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29 Articles

TRAINS DE RÊVE A CFD BB 400

Trains de Rêve continues to expand its range: after a first locotractor and a bogie wagon in 0-16.5, the brand has released its CFD BB 400 in 0 scale metre gauge. The model is in 1/43.5 scale for 22.2mm gauge (compatible with 22.5mm gauge). It is designed in a very fine and sturdy photopolymer material, around a machined brass base. Both bogies are driven, with transmission of the motion via the coupling rods to the second, balanced, axle. The window seams and flush machined glazing are particularly neat! The lights and cab lights are operated by the factory-fitted ESU LokPilot V5 decoder. In a first phase, the CP 402, Vivarais 400.003, and CFC 404 and 405 versions are available for reservation. In September 2025, the model will also be available…

TRAINS DE RÊVE A CFD BB 400

TILLIG THE T5 MEG RAILCAR

Eight units of this type were built between 1934 and 1941, for the MEG network, by Waggonfabrik Gotha. Railcars T1 to T8 could carry 33 passengers seated and 27 standing. This new version comes in red livery, with the early-1960s Jägermeiβter advertisement. The model is supplied pre-fitted with a NEM 662 Next 18 socket, but to digitize it, the inside lighting wire must be desoldered and connected to an AUX terminal on the decoder for the latter to operate; the Next 18 sockets only have four usable amplified outlets, all are already taken up by the white and red lights. TILLIG REF. H0-12: 02948 REF. H0-9: 02958 PRICE OBSERVED 280 TO €310…

TILLIG THE T5 MEG RAILCAR

TILLIG SET OF TWO HARZCARRIAGES

Here is a new Era III version (overhauls dated November 1962 and May 1963) of two Harz railway carriages stored at Wernigerode. They are numbered n° 900-484 (construction Wismar 1926) and 900-489 (Wismar 1929), long before their rebuilds in the mid-1980s. The liveries are green with black roof, and the models are supplied with add-on parts that must be fitted: brake hoses, reproductions of the central buffers with side-mounted couplers, should the modeller so wish. TILLIG REF. H0-12: 13996 REF. H0-9: 03996 PRICE OBSERVED: FROM 105 TO €120…

TILLIG SET OF TWO HARZCARRIAGES

PECO KATO THE H0-9 MINI MODULES

Designed around a length of 9mm gauge Kato track, these small modules are supplied in a rigid blister and contain almost everything needed to create a layout. Provided, of course, they are assembled end-to-end! The baseboard, made out of 1mm thick laser-cut aviation plywood, fits together with tabs and glue. The next stage consists in laying the length of track and creating the scenery all around it. The scenic items – flock materials, sand or cut-out paper building – are supplied. This approach is minimalist, but might just inoculate the modelling bug to a girlfriend, a mate, a neighbour, a nephew, niece, granddaughter or grandson! Eight curved modules are required to form a circle. The kits are supplied with a small and very recreational brochure (in English), which demonstrates clearly…

PECO KATO THE H0-9 MINI MODULES

AN APP FOR YOUR CENTRAL UNIT

Following on from ROCO and its Z21 central unit, some European manufacturers have released ‘blind’ central units, fairly affordable and that can be controlled from a smartphone or a tablet via the Z21®LAN protocol. The Z21 app has become chargeable (19.99€) for owners of a central unit of a different brand. However, there are a number of clones that can be downloaded. The Polish brand Rail Box supplies their own app for 4.39€. It is compatible with a ROCO central unit. Just like the Z21 app, rolling stock and itineraries can be programmed and controlled via three thumbnails. The programming thumbnail contains the profiles of the brand's decoders, as well as a generalist ‘NMRA’ profile that gives access to the main CV's of the standard. Where the Z21 app gives…

AN APP FOR YOUR CENTRAL UNIT

THE SMALLEST ENERGY RESERVE ON THE MARKET!

The Romanian electronics manufacturer Train O Matic has just added to its range a new ‘stay alive’ device, an energy reserve that is described as one of the smallest on the market. Called SPP nano, its PCB measures 13mm by 6 and the two 0.3 F supercapacitators 12mm by 4! Juste enough to supply a sound decoder for 5 to 7 seconds and avoid sound interruptions when passing over a power gap. The PCB is supplied wired. It must be connected to both capacitators, paying attention to their polarity, and to the + and – terminals of most decoders. TRAIN O MATIC HTTPS://TRAIN-O-MATIC.COM SPP-NANO AVAILABLE FROM TRAMFABRIEK WWW.TRAMFABRIEK.COM PRICE: CA. €18…

THE SMALLEST ENERGY RESERVE ON THE MARKET!

MODEL SCENE HYPER-REALISTIC PLANTS

Model Scene is a Czech artisan firm specialized in scenic products for military dioramas and railway modelling in most usual scales. In addition to standard flocked mats and lignous vegetation, it has developed a very original range of small plants. They are made out of coloured etched material. Simply cut them out, fold them into shape and glue them in place on the layout. The result is surprisingly realistic. Naturally, these items are not suitable for decorating large surfaces. Cutting them out and shaping them is a bit tedious. But these small plants are helpful to enhance the detailing around buildings or the edge of a path. Nettles in a dank corner behind the engine shed or ivy colonizing a bit of masonry… MODEL SCENE www.model-scene.com Etched coloured plants Price:…

MODEL SCENE HYPER-REALISTIC PLANTS

LES CHEMINS DE FER D'INTÉRÊT LOCAL DE L'HÉRAULT RETROUVÉS

(‘Rediscovering the Chemins de Fer d'intérêt local de l'Herault’) Delightful! A trip back in time, as if we had been there. And as the scenes Philippe Marassé tells us about were not photographed for posterity, Pierre Galtier has recreated them in the form of water-colours. Each plate tells a story about a place, a monument, an anecdote, a moment in a journey. The Italian format helps us enjoy Pierre's drawings, explained in detail through Philippe's captions. A small map provides the location of each illustration on one of the lines of the Hérault secondary railway network. This self-published book is available from the author for €35. LES CHEMINS DE FER D'INTÉRÊT LOCAL DE L'HÉRAULT RETROUVÉS PMCH.GALTIER@WANADOO.FR…

LES CHEMINS DE FER D'INTÉRÊT LOCAL DE L'HÉRAULT RETROUVÉS

LES TRAMWAYS DES VILLES FRANÇAISES

(‘Tramways of French cities') CHRISTIAN BUISSON, PUBLISHED BY EDITIONS SUTTON Christian Buisson reviews a fine series of tramway networks he was familiar with while they operated in the 1960s. He lists those that vanished during that decade or the next one, and the few – just three, actually – that survived into the 1970s and are still alive and well nowadays, at a time where urban transport is enjoying a revival. The texts recall the history of the networks, their rolling stock and look at the operational aspects of some systems. The book features many original photographs, a good proportion of them in colour showing the historical liveries. LES TRAMWAYS DES VILLES FRANÇAISES CHRISTIAN BUISSON EDITIONS SUTTON PRICE: €35…

LES TRAMWAYS DES VILLES FRANÇAISES

SILENCE SUR LE QUAI

(‘Silence on the platform') ALAIN BUJAK ELLIOT ROYER This is a militant graphic novel published by Futuropolis, a story drawn and photographed which describes the atmosphere in which secondary branch lines have been disappearing. It helps us discover the Béziers-Neussargues line, interviewing various actors, more or lesss well-known, who worked towards preserving the route. The first-person narrative is supported by images showing the different characters. SILENCE SUR LE QUAI FUTUROPOLIS ALAIN BUJAK ELLIOT ROYER PRICE: €19 GATHERINGS Model Train Luxembourg shall take place at Junglinster on 1st and 2nd March 2025. Some 15 layouts will be on display, many in narrow gauge, from neighbouring countries: Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Netherlands and of course Luxembourg.…

SILENCE SUR LE QUAI

Issue 97 of Rail & Industrie is almost entirely dedicated to the surface railway of the St Etienne coalfields. It was used to move 60cm gauge tubs on carrier trucks from the spoils dump at L'Éparre to the pits that needed to be refilled. Issue 140 of the Narrow gauge & industrial railway modelling review looks at things from the opposite angle by reviewing the Hunt ‘automatic’ railway system, whose skips, connected to an endless chain, featured flanges fitted to the outside of their wheels. The latest issues of Voie Etroite have some interesting historical articles. Issue 324 tells us the strory of the international meter gauge line between Sedan (Ardennes, in France…) and Corbion (Ardenne, in Belgium…). Issue 325 has two pages of documents relating to the use of…

RAILEXPO: a few announcements, few new releases

A few models displayed in 2022 and 2023 are now being delivered, such is the case for the POC/ CFC Mallet. Other models have popped up suddenly, such as the CFD parcels trailers, others appear to be still on their way, but have been for so long now that it would seem they have been routed onto the wrong track! LEMATEC The 040-040 T Mallet of the POC (POC and CFC) in H0-12 is now being delivered to subscribers. A few units are still available from retailers (ca. 1800 euros). ATELIER DU TACOT The R40 parcels trailer of the CFD Vivarais is available in kit form, consisting of 3D printed and etched parts. Price: 35 euros plus postage. Built by Le Cheylard workshops, it is supplied with two buffers compatible…

RAILEXPO: a few announcements, few new releases

The Big Thunder Mountain Model Railroad

Diger Rossel s a different kind of modeller, who seeks out his inspiration in lesser known corners of the railway world, often in narrow gauge. He is keen on unusual topics, creations that are sometimes a bit batty, because he enjoys stepping off — or rather, getting his modeller's hands off — the beaten track. For some time, he had been observing North-American railways. But the topic, despite being extensive, is well covered, and even used in the large Disney amusement parks… Now, how about that for an idea: a mining railway located in an amusement park! The layout at a glance Scale: H0 (1/87) Gauge: 9 mm Control: on-off Them: amusement park Dimensions: 120 × 60 cm François Fontana: Diger, tell us something about how the project got off…

The Big Thunder Mountain Model Railroad

modelers' HOUSES

According to some, true modellers, the aristocracy of DIY, are those who design their buildings using nothing but a scalpel and a ruler. While others, of the lazy type, achieve their goal using helpful technologies they have mastered… How about looking at things from a different angle? By saying that the proper technique is the one you have taken the trouble to understand. Whether you draw it with a Rotring pen or on a computer, cut it out by hand or using a laser machine, model it or print it, the design and planning work is the same to obtain a convincing result, which stands properly, nice and square. What's more, the author's pleasure will be the same, irrespective of the method used. In actual fact, we are all modellers!…

modelers' HOUSES

Welcome to Berlandmont

In the imaginary geography of Somme-et-Marne, Berlandmont is adjacent to Quittancourt. The former is the terminus of one of the three branches originating from Quittancourtgare. In the new configuration of the layout (see VL 119), the three exits leading to the fiddleyards are very – too – close together. Barely 10cm for two of them. The most elegant solution to this problem was to build the outskirts of the village of Berlandmont so that they would conceal the stretches of track that were too close to each other. Because the layout is located in the Liberated Region area and because of the constraints of post-WWI reconstruction, most of the structures are either temporary or new. They call on wood, brick and concrete. I decided to model all these materials using…

Welcome to Berlandmont

A MOVABLE BUILDING

The Central Store is designed so that one of the three exit tracks can run through it. If only for maintenance purposes, I therefore decided to male it removable. When designing the parts, I included some circular housings facing each other. Each housing accommodates a tiny 2mm diam. neodyme magnet. The attraction strength obtained is negligible but sufficient to hold the stonework and the roof properly in place on the base that is glued to the layout. If necessary, the building can be removed to access the length of track it conceals.…

A MOVABLE BUILDING

The bakery by the station

CARDBOARD AND PLASTER Not having found the right match, or rather the right-sized dwelling, Olivier Audouin decided to scratchbuild one out of cardboard, filling medium and various strips. He imagined this bakery shop located on a street corner, in a town in South-West France, in the 1980s-1990s.…

The bakery by the station

A very simple shelter

WOOD, CARD, CLAY For the waterfall halt on the 0 scale layout, I needed a tiny structure that could combine two functions: an office for the station master – train guard, and a waiting room for the passengers. As the company was not expecting significant revenues, it opted for a simple shelter with a wood structure and a brick infill, coated with mortar. I decided to use the same technique, by building a structure out of 4mm square wood strips, with the gaps filled by a layer of terra-cotta bricks clad in a coat of protective mortar flush with the woodwork. THE MATERIALS The wood I used comes straight from the funfair, 4mm square sticks used by candy-floss makers – usually, it is food-grade beech, The bricks are made out…

A very simple shelter

VILLAGE ARCHITECTURE with Passion!

Among these new references, we assembled the country house Ref. 87VIL319 and the repair garage Ref. 87VIL316. Both belong to the ready-to-assemble range of Architecture & Passion, and require no paint. The kits contain all that is needed to assemble the building: a solid infrastructure made out of 3mm thick woodboard, to which several layers of 0.5mm thick coloured card cladding are added. The doors and windows, glued from the inside, fit perfectly into the apertures, with no adjustments required. Sheets of transparent plastic for the glazing complete the assembly of the inside part. ARCHITECTURE & PASSION https://www.architecture-passion.fr Price: ca. €40 and 60 NEW TECHNIQUE The innovation appears on the outside: the coarse stone walls are laser-cut out of the 0.5mm thick card, material is removed to give reproduce the…

VILLAGE ARCHITECTURE with Passion!

In your workshop A LOCOTRACTOR for a Citroën Traction!

On such a surface, the curves have a very sharp radius, 150 mm. As no rolling stock is available commercially in this scale and gauge, I was facing a double sentence: the locomotive as well as the trailers would have to be scratchbuilt… I had never done this! Rules In your workshop, on your workbench, there are models and kits that you have designed, built, modified, decorated… These models deserve to be shown, deserve that you insist on a way of doing things, an individual touch. Send us a short text, a few high-definition and well-lit photographs, an explanatory or technical diagram. Publication in the magazine will come with a free subscription (or the extension of a subscription). Grab your tools! I used my scrapbox: by blending odds and ends…

In your workshop A LOCOTRACTOR for a Citroën Traction!

The Blangy mines haulages

Once mined, ore must be shipped in the best possible condition and as swiftly as possible. This applies particulalrly to coal, whose merchant value depends on the size of the blocks. What steam engine drivers used to call «duck feathers» (small coals) will sell for far less than large blocks, especially where heavy industry is involved. Therefore, the collieries developped railway-based haulage systems to carry the coal from the cutting face to the washing and transformation sites without the need for transshipment. ORIGINS OF THE BLANZY HAULAGES The Blanzy surface railway was described in Issue n° 115 of Voie Libre (October-November-December 2023). Let's now take a look at the underground haulage. It seems it was first put into place at La Pelouse shaft. At first, workmen were in charge of…

The Blangy mines haulages

PRESERVATION AND THE BLANZY MINING MUSEUM

Thanks to René Janniaud and a team of volunteers, the Mining Museum was set up while the coal mines were still active; much mining equipment and many technical archives were preserved very early. The museum volunteers also rebuilt equipment that had disappeared, but whose steel parts had been preserved: a 20hl tipper tub (Issue n° 57 of Voie libre, November-December 2009), a barrow-trolley (Issue n° 83 of Voie Libre, October-NovemberDecember 2015), a spoils tub with a wooden body. A lot of the items mentioned in this article are visible in the museum, I can only recommend a visit to the former SaintClaude shaft!…

BLANGY MINES HAULAGE

Scale 1/43.5 Drawings Vincent Lepais Wooden-bodied tub Scale 1/43,5. Drawings Vincent Lepais 1200 litre steel oval-shaped tub Scale 1/43,5. Drawings Vincent Lepais Scale 1/43,5. Drawings Vincent Lepais Spoils tub 8-seater staff wagon with wooden chassis Scale 1/20. Drawings Vincent Lepais Scale 1/20. Drawings Vincent Lepais 8-seater staff wagon with wooden chassis Scale 1/20. Drawings Vincent Lepais 8-seater staff wagon with wooden chassis…

BLANGY MINES HAULAGE

H0-12/H0-9 A P'TITS KITS LOCOTRACTOR

THE MODELE AT A GLANCE Scale: 1/87 Gauge: 9 and 12mm Model: SPMR UNIC-CODRA locotractor from the Régie de l'Ain network Control: analogue Equipement: 6-pin socket Motor: coreless Price announced: 179.90€ Availability: February 2025 What do you mean, it looks ugly? One must not judge on appearances! True, it's far from drop-dead gorgeous, but all the same, with its two large bonnets and its high outside chassis frames, it's quite striking. And it's almost unique, as only two units were built in 1936 by the SPMR (Société Parisienne de Matériel Roulant) for the Régie de l'Ain network, which used to operate the metre gauge lines of that département. Fitted with a UNIC-CODRA motor, a fast diesel built in France under Mercedes-Benz licence, and developing 105hp., these two engines replaced steam locomotives for shunting duties and hauling goods…

H0-12/H0-9 A P'TITS KITS LOCOTRACTOR

THE PASSIFLORE EXPRESS Not so Rabbids!

The last challenge organized jointly by LR Presse and the organizing team of the RAMMA at Sedan consisted in diverting a day-to-day object. Jean-Pierre had chosen a vintage record player and inside it, had built a scene drawn from the Passiflore Express album, produced by one of his cousins. While the result is quite funny and highly whimsical, offstage, things are far more complex. And the technology called upon can easily be applied to other modelling projects. So, let's ask him a few smart questions. François Fontana: Jean-Pierre, remind us of the events that led to the Passiflore Express… Jean-Pierre Schenfell: Three parameters combined neatly to give birth to this project: chronologically, the first consisted in the idea of controlling the speed and position of a train, not with the usual…

THE PASSIFLORE EXPRESS Not so Rabbids!

The origins of this layout are to be found in a narrow gauge micro-layout project published in 2019 in the monthly Loco-Revue. A somewhat crazy undertaking that the Editor of our sister-magazine had designed as rather weird, to help free up our imagination. What the Editor had not foreseen was how Jacques Boileau would interpret the project historically in a very gifted way. While taking trouble to remain faithful to the original project, Jacques projected it into real life, giving it strength and realism. This is the story we are going to tell. Whatever you read and see from now on is pure fiction, and that is precisely why it must be believed! François Fontana: Hello Jacques, we are familiar with your standard gauge creations located around Touraine; but here,…

An excursion to the waterfall THE BASIC SCENERY

The track crosses the waterfall over a lightly-built girder bridge before reaching the station. I called upon the Scape Supplies and Sculpture Block products for the ground cover, the cliffs, the blocks of rock and the gravel. THE WATERFALL SITE The waterfall is inspired by the site of Courmes, in the Alpes Maritimes département. It will be the main scenic feature on the right-hand side of the layout. Space being at a premium, I opted to model in decreasing scales, rather like stage scenery in successive planes. The railway bridge is modelled in 1/43.5 scale, the background with the drinks stall in 1/87 scale, while an intermediary plane, identifiable by the presence of a figure, is designed in 1/60 scale. When it comes to the cliffs, modelling a specific scale…

An excursion to the waterfall THE BASIC SCENERY

Limone c'é Bello

Jean-Rémy Hugounenc is the man who imagined, drew, dimensioned the volumes and created the layout. He suggested we follow its construction step-by-step. So let us accompany him in his approach. Jean-Rémy is a demanding modeller, who prepares and fine-tunes every detail, who takes the time to think things through, to indulge in trial and error, who does not hesitate to start all over again until he identifies the proper approach. We think it important to give him the possibility of explaining it. François Fontana: So, Jean-Rémy, where does this layout come from? Jean-Rémy Hugounenc: Over the last few years, I have moved into a different approach to modelling. I got myself immersed in techniques, notably painting by following the courses of a professional artist, as well as composition. I have…

Limone c'é Bello

MOTORISING with BD Concepts

The BD Concepts driving bogies were reviewed at the time of their release. It is time now to move onto serious stuff and put them to work. For this project, I selected an Atlas static tramway in H0 scale, a model that caught my fancy when it apperared on the market, because it was rather incredible and completely unknown to me: a Hong Kong model with an enclosed top deck and a very narrow loading gauge, rather like a paperback placed on its side. I dreamt of seeing this “thingamajig” run. Thanks to the BD Concepts driving bogie, this has come true. THE DRiViNG BOGiE The casing contains a coreless motor fitted with two worm gears. They drive two angled gears fitted to the driving axles. One of the axles…

MOTORISING with BD Concepts

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