Why Rome sends trains filled with rubbish to Austria

Posted on May 6, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

This could be another odd modelling article, but it caught my eye as I was catching up with the world news.

Rome’s rubbish is helping to power Austrian homes – and it gets to Austria by train.

Rome has been struggling to cope with a rubbish crisis and Austria has spare capacity at a waste-to-energy plant near Vienna.

So a deal has been struck. The Italians are paying Austrian company EVN to dispose of up to 70,000 tonnes of Roman household refuse this year.

The waste is transported by train through northern Italy, over the Alps and ends up at the EVN thermal waste utilisation plant at Zwentendorf on the Danube.

Up to three trains a week arrive at the Zwentendorf plant. Each carries airtight containers loaded with around 700 tonnes of Roman household waste.

The refuse is incinerated and converted into hot flue gas, which generates steam. The steam is delivered to a neighbouring power station, where it is converted into electricity, which is used to power 170,000 houses in the province of Lower Austria.

“It is not crazy,” insists Gernot Alfons, head of the EVN thermal waste plant. For him it is an environmentally friendly solution and the rubbish trains are key.

“The other alternative would be to put this rubbish into landfill, which creates a lot of methane emissions that create a lot of impact in terms of CO2 emissions.

“It is much better to transport this waste to a plant which has a high energy efficiency like ours.”

Another little modelling challenge and a ‘prototype for everything’ moment.  Read the whole article in http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39641761

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Odd modelling idea(s) #2017

Posted on May 4, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

In case you missed it on N Gauge Forum, I can recommend this video.  Not for the faint hearted and for some of these high altitude trips it would be wise to carry a change of underwear…..

I am sorry that I didn’t find out about the Bangkok folding market when I was working there.  It looks a fascinating sight, and how about an animated version for a model diorama?  The railcars are similar to the US Budd version.

I did however, visit the River Kwai and stayed near the Burma Railway on the river.  And one of my great adventures was two trips on Bangladesh Railways from Chittagong up to Dhaka.  Not so many roof riders on my ‘express’ but there was lots to see as we trundled through the rice fields, and the entrance to Dhaka was through slums that came within inches of the train.  Here’s another article on Bangladesh trains….

Back to the dangerous railways, perhaps there are a few potential models there, but most of them would require baseboards as high as they are long!

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Indonesian Interlude

Posted on May 2, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

A couple of days after the ESNG show, I was catching a plane to Java, to do a 4 week input to a World Bank aid project on irrigation.  Once again, retirement is postponed, but I fancied another project in Indonesia.  Not many trains about here, just plenty of work, so here are a few of my ‘holiday’ snaps till I think of something railway orientated to write about….

Early morning from my hotel room in Bandung, in the centre of West Java.  It’s unusually clear and you can see the mountains (but not quite the volcano behind.)  Usually the view is veiled by pollution in the morning and rain in the afternoon.

But this is where I am.  Some rather good map-making in the hotel lobby.

Bandung has become even more build-up than it was when I was last here 20 years ago.  (Was it really 20 years?)  But there is still an area of National Park forest in the hills to the north of the city, that made a good Saturday morning out.

The Jatiluhur irrigation scheme is the largest in Java, and although it is suffering from agricultural land lost to industry and having villages built along its banks, our project area, the East Tarum Canal is still very attractive.

The main barrage, built 50 years ago, is still an impressive structure.

A cross-regulator on the main canal, to maintain levels for the irrigation diversion you can see on the left of the picture….

And of course, rice everywhere…..

We did find this railway line, on the main north coast line from Jakarta going east.  A train passed soon after I took this, but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera!

I suppose I ought to visit Bandung station this weekend, but it’s over half-an-hour by taxi – too much like hard work!!  So this stock picture will have to do.

The train journey to Jakarta is interesting through the hills, as the trains still cross a series of fine viaducts built by the Dutch.  Some of them can be seen from the Bandung-Jakarta motorway (think M25 on a bad day as you near Jakarta).

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Isle of Wight railways

Posted on April 30, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

The railways of the Isle of Wight have always fascinated me.  Not least because of the concentration of lines on a small island – three companies pre-1923 before they were amalgamated under the Southern Railway.

And the Isle of Wight was home to some wonderful rolling stock, being independent of the mainland, and all stock being imported by sea.  Small tank engines, like the ex-LSWR O2 0-4-4 below, time expired carriages and goods stock, generally short trains, but with the emphasis on passenger workings for the tourist trade.  What isn’t there to like?  Even today, the remaining line from Ryde to Shanklin is operated by venerable ex-London Transport tube trains.

Wikipedia commons

And even if you don’t model the Southern, the concept might be applied to any railway company and an imaginary offshore island.  I believe this is how ‘Thomas’ and the ‘Isle of Sodor’ came about?

So to the station layouts.  Some of these are pretty well known, but I’ve put them together as some of the more interesting (to me) track layouts on the island.  All maps are from the National Library of Scotland under Creative Commons, and are dated around 1900.

We start with Bembridge.  One of two termini with a turntable/sector plate at the end of the line (Ventnor, below is the other), this is a simple branch line terminus.  I recall a model quite some time ago, that was build to 4mm/P4 standards.  It would compress into an interesting 2mm layout – just three points but with the turntable to make work.

At the other end of the branch, Brading was the junction for Bembridge, the branch line exiting bottom right.  Another very buildable layout, with a separate branch platform, and limited goods facilities.

Cowes is a slightly larger terminus, but makes an attractive curved terminus.  Early drawings and photographs of the station show that the line used to end more or less at the footbridge, and the two cul-de-sac’s shown either side of the platforms were originally one road, cut by the station extension.  Cowes was a busy station, with services from the island railway hub at Newport.

The Freshwater and Yarmouth line also ended up in Newport, and before 1923 was an independent company.  Freshwater had an interesting layout in its early days, that became more conventional later.  There is a 2mm fine scale model of the station just entering the exhibition circuit, making good use of 3D printing for the buildings.

Much the same could be said about Yarmouth.  I like the ‘reverse Inglenook’ arrangement of the goods yard.  This surely has potential for a model?

Merstone is another interesting junction, with the branch to Ventnor West bottom right.  I’d have liked to have included Ventnor West in this post, but the station hadn’t been built in 1900!  There’s a good ‘OO’ version of Merstone on the exhibition circuit, with some very nice IOW goods stock on display – mainly LBSCR and LSWR discards.

Finally, we’ll look at the ‘main line’ – still mostly in use today – between Ryde and Ventnor.  Ryde terminus was on the pier, allowing transfer from passenger ferry direct to the train.  Just down the line was Ryde St. John’s Road, one of the larger engine sheds, with Newport, on the island, and also having works facility.  This could make an interesting model with limited compression.

Another compact junction – the island seems to specialise in them – was Sandown.

Shanklin is the current terminus of the line, and was a simple, but interesting through station.

Having tunneled through the downs above Ventnor, the line emerged into a quarry-like terminus, with storage in caves by the goods yard.  The station had two platforms, one an island accessible only by a moveable ‘bridge’ across the tracks.  And another turntable/sector plate at the end of the line.  With the tunnel so close to the station, it is almost every modeller’s dream!  There was a very good 2mm fine scale model of this station completed some time ago.

As for modelling the island in ‘N’ or 2mm?  Not easy.  Dapol have issued an island ‘Terrier’.  N-Brass do an LSWR G6 0-6-0T, that is very similar to the O2 0-4-4T’s used on the island, though the extended bunker would need to be modified.  Coaching stock was mainly ex-LBSCR and ex-SECR vehicles, and some etched sides are available.  Wagons would have to be mainly scratch-built, though generic ones might do the job.  DJM models has the distinctive ex-LSWR ‘road vans’ (brake vans) as a future release in ‘N’, but will they ever happen????

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1971 – July – Birdcage discomfort

Posted on April 27, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Also in the July 1971 edition of Railway Magazine was an interesting article on the Oxted line of Southern Railway and BR Southern Region.  This line branched off the main Brighton line at East Croydon, wound its way through Oxted and Lingfield to East Grinstead, where the line now terminates.  In steam days the line branched at East Grinstead to Lewes and the coast (now the Bluebell heritage railway) and to Tunbridge Wells (now closed.)

This line certainly would have been electrified in the 1940’s, but such work was delayed by the 2nd world war, and the third rail only reached East Grinstead in 1987.  So in the 1960’s, it provided a bastion of steam amongst all the EMUs of East Croydon.  This got even more interesting for race days at Lingfield.  The author, D.A. Bone writes…..

Several times a year the Oxted line became more than the poor relation of the electrified services.  Lingfield Park races must have caused plenty of operating difficulties, but they provided a near paradise for the lover of Southern steam.  East Croydon resounded, as it must have done up to the Brighton Line electrification in 1933, to the sight, smell and sound of a succession of heavy steam hauled services.  The idea of Pullman cars going through Woldingham now seems a fantasy.  The pattern of services on race days did not change after nationalisation.

Now here’s an interesting layout idea – a racecourse line.  A chance to run EMUs or local passenger services, and then loads of express power on race days.  One could even bring in trains from other regions, allowing you to run your ‘Rule 1’ stock to the race meeting.  Perhaps someone has chartered a ‘Brighton Belle’ or a ‘Blue Pullman’ for the day??  Lingfield itself seems a small station for race traffic….

lingfield

But up at Epsom, both Tattenham Corner and Epsom downs are relatively large termini.

epsomd tattenham

Perhaps too large for many layouts, but a through station on the line, retaining its goods yard, could be an interesting prototype.  Of course, if your racecourse is at the end of a tram line, like ‘Victoria Street’, you can do it all in a few feet.

This has turned into a long post, but I must mention the ‘Birdcage discomfort’.  This is not the same as waiting for the Farish model to appear!  It’s a long quote but so evocative of a certain era of UK train travel….

It would be unfair to recall all aspects of Oxted line travel in the 1944-47 period through rose-coloured spectacles.  The frequently used birdcage three-coach sets did not provide good third-class accommodation.  The standard “4-LAV” or “2-BIL” sets used on the Brighton line slow trains were infinitely better upholstered and lit.  Birdcage compartments were narrow and the strip of blue leatherette one leant back on had the minimum of padding.  Lighting in both the first and third compartments was by ceiling fixtures.  There often seemed to be water in the bottom of the glass shade that enclosed the dim bulb.  This produced rather ghastly shadows, especially when the stock was running at speed, as the water was continually shifting position.

Heating was controlled by a large brass handle, which could be put in the usual three positions, full, half and off.  It required considerable strength to move, but was at least conveniently placed below the mirror.  Each side of the mirror were sepia Edwardian scenes of Tunbridge Wells or Bexhill.  Only passengers in the middle coach of a birdcage set had access to a toilet:  the door to this had a formidable know of ribbed brass, and the word LAVATORY boldly written in gold.

The worst features of third class travel could be avoided provided you had time to choose your compartment.  The erstwhile second-class accommodation provided wider and better upholstered compartments than the original thirds.  By comparison the first class was opulent: a rich paisley design in green or dark red was the standard.  Some birdcage sets (and some push-pull services which worked Oxted-Tunbridge Wells West) had a first-class open saloon section, with heavy armchairs that swivelled.  To sit back in one of the first class compartments was to be very much isolated from the noise and sensation of travel.

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1971 – July – A polite correspondence

Posted on April 24, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

The letters page of the July 1971 Railway Magazine produced some interesting snippets, but most fascinating was the style.  Letter writing was still an art – no email, Fa(r)cebook or Twitter.

This month’s letters had an exchange of views on whether the exhaust beats of a Mallet or Garrett locomotive, with two sets of cylinders and motion, were synchronised or not.  One protagonist was the famous O.S. Nock.  We complain about the aggressive exchanges on the internet.  These extracts from two long letters show that the polite insult goes back a long way.  A.E Durrant, from Western Australia, writes….

Sir – I read with some interest Mr. O.S. Nock’s article on the subject of Garratts and Mallets, and now that the postal strike has ended am able to comment.  The idea that the two unots of a Garratt or non-compound Mallet, “get in step” and stay synchronised is utter nonsense…..

By his own words, Mr Nock’s Garratt experience is little more than vestigial, and certainly  not in line with his authority on British express train running…..  My own extensive Garratt experience started in 1955…..

In the stillness of the African dusk, supping a “sundowner” at my local pub, a Garratt would depart on the immense climb to Uplands, slowly but surely ascending the grade.  Similarly, dawn in the game park, near Athi river, wondering whether that dark shadow would materialise into a lion or just a bush, usually coincided with a main-line freight from Mombasa, with a “59” class…..

Mr Nock’s musings concerning cylinder positioning are as naïve as his attempts to justify the non-existent synchronisation phenomenon…..

O.S. Nock replies……

Sir, Mr Durrant should be a little careful in suggesting that other people are talking “utter nonsense” when the argument he is trying to sustain is in flat contradiction of the experience of senior engineers in many parts of the world who have lived their lives with Garratts.  This is the experience of men who have designed, tested and run Garratts, rising to positions of the highest responsibilities in the process – not the results of lineside and carriage tape recordings, and background music to the pleasure of a “pint at the local”!…..

I hesitate to suggest that some of those sundowners Mr Durrant enjoyed were stronger laced than he realised and contributed to the syncopated effects!  So there you are, Sir.  A “dusty” letter invites a letter that is a bit dusty in reply.

Mee-owww!  I’ve seen people defriended on Facebook, or leave a forum after an exchange like this!  There was no further correspondence on the subject in 1971.

class_gmam_4122_july_2004_7863980914

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ESNG Exhibition 2017 #4

Posted on April 21, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

The Kato Racetrack had (I think) 14 independent circuits to run all of Paul’s bullet trains and some other trains as well.

Another small shunting layout, Tunbridge Yard West  is a 4ft x 1.5ft, modern image, layout set in the early 90s as a shunting / storage yard for Network Rail, diesels with some emu storage sidings.  It is loosely based on Tunbridge Yard West and the Inglenook Sidings set up.  I liked the electric pylons in the background, though I’d probably break them if I tried to uncouple anything on the layout.

Oakhurst is a terminus station on an a ficticious preserved line. The line is home to a fleet of both steam and heritage diesels, with the mainline connection at Newbridge adding further traffic from incoming railtours.

Forrestone is based on a fictional spur off a south London main line comprising two platforms and a locomotive depot for a freight company. It is run on DCC, and will be controlled by iPad and iPhone.  Looks like there is a steam gala in the bay…..

BH Enterprises had their usual spot, selling all the bits and pieces you never knew you needed!  Here’s proof positive that Bob was awake…..

And I have to make a mention of our catering team, who fed and watered the home team and visitors throughout the day.

And finally, we packed up and retired to the Ruchita for the traditional curry.  So that’s it till next year, folks!!!

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ESNG Exhibition 2017 #3

Posted on April 19, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Also in the corridor was Kuritu.  It’s unusual in three ways. It’s Japanese, it’s an inter-urban railway, and it has been designed to be viewed from both sides. A simple design, but it just ‘oozes’ Japan.

Ian Lamkin lives just up the road in Redhill, but is always booked up further in advance than my ability to arrange a show.  So it was very pleasing to get him and Santa Barbara along.  Santa Barbara is a near scale model of the area around Santa Barbara Amtrak station which is between the beach and the main downtown area. Many photographs and measurements have been taken around the station to recreate as many details as possible. The Surf Line runs from San Diego up through Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, 100 miles north of Los Angeles.

I managed to catch Atlantic Road in a train-free moment.  But it’s the summer of 1998 and trains pass above Atlantic Road, Brixton in South London. Eurostars are using Waterloo International, EWS and Freightliner are still using locos inherited from BR and slam-door EMUs are still in regular use.  I like this layout as 10 years living up the road near the Oval meant that I was familiar with the area – especially Brixton market.

Neil Grace was selling his usual mixture of military and railway equipment.  And he has added some Lego for the younger enthusiast.

We welcomed back the West Sussex N Gauge group AGAIN, with their N-mod layout.

And here’s Jon the Blue-Plastic-Box man showing that he does stock other items.

One more post to go, with the rest of the layouts.

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ESNG Exhibition 2017 #2

Posted on April 17, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

A feature of ESNG shows is ERIC the Roundhouse.  We try to have ERIC appear in a new guise for each show – recent themes have been a PW depot, locomotives seen in Redhill, Japanese locomotives, and Lehigh Valley diesels.  However, we were running out of ideas.  A flash of inspiration, and we proudly present: ERIC, International Tramway Museum.  I didn’t realise I had quite that many trams!

On the far side of the hall, John Brightwell’s ‘Alpenbahn’ modular layout settled down to run a steady stream of trains all day.  Alpenbahn was originally conceived and constructed as a modular layout by members of ESNG. It is now being curated by John Brightwell. As the name suggests, an alpine scene is represented, the idea being that very long prototypical trains can be run through an evocative landscape. Today, Alpenbahn is linked to two of Richard Oliver’s N-Club modules.

We invited Richard Oliver to add his N-club modules to the end of Alpenbahn, and he also operated the end loops.  Richard’s modules are very neat and fully lit.  I’m afraid we caught Richard at an inopportune moment.  Has he:

  1. Fallen asleep waiting for the next train?
  2. Expired after eating a rock cake from the catering department?
  3. Put his money on the wrong horse in the National?

Please send any answers to any website but this one.  (Sorry Olly).

The other layout in the room was Three Gates – tiny yet perfectly formed.   It’s branch line/light railway terminus somewhere in the South West of England.  Stock is by Farish, Dapol & Peco.  The layout folds into a box 2ft. x 1ft. 4ins. for transport & storage.  This just shows that anyone can have a layout, anywhere.

Out in the corridor, Neil & Martin’s emporium was where you could buy the proverbial kitchen sink – provided it was second-hand.  There are rumours that they are part of the Trotter family empire.  Derek and Dave are wondering whether to part with some of their money….

Tomorrow, we begin to work down the classrooms to show the other layouts in the exhibition.

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ESNG Exhibition 2017 #1

Posted on April 15, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Well, we’ve survived another annual exhibition!  A lot of hard work, but well worth it.  All went well, we had some good modelling on display, and received a number of very positive comments from the punters – not least about the real coffee on sale in the refreshment area!

But work started on the Friday afternoon, collecting things from the club room about 1pm, then slowly working to put the N-mod/N-club circuit together.  Ideally, one should have a trial run of the layout to be exhibited, to make sure all is working.  However life has been just too hectic, so a long afternoon to allow for a few repairs and rewiring is a good substitute.   And there’s time for coffee breaks and a fish-and-chip supper.

In another room, Paul was piecing together all his Kato Unitrack for the Kato Racetrack….

Saturday morning, 10am, all was working (just) and the doors opened to our visitors.  It was a strange year, in that there was a very high attendance in the morning (I was wondering about a record year), but a very quiet afternoon without the usual ‘surge’ after lunch.  Perhaps the fine weather and the Grand National kept people away.

However, to get in you have to pass the ‘gate-keepers’, experts in giving the wrong change and insulting the visitors.  For some reason, they seem to love it!  Here, Graham and Reg look ready to confuse all comers…..

Still, the hall is pretty busy, so a few hardy souls have made it past the pay-desk.

The fiddle yard has the usual variety of stock/  We were initially aiming for a UK themed day, but Simon, Graham and I have set up a few American rakes.

On the N-mod circuit, our late President’s ‘Lowwater Basin’ diorama was behind the main lines, though it looks as though a little repair is needed to one roof.

One new idea for the modular layout this year was the addition of a double track N-club standards branch off the main N-mod circuit (we’ve done it once before.)  Here we have one of the junctions on Derek’s module, whilst Simons long American tanker train passes on the main line.

Derek’s N-club corner hosts a preservation society, who seem to have preserved some old ‘Lone-Star’ track to build their yard.  That Derek recycles everything….

After going to Stuttgart and back unused, I was pleased to see that my ‘Clubhouse’ N-club module saw trains running over it, and worked fine.  I’ve got all the figures and vehicles to place on the scene, but just haven’t had time to set it up.

Trade in the main hall included Invicta, that was a real family business for the day….

And NScaleCH.  No John guarding his stand, as he was keeping Alpenbahn running.

Next post, more from the main hall.

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