Monday, 17 June 2024

Plausible fiction

Pottendorf - the reason why

The blog is about building a small fictitious terminus based on a location in Oberfranken,  it is merely an amalgam of features of existing locations in the area, in short, a plausible fiction. Sekundärbahn means a secondary line, in this case only 19 kms, it was a normal gauge line to Pottendorf, it was served by tiny trains and lasted from 1912 to 1965. 



The layout is based on Pottendorf, a planned but not built train station which is one of those stations in Franconia (and elsewhere) that were built at a time when it was still believed that the railway would continue to make mobility and the development of the area possible in the future. However, the station was always a loss-maker throughout its life and was finally shut down and demolished in the late 1960s. Things were supposed to be different...



 

Apparently the route was extended at the instigation of the town of Pottenstein however, the extension was no longer funded by the town when it opened,  consequently it was named Pottendorf. I can't say to what extent this is true, but there were plans of a continuous connection through to Pegnitz. However due to the First World War and the subsequent development of the automobile as an essential mode of transport, all of these ideas were abandoned.

 

During the DB's steam locomotive era, the following series ran here: 98.8 (Bavarian GtL 4/4), 64, 86. Later: Vt 95.9, V36 and of course the V100. The route belonged to the management area of BD Nurnburg.

















Streitberg filmed in 09/2014

Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Small details

Small details maketh the model









This tiny (just 11mm long) pump and cistern for the allotment was challenging, the mouldings were excellent once the excess was removed but the water was rather tiresome. Rather than anything simple, the appearance of green, murky water was achieved by painting the inside of the tank a rather fetching cockpit green and then copius blobs of Kristal Klear were added which took five days in the sun-baked conservatory to set hard but it has the appearance of both depth and being liquid.

Tuesday, 7 May 2024

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.

The Faller cottage has a vague similarity to the Häcker family house from Ergersheim preserved as building 12 at the Fränkische Freilandmuseum in Bad Windsheim. Rather scratchbuilding maybe just the removal of the lower level of fachwerke?

 


Adding the Polyfilla render


These archive images show the original building and its original proportions.


The building is a timberframe built around 1706 and an external stucco finish on the lower section of the walls .

Link to the museum's description click here and in the book below. 

 
The cottage, below is a new kit that was reworked. There really wasn’t too much scope the lengthen the building as the sub-base of the scene is finished but it has lost the fachwerk (timber framing) below the top of the ground floor windows. It has been carefully stipled with AK Interactive Terrains acrylic, a texture normally used for roads etc.

I am fine with its actual size although it is about 30% too short compared to the Häcker family house but all other dimensions are 1:87 moreover buildings of this size were once common until the '70s when living in a two down one up became unacceptable. 
 

 Although unfinished, the result will be acceptable
 
 


 At the bottom of the cottage garden, there are some chickens

Friday, 8 March 2024

Goods for Pottendorf

Timber 


The goods traffic is based on a small terminus, logs were loaded in the yard. The sidings would have been used for shifting other actual local products, timber but 50 years ago loading was achieved with ingenuity and man power as the only methods. 

 

A few choice images:-

 



Tuesday, 5 December 2023

The gardens

There are a couple of vegetable gardens on Grafenwalde, examples of the Schrebergärten movement started by Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber (15 October 1808 – 10 November 1861) His publications predominantly dealt with the subject of children's health and the social consequences of urbanization at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Schreber was the founder of the eponymous "Schreber movement".  In 1864, the first Schrebergärten , was established by leasing land for the physical exercise of children.

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 Move forward 150+ years and you're zipping along in an ICE high-speed train, munching happily away on your bratwurst , just as you're wiping the last blob of mustard from the corner of your mouth, a lazy glance out the window, though, comes as a shock. Rather than the well-ordered suburbs or well-kept factories you have come to expect- miniature houses tucked in next to the train tracks as far as the eye can see.

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.


But while getting back to nature is an instinct many of us indulge in, the German gardener takes it very seriously indeed. Flawlessly clipped lawns, neatly sculpted bushes, and flowerbeds entirely free of even the tiniest weed are the norm with many gardens revealing a feng shui exactness that would put a Japanese bonsai master to shame. Other vegetation virtuosos prefer a more playful perfection and opt for a liberal distribution of garden gnomes and plastic windmills with cheap replicas of Greek fountains and other water features a must for those with a bit of cash to burn. 

  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. These enclosures are the garden equivalent of white bread: nature with the wildness extracted – and with more fertilizer per square metre than any farmer would dare to use.

 

I like creating Schrebergärten, mine are largely Busch, Noch and scratch, they include strawberries, green and red cabbage, cauliflower, green and red lettuce. Over the next couple of weeks, I would like to share the creation of a Schrebergärten for Pottendorf. 

The small garden is part of the farmhouse, the original was at least 14 years old and used on at least two previous layouts. There is some further work needed, the washing line will be given some clothes and there is a bear. 

However, there is a rural reality of cultivating vegetables, certainly not the ‘pretty’ cottage garden, a gentle chaos of compost heaps, raised beds, garden frames and general detritus.

The cottage garden


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 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.

Currently, the allotment by the station is the the process of being created, the actual ground is waiting to be laid in place but first the surrounding area must be completed with some grass and garden rubbish.. 

The station garden

 

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

The tatty fence is in place, the furrowed earth inset has developed a slight curve whilst the tomatoes and potatoes are growing but it still needs a lot more detail. 

For information about the cottage click here for more

Track and road side stuff

 Beside the road

The ditch beside the rural road is nature’s highway, home to a wide variety of flora and fauna such as the common iris amongst which the stork will hunt for food.

Here are a few of my favourite habitats





Here are the irises
 
 



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

I really should place something beside the plant to give some of scale as they are truly tiny and super fiddly, this group of six took 30 mins, I have another thirty-three to make/plant.

 
Unfortunately, the little paper plants need to be supported after 'planting' in scenic glue for at least 45mins, just two at a time. With thirty-six plants, it is a tedious process for very little reward and despite the vast cost.




Weeds
 
 

Many years ago, inspired by Gordon Gravett, I took some bristles and dipped them in green flock, today they were finally planted, the Swan Vestas box is helping them stay sober whilst the glue hardens. 
 

Thinking about the plants in the ditch and these two are the outcome, at just 10mm high, they were really fiddly to make using mini-forceps and a hot glue gun blobbed onto kitchen foil. The glue blob will be covered in green scatter.
 
How I managed not to burn my fingers is beyond me, unfortunately I need another half dozen.

Beside the barn
 
Just a few left-overs with dabs of Dulux tester.
 

 
Road and Trackside Flora
 
Roads and railways are a micro community, often bringing rural flora and fauna into urban environments. three of the most common plants common to railways are shown below.
 
Roadside

Trackside




Tragopogon pratensis, Jack go to bed or Meadow Salisify, the plant is distributed across Europe, commonly growing in fields (hence its name) and on tracksides. The local name derives from its habit of the flower head closing before noon, it is found in Germany from NRW to Austria as well as across warmer parts of Europe.

It can grow to over a metre in height and is a prolific weed, the milky sap can be dried and used as chewing gum.


The other endemic weed often associated with railways is Chamerion angustifolium, Rose Bay Willowherb. Its tendency to quickly colonise open areas with little competition, such as sites of railway and forest fires, makes it a clear example of a pioneer species. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light, it is found throughout Germany and most of Europe.

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.
 
 
 
 
Another garden favourite - hydrangea

 
Cow parsley
 

 Model cow parsley, these look very interesting and good value, a pack of 32