Nine people running trains made for a busy and social afternoon, with added mince pies and other Christmas nibbles.
And plenty of trains in the fiddle yard….
Allan’s Inganet train….
Derek’s TGV….
And trains from Brian, Simon and Terry…..
Bubble cars on the loose….
And thank you Brian, as ever, for the video evidence.
As a PS to Stuttgart, here’s a video of the main modular circuit – ESNG and West Sussex appear around 14:40…
As usual, there were a number of stand-alone layouts invited to the show. The following photos capture a number of them – and there was some inspiring modelling to be seen.
Fleischmann brought along their N-gauge layout based on the Mosel valley, where river and railway run beneath extensive vineyards. The scene is compressed, of course, and the hillsides are steeper than real life, but it looks so right! Just a simple tail-chaser, but beautifully done.
Lemiso-Werke are a company making models in a range of scales, but they have an exquisite layout to promote their wares. I saw pictures of this Nm layout last year. It’s even better seen in the flesh. Snow is such a difficult thing to model well.
Then there is this complex harbour scene, and I especially liked the very detailed ships.
But the piece de resistance must have been this large canal lock – rather like the ones you can see near Northwich in Cheshire. I kept going back to have another look!
A small portion of the enormous layout of Stuttgart’s railways was on show. This layout was a lifetime labour of love by a Stuttgart modeller. When he died, most of the layout was saved (with help from the local NCI members amongst others) and parts are now on show near the new Stuttgart station (than has finally opened.)
Next post, it’s party time!
We pause posts on the Stuttgart saga for a normal club meeting report….
It turned out to be a busy evening, with eight members and a visitor – welcome Terry, and hope we didn’t put you off too much! It was good to see Ian, whose visit might have been to collect Lily’s strange German honey that we had been tasked to find whilst in Stuttgart. Just a few photos….
The usual suspects…..
I couldn’t work out what to bring to run, but I pulled my Pullman rake off the shelf (probably for the first time for several years) and it ambled around behind a Class 40 all evening. Saggers Sidings and two of the corners seemed none the worse for a trip to Germany and back.
Chris had some new coaches to sandwich between two Class 73’s.
Simon tested this Minitrix Atlantic, also a Stuttgart purchase, and then ran his Hiawatha express…..
Today’s modelling suggestion – A B-52 Stratofortress?
Finally, anyone looking for a job?
Back to Germany tomorrow….
Today is just a bit of a photo dump of some of the many modules on show. Just my choice of pictures, and ones that caught my eye – most I can’t remember where they came from!
The helix was there to get trains across an aisle at high level. The holding fiddle yard for it was just behind our operating position.
The Danish mega-junction.
A Greek archaeological theme here….
The Belgian race-track! Simple, but realistic in its simplicity.
In contrast, some very detailed scenes on these modules….
Town….
And country….
Nm….
And two rather interesting end loop ideas – a double loop from Denmark, and a junction loop from Belgium that neatly swaps right hand to left hand running. I understand that the Danish loop needs some major motive power to work!
Next time, a look at some of the inspiring stand-alone layouts at the show.
Today’s just a pictorial guide to the modules on our branch off the main layout spine. We start with Richard, and the German airbase, then a bridge, and a demolition site…..
And his distribution depot….
Moving onto my modules, starting with the USAF airbase….
The ‘joker’ module (to shift the running lines from one side of the board to the other). Note the T-rex!
The clubhouse. This is a model of a real building in Switzerland, but we wish it really was our clubhouse. A few cameos in the car park identify a few club members and interests (curry.)
And the junction between double track NCI and four track N-mod operation…
Round our club corner, and next was Saggers Sidings. The punters liked my bubble car train parked on one siding, and Allan’s Thomas and Toby on the other.
Round another corner and finally we linked up with the West Sussex group layout. This suffered a few teething troubles, but Ian and co. got through the week successfully.
The last afternoon, my modules suffered an infestation…. Dinsdale!!
Next time, some pictures of some of the other modules on display.
Our Stuttgart visit is over for another year. Every year, N Club International have an enormous N gauge meet in the Stuttgart Messe, generally sharing the hall with other hobbies and things. There is a good mixture of stand alone layouts and the massive modular setup. A lot of people criticise this modular approach due to the different character and scenery of the modules, and the total mix-up of trains running over them. But for me, the variety is a lot of fun, and when you are operating, it’s interesting to see trains from all over Europe (to say nothing of American and Japan) passing by.
This year, four ESNG members made it to the show – Allan, Richard and myself running our modules, and Duncan (mostly) helping the Italians. He had the tougher job, operating a junction hidden in a mountain that conveniently hid derailments and crashes.
But the week starts a few days before, as I gathered modules, legs, and other bits and pieces in our lounge…..
Then on the Tuesday, Allan collected me from home at the unearthly hour of 3am, for the trip down to Dover and the 5am Eurotunnel. It was my first time through the tunnel, and that was interesting in itself. Emerging at Calais, we missed the autoroute turning, and in the end took the Google recommended route through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Apart from a half-hour crawl in the Lille rush hour, it was an excellent run, and went through some lovely scenery. The autumn colours in one valley we passed through were delightful.
We even missed the worst of the traffic on the A8 into Stuttgart, and arrived in time to unload the van in the hall before retreating to the hotel. Next morning, we were back in the Messe at 9 to set up. Richard had put his modules together on the Tuesday, so we were able to get to work. We set up my four NCI modules, the two club corners and Saggers Sidings. All went together well, and were electrically and mechanically sound. In fact we had just the few derailments all week – mostly from the same trains. Here’s our empire…
The West Sussex group added their layout to the end of our N-mod modules making an impressive U-shaped layout. Some pictures of our set-up from the balcony…
And of the whole railway area….
Here’s a plan of the railway section of the hall – with the ESNG area marked.
We were able to retire back to the hotel mid-Wednesday afternoon. And so to four days operating. I hardly got our of the hall! I did escape for long enough to track down the new U-bahn station at the airport….
We did get some classy visitors to see the trains….
At the opposite end, there were the board game players – very popular, as you could play a game to see if you liked it before buying it. Here are some shots of the non-railway area.
And so to Sunday evening, and the break down of the layout went very smoothly, and the van was all packed up 90 minutes after the show closed. We helped Richard pack and retired for the night. A more civilised start to the day coming home, 6:15am breakfast, and we left at 6:45am. The drive home was easy, as we took the autoroutes, just seeing some snow in central France. We arrived at the Eurotunnel well early, and were able to get a shuttle half an hour earlier than booked. And we were back in Redhill 13 hours after departing from Stuttgart.
One interesting sight on route was areas of trees festooned by mistletoe (or something very similar.) I’ve never seen so much around…
And that’s a potted history of the trip. Next time I’ll start looking at the individual layouts around the hall.
Before posting some pictures from our German trip, here’s a quick report from my workbench. All this should have been done months ago, but predictably it all got built after October’s wedding trip. There’s nothing like a good deadline to concentrate the mind….
The problem was that I needed a new NCI module to take to Stuttgart. In order to link up with the West Sussex mob, I not only needed a new board to reverse the 10 degree turn on my junction board, but it also had to be a ‘joker’ board that swapped the main line from one side of the board to the other.
Fortunately, I had an 800mm N-Club module that originally was going to be part of another project. I stripped it down to the frame, then added a new end set at 10 degrees. The track bed and some new leg pockets followed.
This was a project that used up bits and pieces lying around the loft. I added 3mm ply track bed at the ends of the module, and pre-cut copper-clad sleeper sections to form a solid end. The track bed was Woodland Scenics track base, that is ideal for forming these gentle curves. I did buy some Woodlands Scenics foam glue to fix it down. Excellent stuff, as it is like non-corrosive impact adhesive. I also cut down the baseboard sides to give a little negative contouring to the scenery.
The track followed. I checked the location at the module ends with the N-Club template, and checked it against one of my other modules. Both seemed OK – I hope…. Wiring followed, including a ‘bus’ from one end of the module to the other. Basic scenery was added with cardboard strips from a pizza box and hot glue, and plastic card areas for the water features. ModRoc followed to finish off the shape of the ground. I had just enough ModRoc to finish the job, though the scenery is a little thin in places! The ply sections inset into the ground are for buildings – more later.
Then the bit I enjoy – being ‘artistic’ with the scenery. Overall, I thought I’d try for some autumn/fall colouring here. Not NCI standard, but never mind! Hunting through the internet for inspiration, I came across a fossil T-Rex being excavated. Perfect for something a little different. I’m not sure about the rock types around it, but I’m not going to worry about that.
I did buy in some water lilies, marsh marigolds and bulrushes to go around the pond. The end result is easy on the eye…..
And here is the final result. The orchard middle left was bought in, as were the ruined buildings. Both wargame models and cheap – a ruined building and a ruined monastery. I may need to add fencing to the railway for UK running, but it will do for Stuttgart 2023.
I did add one final detail…..
I seem to have finished the module with a week to spare (much to my surprise.) Just a sealing coat of matte medium for UV protection and hold the scatter in place better needed. I will then have time to make a cover for it before loading it up in Allan’s van. I just hope it all works!!!!!
And as a little PS, Dave sent me two pictures from the Corris Railway.
And finally, before (hopefully) some new photos are some views from 2017.
Today, a look at some of the N-club modules on show. Some are there every year, but they are impressive pieces of work that are always worth a look. I took most of these shots before the show opened, so they are mainly of scenery with few trains on view.
This station is one of my favourites. It’s to scale size, with long platforms, and the buildings and figures create a very pleasing scene.
Here’s the American version. Some strange modern buildings….
And back to Germany. Another regular at Stuttgart, but it gets extended year by year. It’s interesting to compare UK and European modelling. We tend toward scratch building our structures, but in Europe full use is made of the many building kits available. The knack is then to personalise and customise them into a realistic scene. This has certainly been achieved in the layout below. From the layouts that I have seen, perhaps the nearest to UK modelling is the Dutch. They seem to have a more ‘English’ approach to layout design and scenery. I often find the most interesting layouts are English built layouts of European or American prototypes. I am obviously conditioned and biased by my own culture, but the combination of UK modelling ethos and overseas prototypes can make for an excellent model.
Another module, with the trains appearing between the buildings.
On shed….
And another bridge….
Is it a protest, a medieval procession, or just the regional equivalent of Morris men???
This engine depot puts ERIC to shame – it’s gigantic and the locos (even German 2-10-0’s) are dwarfed by the site.
Not sure whether the crane works….
The South African modules make a regular appearance, being stored at a nearby club, and make a pleasant change from European scenery.
Lastly today, Duncan takes to the air again, but over the ESNG modules…..
Second repost is from 2018, and the ESNG modules on display. We all seem a little bit younger in these photographs!
Home from Stuttgart, and the lounge is again full of railways. They will go upstairs to the loft tomorrow, when I have a little more energy. We had another excellent week at the Stuttgart N-Club International meet. On the whole, the layout behaved very well, though there were a few electrical issues needing rewiring as we went along.
Today, we have a some pictures of the ESNG modules. Wednesday was spent setting up. Or rather, most of the day was spent freezing in the hall with all the doors open, and waiting for the French junction to arrive, so that the Austrians and ourselves could add our twig off the branch. If we could get here through the French fuel protests, surely they could? We left the hall at 8pm with a few problems unsolved, but a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast meant that we had soon got things moving, and were carrying out some final running tests.
It was Terrier week for ERIC. I brought along my collection of Dapol tank engines, in a range of liveries.
Pride of place went to ‘Earlswood’ on the turntable. We even sold three ESNG wagons at the show – though I’m not sure whether the Hon. Treasurer can handle Euros….
A long American goods train crosses Derek’s Channel ‘Tunnel’ from Europe, changing from right hand to left hand running. I’ve nicknamed this board the ‘Eddie Waring’ board, after the great rugby league commentator who was a great fan of the ‘Up and Under.’
The same train passes my airfield.
The layout crossed my new bridge module and turned through Derek’s corner board. My bridge needed a little fettling at first, but settled down to run reliably.
We also took my clubhouse board.
A few vehicles brought the bridge to life. I have to decide whether to glue down these American vehicles, or change them between shows. The bridge could be in almost any country, but the lack of fences by the track does suggest the USA.
Allan explains the joys of modular modelling, whilst that long goods train passes itself on the end loop of our section.
Ian looks as if he has been operating for too long and is getting confused.
Past our modules, Ollie had a run of his boards. He managed to get a little modelling done through the show.
We were joined by Richard from the West Sussex group, who added his N-mod ‘Crosswater Village’ to our modules. Packed full of detail, this little layout always had a train on the move.
We were linked to the outside world by a junction under a mountain. I know that this is Austria, but putting a double junction underground didn’t seem the best idea!
Beyond the junction came the Victoria Falls bridge. (‘Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.’) You can just see the bungee jumper…..
Next post, we’ll look at some other modules.
Whilst I’m in Stuttgart for the NCI meet, I’ll repost some pictures from previous years. The first repost is from 2019. We hope to find packing easier in 2023 with Mr Dawes’ new(ish) ULEZ proof van!
I made a shorter visit to the Stuttgart show this year – just the weekend – but Maxine and Michael flew out with me. However, for some the show still started on the previous Monday when we loaded up Allan’s truck for the drive out to Stuttgart. Using his car has worked well for the past few years. We take out a smaller exhibit, but save the van hire. Nevertheless, there’s still a lot to go in, what with modules, suitcases, scones and beer.
Three views of our setup at the show. Raysden formed the main centrepiece. Overall, everything ran well for the four days, and we were on a good part of the system and received plenty of trains from ‘Spain’, on the left below.
A train passes through Raysden….
And a long American passenger train…
I only took a few pictures this year, but I really liked this set of modules based on a real location in central France. The houses and businesses are built into the cliff face, with chimneys in the hillside above.
This stand-alone layout was also from a French club…
There was the now-regular Japanese module, from a Hiroshima school and sponsored by Kato.
I really liked this set of modules of a coastal causeway. Very simple, but the beaches and groynes are most realistic, and it’s just a great location to watch trains go by.
The West Sussex group were representing the N Gauge Society…..
This model of Canfranc, on the Spanish/French border reappeared, and more work had been done on it. Such a massive building that is in the middle of nowhere in real life.
The module next to us was not connected into the main layout, but stood on its own, showing some neat modelling.
Maxine and I had a look round the other halls. New this year was the ‘Pet and Animal’ hall, including this rabbit Grand National. The rabbits weren’t that keen…
And finally, ‘My husband took me to Stuttgart and all I got was this lousy bucket.’ (And it was a freebie from the pet show.)
Well, that’s Stuttgart for another year. I suspect I shall be back in 2020 – it’s hard work, but a lot of fun, and you run into old friends every year. I will post a few pictures hijacked from Allan & Sean’s Facebook page next time.
 | Allan Dawes on On my workbench – module… |
| “Stuttgart 202… on Stuttgart 2025 – 4… | |
 | Jonathan Caswell on Stuttgart 2025 – 4… |
 | Chuckster on Brockenhurst show 2025 |
 | snitchthebudgie on Potpourri #1130 |
esngblog 