laying and maintenance on most Danish narrow gauge industrial railways was a simple matter: if the train stayed on the track, the track was considered fine. Only when derailments became too frequent, track would be repaired. The track layout would usually change very little at most industries. Only in the gravel pit, stone quarry or peat harvesting area, track would be moved regularly as raw material was quarried and transported away.

Aerial image of Funder Skovby brick works. The ramp for the track to the clay mixing facility can be seen cutting through one of the drying sheds in the centre of the image. There is evidence of old clay pist to the left. Clay extraction at the time of photography seems to happen on the north side of the road crossing diagonally from top right. Photo: Royal Air Force, 1954. 

Track Building Started

The first lengths of rails have finally been laid on the 16 mm scale Nystrup Gravel layout. It has taken far too long, but now the track is down and working, although it is only a very short length.

The first length of track spiked on the Nystrup Gravel layout.

The Peco Code 143 rail is 3,5 mm in height, corresponding to a ca 10-12 kg/m prototype rail. I have laid the sleepers with a scale 60 cm between centres. With 10-12 kg/m rail the track is fit for an axle loading of 2-2,5 tons with a good margin for heavier loads. It's not my intention to employ locos or wagons that will place much higher loadings on the track, though.

My track has been designed and reality checked with real industrial railway practice. I've used rail manufacturers' track manuals and the 'Industrial Railway 101' standard reference work 'Feldbahnen' by Paul Roloff, first published in 1950. The book is a practical guide for track foremen, contractors and planners helping them build, maintain and run narrow gauge industrial railways in an effecient and profitable way. 

'Feldbahnen' written and compiled by Baumeister, Paul Roloff. A helpfull companion for any enterprising track foreman.

For track building I made three wooden track gauges reminiscent of the ones used on real narrow gauge industrial railways: a lenght of wood matching the gauge nailed to a piece of wood wider than the gauge to lay on top of the rail heads. Simple, easy to manufacture and fast when in use by the track workers.

Track gauge as illustrated in 'Feldbahnen'. A simple construction to keep the track in gauge during spiking.

My track gauges from wood and the gauge for keeping the right sleeper spacing.

Track gauges in use. The dress maker's pins keep the track in position during spiking.

The spacing between the sleepers is set by a 30 mm wide wooden block made from 3 pieces of old fireworks rocket sticks picked up after the new years celebrations. An easy and cheap supply of wood (as long as fireworks rockets are allowed). The sleepers are placed with the assistance of the guide block, their positions marked with a pencil, glue applied and the sleepers permanently fixed to the cork trackbed.

To avoid the rail ends at the module end being damaged during handling the module, I soldered the rail ends to brass screws firmly embedded into the module end. On my old 1:35 scale modules this method ensured easy alignment of track when setting up modules and a solid construction, keeping the track safe during transport, handling and setting up.

I will be using the Peco SM-32 Code 200 small radius turnouts I bought for test purposes. They will be rebuilt a little to fit into the Nystrup Gravel track and make them connect to the Code 143 rails.

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.

Radio Model

Among some of the countless accessories available for a model railway in 1/19 scale, I was tempted by a 1940-1950 radio. As I had a package sent to Denmark, I added the radio to the order. I bought the radio from Dioramaparts, a German company selling detail parts and kits through eBay in 2019. The company seems to have stopped trading since.

The printed front panel.

The resin cabinet fitted with plastic stock dials and buttons.

To call the radio a kit is an exaggeration. The zip lock bag contained one resin radio cabinet, one printed radio front panel and a piece of thin metal wire for the antenna. I sanded the resin part lightly to achieve a smooth surface. I then added two large dials and the row of smaller buttons under the frequency scale from plastic stock. On the back I added a small piece of plasticcard to represent the metal plate holding power cable and antenna socket. I then primed the radio and painted the cabinet dark brown and the back a lighter brown to represent the cheaper wood used for the parts of the cabinet not in direct view. I cut the loudspeaker and scale from the printed front panel and glued them in place separately. The loudspeaker panel was given a touch of matt varnish, while scale and dials were given gloss varnish. The dark brown cabinet sides and top was also gloss varnished. A roll of power cable was made from solder wire, while I chose not to fit an antenna. 

Radios looked very cool in the 1950's. Here is a Danish made TO-R Merkur D 2 from a 1951 advert.

I ended up adding 5 home made parts to the radio, keeping one kit part unmodified, changing another and discarding the third. Not too unusual when I model. Now I have to find somewhere to place the radio. Perhaps in a small shed or near a window in the planned relief building on the in progress layout?

The radio loaded in the back of the Chenard & Walcker van. I hope the driver is a careful one, as the radio is a fragile item fitted with vacuum tubes that break easily.

A lot of car for a light load - a single radio.

2020 in Review

As usual when New Year approaches I'm looking back at the year's progress on my model of Nystrup Gravel. 2020 has been quite a different year due to the corona virus with its huge implications to most countries around the world. In Nystrup the cosy little rural 600 mm gravel line in 1/19 scale hasn't suffered much, although a lot of work has been dimishing available time for modelling.  

2020 began with at start on a new loco project - a Danish built diesel engined locomotive from Pedershaab. I got the bare plasticcard frames motorized and running on battery power and then the project stalled. In December I dusted my drawings off and got started again. I have sent measurements, sketches and images to a manufacturer that have helped me with projects before. The plan is to have axle boxes and springs 3D-printed. I also had new electronic gadgets delivered to help remote control the locomotive.

Parts from a full size Pedershaab locomotive ready for measuring to enable scale items to be 3D-printed for my model. Often it is a great help to modelling being engaged in full scale railway preservation.

Finding track supplies and designing my model track took some time in the beginning of 2020. In the process I got sidetracked by experiments with wooden track. My work with track planning has progressed so far that I am finally ready to build the first track in 2021. Sleepers has been cut and stained, rail and spikes bought, track gauges made and a small section of cork track bed glued in place.

In June I got to the point where I began actually building my small layout. The small L-shaped layout will be my interpretation of part of the gravel handling and sorting facility in Nystrup. In 16 mm scale there isn't room for a lot, so careful selection of scenes is definately needed. Framework and basic surface features are almost ready. 2021 will begin with finishing the basic landscape and preparing it for track building. I look forward to try landscape and track building in 1/19. I am a beginner in this scale and I proceed carefully to not rush anything. I hope not to make too many mistakes.

A new 4 wheeled coach set wheels on the Nystrup rails. The coach was modelled on the basis of a real Nystrup Gravel prototype - as yet undocumented and based on anecdotal evidence only. The theory of a 4 wheeled coach at Nystrup Gravel is however, well founded on archive research involving postcards sent by the gravel company manager Holm. My model is from a sligthly rebuilt and detailed kit from The Line Side Hut and primarily built during my summer holiday.

Test running the new coach. Nystrup loco no. 3 carefully pushing coach no. 3 along the line. A worker has been posted as a lookout on the front platform.

Several road vehicles arrived in my collection during 2020, but only a Citroen Traction Avant and a Ferguson TEA-20 tractor were detailed and weathered to enable them to be displayed on my future layout. Decals for the newly aquired vehicles were designed and have arrived from my decal supplier, assuring me that 2021 can include the usual work on non-railway vehicles. 

The Ferguson was the tractor which kick started the mechanization of Danish farming. Here my version of the Schucho 1/18 scale model with added details and weathering.

During spring and early summer I painted six DIN skips in different coatings of dark greys and weathering. Some of them got a rather harsh treatment with both hammer and a heavy layer of rust. I used Vallejo chipping fluid for the first time with mixed result, while I liked using a hammer to physically weather the skips. In April I even used a combination of beer and rock music to assist the weathering process. Surely a sensible way to chase away the frustrations of corona lock-down and working from home. 

Three newly painted skips in the spring sunshine.

 

My research of Nystrup Gravel's history continued, despite corona restrictions making visits to archives difficult. Several images from the company's industrial railway was found, and a series of old post cards sent by the company's manging director also surfaced, quickly leading to building of a 4 wheeled coach. Currently I have resumed contact with the granddaughter of Thorleif Petersen, the Nystrup Gravel workshop manager for many years. I hope that will provide new insight into the history of Nystrup Gravel.

While my railway modelling hasn't been affected too much by the corona-related restrictions, other aspects of my railway interest has suffered somewhat more. Fortunately my paid job in the railway business hasn't been affected, with infrastructure projects continuing almost as planned. The closing of borders and restrictions on travel put a full stop to my usual trips abroad to study railways of one kind or another. Also my involvement with a heritage line has seen plenty of corona challenges to be met. Restrictions forced us to postpone the traffic season and to run trains with reduced capacity to comply with the rules of social distancing. All in all a lot of extra work and less income to spend on future projects. 

Despite the corona pandemic HVB kept the trains running, although with reduced capacity. Here a train with dieselelectric M 25 from 1959 meets a train pulled by Da 7 from 1921.

Pre-corona railway fun with mates. No distancing, masks or travel restrictions, but smiles all around! Besucherbergwerk 'Voller Rose' near Ilmenau, autumn 2019.

 

For the Nystrup Gravel blog 2020 was a pretty active year with a steady stream of posts averaging 4 posts pr month. The statistics says visits to the blog are in the range of 2.500-3.000 page views pr month as they have been for several years. There has been a slight decline in visitors during the last three months. Perhaps because I haven't described a 'real' railway project since I finished the coach in September? As the blog is a reflection of my modelling, not the other way round, there isn't a great deal I'm going to do about it. I don't choose modelling projects to have something interesting to write about on the blog. And after all, modelling a Danish narrow gauge industrial railway in 1/19 scale isn't exactly mainstream railway modelling. 

I hope you enjoyed some of the stories from Nystrup Gravel during the year or had the chance to catch up in this review of 2020. I wish you a happy New Year and hope to see you again in 2021 for more modelling, fictional history and prototype information.

Lorry Load From Spare Part

My modelling has always been inspired by the use of left over parts, scrap items and stuff you don't necessarily find in hobby shops. The basis of this little project is just that - an unused part from a kit, turned into something useful.

The Tempo Hanseat from Banke's Bakelite - registration number E 902 - with an electric motor for the factory production line.

The stationary electric motor came with the 1/16 scale Bandai kit of a showman's steam engine, that I rebuilt into haulage contractor Hansen's steam traction engine in 2019. In reality the part is the belt powered electric generator from the showman's engine, but I think it will pass pretty well for an electric motor. The generator was almost completely assembled by the previous owner. I only removed a couple of small glue stains with files and sandpaper and adding the few remaining detail parts.

First layer of paint is airbrushed on. Dark blue grey with brushpainted scratches in 'dark brown'.

The finished electric motor ready to be loaded on the small Tempo-lorry from Banke's Bakelite.

I found a small dry transfer with a builder's plate and fixed it on one side of the motor. A wash with heavily thinned brown and black oil paint served to create shadows and differing tones to the colouring. Then I airbrushed a layer of dust over the upper horisontal parts of the motor housing. The drive wheel carrying the transmission belt was brush painted with gun metal and rubbed with graphite powder to obtain a worn look. Finally the scratches were accentuated with a sharp pencil that was also rubbed along the wire guards. The motor was then glued to two pieces of wood to ease handling.

To install the motor safely on the load bed of the Hanseat, I cut some lengths of wood to prevent the motor from moving. It may not look very safe, but the motor is only going a short distance to its destination.

With a rudimentary fixing down of surplus timber, the electric motor is on its way to future service at the bakelite factory in Nystrup.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is here and preparations for the 24th. are intensifying here in Denmark. Just a few more days' work and it's time for more than a week off. Let me wish every reader of the blog a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My best wishes go out to every reader even if you don't happen to be culturally or religiously inclined to celebrate Christmas.

My second attempt to make a Christmas card. Just a fraction better than the one I made last year. At least this one sums up 2020 rather well: dark, with small bursts of light.  

It is with mixed feelings I'm about to celebrate Christmas with only the closest family. As usual a bigger gathering was planned. The cause of the changed plans is unsurprisingly the corona virus that has made 2020 a miserable year for many, not least those that have had to say goodbye to loved ones. I hope this year of restrictions, travel bans, mask wearing and working from home will fade into a better and happier 2021. Merry Christmas!