NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2020 In this issue: PEMRC Calendar Annual General Meeting Proposed Club House International Day of the Model Railway Model Railway Facts & Records Large Public Layouts Famous Locomotive Club Library – Track Plans Rail Accident Tailpiece Committee
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PEMRC NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2020 # 01/2020
PEMRC CALENDAR: Sat. December The HUB at Cheshire Bring & Braai Social 17:00 14 2019 Village, Summerstrand
082 801 1347
Sat. January 18 2020
Annual General Meeting
041 365 3456
Sat. February 08 2020
tba
18 Mowbray Newton Park
Street,
10:00 14:30
NOTICE OF PEMRC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: The AGM of the Port Elizabeth Model Railroad Club will be held on: Saturday 18 January 2020 at 10am at Mike Parsons’, 18 Mowbray Street, Newton Park. Please be on time and, if possible, bring a camp chair since there are only a limited number of chairs. The meeting is open to all members of the club in good standing which entitles them to vote on any issue tabled at the meeting. Visitors may attend by prior arrangement as observers but have no voting rights. Agenda: 1. 2. 3. 4 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Opening and welcome. Apologies. Minutes of the previous AGM of 19 January 2019. Chairman’s Report. Treasurer’s Report. Shop Report. Layout visits. Proposed Club House. Diorama Competition 2020 Subscriptions for 2020. Election of the Club Committee for 2020. General. Closure. 1
PROPOSED NEW CLUBHOUSE: Juan-Pierre Kruger and architect Don Bell together with Buco have come up with the following proposed design for a public hall to be erected at the Londt Park Miniature Railway grounds on a site to be agreed upon with P E Model Locomotive Society. The planning has taken the current building and safety regulations for public buildings into account but Municipal approval still needs to be obtained. This will be done once the site has been confirmed so that a site plan can be drawn up for the submission to council. The proposal and the funding for the project will be discussed at the AGM. Be sure to attend.
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International Day of the Model Railway For generations, young and old are thrilled with it and look at it with sparkling eyes and a pounding heart: the model railway can look back on a long history.
Day of the Model Railway 2 December
It has been around 125 years since the company Märklin presented a locomotive with a car at the Leipzig fair, which turned its rounds on a rail circle in amazement. It was the first system railway and the starting signal for mass production. For more than a century, the model railway has its place under the Christmas tree and in the hobby cellar, it fascinated fathers and sons alike and in not so rare cases, the daughters too. Anyone who played with the model railway in their own childhood with father or grandfather still remembers this experience with fondness. The hobby welds together, puts the common ground into the foreground in a playful way and sets in motion an intergenerational exchange of experiences. The world of model railways is such a link between the generations between old and young. The model train is as alive as ever. Of course, it got competition in the children's rooms of PlayStation and computer and has to assert itself again and again with the help of new technology. But the fascination of railroad en miniature is unbroken among young and old. This is already proven by the numbers of visitors to the model train fairs, where the masses cannot get enough of the layouts exhibited. The abundance of model railway magazines in the book shops speaks volumes. In addition, a model railway and the associated model railway construction lead children playfully to technical relationships, promote their imagination, creative thinking skills and fine motor skills and above all, is fun. In our digital world that is now also dominating the children's room, there is an urgent need to proclaim the recognition of the model train that it already deserves - as a creative, lifelike and educational toy and as artistically valuable and technically demanding hobby. The international model railway day on 2 December (action period 30.11 - 08.12.2019) will help to bring the small railways back to the attention of the people. On this date and the weekend thereafter, miniature format railways are to be put into operation worldwide, model railway layouts are to open their doors and exhibitions are to be organized. The small railroad is to get a giant station. An initiative of the TV series Eisenbahn-Romantik, the European association MOROP (with all member associations) and supported by BDEF and MOBA.
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FACTS & RECORDS Interesting facts, impressive records. The world of model railways has so much to offer. Model Railroad Facts Hobby very popular. According to a reader survey by the company Market Research, there are around 1.5 million Germans who are very interested in the "railroad". Almost half a million are actively involved in the hobby "model railway" in their free time. Model train Records Largest workshop in H0 Probably the largest workshop in H0 stands on a small layout of 120 x 80 cm and was built by Matthias Börner. He wanted to test whether one could use the modular system to realize such large models. The workshop is 600 x 400 x 120 mm and requires a floor space of 0.25 m². In reality, that would be 1,820 m² at a length of 52 m, a width of 35 m and a height of 10 m. Mr. Börner has used about 500 parts and needed about 100 hours for the construction. The workshop has been weathered and partially equipped with interior fittings. Sunflower fields Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg has already planted over 60,000 individual sunflowers on its layout.
Highest model building in H0 Probably the highest model building in H0 is the model of the Berlin television tower "Alex" in the scale 1: 100. It is 365cm high and is located on the club layout of VBBS Weinsberg e.V. and is in LOXX Berlin. Highest model building in N gauge The model of the Sears Tower Chicago is 130 cm high. It is on the layout of the MEC Kiel and could thus be regarded as the highest model building in the scale 1: 160. Most expensive model of a building The most expensive building since November 13, 2013 is likely to be the model of the Elbe Philharmonic in Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg. The construction costs amounted to 350,000 euros.
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The world's largest H0 model of a steel plant The H0 module plant "The steel mill" of the railroad friends from Dillingen in Saarland. Largest transportable TT layout in Europe With a length of 26 meters and width of 1.30 meters this title goes to the MEC Pirna e.V.
Largest transportable H0 modular layout in Germany This is expected to be the BLS north and south ramp of the Modellbau Team Kรถln with a 270 sqm area, of which 170 sqm has been built. Largest layout height The Matterhorn in the Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg is in the truest sense of the word the biggest highlight of Switzerland and forms the centre of the section. In the 5982mm high mountain range with its accessible mine tunnel, which is also the underground station Porta Alpina, there are tons of steel and about 1 ton of gypsum.
Longest model train in the world On Saturday, April 23, 2011, model railroaders broke the record for the longest model train at the new Convention Centre in Wilmington. A train consisting of 31 locomotives and 1563 wagons was placed on a 1000 foot (304.8 meter) long track in the main exhibition hall of the centre. With a length of about 925.55 feet (282 meters), the train went a distance of 750 feet (228 meters) to surpass the record set by the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany. The modellers invested about 5000 hours of free time in research, material procurement, assembly, testing and alignment, layout construction, transportation and construction, monitoring and adjustment of the train and performance design. View the achievement and challenges here: https://youtu.be/-aQAOV6m7Yk 5
Miniatur Wunderland still holds record for the longest travelled route with 3,333 meters, achieved in 2008. Guinness World Record: 200 Märklin locomotives pull IC large capacity coach. The amazing achievements of model locomotives have been proven many times over. Currently, it is again Märklin locomotives, who procured the "entry" in the Guinness Book of Records. The sensational experiment took place at DB Systemtechnik in Munich on February 21, 2007. Märklin HO locomotives (scale 1:87) should pull a full-size IC large capacity wagon of Deutsche Bahn over a distance of 10 meters. The wagon had an empty weight of 48 tons and measured 27 meters. 200 Märklin class 143 locomotives were ready on 50 tracks, each with 4 locomotives and powered by 50 transformers. 3,000 VA was needed to set the IC large capacity coach in motion. The experiment was successful and the Märklin locomotives pulled the 1st class coach uniformly and powerfully over the distance given by the Guinness Book of Records Editors. The specialists from the 1st Märklin Model Railway Team had laid a total of 625 meters of the Märklin C track, pulled 1.5 km of cable and soldered over 3,000 solder joints Most visitors to an exhibition layout. The Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg attracts more than 1.2 million visitors every year. The largest model railway in the world in numbers The Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg is difficult to describe in words, so we have summarized the most important facts in numbers:
1,499m² current layout area:
263,000 figurines
4,340 buildings
9,250vehicles
1,040 trains
15,715m track
1,380 signals
389,000 LEDs
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130,000 trees
46 aircraft in the air
923,000 man hours
€35mio build cost @ R16/€ =>R566mio Facts and Records provided by courtesy of: http://www.modellbahn-links.de/modellbahn-rekorde/ and http://www.miniatur-wunderland.de/
RAILWAYS and TRAINS in Films. Pickering Station and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) are regularly featured in period dramas such as Downton Abbey (TV series) and the full length film version released this year. The NYMR also had its own two seasons of TV series “The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard”, on BBC 5
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LARGE PUBLIC LAYOUTS https://www.finescalemodeling.org/
THE SUNDANCE CENTRAL RAILROAD, Odessa, Florida, USA Immerse yourself in the world of modelling and be inspired by works of true craftsmanship. Have the opportunity to view and even learn the techniques that have brought models to life and marvel at the masterpieces that are on display for all to enjoy. See operating layouts, dioramas and models from the likes of Brian Nolan, Richard Schmitt, Frank Palmer, Steve Pettit, Dave Revelia... Just to name a few. This centre has been established in 2004 to promote the art of fine scale modelling, and to share ideas, methods and techniques for the advancement of the hobby.
They wanted to create a more detailed and uniformly scened, large-scale traveling layout. This 1:20.3 scale modular model railroad consisting of forty modules for a layout size of 45 feet by 45 feet (15 x 15m). The railroad consists of 400 feet of hand laid code 250 aluminium rails that are hand spiked with individual tie plates onto wood ties with a total of 16 turn-outs. It was built by a group of seven model train enthusiasts who have a passion of early narrow gauge steam locomotives to modern day standard gauge diesels. The modules are highly detailed from the scratch built supporting structures and buildings down to the surrounding scenery. The trains and rolling stock that run on these modules are also highly detailed and weathered. The Suncoast Centre for Fine Scale Modelling is a 7800 square foot facility that currently houses The Sundance Central RR, the Muskrat Ramble RR, the Silverton RR, the Dollyvardin, was established to showcase these incredible railroads. There are models, not only from the group, but from talented artisans around the world on display. Open to the public one day a month, the Centre has developed a reputation for being a must see attraction. Individuals and groups enjoy taking in all of the stunning displays and even catching a clinic to see how the magic happens. 8
View or download the 15’ (490MB) video on the PEMRC Google Drive, Ctrl + click on the image below:
Alternatively, copy this YouTube link in your browser: https://youtu.be/UPHASpKgRtQ 9
FAMOUS LOCOMOTIVE KITSON-STILL 1-C-1 Diesel-Steam Locomotive Built by Kitson’s of Leeds in 1924. Gauge: 1435mm (4feet 8½ inches) Propulsion: Eight double-acting cylinders in two banks with diesel action on the side of the pistons and steam on the other; crankshaft connected to driving wheels by gearing and jackshafts, wheels connected by coupling rods ; steam supplied by boiler heated either by diesel exhaust gases or by an oil burner. Weight: 60 ton adhesive, 88.4MT total. Maximum axle load: 20MT. Overall length: 11.89m (39ft) Tractive effort: 125kN Maximum speed: 70km/h (43mph)
A diesel engine converts about 35% of the heat energy of the fuel into useful work, but the remaining 65% is thrown away, mainly in heat in the cylinder cooling water and heat in the exhaust gases. Various methods have been employed to recover some of this waste heat and the Still engine was an example which enjoyed some success for a time in stationary and marine practice. Heat from the cylinder walls and exhaust gases was picked up by water circulating from and to a boiler and steam collected in the boiler. The pistons were doubleacting with diesel on the side of the pistons and steam on the other. An oil burner was provided in the boiler so that the engine could operate on steam alone; this enabled the engine to start from rest and accelerate to a speed at which the diesel end of the cylinders would fire. The Still principle raised the efficiency of the engine to about 40% which was well ahead of any other contemporary heat engine. 10
The oil burner raised steam for starting and at about 5mph fuel was turned on to the diesel ends of the cylinders. In about two revolutions the diesel cylinders reached full power and steam was then shut off until the next stop unless required to supplement the diesel output at maximum powers. The maximum horsepower of 700 (522kW) was not very high for a locomotive with a weight of 87MT. For commercial use this needed to be improved upon and significant investment was required to convert a successful experiment into a production unit. Kitson’s finances declined in the industrial depression and eventually went into liquidation. In the meantime no orders had come for Kitson-Still locomotives.
By the time British Rail were ready for a serious attack on the diesel locomotive, inhibitions about electric and hydraulic transmissions had been overcome and the Kitson-Still was forgotten. The Great Book of Trains p246 by Brian Hollingsworth and Arthur Cook
CLUB LIBRARY - TRACK PLANS For those with limited space or to try something new: Rather rotate the view than strain your neck! (Ctrl+Shift+Plus) #47 p24 Cerro Azul RR by Charles Small. Sharp curves. The author describes this as one of his favourite switchback type of plans. Charles Small shows his knowledge of mining railroads and the influence of his experiences in South America in this plan overleaf. On the base level is the engine workshop, freight yard and factory. The main line starting bottom left at Cerro goes anti clockwise in a tunnel under the Ophir mine and then ascends via Bear Creek to Barranca (elevation 5). The Ophir Mine is then reached by ‘backtracking’ to the first switchback to Placerville ending at Ophir Mine at elevation 7. Then via Alpine Switch (level 6) to Carbonate which is the highest elevation on the west end at 9. Then ‘backtrack’ again at the far side of the layout to reach the eastern high elevation (12) at Quartz. En route there are turnouts to Fairplay and Telluride. 11
Rather rotate the view than strain your neck! (Ctrl+Shift+Minus)
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.THE QUINTINSHILL RAIL DISASTER – Scotland 22 May 1915: The Quintinshill rail disaster was a multi-train rail crash which occurred on 22 May 1915 outside the Quintinshill signal box near Gretna Green in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It resulted in the deaths of over 200 people, and is the worst rail disaster in British history. Quintinshill box controlled two passing loops, one on each side of the double-track Caledonian Main Line linking Glasgow and Carlisle. At the time of the accident, both passing loops were occupied with goods trains and a northbound local passenger train was standing on the southbound main line. The first collision occurred when a southbound troop train travelling from Larbert to Liverpool collided with the stationary local train. A minute later the wreckage was struck by a northbound sleeping car express train travelling from London Euston to Glasgow Central. Gas from the Pintsch gas lighting system of the old wooden carriages of the troop train ignited, starting a fire which soon engulfed all five trains.
Only half the soldiers on the troop train survived. Those killed were mainly Territorial soldiers from the 1/7th (Leith) Battalion, the Royal Scots heading for Gallipoli. The precise death toll was never established with confidence as some bodies were never recovered, having been wholly consumed by the fire, and the roll list of the regiment was also destroyed in the fire. The official death toll was 227 (215 soldiers, 9 passengers and three railway employees). Not counted in the 227 were four victims thought to be children, but whose remains were never claimed or identified. The soldiers were buried together in a mass grave in Edinburgh's Rosebank Cemetery, where an annual remembrance is held. An official inquiry found the cause of the collision to be neglect of the rules by two signalmen. With the northbound loop occupied, the northbound local train had been reversed onto the southbound line to allow passage of two late running northbound sleepers. Its presence was then overlooked, and the southbound troop train was cleared for passage. Both signalmen were charged with manslaughter in England, then convicted of culpable homicide after trial in Scotland; the two terms are broadly equivalent. After they were released from a Scottish jail in 1916, they were re-employed by the railway company, although not as signalmen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintinshill_rail_disaster 13
Britain’s Most Famous Locomotive and the World’s First Fatal Railway Accident The locomotive engine the “Rocket” designed and built by George Stephenson, is stoked with coal as it prepares for a run surrounded by curious onlookers, in this 1830 lithograph.
A MARK OF PERSONAL RESPECT and affection has been placed here to mark the spot where … The Right Hon. William Huskisson M.P. singled out by an inscrutable Providence … met with the accident that occasioned his death …which changed a moment of noblest exultation … into one of desolation and mourning. —From a memorial at the accident site The MP for Liverpool and the Duke of Wellington didn’t see eye to eye, and everyone knew it. But the morning of September 15, 1830, did not seem the time for political squabbles. Rather, this was a time for joyful exuberance celebrating the opening of the new Liverpool and Manchester Railroad. A bit over 170 years later, it is hard to appreciate just how auspicious the occasion seemed. At the time, rail travel was still a novelty—a technology that caught people’s interest in the same way space travel would several generations later. In fact, the Liverpool and Manchester became, on that fateful morning, the first intercity railway in the world to employ steam-powered locomotives to haul both passengers and freight. The locomotive that had been handpicked for that task, the “Rocket” had already earned fame to rival that of the visiting prime minister. In addition to the duke and the MP, crowds of enthusiastic well-wishers turned out. When the carriage in which the official visitors rode, pulled by the locomotive “Northumbrian,” stopped at Parkside station to take on water, some of the passengers disembarked to stretch 14
their legs. While they did so, the duke’s private carriage waited on the southbound track so the public could view it up close. William Huskisson, the MP for Liverpool, meanwhile spotted the duke extending his hand. The two men were sharply divided over both domestic and foreign policy, but the duke’s gesture was encouraging. Perhaps, caught up in the upbeat mood of the day, he intended it as a sign of reconciliation. Huskisson walked over and greeted the duke, standing by the northbound track as he did so. At that moment, shouts alerted Huskisson that the Rocket was approaching on the northbound track. Shouts that the locomotive was approaching prompted one of Huskisson’s companions to scramble inside the duke’s coach, and a Mr. William Holmes cleverly positioned himself in the narrow gap between the two trains so that the Rocket would miss him by inches as it passed by. Huskisson, however, seemed befuddled by all the excitement. He tried to climb into the prime minister’s coach, but his hand slipped off the railing, and he stumbled backward. He fell with his left leg lying across the northbound tracks, and as the horrified crowd looked on, the Rocket rolled over it. “Huskisson’s injury was severe and although Doctor Brandreth and surgeon Hensman were among the guests, the trackside was no place to attend an injured man. A tourniquet was applied to stem the bleeding, attempts made to console the distraught Mrs. Huskisson, and the MP placed upon a board and lifted to the low car used by the musicians. An engine was dispatched to Manchester to summon further assistance and ‘Northumbrian’ used to take the injured man to the home of the Rev. Mr. Blackburne, the vicar of Eccles. Apart from attempts to ease the pain and to comfort the unfortunate gentleman, little could be done and, after the administration of the sacrament, he expired later in the day at the Eccles’ parsonage. “Naturally, this tragedy cast a cloud over the whole proceedings and, after discussing the matter with Sir Robert Peel, the Duke wanted to cancel the remainder of the programme. The directors, on the other hand, felt that they had a commitment to the public in general and to their supporters in particular. The civic representatives of Manchester and Salford feared unrest at the end of the line if the vast crowds which lined the route for eight miles into Manchester were disappointed, and eventually the cavalcade resumed ….“ In railroading as in theatre, it seems, the show must go on. SOURCE: British Heritage.com
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TAILPIECE Were your wishes granted this festive season, be it from ‘der Nikolaus’, ‘Sinterklaas’, ‘Santa’, ‘Father Christmas’ or perhaps even self-funded?
Suggestions awaited for guys who could modify my kombi for use on road and 60cm rail gauge:
COMMITTEE 2019: Chairman:
Mike Smout
Treasurer:
Attie Terblanche
Clubhouse: Mike Parsons
Email:
ma.smout@mweb.co.za terblalc@telkomsa.net
Tel:
041 365 3456
Layouts:
JP Kruger
juanpierrekruger@gmail.com
Librarian:
Carel van Loggerenberg
annie3@telkomsa.net
Editor:
Roel van Oudheusden
pemrailroadclub@gmail.com
Workshops: Graham Chapman Shop:
Mike Smith
chapman22@telkomsa.net WhatsApp:
078 069 7699
Email:
mwsmi5@iafrica.com 16