Does Anyone Model/Run European Trains?

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since I have posted any photos or pictures of my 0 scale German layout Georgenstadt, so here it goes. Miketg

Umm...yes. Rivarossi and Lima...so far. 

I find European trains, and German ones in particular, fascinating...they are so very different from what we are used to here in the States.

And I believe they have the art of scenery down as good, if not better, than most of us here. Just look at any one of the numerous "YouTube" videos...

Mark in Oregon

I have a LGB layout on the second floor I built in 1989. We are in Europe once or twice a year. I have always found  continental railways very interesting. My Lionel layout depicts the northeast in the late fifties, my LGB layout about the same time period in east Germany. I like them both. 

It appears that we are a more cosmopolitan group than one might imagine!

And that is a GOOD thing! :-)

I have a number of CW Hornby and bassett lowke items which I run

As I think I may have mentioned in another thread, this "lok" came to me with missing buffers, and only one powered truck, and that was not running.

I had some left over stuff from a Fairbanks Morse project, and was able to swap out and power both trucks. I wired them together to enlarge the electrical "footprint", and now this old gal runs as well as any of my other engines (Atlas and Weaver, all Pittman powered), using less current and is actually quieter! I used short roofing nails for the buffers. Have begun to enhance the details somewhat:

There's only so much I'll be able to do, what with the truck-mounted couplers. Am waiting on some proper size wire to replace the large handrails below the windscreens.

Since this is (currently) my only German loco, I'm able to focus on it exclusively and hopefully will end up with a half-way decent model when I'm "done".

Mark in Oregon

PS:...just wish I could do something with those awful couplers...

 

PS:...just wish I could do something with those awful couplers...

you could replace the ugly Lima/Rivarossi couplers by using Bing/ACE/Darstaed-type hook couplers, which look much more realistic, you can find them on the britsh ebay.co.uk while searching for Darstaed products.

Miketg posted:

Hi everyone,

Miketg posted:

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since I have posted any photos or pictures of my 0 scale German layout Georgenstadt, so here it goes. Miketg

Nice, I see you are running 2-rail O-scale era mixed era (loco from era V and scenery vehicles era III).

Some time ago I was running 2-rail and 3-rail European trains on the same outdoor layout...

...and indoor, too...

Here are my old catalogs, which give an overview of my own limited edition production, all handcrafted...

https://issuu.com/johannis_likos/docs/catalog2015v2

https://issuu.com/johannis_likos/docs/catalog2015v1

While running modern European trains, I prefer plenty of coaches in reduced length than few coaches in true scale length.

Tinplate Art posted:

It appears that we are a more cosmopolitan group than one might imagine!

Yes, I agree, we are a group of cosmopolitan cosmonauts...

tcox009 posted:

I have a number of CW Hornby and bassett lowke items which I run

...look also for Hachette Hornby O gauge tinplate replicas...

Miketg posted:

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since I have posted any photos or pictures of my 0 scale German layout Georgenstadt, so here it goes. Miketg

Wow, very nice!  Did you scratchbuild the buildings?

I have a friend who lives in northern Great Britain. This is a quick layout video tour. Play time is only one minute.  Dave's layout is in his attic and is OO Scale, like our HO Scale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uASu2lHc6E

Gary

BetaNuSigmaPhi posted:

tcox009 posted:

I have a number of CW Hornby and bassett lowke items which I run

...look also for Hachette Hornby O gauge tinplate replicas...

The lithography of Hachette looks good but further they are flimsy build and the clockwork mechanism (which has plastic parts) is weak. I would not recommend these and go for the real Hornby.

Regards

Fred

Here is the layout of one of the heirs of Ferdinand Porsche, located in southern Germany. It appears to be O Gauge stud-rail, but I may be wrong. I think it is open to the public.

jay jay posted:

Here is the layout of one of the heirs of Ferdinand Porsche, located in southern Germany. It appears to be O Gauge stud-rail, but I may be wrong. I think it is open to the public.

 

 

No, it is HO with Märklin tracks, you will notice the crocodile teeth in the middle of the tracks, which are for AC power, instead of the center rail as we know from O gauge 3-rail.

Thank you everyone for the kind comments. The buildings are all scratch built and some of my techniques were published in OGR in the mid 90's. The locomotive was made by Huebner about 35 years ago but the repaint is fairly recent. All the coaches are old Rivarossi stock with cardboard interiors made in Germany in the late 90's. They take a while to assemble but are well worth it. Most of my rolling stock is epoch 3 but I also have lots of items from epoch 2 to contemporary models. It had been a while since I had run the Rivarossi coaches behind a powerful locomotive. If any of you read Continental Modeller, the layout was in the January issue.

Miketg

Miketg posted:

Thank you everyone for the kind comments. The buildings are all scratch built and some of my techniques were published in OGR in the mid 90's. The locomotive was made by Huebner about 35 years ago but the repaint is fairly recent. All the coaches are old Rivarossi stock with cardboard interiors made in Germany in the late 90's. They take a while to assemble but are well worth it. Most of my rolling stock is epoch 3 but I also have lots of items from epoch 2 to contemporary models. It had been a while since I had run the Rivarossi coaches behind a powerful locomotive. If any of you read Continental Modeller, the layout was in the January issue.

Miketg

Huebner is superior quality, like Lenz, Kiss, Demko, Fulgurex, etc.

Yes, I know well Continental Modeller, an interesting British railway magazine for Continental European and Overseas train modelers, in which have been published in the past few of my articles:

1. ”The OSE A-550 series diesel”, Continental Modeller, issue Feb. 1998, page 66-69, Peco Publications
2. “OSE H.560 CLASS”, Continental Modeller, issue Dec. 2000, page 512-515, Peco Publications
3. “Slovak second class and couchette coaches”, Continental Modeller, issue Aug. 2004, page 484-488, Peco Publications

For subscriptions look here: http://www.pecopublications.co...nental-modeller.html

Fred, I am a frequent visitor to your YouTube site. The way you are set up in the garden is amazing. Besides two rail I have a soft spot for French tinplate and postwar Lionel.

Miketg

I just recently purchased these French LR passenger cars along with a few JEP cars that I am currently working on.  I am now looking to add to the lot as well.  They seem to fit size wise with my American Flyer prewar 3/16th's 0 gage locos as well...

sncf231e posted:

BetaNuSigmaPhi posted:

tcox009 posted:

I have a number of CW Hornby and bassett lowke items which I run

...look also for Hachette Hornby O gauge tinplate replicas...

The lithography of Hachette looks good but further they are flimsy build and the clockwork mechanism (which has plastic parts) is weak. I would not recommend these and go for the real Hornby.

Regards

Fred

The clockwork gears inside can be always replaced by MTH/Lionel motorization, no problem, not at all.  Yesterday I received my very 1st Hachette wind-up clockwork electric loco and it is great, just great, you'll love it! Any way, together with Hachette litho cars queued in a row  at the platform of MTH's Leipzig passenger station, which is by the way a Märklin vintage replica, would look great, just great, trust me. I have seen a photo where a guy disassembled the tinplate body of two Hachette PO-type locos (http://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/hachette/24.jpg) and made out of them a nice huge French S.N.C.F. 242.BE.I-type (http://www.apmfs.fr/242be1.html), just great, you'll love it!

In 1960, we unloaded two Cadillac chassis in Italy bound for Pina Farina onto flat cars with a small shack for the messenger.  The shack was similar to the one on this box car.  John

rattler21 posted:

In 1960, we unloaded two Cadillac chassis in Italy bound for Pina Farina onto flat cars with a small shack for the messenger.  The shack was similar to the one on this box car.  John

Maybe it looked like this? This is an Italian 3-rail 0-gauge car made by Elettren of Italy.

Regards

Fred

Hi everyone,

Well I had some time to today to take some more videos with the help of my daughter. The locomotive is a Bavarian Glaskasten made by SCE of Berlin over thirty years ago. The three cars it is pulling are Bavarian branch lines coaches made by Lenz. To be honest, I could watch this train run all day.

Miketg

I have the MTH Orient Express Set pulled by the 2-3-1 Chappeon.  I really do not like the O43; however, I was on many trains in France in the 50's and 60's with most pulled by steam and I will never forget all the steam including my looking down the stack while the engine went under the walk bridge.  My mother got upset with my appearance after that introduction to cinders.  My German friend who lives near the French southeastern boarder has his entire attic covered with every model of UP power. 

Between 1960ies and the 1980ies almost until the end of the former Yugoslavia I have frequently traveled on the Orient Express route. I recommend to watch the Agatha Christie and James Bond movies covering this topic.

I noticed some difference between European 3-rail O gauge and 2-rail O scale models, because some are 1:43.5 (mainly in UK) and others 1:45 (more in Continental Europe). For more details read the product description in the manufacturer's catalog. Here is the official standardization paper: http://www.morop.org/de/normes/nem010_d.pdf

nice vintage style French train from my collection, all tinplate, enjoy...

My Fulgurex BR 18 Gauge 1 engine.  Had DCC and Zimo sound installed.

I model OO/HO. It's basically a small 4x8 layout based around the GWR that I am currently building. I plan to operate a 14xx and autocoach for passenger services and maybe get a GWR toad brakevan for goods trains. 

Well, I have not posted in a while, but at least I have had the chance to build a few kits. 

Not quite railroad here, but I do have an Aral tank car. The basis for this circa 1960 structure is a laser cut kit that was included in the German SNM magazine or 0 scale magazine. I added some extra details with more to come. Now I just need to enlarge my layout. Miketg