Deutsche Version weiter unten, hier klicken. Looking at the Effem baseboards today, I can see how much of the project has already happened before the scenery has even started. There are module frames, track plans, paper turnouts and notes about where everything should go. There is also a growing pile of questions about what happened on the real railway—and what that means for the next wagon movement on my model. In my last Effem construction post, I brought out the rolling stock and road vehicles for the “dress rehearsal”. The stage was ready, and the actors could finally take their places. … Continue reading Verden-Walsroder Eisenbahn (VWE): From the First Idea to the Next Chapter

Note: All photos shown here were taken from public area. Deutsche Version weiter unten, hier klicken. After months of planning my Verden-Walsroder Eisenbahn track plan with the aid of Google Maps, Google Earth, Bing Maps, OpenRailwayMap, and every other image source I could get hold of, there was one thing that continued to bother me. Satellite imagery provides an excellent “helicopter view”, but it does not show what is really on the ground. The small details that make a model convincingly realistic simply cannot be seen from above. To resolve that, I decided to contact the VWE local operations manager … Continue reading Verden-Walsroder Eisenbahn (VWE): Kiss The Ground

Note: This will be a series of posts relating to my first FREMO N-scale module based on N-RE (N-scale Standard Gauge Europe; Spur N Regelspur Europa) standards. I hope you will enjoy reading about the background of a private branch line (Nebenbahn) located near the river Aller in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), as well as my planning, construction, and eventually the operation of the FREMO module. Deutsche Version weiter unten, hier klicken. Givens and Druthers North American modellers will be familiar with the term “Givens and Druthers”, popularised by the late John Armstrong. “Givens” are the hard parameters that define a model railroad … Continue reading Verden-Walsroder Eisenbahn (VWE): Module Drawings Finalised

Note: This is the second post in a series about my first FREMO module in N scale, built to the N-RE standard. Rather than presenting the research as a complete history, this post shows what I had discovered at this stage—and how that information shaped Track Plan Concept 1.0. Deutsche Version weiter unten, hier klicken. Concept Overview In this second post, I delve into my concept and planning for my first FREMO N-scale module. If you have not read the history of the Verden–Walsroder Eisenbahn (VWE) and why I chose to model this private branch line, you can find it here. … Continue reading Verden-Walsroder Eisenbahn (VWE): Track Plan Concept 1.0