Grafenwalde - eine kleinbahn

 The why and wherefore

 

The blog is about the restoration of Grafenwalde that was sold and later abandoned by its new owner however some of the buildings were subsequently discovered and returned for use on a new layout .

 

It is a small fictitious location loosely based upon a small station on the Ilmenau -Großbreitenbach line that was built by the Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG)

From Roger aka letzterinstanz

Sven Meyers Kleinbahn

Grafenwalde - a plausible fiction

 

The plausible fiction

The layout is based upon a Kleinbahn that was operated by the SEG, originally, a short line, in this case only almost 7km (4.3 miles) to Grafenwalde  it was later extended a further 14km (8.6 miles) it was a standard gauge line that was served by tiny trains and lasted from 1881 to 1998. Due to the topography the station 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. The main transports were Wiegand Glass, agricultural produce, livestock, fertilisers, 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 Thuringia increased sharply. In 1952, excursion trains from Berlin were led to Grafenwalde for the first time. At Ilmenau the train consisting of four express train cars was split. Three cars were transported from Ilmenau to Grafenwalde whilst the others continued over the Rennsteig to Schmiedefeld. In 1960, the last of the small steam locos was retired and replaced by a diesel locomotive of the V15 series that ran until the closure. With the economic changes of 1989/90, freight traffic in particular collapsed almost completely and the line was closed in  

 

A short film of the the Rennsteig

The Dosto

DDR's Doppelstock-Gliederzug

Some background

1951

This allowed for the construction in 1951 of the first four-section double-decker DBz train (DB7), which was to solve the transport problems in the GDR. The train met the expectations of the East German railways (Deutsche Reichsbahn - DR) and increased production of double-decker car sets began, also for export to the USSR. It is worth adding that the first DBz was designed as a two-way train with a steering car.  

1952

The first car with a prototype arrangement of wooden seats left the factory on February 13, 1952. There was a 2 + 3 arrangement on the upper deck (in one row across the car there were two benches separated by a passage: one had two, the other - three seats). On the lower deck, large benches were placed along the side walls and in the middle, passengers sat sideways facing the direction of travel (a scheme currently used only in places for travelers with more luggage and bicycles, and on some rail buses, eg SA103 ). In 1953, the 2 + 3 layout was also used on the lower deck. Wooden benches have been replaced with semi-soft seats. The 2 + 2 layout appeared in newer models.

1954

152x units from this series are built from 1954 onwards by VEB Waggonbau Görlitz.  

1955

After the liquidation of the third class in 1955, the cars were reclassified to the second class  . In 1959, after supplying the domestic rolling stock, these units were exported to other socialist countries, including the People's Republic of Poland, where they were repainted in a similar way to those in the GDR: with the big name of the carrier on the lane between the windows of two levels.  

1970

The production of wagons with a push/pull element was introduced.  

Paintings of Dostos by Peter Koenig

On the Rennsteig and beyond

 

 

 

 

Models

The Schicht doppelstockwagen/dosto was released in '65, sixty years and IMVHO still rivals many modern items of HO rolling stock, primarily because it looks like a dosto. Improving and rebuilding the Schicht model click here use Google translate

This is mine, it first appeared on Pottendorf (DR) in 2003.

 And again in '08, when it was sold with the layout

It resurfaced in mid '24, in need of a some TLC

In ‘25, it has new wheels, a new chassis The first upgrade was replacing the oversized wheels with Liliput L520002 wheels 10,6mm dia 24,5mm axle.

 

 

The set has new Kadee couplings, now it is ready for service.

The workbench

At any one time there are a couple of locos going through the workshop 

A rebuild of a Trix BR89

89 5901 working on the Arnstadt–Ichtershausen railway was a 5.1km branch line in Thuringia.

 

  

89 5901 working on the Kleinbahn Rennsteig-Frauenwald, transferred in 1955

Conversion of Trix BR89 to DR 89 5901

 

Remove dynamo and replace with a bell from Weinert

 

It only needs new numbers

 

Additional components

Weinert bell 8368, whistle 8351

 

Lettering and numbers on order from Ostmodelle

Updating the Fleischmann BR64 4062

The model has been around since the ‘60s although this model was the final iteration before bankruptcy. It is not state of the art, simply a solid, reliable model of a favourite type.

There are lots of less than stellar features, some are easy to replace whilst others are best left alone. This model has already been updated with Weinert carrying wheels, front and rear, the couplings changed to Kadee #30 series. The unseen upgrade is a Zimo decoder but the motor has been left as standard.

The next step includes the pumps and lanterns, unfortunately Weinert seem to be in short supply. The old couplings required large cut-outs in both buffer beams, these will be filled with plastic card strip.

On the road

Road vehicles of Grafenwalde

  

 

 

 

The farm

 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.

 

 

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.