Weathering Concrete Rail Sleepers

Well-used concrete sleepers (Foto: Jimmy Low (c)) Unfortunately, Märklin/Trix does not produce flex rails with concrete sleepers, which is a pity since they are selling Era IV-VI rolling stocks. As far as I am aware, Roco (42401), Piko (55150), Weinert (74003) and Peco UK (SL-102) produce them. I took 14 concrete sleepers from a section of the Roco flex rails. I used a sharp blade to remove extra plastic sprues and filed the excesses. To make the sleepers look worn and partly damaged from use, I filed selected parts of the sleeper to give it a chipped or worn look. … Continue reading Weathering Concrete Rail Sleepers

Sedan Module for MIST-61 Modules

Many of us are familiar with sedan chair, where two or more persons on each end carry the passenger on a chair. It was an early form of transport before cars. I have seen my club members using two boards, one on each end of their modules to ease the transport of the modules. I called them “Sedan Module”. I made mine using 550mm x 450mm 10mm thick boards. Each identical board has two 10mm end-module panels (450mm x 150mm) so that the fragile, protruding plastic parts of the Märklin C-tracks are protected during transport. I maintained 10cm space between … Continue reading Sedan Module for MIST-61 Modules

Review: Märklin 3600 Delta Digital “750 Jahre Berlin” Set

I have been observing this H0 set on Ebay for more than 1 year and finally bought a relatively new, never been run set. Märklin produced three types of this commemorative set in 1987 in conjunction with the 750 years founding of the city Berlin (1237-1987). Set 3100 is H0-analog while the above set 3600 is H0-Delta digital. Set 8887 is in Z-scale. Berlin had in the late 18th and first half of 19th century up to World War II 3 large factories that manufactured locomotives, of which the second largest steam locomotive manufacturer in the world and the largest … Continue reading Review: Märklin 3600 Delta Digital “750 Jahre Berlin” Set

Review: Train Service Tray for TLC

When you have rolling stocks – be it locomotive or wagon – eventually, you need to service and maintain them. The service maintenance workshop for scaled-models is a train service tray (dt. Lokliege). The one below is made from soft foam (there are trays made from hard foam); thus, providing the necessary cushion for the protuded parts eg. drivers or small, detailed parts such as whistle or pipings. My longest steam locomotive is 32cm while the service tray is 35cm long (Foto: Jimmy Low (c)) I can lay the train on its side (above) or when I want to work … Continue reading Review: Train Service Tray for TLC

Review: Creative Connection Solution for KPF-Zeller Rolling Test Stand

Initially, I had to screw and unscrew the red and black/brown wire to the rolling test stand. It can be quite frustrating having to do that everytime I want to use it. Somewhere I saw the use of a piece of C-track as an intermediate connector between the mobile station and the test stand. The idea was to allow the Märklin wire connectors from mobile station track box to the test stand via this intermediate track (see below) Before I finally found the male connectors (see the gold pieces) at a local electronic store. This allows me to connect the … Continue reading Review: Creative Connection Solution for KPF-Zeller Rolling Test Stand

germaN:87AC Has New Logo and URL

I try to keep my blog relevant and fresh as I acquire more models, complete my Loewenherz and plan for my eventual Märklin layout. Today, I upgraded my WordPress site from Basic (free) to Personal plan; thus, removing WordPress ads from my blog and some new features that were not available in Basic plan. In addition, I registered german87AC.com domain name. Besides the new look-and-feel to the website, I also designed a new logo. The first logo only has Borsig Baureihe 53 freight locomotive. Now that I have 3 steam locomotives – Baureihe 53, Gt 2×4/4 and Baureihe 74 – … Continue reading germaN:87AC Has New Logo and URL

Elegant “Damper” Solution to a 2mm Gap Problem

As they say in the carpentry business, “measure twice, cut once!” Despite all the best effort and machinery, you might not get the precise cut that you asked for. I found out about this when I was testing the module electrical connection with my mentor René. Each module base was supposed to be exactly 1080mm long. The Märklin C-tracks are exactly 1080mm but the module itself is exactly 2mm short. It may not seem to be a problem but it is an obvious gap. I thought about the gangway between two carriages. It serves as a damper and an enclosure. … Continue reading Elegant “Damper” Solution to a 2mm Gap Problem

Overcoming the Biggest Challenge: Pedestrian Underpass is Now Completed

One of the highlights of my Loewenherz modules is the pedestrian underpass. The visitor side of the module is separated from the operator side by the main line. I wanted to bridge both sides with an underpass instead of a bridge over the tracks. In my May article I wrote about some of the key challenges namely the available space and the module legs. I built a few prototypes to test the design of the underpass as well as gauging where the obstacles could be. I setttled for a design which I like. Underpass portal at operator side. Unimog street … Continue reading Overcoming the Biggest Challenge: Pedestrian Underpass is Now Completed

Finishing the Stone Wall and Cobblestone Bus Stop

In my previous article “Constructing Stone Wall and Cobblestone Street“, I showed how I used a mechanical pencil to engrave and carve out individual stones and cobblestone. In this article. I finished this part of the Module 1b, which I named it 1bV (Module 1b Visitor Side). I used toothpick, tweezers and a presser made of coffee stirrer to create more prominent features on the stone wall such as making the individual stones more obvious, cracks and broken stones especially on the top section of the wall. The presser allows me to create rough surface on each stone; YES, each … Continue reading Finishing the Stone Wall and Cobblestone Bus Stop

City Pforzheim Donates Hybrid Bus to Loewenherz on Its 40th Anniversary

Bad Niedrigsrode’s twin city Pforzheim in Baden Württemberg donated a MAN Lion’s City GL hybrid (natural gas/biogas) bus to the Loewenherz Railway Park on its 40th anniversary recently. Both city mayors were present at a simple handover ceremony to the Loewenpark park management. According to Pforzheim mayor Friedrich Müller, the donation was a token of continuing friendship between the two cities and the effort of Loewenherz to preserve a piece of railway history for the future generations. Its open-space park with permanent and revolving collections of railway rolling stocks and artefacts helps the public and railway enthusiasts to learn about … Continue reading City Pforzheim Donates Hybrid Bus to Loewenherz on Its 40th Anniversary