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. 

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

Other former private railways

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

Arnstadt-Ichtershausen Railway

ELNA locos in use on the Itchershausen line painted by Peter Koenig on DSO 

Hohenebra-Ebeleben Railway

Ebelebenbahn and Ebelebenbahn2

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

And some more images of interesting byways 

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

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.