On the road in the ‘50s

There are no private vehicles on Pottendorf, only agricultural vehicles, an old truck, a couple of light vans and a postbus. 

However US Army vehicles were entirely appropriate for the ‘50s in Oberfranken thanks to the Cold War there were numerous US Army facilities in the vicinity of Oberfranken, the best known example was Warner Barracks in Bamberg which closed in 2014.

The image of the Gasthof near Behringsmuhle was captured in the early ‘50 and features a WW2 vintage Jeep whilst the young GIs relax in the summer sun.

The model below is an exMinitanks M38A1 now offered by Herpa, unfortunately without decoration. Once it is repainted and give its customary white star, it will be parked in the Station yard.

  

The other vehicle often seen was the Dodge WC-54 ambulance, they served as the U.S. Army's main dedicated ambulance in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, some used as late as the 1960s. The model is an original Minitanks.

 

 

The Scenery

Scenery layers

 

The use of 5mm foamboard has been repeated, it is both light and stable, it can be layered and easily cut without too much mess.The result is an area with a subtle variation in height as would be normal near a station yard. 

The large rectangular cutout is to accommodate the farmhouse and garden board so that it can be removed if required.

Once all the foamboard is in place, all the edges will be blended so that there are no unsightly hard corners, liightweight Polyfilla will hide any problems.

Posters for Pottendorf

 

Posters - a small collection, download the images and manipulate with photo editor software.

 

Whilst these posters have been (and may still be) an important part of social life for the young generation in rural regions. 

These folks won't meet many boys and girls locally, they need to meet at these "Kirchweih" or "Kerwa" which may translate as country fair. Meeting the other sex was hard in these regions, not comparable to urban environment.

I have edited the images and 'extracted' some of the more legible posters, just download and print. Their condition is weather-worn and utterly appropriate.

 

 

Make sure that you visit this site for Oktoberfest posters - Click here

Finally, this was on my last layout.

 

Fränkische Schweiz and its scenery

  

Streitberg Elna Lok 4

 The theme of the layout is a small endstation in the Wiesenttal at the far end of the line from Ebermannstadt, today better known as the DFS, the pretty line that runs through the valley to Behringsmuhle but once it was planned to run as far as Bayreuth via Pegnitz. 

The narrow valley restricted the size of the station, it was intended to be a wayside halt but ended its life as a terminus serving a village a kilometre distant. 

The characteristic limestone outcrops that give the area its name of Franconian Switzerland litter the sides of the valley, these are created from lightweight foam castings.

An image of the scenery along the route

The loco shed

This was the old locoshed at Ebermannstadt, unfortunately too large for Pottendorf, instead a very small wooden locoshed from MZ Modellbau was purchased.

There is a great deal of progress on the loco shed from MBZ being made by Neil Rushby

Pottendorf is pure fiction but the colours, textures, styles are based on reality. At the moment we are on holiday in Ebermannstadt on a search for suitable buildings to use as guidance. The loco shed will be finished as if it was treated with creosote and allowed to gently deteriorate. 

 

Road trip images

It can be useful to collect images of the location to be modelled, if only to match the actual colours/textures.

All images are of Oberfranken, the first is Pottenstein, the nearest town to the location of Pottendorf

Pretzfeld station.

Ebermannstadt

Aufsess

 Familiar but hardly ever modelled, the family woodpile, an integral part of rural life in Germany.