Grafenwalde - eine kleinbahn

 The why and wherefore

 

The blog is about building a small fictitious 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.

 

All the locomotives and stock were regulars on the quieter lines in the DDR with much of the ideas taken from this book. 

 

 

Carlsfeld 1960

The lost loco

 

This locomotive, a Trix BR89, was one of just two on Grafenwalde unfortunately when the layout was sold in 2008, the loco was also sold but it has since returned.

Frauenwald - die LAURA

Please, note although the layout is NOT a copy of Frauenwalde but the trains that ran have inspired Grafenwalde  

  

Kleinbahn means a short line, in this case only 4.9 km (3 miles), it was a normal gauge line to Frauenwalde, it was served by tiny trains and lasted from 1912 to 1965. in the wooded hills of the Thüringer Wald and lasted from 1912 to 1965. The railway had to meet the transport needs of the predominantly rural structure of the area. The main transports were agricultural produce, livestock, fertilizers, coal and building materials.

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 without any damage. The diesel railcar was seized by the military government, so that all trains were driven by steam again. The railway was intended for dismantling with many other lines, but this could be prevented. In 1949, the railway was nationalized and the operation was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. 

In the early 1950s, tourism in the Thuringian Forest increased sharply. In 1952, continuous express trains from Berlin were led to the Thuringian Forest for the first time. In Rennsteig, the train consisting of four-axle express train car was split. Three cars continued to ran to Schmiedefeld, the other three were transported from one to Frauenwald. In 1960, the 98 6216 was retired due to a cylinder damage and replaced by a diesel locomotive of the series. From 1962, a class V 15 diesel locomotive ran until the closure.

 

A short film of the the Rennsteig

 

  

 

 

 

The farm and cottage

The small farm comprises of 95,5 hectares of land, a low house and a small yard separated by a railway line.

The farm buildings include a Wills SS30 barn kit that has been improved with a layer of Polyfilla fine surface render.

 

n

 

Just a couple of scenes in the farmyard, the farm is a tiny dairy unit, just three working buildings around a courtyard.

 

 

 

 

The 'futtersilo' a must-have on any farm from Epoch 2 onwards but this is the actual reason why there is a silo

 

Hunting for Frogs

The earth cellar. 

Whilst looking around an old farm we found an odd feature found beside the farmhouse, it was a small stone hut built into the side of the hill. It was the entrance to a cold store or 'Erdkeller' for the 18th century farm, although farmhouse had a basement it also had a separate earth cellar. 

In terms of room height and shape, it penetrates far less deeply into the ground, only two steps lead down to the brick entrance. The quarry stone vault of the cellar is also completely covered with soil and potatoes are stored here over the winter - dark, cool, but frost-free.

There were a couple of other similar garden cellars in the village, one was not built into the side of a hill, instead merely cut into the farm garden and covered with the displaced soil. 

The cottage

On the layout there is a small cottage for the farmworker, it has a couple of fruit trees, vegetable garden and chicken coop.

Although unfinished, the result will be acceptable

 

 

I remember that in my childhood, chickens (and other domestic birds) were bustling around in every village. The owners of the poultry seemed to have no concern for their safety at all. A constant image was the birds taking carelessly walks along the road running through the village buildings. And this sometimes ended in a tragic accident under the wheels of a car

 

Maybe a new cottage?

Busch are offering a new kit based on the standard EW 65 design, designed by the well-known GDR architect Wilfried Stallknecht. Originally designed by the VEB Kombinat Bau Meiningen, many of them still exist. Cost - about €50

However, Faller offers a very similar building that is almost identical and would easily replace my existing small detached house from Faller. It costs about €20.

Further information 

 

Another Faller cottage has arrived, the shell of the kit has been painted with Heki textured concrete paint, the wooden parts have been sprayed dark brown and the roof is terracotta red.

 

 

The larger pieces have been painted and require final assembly, the steps will be painted terracotta red to represent tiles.

 

 

Archive

 

 

 

MOBA Intermodellbau Dortmund 2008

All the above are courtesy of Peco Publications

 

The above is courtesy of Frank Forsten

All the above courtesy of Adrian Colenutt and Phil Parker

2008

 

 2025

 

The comparison reveals several changes other than the reorientation of the station, the goods shed is now on the platform and the loco shed is relocated to the other end of the release loop.

These following images are the first DR layout that appeared at Warley in 2005