Author: traiNmaster

After spending 35 years in Malaysia, I have decided to spend the other 35 years outside Malaysia. First stop, Germany!
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HAPPY 186TH BIRTHDAY, GERMAN RAILWAYS! 🥂💐

traiNmaster

7th December 1835 marked the historical start of railway travel in Germany. The first 6.04km between Nuremberg and Fürth shortened the travel time between the two trade cities by 10 minutes. Almost 3.5 years later on 7th April 1839, the first long-distance passenger rail travel between Leipzig and Dresden was completely, the 88km stretch that was built in stages over 2 years. 8th December 2017 marked another landmark achievement in the German railway history. The completion of VDE 8 shortened the travel time between Berlin, the capital of Federal Republic of Germany, and Munich to under 4 hours. 186 years … Continue reading HAPPY 186TH BIRTHDAY, GERMAN RAILWAYS! 🥂💐

Introduction2 Comments

Internationaler Tag der Modelleisenbahn 2. Dezember | 2nd December International Model Railway Day

traiNmaster

It is great to be part of the world’s greatest hobby, as our fellow model railroad friends from the other side of the Atlantic call it. Here in Europe and especially in Germany, we celebrate 2nd December as the International Model Railway Day (dt. der internationale Tag der Modelleisenbahn). It was an initiative of the well-known SWR Eisenbahn-Romantik series host Hagen von Ortloff, whom I had a chance to meet at the International Modellbahn Ausstellung 2021 (en. international model rail exhibition) in Cologne. As part of this multi-facet and exciting hobby, I would like to share and spread the interest … Continue reading Internationaler Tag der Modelleisenbahn 2. Dezember | 2nd December International Model Railway Day

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germaN:160 has Sister Site germaN:87AC

traiNmaster

I have considered for sometime which German steam locomotive I want to acquire and finally, I bought my first Märklin H0 AC and first German steam locomotive – Baureihe 53 0002 DRG. As I delve deeper into the Märklin H0 AC system, I started my third blog called germaN:87AC “Steam Experience across Germany” in Märklin H0 AC. For my loyal fans and followers in N-scale, I will still maintain this germaN:160 blog and continue to plan for a restart on my “Somewhere in Germany” N-scale layout when I have the space (and time). I still wish to run long trains … Continue reading germaN:160 has Sister Site germaN:87AC

Diorama Development7 Comments

Small Shelf Layout #1: 130cm x 21cm – Timesaver & Inglenook

traiNmaster

Hi, this is traiNmaster again. It has been almost 3 years since I did any major modellling work. My office diorama is now completed and well, on display in my office. I placed it near our customer team DB Fernverkehr (DB long-distance; the ICE group) since it is an ICE-theme diorama. I popped by occassionally to make sure that the ICE does not derail 🙂 My mini ICE-diorama in office My previous segment layout is no more. I have thrown away the 2 large end-modules and 3 of 6 segment modules. I kept the other 3 so that I could … Continue reading Small Shelf Layout #1: 130cm x 21cm – Timesaver & Inglenook

Diorama Development, German RailwaysLeave a comment

Mini Diorama for Office

traiNmaster

I found it therapeutic to work on a model railroad in spite of its size. While my larger segment layout is stowed in the cellar for the time being, I found a small piece of wood 46cm x 11cm that makes a nice mini diorama for my office desk. I took a piece of medium right Peco turnout and laid some concrete Peco flex-tracks to each end of the wood. I used a 3mm cork roadbed which was made from cork wall panels (available at hardware stores). The platform at top end is also made from cork. I am modelling … Continue reading Mini Diorama for Office

DCC and Electrical System, Product ReviewLeave a comment

z21 Review: Booster Light and Detector

traiNmaster

It has been awhile (more than 1 year to be exact) since I touched my z21 digital controller. It lied packed neatly in the original packing. This means I have missed many firmware updates (hmm …. not a good thing to do). Anyway, even though I am not actively working on my layout, this does not mean that I have gave up the hobby. No, no way sir. You will just have to be a bit patient with my progress. This morning, I posted on a friend’s Facebook that I have 8 modules and if I work on one each … Continue reading z21 Review: Booster Light and Detector

Benchwork, Greetings, Layout Construction2 Comments

Season’s Greetings 2016

traiNmaster

Hello everyone, First of all, a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2016 to all my readers. As you can see I have not been posting any updates since January this year. I joined a sales division in my company and have been busy setting up a new function handling lots of bids/tenders. I am expecting more bids next year as well as managing a new team of 6. As such, my model railway activities would have to take a pause for the moment. Please stay in touch. I hope to return to this hobby when time permits; … Continue reading Season’s Greetings 2016

DCC and Electrical System12 Comments

z21 Review: Settings and Programming

traiNmaster

Hello 2015! A good start for 2015 with my further review of the z21 controller. In my last post for 2014, I gave a quick run through of the setting up and running the trains. In this post, I would like to explain more about the Z21 settings and how to read and program decoder values. z21 Settings As mentioned in my last post, you need to change the default settings in z21 controller to suit your scale. The Output and Programming Voltages allow a value between 12V and 22V. The default settings are per the first photo. Track-Voltage settings … Continue reading z21 Review: Settings and Programming

DCC and Electrical System12 Comments

A Review of Surprised Birthday Gift – Fleischmann z21 Digitial Starterset ÖBB Rh1116 Taurus

traiNmaster

This is my 100th post on germaN160 thus far and so I would like to end the year by showing off my surprised birthday gift – a Fleischmann z21 Digital Startset with ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railway) Rh1116 Taurus and passenger coaches (Art. no. 931383) I wanted this set for quite some time. Guess, I was a good boy this year and thus, my Santa(rina) decided to reward me. If you have been following this blog, you would by now that I am modelling the German railways in Epoch 5/6. This era is marked by a few key characteristics, among other, … Continue reading A Review of Surprised Birthday Gift – Fleischmann z21 Digitial Starterset ÖBB Rh1116 Taurus