The why and wherefore

Maybe a few words about the why rather than the wherefore, the truth is simple, I prefer small scenes with tiny trains. Grafenwalde is merely another generic BLT trackplan slotted into the 4,8 x .75 m space in the workshop, nothing special. 

This is merely a modest collection of DR locos, rolling stock and some buildings on a 4,8m modular layout, whilst the backstory is based on a subtle mix of minor railways of Thuringia that have become Grafenwalde.

 

The supposed location is a terminus at the end of a short 4,5kms spur that only reached as far as Grafenwalde due to the cessation of funding. Mostly flat to gently rolling slopes, rarely exceeding moderate inclines of 3% to 5% on local connector roads or standard cycle tracks. The trains and services were inspired by Die Laura which ran from Rennsteig to Frauenwalde. 

 

  

The original Grafenwalde, Intermodellbau, Dortmund 2008

The line to Grafenwalde was classed as a Kleinbahn with an initial weight limit of just 12t, which was upgraded in 1917 to 16,8t in order to accommodate the T9.3 that supplemented the line's T3 which pulled a BCPwPosti that Lindner built in 1912 for the line's owners.

Buildings

The ‘inspiration’ for the station is built in the style of the SEG Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft AG, common enough in the local area, Arnstadt Ost. On such a small layout there are just a few complete structures, the station group and loco shed.

Restoration and the inspiration

The remarkably similar Arnstadt Ost, unfortunately at the end of its existence - now demolished Link to Geocache

The station was owned by the South German Railway SEG but administered by the 

Central Administration for Secondary Railways Herrmann Bachstein.

Thank you to everyone involved.

Archive - Grafenwalde Mk1 at Uckfield click here

Local trains

A few local trains of Thuringia - most are short and comprise elderly stock

 

 

  

 All above from Peter König

Typical passenger vehicles of the SEG

The SEG used similar vehicles to the Bi-type cars that remained in service until closure.

The Wettiner VT135 535 was introduced in the 1930s

BCPwPosti

In 1913, the Rennsteig-Frauenwald Kleinbahn (KRF) was opened. From 1912 onwards, the Waggonfabrik Gottfried Lindner A.G. in Ammendorf near Halle (which later became the well-known VEB Waggonbau Ammendorf) supplied several light railways with 4-axle combined passenger, mail and luggage cars with 8 upholstered seats in 2nd class and 40 wooden seats in 3rd class. 

Kyffhäuser Kleinbahn - Peter König

The first of these cars was given to the Rennsteig - Frauenwald Kleinbahn (KRF, two more cars were delivered to the Kyffhäuser Kleinbahn (Artern - Berga-Kelbra) around 1916. These were equipped with toilets because of the significantly longer length of the route. From the 2nd class compartment you could get to the luggage compartment via a side corridor past the mail compartment and from there to the seat compartment and the load compartment. The mail and baggage compartments had sliding doors on both sides. The cars had a steel undercarriage. On top of this rested a wooden wagon body, which was covered with sheet metal on the outside. Heating was provided by steam from the locomotive, and the mail compartment also had a stove with smoke vent on the roof. 

 

BCPwPosti of the Kyffhäuser Kleinbahn

Originally, the car had a suction air brake and was lit with petroleum. Thus, the car combined everything necessary under one roof.In the 1930s, the KRF had its car converted to electric lighting, and a little later the vacuum brake was replaced by an air brake. Thus, the KRF car survived the 2nd World War and was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) in 1949. 

Shortly afterwards, the carriage underwent fundamental modifications: the platforms that had been open until then were replaced by closed ones, and the mail compartment was united with the luggage compartment. It is probably due to the shortage of materials in these years that on the side where the platform in Allzuhah was, only one revolving door was installed, on the other side two of different widths. So the car was used on its home route until the end of the 50s, its current whereabouts are unknown. 

 

 

 Building the model

 

19.04.25

 

 

19.05.26 

BR91.3

The BR91 T9.3

The T 9.3 was a robust tank locomotive that proved equally convincing in both passenger and freight service. With a top speed of 65 km/h, it was among the most powerful machines of its time and became one of the most widely built locomotives in Germany. From 1901 onwards, the Prussian State Railways procured more than 2,000 examples of this proven type from the Union Foundry in Königsberg. In 1925, the Deutsche Reichsbahn took over the majority of the locomotives into its fleet and classified them as class 91. Over the course of their long service life, numerous locomotives were transferred abroad, including to Czechoslovakia and Poland. 

After the Second World War, many examples remained in Germany, where they continued to perform reliable service into the 1960s and 1970s. With its combination of power, versatility and solid engineering, the T 9.3 remains a symbol of the engineering art of the early steam locomotive era – a true workhorse on the rails that made history.

Their 15.6 tonnes axle load made the ideal for all branchline duties, 2,060 were built

A particular favourite, this my Fleischmann model

On the Reichenbach - Lengenfeld line in the Vogtland region, railcars (VT) were also used from the 1930s onwards, but these had to be replaced by steam trains again during the war due to fuel shortages. Photographs document at least one such colorful train set from 1942, which I have placed here at Göltzschtalbrücke station, where the train had to reverse direction. The train with the T9.3 locomotive (which had been running here since the 1920s) is heading to Reichenbach or Lengenfeld.

 

These belong to Frank Platow builder of Loitz in Gramzow

 

T9.3 model list

Scenery

The scenery for Grafenwalde is, by any standard, eclectic primarily chosen for its similarity to the location.

Trackside Flora

Here are the irises

 

 

 

Noch offers an excellent iris that is easy to plant but needs a dab of yellow or purple as preferred 

 

Weeds

 

Many years ago, inspired by Gordon Gravett, I took some bristles and dipped them in green flock, today they were finally planted beside the barn - Just a few left-overs with dabs of Dulux tester. 

 

Buddleia - the butterfly bush

Known as the butterfly bush, the fragrant flowers of buddleja are a favourite nectar source for butterflies. These undemanding, mainly deciduous shrubs, find a place in every garden with their spectacular displays of blooms and honey scent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cultivation

The small farm comprises of 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.

 

 

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

 

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. 

A small family home in Altenburg, Thuringia

A small Faller building carefully rendered and weathered 

The garden has a couple of fruit trees, vegetable garden and chicken coop.

 

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.

 

There are a couple of vegetable gardens on the layout and it’s a sight that greets visitors on the approach to almost every town in Germany --  the clutter of ladders and rakes leaning against the back of the structures, neatly ordered flowerbeds, well-tended fruit trees and picture-perfect picket fences are lined up like regiments of tin soldiers. The phenomenon is known as a Schrebergärten -- an area outside the city where the gardening-obsessed Germans can rent out a small plot and plunge their fingers into the soil.

Ordered, trimmed, enclosed, ornamental, each strip has some kind of glorified shed with floral and vegetable displays. As for people, they’re only temporary visitors, because however fabulous the summerhouse/cottage/shed – and some are very fancy –one of the many hundreds of rules is that a Schrebergärten is strictly non-residential and rules are there to be obeyed.

 

I like creating Schrebergärten, mine are largely Busch, Noch and scratch, they include strawberries, green and red cabbage, cauliflower, green and red lettuce. 

 

The layout is home to three small vegetable allotments, a reflection of what I see from my workbench and each is slightly different both in size and scope. The small garden is part of the farmhouse, the original is at least 20 years old and used on two previous layouts. 

 The farm worker's garden

The oldest is attached to the farmhouse, the cottage has a more formal arrangement whilst the station garden is tucked away near the end of the station.

The station garden

 

Naturally, the allotment must have a shed and it must have an armchair.