The blog is about building a very small layout of a very simple terminus based on a location in Thuringia, rather than a copy, it is merely an amalgam of features of existing locations in the area, in short, a plausible fiction, it certainly does not exist.
The original Grafenwalde 2004
Please note
The layout is NOT a copy of any particular location but it is a very loose interpretation of a station in Thuringia, the model should show the station in the summer of 1954, at the time up to the end of the 1960s all the tracks were still in place.
The layout is based upon a Kleinbahn that was originally, a short line, in this case only almost 7km (4.3 miles) to Frauenwald in Southern Thuringia. It was a standard gauge line that was served by tiny trains and lasted from 1913 to 1965. Due to the topography the station at Rennsteig was a 'Spitzkehren bahnhof' or 'hairpin station' where the train changes direction. The railway had to meet the transport needs of the predominantly rural structure of the area
89 5901
The railcar shown below was employed until WW2, although a 0-4-0 tank loco with road number 5 plus passenger cars and goods cars was also employed. This loco was supplemented by one obtained from the Kleinbahn Neuhaldensleben–Weferlingen former roadbed is accessible today as a Wanderweg
The railway survived the Second World War, in 1949, the railway was nationalised and the operation was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. At the beginning of the 1950s, tourism to the Thuringian Forest increased significantly. In 1952, through express trains ran from Berlin to the Thuringian Forest for the first time. In Rennsteig, the train, consisting of four-axle express coaches, was split up. Three coaches continued on to Schmiedefeld , the other three were hauled by a T 3 to Frauenwald
The condition of the track deteriorated noticeably, and despite increasing traffic, only the most urgent repairs could be carried out. On February 13, 1965, the line had to be closed due to snow drifts, and trains had to be replaced by buses. Railway operations ceased after that because no funds were available for the necessary renovations.
As part of the search for a simple station building for Thuringia, I used this Wiki photo album of various smaller stations. The variety of styles is quite amazing, from full fachwerk, to rendered, stone and finally brick, there is almost no common style, maybe because many of the railways in Thuringia were ‘private’ enterprises…. Below is Geraberg beside the line from Plaue to Ilmenau it is a few kilometres from Ilmenau, at the northern end of the Rennsteig.
Auhagen's Goyatz, the similarity to Geraberg is remarkable and as it is not a unique design, its use can be justified for Grafenwalde, somewhere in Thuringia.
The The loco shed
An alternative station
This model must be older than Methuselah, it is similar to a ‘standard’ design of station building found mostly north of the Weißwurstäquator. Similar stations are to be found in Saxon-Anhalt, Thuringia, Altmark etc. Originally, it was a Junior model from Pola, then Faller 110099, currently on offer at Amazon. A less ‘flamboyant’ building than the Auhagen Goyatz, the Pola design is compatible with the Kibri loco shed above, a suitable small goods shed is needed, maybe an excuse to re-use the Pola wooden lock-up?
This was the first attempt at depicting rural power supplies on Grafenwalde in 2004, the image caused apoplexy on RMweb forum.
There were a few mistakes but it is a start, whilst currently on Grafenwalde, a smaller, there is a less ornate Trafohaus which will supply the cottage and farm.
It is important to show the correct details, from the front the overhead line at the tower station would first go to the upper insulators and then be braced with the lower insulators. In between (soldered) it goes into the house. Low voltage as an overhead line then on the left (nx four conductors). There should be a yellow warning sign on the door and below it on a white background the name of the supplier, e.g. B. "TEAG" (Thuringian Energy) and the station, e.g. "Grafenwalde Ort" or whatever. Or just the station name on the door and above the door on the utility building in larger letters. Here's an example. It doesn't necessarily have to be TEAG, of course. "Gemeindewerke Grafenwalde" works too. And if it's supposed to be from the GDR era, then something with "VEB Energiekombinat Grafenwalde.
In 1913, the Rennsteig-Frauenwald Kleinbahn (KRF) was opened. From 1912 onwards, the Gottfried Lindner A.G. wagon factory in Ammendorf near Halle (which later became the well-known VEB Waggonbau Ammendorf) supplied several narrow-gauge railways with four-axle combined passenger, mail, and baggage coaches with eight upholstered 2nd-class seats and 40 wooden 3rd-class seats. The first of these coaches was delivered to the Rennsteig-Frauenwald Kleinbeahn (KRF),
The goods traffic is largely logs that were loaded in the yard, 50 years ago loading was achieved with ingenuity and man power as
the only methods.
A few choice images:-
Other details
The ladies
The orchard along the front of the layout, this delightful montage is often a feature of parts of Thuringia, some of our neighbours, have
orchards with sheep to keep down the weeds. Having mentioned Primo apple trees
before, it was the obvious place to procure the orchard.
The Wartburg 311 Coupe, seen in Blechammer 96515 in the ‘80s
I like the laser-cut kits from Model Scene, try A&H Models in Brackley they are good people.
This is item 48502 old railway sleepers
and you can make this with them
You need basic cutting tools, some card, a small lump of foam, earth coloured paints and PVA
This is a painting of theKyffhäuser lineby Peter König and the purchase of a bargain on eBay resulted in the first and only tender loco for Grafenwalde.
It runs very well
It will be useful for the tourist trains
The G7.1 in service
The G7.1 locomotives were intended for goods duties especially on hilly routes. As a result, most of the engines went to the western German and Silesian railway divisions and by 1909, 1,002 examples had been delivered to the Prussian state railways whilst during the First World War these simple and robust locomotives were required for military use.
After the Second World War, the locomotives that ended up in the Deutsche Bundesbahn were mainly used in shunting duties and were retired by 1957. In the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany the last G 7.1 was not retired until 1966, including 55 669 seen here at Potsdam.
The Piko model tender, unlike 55 669, does not have additional bunker extension it is the subject of a discussion on DSO Modellbahn started by Ulf Steckel. Possibly easier to make the extension from plasticard.
Maybe using pieces from the Fleischmann 3T.12 tender may be suitable?
