TGC Bois Marie: Part 1

Can I introduce you my new project ?  “Tramway de Grand Comble”, a ficticious line somewhere in a country like France or Belgium.  A 60cm gauge line with commercial purpose and an old branch converted for forestry development.  The starting point for this project is to model a narrow gauge line with some place like: a sugar refinery, a sawmill like in the Vosges in France and a small station.  But after some drawing test, it seems difficult to keep all things.  The last project will concentrate the work to the sawmill and its forestry track, and the small station named ‘Bois Marie’.

Now, the track plan.  The last edition show only the visible track, not the hidden one nor the hidden station.

The attic where I will lay the track has more or less 3m wide and 5m long and the main track line will be 15m long.  As you can see, the main station has only one loop with a small house and a shed.  I take inspiration on the real station of “Chatillon-Coligny”, an old station, end of a meter gauge track, in the Loiret Region in France.  I have the opportunity to retrieve the old shed and take some pictures:

But, sadly, the station house has been demolished. Here is the project but I have to make some modification because I know now the correct track plan of “Chatillon Coligny”:

On my layout, the line will continue thru the town, as a tramway.  At the other end of the station, the main track will continue thru the countryside to the halt “Grignan” and the tunnel.  An other track will climb to the halt “Sousac” thru a big “Z” and with a branch to the sawmill.  This part of the layout is currently in construction (see it later).

Regards

Stefan

AMTP or Association du Musée du Transport de Pithiviers, the first touristic line in continental europe.  It’s a preserved 60cm gauge line in south of Paris.  This line was laid on for commercial user, Tramway, but is mainly used for sugar beet transportation.  A complete description could be found on the wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramway_de_Pithiviers_%C3%A0_Toury.

Now some pictures:

A train along the road, with the setting sun.  The steam engine is a Couillet 060T, here are some other pictures from this engine:

A view at the end of the line, ‘Boucle de Bellebat’

And at the station/museum.

Another beautifull engine, the ‘Crochat’ railcar, see here at the terminus.

The AMTP museum keep also some interesting engine like: an Alco 262T, a Meuse 260T, some Decauville steam engine and others like this KDL and the little Schneider

Regards

Stefan

I’ve made a short video of my K1 Garratt struggling hard on the 1 in 28  ‘up the bottoms’ on the Pentewan Light Railway. As can be seen there is much scenic work to do. The K1 also needs more weight as it’s wheels are spinning as it moves out of shot – if any more wagons are added it grinds to a halt!

The video was taken on a small digital camera and all the sounds are from the loco (CT Elektronic SL51 decoder). No post production editing was applied – I wouldn’t know how to do it!

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Please find a few shots of Little Wonder under construction and sitting at Dinas station for interest, together with some prototype shots.  The prototype shots are courtesy of the Ffestiniog Railway official Archives.

Paul Holmes

Want to try hand-laying O14 track? Newly introduced Track Sample Kits from KBscale offer a low cost introduction to pleasure of laying your own track. The basic kit has all the parts needed to lay two scale 18ft lengths of portable-type track and includes rail, sleepers, spikes and cosmetic fishplates. Other kits also include a O14 Standards Gauge and a platform wagon.

Because the injection moulded sleepers have the spike holes moulded-in it’s fast and easy to lay accurate 14mm gauge track.

Order online at www.kbscale.com

Le P’tit train de la Haute Somme is a preserved 60cm gauge sugar beet line (with WW1 military origins) in the Somme area of France. As well as steam and diesel stock it has an extensive museum with plenty of interesting 60cm/2ft locos and rolling stock (and some O14 models). A trip on the line is particularly interesting as the line has a Darjeeling style reversing zig-zag to help it climb out of the valley onto the plain above.

The society are also the publishers of the Voie Etroite magazine so there are plenty of current/back issues and other tempting reading material for sale.

Website: http://appeva.club.fr/index_e.htm

Railway museum with an extensive collection of 600 mm narrow gauge passenger railcars. Ö.Sl.J. operates traffic on two different lines:

• Traffic with steam on the 600 mm narrow-gauge line with locomotives and carriages dating from the period 1890-1925 between Mariefred and Läggesta junction, circa 4 km.
• Traffic between Läggesta and Taxinge-Näsby, circa 7 km, currently suspended.

Wikipedia page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostra_Sodermanlands_Jarnvag

Official website: http://www.oslj.nu/index_en.html

Thanks to George Morris for the photos and further links. The round trip from Stockholm including a trip on the lake steamer looks superb – See: here

KBscale now have roller track gaues for 14mm gauge to suit the Karlgarin 82/7 rail. Available on-line at www.kbscale.com at £4.50 for a pair.

Here is a sneak preview of the new L&B clips from KBscale. Rail is Karlgarin 82/7 on a coffee stirrer sleeper.

During a recent visit to the Le P’tit Train de la Haute Somme I spotted this superb little diorama in a glass case in the museum which I assume is O14.