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Pressinfo Model railway layouts / MODELLBAHN Sinsheim 2015 / 16.01.2015

Model railway layouts at Faszination MODELLBAHN Sinsheim 2015

Gauge IIm: A French layout from the Netherlands

"Le Chemin de Fer des Terres Bataves" is the name of a layout by"The Training Dutchman".

This French railway layout comes to Sinsheim from the Netherlands and was constructed mainly from kits by French small-series manufacturers, as well as home-made elements and converted LGB material.

The layout depicts the era from 1900 to 1960. It is controlled via a digital computer system and for the most part ESU sound decoders. Many of the sounds are self-made and are derived from original diesel and steam locos and railcars. Numerous buildings on the layout are home-made or come from France.

Operator: "The Training Dutchman", Maarten Meeuwes

Size of layout: 12 x 4.5 metres

Theme: The era from 1900 - 1960

Gauge I: Digital gauge I layout with modern road traffic

This is a large gauge I layout with integrated car system. Modern-day cars drive on an L-shaped road section with a petrol station, road tunnel etc.The assorted cars were bought and then each car fitted out with engine, gears, rechargeable battery and steerable front axle by means of a permanentmagnet. On the layout a regional train and a heritage railway (heritage loco from 1840) shunt to and fro. In the background are five hand-made houses with numerous figures, trees, bushes, streetlamps etc. The trains and cars with digital sounds and smoke as well as around 300 figures are displayed at a height of approx. 80 cm, so thatchildren are also able to see all the details of the layout at close quarters.

Operator: Frieder Neumerkel, Chemnitz

Size of layout: 9 x 2.5 metres

Theme: 25th anniversary of the Dampfhausen Heritage Railway

Gauge 0: Fun for all on the tinplate layout

Claudius Schüle from Karlsruhe presents his gauge 0 layout on an area of 36 m². Vintage fans will love this tinplate railway. Märklin, Bing, Lionel and various other brands from 1935 to 1953 run on the layout, which has numerous sidings. Unlike double-track railways this layout makes use of the full surface. Guarantee for plenty of rail operation!

Visitors can even be part of the show by bringing their own 0-gauge models to run on the nostalgic tracks. This year visitors' models are in the limelight too!The engines should have three-phase alternating or direct current, i.e. Märklin type but not steam engines.

Operator: Nostalgie Spur 0 Karlsruhe, Claudius Schüle

Size of layout: 12 x 3 metres

Theme: Tinplaterailway with numerous sidings

Gauge 0: Entertaining railway operation with interchanging trains

The tracks and rolling stock are based on era III (1949-70). The layout has track space for seven trains. Two trains can run independently from each other at the same time, while the others wait on side-tracks and station sidings. The buildings were all made by the club with lighting and some with interior decoration.

Operator: Eisenbahnfreunde Weinheim e.V., Gregor Maurer

Size oflayout: 13 x 6 metres

Theme: Layout basedon era III

Gauge TT: Double track with mainline character

The club chose thespectator-friendly height of 1 metre for its layout. The route is double track and has mainline character without being modelled on an original railway. At the moment the layout includes a large train stop and a small station. One of the highlights is the new positioning area. 70 cm wide and with a track length of up to 320 cm,a large quantity of rolling stock can beattractively assembled and presented here. The track connections are made partially without switches by means of swivel arms, complete trains can roll out of their TrainSave tubes onto the layout.

Operator: TT Modulstammtisch Hamburg-Holstein, Ralf Küster

Size of layout: 10 x 12 metres

Theme: Reminiscent of North Germany with loving attention to detail

Gauge N: Narrow gauge and normal gauge complement each other

A large station is the focal point of this module layout. Trains leave the station on normal gauge tracks leading to a replica of the single-track branch line from Zwettl to Martinsberg-Gutenbrunn (Waldviertel -the Forest Quarter of Lower Austria). Along the route is a three-track bridge spanning the narrow gauge railwaywhich runs partly on replicas of the Rhaetian Railway, and also on sidings where gravel is loaded from the narrow gauge (Nm) into normal gauge wagons. Acamera wagon supplies live videos during the train journey.

Operator: Die 160er Modellbahn in Spur N, Wolfgang Kahofer

Size of layout: 20 x 8 metres

Theme: Railway modelling should be fun and modules should be realistic

Gauge N: Analogue-controlled double-track module layout

This layout consists of a two-track main line with functioning catenaryand a branch line without catenary. It is analogue-controlled with9 electronically secured block posts. The era is late 60s, early 70s. All the houses are lit, street lamps and level-crossings are fully functional. Scenes include a sawmill, a burning house with fire brigade in action and police with blue lights, working traffic lights and road works with electric warning barriers. The layout also has a Faller car system with two separate routes.

Operator: Modelleisenbahnfreunde Kurpfalz e.V. Wiesloch, Jürgen Baur

Size of layout: 9 x 4 metres

Theme: Double-track mainline with functioning catenary

Gauge Z:All around the world in the smallest gauge

This year the two associationsZ-Club International and Z-Freunde International will present no less than 9 model railway layouts and numerous dioramas in the smallest construction gauge Z, in a scale of 1:220. Trains from all eras travel through snow-clad alpine regions, past true-to-scale Japanese temples or Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein and even on a railwayalongside the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Other layouts portray Stuttgart main station as it was in the 1930s and a fully functioning model of the Hamburg-Altona railway depot with its famous double turntable and impressive large roundhouse.You will also see trains operating on two of the longest interconnectedgauge Z module layouts with well-known German landscapes. And the smallest layout of all is bound to attract the youngest visitors, as it is constructed in an old television set. Further gauge Z rarities are on show in a display cabinet.

Operator: Z-Club International and Z-Freunde International

Exhibition area: 11 x 7 metres

Theme: Various gauge Z layouts with varying themes

Gauge H0: A Polish narrow gauge railway

This large module layout in gauge H0etakes us to northern Poland. The segments are connected to form a "U" so that every spectator can follow the little narrow gauge trains from Lewin Leski station to the train stop Bozepole Mazurskie. The track winds through meadows and fields, past idyllic farmhouses with storks nesting on the roof, und finally disappears into a pine forest.

The constructors of thesesuperbly detaileddioramas,the Lewinski and Marszal families from neighbouring Poland, are no newcomers to the fair. This time they transport us into the world of Cassubian and Masurian narrow gauge railways in the 1960s. Come with us!

Operators: Families Lewinski and Marszal

Size of layout: 5 x 3 metres

Theme: Narrow gauge railway in northern Poland in the 1960s

Gauge H0: Mainline with side tracks to goods shed and factory

The complete layout is based on eras IV and V. While the mountain landscape still enjoys the peace and quiet of the 60s, life in the 70s and 80s is already evident in the industrial area with its new factory building.Blokpost 13 hasa 3-track alternating current system using Märklin material. The trains are digitally controlled, but points are still analogue, in order to keep the element of play. The modules combine commercially accessible elements with home-made parts in the interpretation of the landscape.

Operator: Blokpost 13, Ron Schouten

Size of layout: 12 x 2 metres

Theme: Mountain scenery with railway leading to an industrial area

Gauge H0m:Swiss mountain railway Graubünden

The layout takes us to the mountains of the Swiss canton Graubünden. Central feature on the model railway layout is Schiers station, one of many picturesque stations of the Rhaetian Railway. On the single-track railway, all locomotives are operated with their pantographs on the overhead contact wires, all carriages have interior lighting and passengers. The mountain landscape has an arch bridge (self-made), mountain huts, trees (mostly self-made), waterfalls, hikers and many other typical Swiss details.

Operator: Graubündenbahn Niek Talsma

Size of layout: 10 x 1 metre

Theme: Swiss canton Graubünden

Gauge H0: American railroad with up to 6 locos and over 60 wagons

The layout is based on modern times from 1990 up to today. It depicts an American/Canadian railway landscape, with a small town and industrial area.Long trains with up to 6 locomotives and over 60 wagons are the great attraction on this layout.

Operator: Team Canada, Edingen-Neckarhausen, Ernst Mohr

Size of layout: 17 x 5 metres

Theme: USA / Canada railroad landscape

Gauge H0: Module display layout with push-buttons for spectators

This module display layout with standardised interfaces consists of 20 modules and has a total track length of 70 metres.The trains run on 'aged' and gravelled Märklin H0-K tracks. It entails a double-track mainlinewith a 5-track through station, an 8-track suburban station and a large steam engine depot. The special feature on this layout are the push buttons for spectators who can trigger the various actions, for example a haunted house with appearing and disappearing ghost, a traffic accident with police and fire brigade, shunting action at the goods shed and loading yard.

Operator: Modelleisenbahnclub Crailsheim e.V., Gerhard Dehnke

Size of layout: 12 x 6 metres

Theme: Operation of 10 trains on a double-track mainline with stations

Gauge H0: Tyrolean rack railway Rittnerbahn

This layout in gauge H0m consists of 7 segments. It depicts the era around 1964, when very small rack locomotives pushed the relatively large passenger carriages up the slopes. Almost all the model buildings were self-made using polystyrene, with true-to-original detail thanks to extensive research. This also applies to the tram-like overhead wiring and most of the trees. The vehicles come from a small series production by DH Modellbau, while the drive systems for rack locomotive 'Alioth' and other vehicles were also self-made.

Operator: Frank Tinius Rittnerbahn

Size of layout: 5 x 1 Meter

Theme: Rittnerbahn in South Tyrol around 1965

Gauge H0: Single track railway in authentic surroundings

This H0 module railway is a single-track branch linein the German area of Franconia during the eras III - IV with several small to medium stations and stops. Interesting scenes modelled with great attention to detail and technical finesse alternate with rambling countryside. Spectators can activate some of the scenes by means of push-buttons.

Operator: Club der Modelleisenbahner Würzburg

Size of layout: 22 x 10 metres

Theme: Branch railway in era III - IV with several stations

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