Why and wherefore

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. 

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

 

The supposed location is a terminus at the end of a short spur from Gehren to Königsee that only reached as far as Grafenwalde.  The trains and services were inspired by Die Laura which ran from Rennsteig to Frauenwalde. 

 

  

The original Grafenwalde, Intermodellbau, Dortmund 2008

The line to Königsee 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. Link Saalfeld

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.

 

 Archive - Grafenwalde Mk1 at Uckfield click here

 

Private lines in Southern Thuringia

Prior to ‘49, the SEG owned three Thuringian lines; 

Arnstadt-Ichtershausen Railway

Hohenebra-Ebeleben Railway

Ilmenau-Großbreitenbach Railway

All located in the Soviet occupation zone they were transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn without compensation.

Arnstadt-Ichtershausen Railway

 

Hohenebra-Ebeleben Railway

Ilmenau-Großbreitenbach Railway

The former Kyffhäuser Kleinbahn was a branch line approximately 29 km long in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.It connected the towns of Berga-Kelbra and Artern between 1916 and 1966. 

The railway was operated by the narrow-gauge railway division of the Provincial Association of Saxony in Merseburg , and since October 1945 by the Saxon Provincial Railways GmbH . Although almost 80  percent of the shares were already state-owned, the company was expropriated as part of the economic restructuring of East Germany ordered by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) and assigned to the VVB State Railways of Saxony-Anhalt in July 1948. From there, it was transferred to the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German State Railway  ) on April 1, 1949 .

The last journey of the Kyffhäuser railway 
(June 5, 1966)

Local train

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

 

 

  

 All above from Peter König

Excursion train from Berlin, these began in the ‘30s and brought visitors from the city to the healthy, unpolluted small towns of rural Germany. Coaches were hauled up the incline from Ilmenau by BR94 and the branch loco brought them down the branch, the practice continued until closure.

89 6020 August ‘58 at Rennsteig, used from ‘50 onwards: Gotha, Saalfeld, Arnstadt, Sangerhausen.

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

 

Books about the Frauenwaldbahn

 

Kleinbahn means little in the sense of short, in this case only 4.9 km (3 miles). It was a normal gauge extension of a Y which served Rennsteig (see map) in the wooded hills of the Thüringer Wald and lasted from 1912 to 1965. The railcar shown was built in 1912, although a Bn2 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, likewise a Bn2t. After WW2 steam locos worked the line until 1960 when diesels took over.  The former roadbed is accessible today as a Wanderweg (walking track).

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 

SVTs

The SVT 137

It is intended to recreate the SVT 137’s one-off visit to the Rennsteig in September 1951. Please note that Frauenwalde is not a replica, but simply a fond tribute to the small railways of the Thuringian Forest. The unique journey of a three-carriage SVT 137 from Berlin to the Rennsteig in September 1951. Here it is stopping at Ilmenau-Bad station on the return journey. The second gentleman from the right is the driver, Mr Schmidt, the railway manager of Frauenwalde and current train dispatcher, and the owner of the Berlin travel agency Tramando and current tour guide, Mr Ellersiek.
 

 

The model is by Gützold made in Zwickau from 1963 to the beginning of 1990

 

One day this will return to the layout

It went to the Netherlands to be rebuilt. CLICK HERE

 

Random images of the damage to the model

The SVT as it is now, too many problems that require new wheels, motor, decoder, however it is able to be repaired/upgraded. 

 

The new motor

 

 

Wiring done... 

Keeping the original bulbs as they work just fine, including the interior lights. All connected to a function output, so you can choose whether to turn them on or off.

The original bulbs are rated 16V and only get a half wave as i don't use the blue wire on the decoder but the chassis as a return (connected to the rails).

 

Body work repairs

The original paintwork was beginning to flake

The model is about 40-50 years old, dimensionally accurate but the materials were not as good as contemporary western products nevertheless it is worth saving.

 

 

Perfection

 

This link is interesting:-  Rebuilding the SVT137 

Scenery

The scenery for Grafenwalde is, by any standard, eclectic primarily chosen for its similarity to the ares surrounding the Ilmenau-Großbreitenbach Railway.

The backscene is a Gaugemaster GM708, the spire will be edited.

The scenery itself is a mix of deciduous, evergreen and fruit trees with ground cover of mostly Heki scatter.

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.