The Turntable - May 2023

Newsletter of the MAY 2023

PORT ELIZABETH MODEL RAILROAD CLUB

PEMLS Associated member

(Port Elizabeth Model Locomotive Society)

Every Gauge Welcome!

Bachmann HO East Broad and original

IN THIS ISSUE:

Committee - Diary – 2023 Swap Meets – Market Place – Voorbaai poem

Tramfabriek’s 3D offering – Europe’s new Mega tunnel – Images from the past

Library – Videos of Interest – NS Accident – Scenery How to x 2

Modelling the Barkly East Reverses - Patagonia

full membership

ispreferred,buttheTreasurermayacceptcash.EFT payment may be split and paid over more months

account: FNB Walmer Park, branch code 211417, Account no. 62386122057

SWAP meets for 2023

20 May – Planes, Trains and Automobiles

27 May – EMRIG, Northmead Mall, Benoni.

Contact: Mark at swapmeets@emrig.co.za

03 June – Edgemead, Cape Town

24 June – PMTC, Pretoria Model Train Club

John Vorster Technical High School, 1072 Meyer Street, Waverley Pretoria.

Contact: Kobus 083 376 8359

29 July – Crossroads, Krugersdorp

26 August – EMRIG, Benoni

02 September – Edgemead, Cape Town

30 September – PMTC, Pretoria

28 October – Kroon, Kempton Park

25 November – Crossroads, Cradle Stone Mall

Krugersdorp Contact: Roelof 079 887 3263

02 December – EMRIG, Benoni

02 December – Bothasig

09 December – PMTC, Pretoria

No shipping costs for combined orders of R2000 or more. Shop online and fill your cart, if less than R2000, contact PEMRC Mike van Zyl, to combine your order with fellow club members and all will save.

Collaborate with Aubrey de Chalain on building dioramas and exhibits in their newly extended premises.

We are a model building and accessories business. We also manufacture custom models using 3D printing and laser cutting technology, according as per customer specifications.

Free shipping for club members for orders above R1500 when paid via EFT. Confirm order to info@craigsmodels.co.za

Free shipping on orders over R1500

This poem was inspired after a recent visit with the George Camera Club to the SAR depot at Voorbaai, Mossel Bay or rather what is left of it.

© Text and Images Luana Laubscher

MARKET PLACE

Verna Clack is selling tracks, transformers, buildings, figurines etc.

Please contact Roel at 082 739 7679 with your offer:

Daid Cairns (Knysna) 082 457 3393 shares@iafrica.com is selling:

5” live steam “Butch” in its Gary Lambert built frame

Other items, David is selling:

Steve Bittinger's large scale

Western Maryland Deer Park Subdiv

Tramfabriek has started to offer figurines in 1:76 scale as free downloads from its website. The figurines can be printed on resin 3D-printers, for those who have access to one. Its first releases include female figures to drive steam locomotives, plus male drivers added to the collection. The manufacturer says that its 3D models haven't been 3D-scanned, but designed on a computer, providing unique figures, commenting, "The technique used makes it possible to make an unlimited variety of poses, or quickly add variation to the look of the figures." For those modelling in other scales, the figures can be scaled up or down, depending on 3D printing software. Available now:

001- Helena

Fire woman at the Ffestiniog Railway.

002- Britta Engine driver at the Ffestiniog Railway in classic Victorian outfit.

Used colours: AMMO: Warm skin tone, Vallejo: Oxford blue, Sky grey, Red, black grey, Pale sand

003 – Tom Engine driver at the Ffestiniog Railway in overalls. Made to fit in the Kato/Peco

Small England, looking through the porthole window.

004 - Andrew Engine driver.

Made to fit in the Bachmann Quarry Hunslet with open cab. There is more space for him at the left side on the footplate, even though the Hunslet is a right hand drive. And it looks great!

Designed and printed in 3D and available as a free download. http://tramfabriek.co.uk/figurines.html

Tramfabriek is a one man company based in the United Kingdom. It's specialised in producing model steam trams and selling parts for the model builder. Best sellers in the on-line shop are its small and low cost 12 Volt coreless motors. Next to that, many parts for the DIY model train engineer you can find gears, adapter etc. Visit the Tramfabriek also on

Click on the hyperlink embedded in the logo above for the original web article or on this link to watch on YouTube or here to listen to the podcast on Spotify.

In a quiet corner of the Baltic Sea, a sleepy German holiday island is about to be transformed by one of the largest infrastructure projects in the world. The island of Fehmarn sits just off the mainland of Germany and is separated from the south coast of Denmark by a 20-kilometre stretch of water known as the Fehmarn Belt. Construction is underway on a tunnel between the two countries that will provide the missing link in a transcontinental highway which will move hundreds of thousands of people a year and generate billions of dollars in revenue.

First, let’s take a step back. The Trans-European Transport Network is a series of roads, railways and shipping lanes which connect every corner of the continent. One of the most important routes is the Scan-Med corridor, the central vertical axis of the network which spans 5,000 kilometres from Malta in the Mediterranean to Finland's icy tundra.

Along the way it drills through Alpine rock and crosses frozen seas. But follow the route north through Germany and something strange happens. Instead of driving straight up towards Sweden, you have to take a 150-kilometre loop through the whole of Denmark, and it all comes back to that small, unassuming stretch of water: the Fehmarn Belt.

So, let’s just get this straight. There’s a transport route that stretches from near the African coast to the Arctic Circle, complete with some of the world’s most iconic engineering – the Brenner Base Tunnel, the Great Belt Bridge – but a small stretch of water in northern Europe is enough to create a detour the size of a country? Well, it may not look like much but the Fehmarn Belt has thwarted some of the world’s best engineers for over a century. Until now.

The Øresund Bridge is one of those rare feats of civic construction: a mega structure whose architecture and engineering come together in perfect harmony to create a truly iconic piece of infrastructure. Immortalised in the 2011 drama The Bridge, it connects Denmark with the southern Swedish city of Malmö and it was while this crossing was being planned that Sweden had a big idea.

[The bridge is a combinedrailway and motorway bridgeacross theØresundstrait betweenDenmarkandSweden. It is the longest in Europe with bothroadway and railway combinedinasinglestructure,runningnearly8kilometres(5miles)fromtheSwedishcoastto theartificialislandPeberholminthemiddleofthestrait.Thecrossingiscompletedbythe4kilometre(2.5mi)DrogdenTunnelfromPeberholmtotheDanishislandofAmager-Wikipedia]

Right now to get from Sweden down into Central Europe, you catch a train at Malmö. That takes you over the Øresund crossing to Copenhagen where you change onto another train that takes you down into Hamburg in Germany. Even on a high speed train that takes about five and a half hours, and for a freight train it’s even slower. Germany is Sweden’s second biggest export market, so that’s a huge deal.

The Swedish government saw a shortcut at the Fehmarn Belt so during negotiations with Denmark a deal was struck: the Swedes would help build the Øresund Bridge if Denmark agreed to look into constructing a fixed link at the Fehmarn Belt. Fortunately, that wasn’t as outrageous as you might think. There’s been talk of creating a railway between Hamburg and Copenhagen since the 19th century – quaintly dubbed the Vogelfluglinie, or bird flight line – but nothing really happened until the 1960s when a bridge was built to cross the short stretch of water between Fehmarn and mainland Germany, known as Fehmarn Sound. That route was then extended to a new ferry port at Puttgarden bringing trains right up to the water's edge. Amazingly the trains were then loaded onto ferries and carried over the Fehmarn Belt and onto to Denmark. The whole thing was pretty slow. The diesel trains that served the route weren’t as fast as the trains we have today, and the ferry itself took over 45 minutes.

DSBEuro-City39onferrytoPuttgarden©trainspotting_danmark

For years afterwards there was talk about upgrading the route to a fixed link but it wasn’t until Sweden threw down the gauntlet that things got really serious and in 2008 the Danish and German governments signed a treaty to start work on The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link. The proposed crossing would consist of a four-lane motorway and two rail lines serving both freight and high speed passenger trains. The whole thing would be funded by Denmark who would in turn collect the toll

fares and run the onshore businesses. Separately, Germany would upgrade the route from Fehmarn into the mainland to allow for the new trains and traffic to pass through, which would include building another short tunnel to cross the Fehmarn Sound. It would be a once in a generation upgrade in the transport network. The Hamburg to Copenhagen corridor would be transformed into a high-speed road and rail route, the Swedes would get their shortcut to the continent, a massive detour would be wiped off the Scan-Med corridor and that, in turn, would transform the wider TransEuropean Transport Network. The only thing that stood in the way was the water. The most obvious solution was a bridge. Feasibility studies had been conducted as far back as the 90s and – as proved by the Øresund crossing – Denmark was pretty good at building them. The proposal they came up with was a three-kilometre long, cable-stayed bridge sitting about 65 metres above the water so that ships could still pass underneath. The cable-stayed design was similar to the Øresund Bridge but with one key difference, it would be three times as long – and that’s where the problems began. It may not be a wild, perilous ocean but the Fehmarn Belt is still pretty awkward. It’s just under 20 kilometres wide, surprisingly deep in places and the soil conditions aren’t great for building on.

To contend with the length of the Fehmarn Belt the bridge would have needed spans of over 700 metres, longer than anything which has ever been built for a combined road and rail bridge. The plan was to construct three huge pylons each just under 300 metres tall. The foundations of those would have to be built at sea in depths of up to 25 metres. Throw in poor soil conditions and a busy shipping lane and you have an engineer’s idea of hell. After careful consideration of the risk of cost overruns and the technical complexity of construction, the bridge was firmly ruled out. So, if you can’t go over, you’ve got to go under. No problem there though because the Fehmarn Belt is the ideal length for a bored tunnel. There’s a few reasons why bored tunnels are great. First off they don’t disturb anything above ground. That’s why they’re usually used for underground railways in cities but that’s also great for a place like Fehmarn which has a delicate ecosystem that could take years to recover from all the disruption caused by building a bridge. They’re expensive but they tend to be more economical the further you go. So the team set out to investigate the possibility of a bored tunnel under the Fehmarn Belt. But that too hit a snag. Bored tunnels are dug by a tunnel boring machine – or TBM. The width of the tunnel depends on the TBM but something like London’s new Elizabeth line used machines around seven metres wide. They’re good for something like an underground railway because you have one track per tunnel. But Fehmarn needs a railway, motorway and an access tunnel. That could mean boring 5 separate tunnels at five times the cost. And that’s not all.

Very little of a train’s surface area actually sits on the track and because the wheels are made of steel, there’s very little traction. On flat tracks that’s great, it’s one of the reasons trains are so fast and efficient. But going uphill becomes a bit more challenging. The average mainline train can drive upwards by 2.5 percent or 1 in 40. Meaning that for every 40 metres of track, the train can move upwards by one metre.

The Fehmarn Belt is about 40 metres deep at its deepest point and any bored tunnel would have to sit at least 10 metres below that. That would make the tunnel incredibly long in order for a train to travel into it, pass under the ocean and pass successfully again up the other side. A shorter tunnel would create a train track that’s incredibly steep and any train probably wouldn’t make it. So you may think with a bridge and a bored tunnel ruled out it may be time to throw in the towel. Fortunately, however, there’s one option left: the immersed tube tunnel, or IMT. Instead of boring through soil, IMTs are made up of prefabricated concrete elements. Once made these are taken out to a trench which is dug in the seabed and sunk and sealed together. Once laid, the whole thing is covered over with earth and hey presto, you have a tunnel. An IMT is a great solution for a place like the Fehmarn Belt. It’s shallower than a bored tunnel so trains have no problem passing through, as well as being a lot cheaper. You avoid the technical complexities of building a bridge and it poses no risk to shipping once it’s complete. But as you may expect, there’s a catch. IMTs are usually used for fairly short stretches like rivers and harbours. Keep driving over the Øresund Bridge towards Denmark and you hit a man-made island and suddenly drop down under the sea into the Drogden Tunnel. It’s one of the longest IMTs in the world and it’s only four kilometres. The Fehmarn Tunnel will be five times longer. So how do you build something that big? Well, it all starts at the immense construction site at Rødbyhavn on the Danish side of the Fehmarn Belt, run by the Danish state owned company Femern A/S. It’s so big, it’s taken them two years just to build the work area. The star of the show is the enormous factory where the tunnel segments will be constructed. It’s one of the biggest factories ever built in Denmark, altogether covering half a million square metres, around 200 football pitches. That scale is needed for the production lines that will churn out the 89 concrete tunnel elements, each 220 metres long, 12 metres high and 40 metres wide. Once fully up and running these factories will be on 24 hours a day, seven days a week – for three and a half years.

The Rødbyhavn construction site with the tunnel factoryunderconstructioninthecentre.ImagecourtesyofFemernA/S.

When work starts, aggregates and materials will be delivered to the purpose built work harbour and then taken by conveyor belt to the factories where the elements are being cast. Each element is so large it will be constructed of nine smaller segments, each one taking 36 hours to cast.

Once a complete tunnel element is constructed it will get rolled out of the factory and taken to a huge dry dock where it then gets floated and taken out to sea where the tunnel trench is dug. Massive ballast tanks are flooded to sink the 73,000-tonne concrete tunnel elements to the bottom of the ocean where winches will guide them to within 15mm of their targets. Once all the elements are in place, the trench is back-filled and the tunnel is covered in gravel to protect it, at which point, nature takes over and eventually covers the gravel bed with sand. Once the tunnel structure is in place there’s then the small challenge of laying a motorway and railway through it. The tunnel will also be fitted out with ventilation, support and surveillance systems before it’s expected to open for traffic in 2029. When this tunnel is completed, thousands of cars and hundreds of trains will pass through it every day.

Anartist'simpressionofthetunnelentrance.ImagecourtesyofFemernA/S.

The expected economic benefits are huge but it still all costs a lot of money. The budget for the project currently stands at USD $7.5BN. Denmark actually stands to gain quite a lot from this project. It’s expected that cars are going to be charged around the same as the ferry – around USD $100 for a return journey – which is projected to generate around $4BN in profit during the first 50 years of the tunnel's life. So, a tunnel which improves infrastructure and creates billions of dollars in profit. What could possibly be the problem? Well it’s not just the Fehmarn Belt’s geography the construction has had to battle. Campaigners from the German Aktionsbündnis gegen eine feste Fehmarnbeltquerung(AGFF) – action group against the Fehmarn Belt fixed link – have fought tooth and nail for the last decade to prevent the construction of any permanent crossing. This is the downside of massive construction projects. Any new mega scheme has to be built somewhere, whether that’s in a virgin forest, in the middle of a city, or on a quiet German holiday island. Whether you like it or not it’s going to have a massive impact.

One of the key environmental concerns regarding the tunnel is water clouding. Critics of the project argue the soil dredged during the construction will have a significant impact on the ecology of the Fehmarn Belt, as Hendrick Kerlen, chairman of the AGFF, told The B1M: “The ecology of the Fehmarn Belt is very diverse, it’s marked by a diversity of species which were believed to be extinct in the

Baltic. The clouding of the Fehmarn Belt through the release of sediment and the turbidity will reduce the growth of macrophytes and plankton and have repercussions on all fauna and flora.”

Femern A/S says sedimentation is one of the most closely monitored environmental impacts on this project. The company says it uses special dredging machines to minimise the spill and have patrol boats and monitoring stations around the dredging site to collect data on water clouding. This and other environmental data is published in real time on the Femern A/S website in an effort to improve transparency around the construction. But it’s not just the marine environment AGFF is concerned about.

A big feature that is being touted about this new tunnel is that it’ll kind of provide a new green link to the continent. Femern A/S says that because the distance between Hamburg and Copenhagen is being shortened thousands of vehicles will have to drive 150km less. The new rail service will take cargo out of lorries and place them on to freight trains and the new rail link will make taking the train a more attractive option. But – and this is a big but – constructing something as ambitious as the Fehmarn Tunnel comes with a huge carbon footprint, mostly from the vast amounts of concrete being produced, 2 million tonnes according to Femern A/S’ own calculations.

Femern A/S say once completed, the tunnel will deliver a significant contribution to a green transEuropean traffic corridor by creating a 160 km shortcut, creating a viable alternative to air traffic and shifting goods from trucks to electrified freight trains. They add that they are making a concerted effort to reduce the CO2 footprint of construction, but it’s not possible to build in this scale without causing some emissions. One of these initiatives is their commitment to use 100 percent renewable energy sources for construction and operations of the tunnel.

Infrastructure inevitably comes into contact with the natural world. That doesn’t mean concerns should be brushed aside but it also doesn’t mean we should never build infrastructure ever again. What opposition groups such as the AGFF express are legitimate anxieties from people living on the doorstep of one of Europe’s biggest construction projects. When there is a good case for a new megaproject, it’s important that project teams listen to concerns and work to reduce the impact of their work on people's lives and the environment as much as possible. That’s something this project has set out to do from the start. Most of the construction activity is being done on the less-populated Danish side of the water and new habitats are being built to compensate for land now occupied by the factory.

Over the next decade a new route will be tattooed onto this part of the map – and for the people who use it, its convenience will erase any memory of the enormous effort that it took to make it happen.

For an example of how this can happen you don't need to travel any further than the southern end of the Fehmarn. The bridge which connects the island to the German mainland was heavily opposed when it was built in 1963 as residents worried it would destroy the place’s unique character. Today it’s considered iconic and there is a campaign to save it, following fears it will fall into disrepair once the new tunnel opens.

TheFehmarnSoundBridge.

That, in a nutshell, is the story of modern infrastructure. While these projects are difficult and controversial to realise when they’re first constructed they go on to have a defining impact on all of our lives. The new tunnel under the Fehmarn Belt will impact millions of people across this continent over the decades to come. Any of the controversies around its construction will likely be forgotten and the extraordinary engineering that went in will be taken for granted, as Femern A/S technical director Jens Ole Kaslund said.

“My hope is just that a year after it opens, no one can remember that it was not there."

SOMEIMAGESFROMTHEPAST:

Our two almost oldest members in pictures:

James Kruger with club modular display

Evening Post 30 Nov 1988

Modern Living Video Hi-Fi & Photo Expo

PE Express 30.06.2010

Albert Brown with Club exhibit at Emerald

Sq. Shopping centre

The July 2020 Model Rail magazine features the first of a 2 part series by Chris Nevard on his OO 1:76 Neath Riverside layout explaining the construction in greater detail.

Click on the cover image right or on the double page spread to go to this magazine in our collection. Click on the library icon top left to access all our magazines. Visit Chris’ website by clicking on the banner below and see many more of his layouts etc.

Dr. Barnardo's children control the impressive model railway they constructed. Kingston, Surrey 1954.

https://youtu.be/KAFY7ua2xo8

Samy

My model building channel should inspire you to build building models, landscapes or simply to crafts. Whether for your model railway, for table top gaming tables or simply for your dioramas.

Samy- the name comes from my long forum time, where I was only on the road under this nickname and was allowed to learn a lot from great artists there. Sit back, have a coffee and watch how a small diorama or building is created from simple materials.

More inspiration here on my blog.

https://fantasy-gelaende.blogspot.com

A passenger train of NS collided with a construction crane on the track and derailed in Voorschoten, South Holland, during the night from Monday to Tuesday. One person, the crane driver of construction company BAM Infra was killed, and at least 30 of the 50 passengers were injured.

Twenty people with minor injuries were treated at the scene, 19 were transferred to a hospital. Some of the injured are in bad shape, including the NS train driver who sustained bone fractures and is also in the hospital.

The train of Dutch Railways (NS) was en route from Leiden to The Hague early Tuesday morning when it collided with a small construction crane at around 03.25am. The front section of the passenger train ended up in a meadow, with the middle section lying on its side next to the track. Specialists are working to secure the train, according to the local authorities.

NS director Wouter Koolmees said on Tuesday during the press conference about the accident that the conductors who were on the train during the accident are doing well under the circumstances. “The whole railway family is around them”, Koolmees said.

Local residents came to the rescue after the train accident, and were thanked by Mayor Nadine Stemerdink of Voorschoten. She spoke of a “terrible accident” and expressed condolences to relatives of the person who died and all others involved.

Stemerdink praised the general practitioner who provided immediate first aid and accommodated victims at homes.

The front section of the train derailed after hitting a construction rail crane on the tracks - Remko de Waal / ANP

What is left of the construction crane © Media TV

Construction works involved

At the site of the accident, construction works were being carried out, and two of the four tracks were out of service. Trains were – in accordance with safety regulations – able to run over the other two tracks, says ProRail. The construction crane that caused the accident belonged to construction company BAM. The fatal casualty was an employee of BAM, who was driving the rail-bound crane. ProRail director John Voppen said that work was being finished up at the time of the accident, so construction workers were still at the scene, he told at the press conference. “Around 4 o’clock, I got a call and then immediately got in the car. It was a huge shock. A wheeled crane is put on the track and normally never changes tracks.” The damage to the rail infrastructure due to the accident is “enormous”, Voppen said, who visited the site of the accident.

“A black day for the Dutch railways”

Director of rail infrastructure manager ProRail John Voppen called this Tuesday 4 April “a black day for the Dutch railways”. “My thoughts are with everyone involved. We will of course investigate how this could have happened.” Investigations are carried out by the Dutch Safety Board (OVV), the ILT (Environment and Transport Inspectorate) and the police. ProRail itself also started an investigation.

The accident also involved a DB Cargo train. The driver of that train was medically examined, but he did not appear to have sustained any injuries from the accident. The goods train was not carrying hazardous materials, according to initial reports. The locomotive was badly damaged but not derailed. The same applies to the 26 freight wagons, of which 9 were loaded with limestone, according to DB Cargo.

Scan this QR code to view the video of the rescue operation

King Willem-Alexander in conversation with rescue care providers near the place of the accident.

HOW A SCENE COMES TOGETHER by MAYNARD “MITCH” MITCHELL

© Rear Platform - Model Railroad Planning 2023

I thought MRP readers might enjoy seeing how a scene comes together and getting a sense of the planning that goes into it.

The first image is close to how the scene looked when it was mostly plaster. I made the mould used to cast the stone. There would be lots of detail added to the old abandoned mill, and the driveway will be overgrown because the mill is no longer in use. The HO layout is supposed to represent northern Wisconsin, but I scratch built the pond gates from a mill that is about an hour and a half away from our Michigan home.

The second view represents a progress report, but the scene is still incomplete. Lowering the area behind the mill allowed me to have a stream from the overflow of the millpond and also an area where I could install mature trees and not have them block the scene behind them. When viewing the mill close up, the trees block most of the background, allowing the mill to be photographed and viewed individually, creating a separate scene. The back side of the mill is also detailed, with an open foundation (the footings in the first photo show that I planned ahead) and water wheel, plus the normal clutter that would be found behind a mill.

There’s still more detail to be added, such as boys with their bicycles by the pond. The ballast will also be coloured to show use. More weeds and brush will be installed along the shore of the pond. But the scene is sufficiently developed to confirm that careful planning paid off.

A faster and neater approach to this time tested technique.

© Brooks Stover

Featured in Great Model Railroads

2011, my S scale Buffalo Creek & Gauley (BC&G) model railroad was started 20 years ago using triedand-true techniques.

As the BC&G was set in West Virginia, the 25 x 44-foot layout had a lot of tree covered mountains. These were built on a scenery base of plaster-impregnated gauze applied over a lattice of cardboard strips or a layer of Kraft paper, followed by a layer of Sculptamold.

In 2017, a move to a new home required that I dismantle the BC&G. At age 70, I found myself starting a new layout. I’d planned to build this new version of the BC&G with the same familiar methods. However, it soon became clear that it was time for this old dog to learn some new tricks.

The layout room in my brand-new house was already finished, including a carpeted floor. Consequently, I began looking for

ways to avoid the typical mess that layout building can create, especially those involving dripping

plaster. Another consideration was that my workshop was now located at the end of the house opposite the train room. I wanted to find techniques that didn’t involve numerous trips back and forth to use the shop’s table saw or utility sink.

After spending some time exploring ideas in recent hobby publications and consulting several model railroading friends, I came up with the following method for building a sturdy hardshell scenery base with less mess and in less time.

Establishing hillside contours

To capture the look of the prototype, I modelled steep, tree-covered hillsides along the back of the layout. These hills extended to the blue sky painted on the train room walls and also served as the layout’s backdrop. In some locations the hillsides are only 6" deep but rise up to a 24" height. As shown in ❶ on the next page, I used 1 ⁄8" plywood profiles to define the hilltops. To protect the drywall, I mounted the profiles on 1 x 2 strips.

I used the profiles from my old layout room, so I only had to cut them to length. To define the hillside contours, I cut vertical profiles from 1 ⁄2" extruded-foam insulation board. With its long, slender blade, a snap-off utility knife made it easy to achieve curved cuts. If the plywood profiles hadn’t been available, I would’ve used foam for the hilltops. I placed the vertical profiles about 8" apart, somewhat closer in corners (see ❷). The profiles are held in place by low temperature hot glue. Unlike adhesive caulk, the hot glue sets up in seconds. At this point it’s easy to visualize the contour of the terrain and make changes before moving on to the next step.

Creating the terrain surface

Keeping with my quick-and-clean theme, I searched for a way to create the hillside surface in as few steps as possible. After some experimenting, I found a plastic screen material called ADFORS Sun Guard. Because it’s meant to block sunlight, this material features smaller openings than window screen. These smaller holes make it easy to cover the surface with my hardshell material in only one coat. I purchased the plastic screen in 48" rolls from my local home improvement centre. The material is flexible, easy to cut with scissors or a sharp knife, and takes hot glue well. Most importantly, the plastic won’t cut or scratch my skin, which can happen with aluminium screen. After cutting the plastic screen to fit, I used hot glue to attach the screen to the hill profiles ❸. A piece of scrap wood worked well to press the screen into the glue. Larger sections of screen are preferable, as they reduce the number of seams. However, smaller pieces are easier to work with in areas with tighter radii, such as corners. I also used smaller sections to help blend in splices. The finished screen and foam profile assembly felt a bit springy. However, the surface proved sturdy and didn’t sag.

Homax hardshell

The biggest challenge for this project was finding an alternative to plaster for the hardshell. My good friend and fellow S scale modeller Bob Stelmach had the answer. He introduced me to a product called Homax Roll-On Texture, available at most home centres. A thick, latex paint product, Homax is intended for adding orange-peel or other texture to walls and ceilings. Homax comes only in white and isn’t intended to be mixed with other colours. [The material is usually painted after drying. – MR Ed.]

However, the helpful paint department clerk at my local home centre tinted a couple batches for me, using earth-tone and green colours. A green tinted batch is shown in 4.

I applied the Homax with a paintbrush. According to the product’s instructions, it can be applied in coats up to 1 ⁄8" thick. With a little care, I could cover a section of screen with one coat. Because of the thick viscosity of the Homax and the fine mesh of the screen, none of the material leaked through. The Homax takes about 24 hours to cure. Once dry, the surface is durable and ready for scenicking. A second coat was required in a few areas to conceal seams that wouldn’t be fully covered by scenery.

Final scenicking

Adding scenery to the Homax hardshell was the same as with plaster, as shown in 5.

The Homax/screen surface backed by foam profiles is strong enough to support plaster rock castings. I had some left over from my old layout that attached to the new hardshell with hot glue. Then I filled the gaps with Sculptamold. Plaster rocks could also be cast directly onto the Homax hardshell. I completed the hillsides using scenicking techniques that I explained in “How to make tree covered hills” in the Nov. 2012 Model Railroader.

As I worked on this article I made another time saving discovery. In areas where I applied poly fire trees, I could eliminate the hardshell step completely. Using 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, I attached puffball trees and clump foliage directly to the plastic screen. Some layout areas awaiting trees are shown in 5. I also found Homax could be used to fill gaps between layers of foam or make textured surfaces for dirt roads or paths. It’s like ready-made “ground goo”. #1. Hilltops

Brooks used 1 ⁄8" plywood profiles mounted on 1 x 2 spacers attached to the wall which was painted sky blue with clouds prior to layout construction. The Homasote tunnel liners will eventually be covered by mountainous terrain.

#2 Foam profiles

Using a snap-off utility knife, Brooks cut vertical hill profiles from 1 ⁄2" extruded-foam insulation board. He attached the foam profiles to the plywood hilltops and other points on the layout base with hot glue.

#3 Plastic sun-block screen

The ADFORS Sun Guard plastic screen can be easily cut with scissors or a sharp knife. Brooks typically used 12” x 24” sections of screen for large areas and attached the screen to the foam and plywood profile with hot glue.

#4 HOMAX hard shell

Using a brush, Brooks applied tinted Homax rollon texture over the plastic screen to create the hardshell. Although it’s a latex paint product, Homax is the consistency of plaster and usually covered the screen with a single coat.

#5 Trees and scenery

Once dry, the Homax surface can be scenicked like traditional hardshell. Brooks doesn’t other applying Homax to any area that will be covered by trees. Instead he attaches the polyfibre clumps to the screen with spray ahesive.

The last train to cross the Kraai River Bridge on 10 Oct. 2001.

The unique feature of the Barkly East branch line was the use of 8 reverses or switch backs where the train literally zig-zags forwards and backwards in order to cross mountains and valleys at manageable gradients.

Construction of the line in Cape Gauge (3’ 6” or1065mm) commenced in 1904. The first section between Aliwal North and Lady Grey ran over relatively flat country and construction was easy, requiring only a bridge over the Kraai River. At Lady Grey the first mountains were encountered and the line rose sharply as far as Melk siding. To cross this tributary of the Kraai River, taking cognisance of the topography of the area, it would have been necessary to bridge the valley of the Karringmelk Spruit 90m above the river bed and to enter a tunnel 23m long on the other side. The entire permanent way was constructed and the tunnel completed in 1911, but the bridge never became a reality. Over the years the absence of the bridge gave rise to many theories, adding to the most interesting folklore

around this line. Some believed the ridge was on a ship sunk in the First World War by a German Uboat, while others thought the iron was used for war material. However, the most accepted reason was that owing to the high cost of the bridge, it was never ordered until traffic levels would justify it! That never happened and the reverses remained and offered a fascinating railway journey for nearly 90 years. The Barkly East branch line runs in the Witteberg Range of the Drakensberg. Construction took 25 years to complete. At first there were 5 reverses, but the 6th was added at Melk because, with an uneven number, the locomotives would have ended up facing the wrong way after they had completed the reverses.

© David Benn Tierkranz River Bridge 11 July 1999

A SAR Class 19D (4-8-2) No 3323 with mixed goods and passenger train crosses the Kraai River Bridge on the last leg of the journey to Barclay East. Sadly, three years after this picture was taken the line was closed permanently

© David Benn 25 July 1998. Class 24s (#3635) were not the usual motive power during steam days. The class would have been very suitable for this lightly laid and long branch line with its 8 reverses. The waters of the Kraai (Crow) River are laden with trout, introduced into the area more than a century ago.

© Peter Rogers 26 May 1992. SAR Garratt #2166 (2-6-2+2-6-2) pauses for breath at 6th Reverse.

© David Benn 11 July 1999. This Steam and Safaris Charter train has just completed the climb from Tierkranz via 8th and 7th Reverses. 8th Reverse is clearly seen in the middle distance on the right.

On 3 May 2023 another milestone achievement will be opened to the public, Patagonia, the far south of South America, complete with glaciers where daily, some pieces will break off as happens for real! Their Argentinian partners have also developed a machine that together with clever lighting design, will simulate the tremendous seas in the Drake Passage around the horn of South America.

“Since the opening of Rio de Janeiro, we have been working on the construction of the next part of the South America section. In contrast to the Brazilian Mega metropolis, the viewer will be taken to the fascinating landscapes of Patagonia at the end of the world. Wide steppes, the Andean Mountains, which culminates in the famous Fitz Roy, and the Perito-Moreno glacier define this part of the section. This is followed by the notorious Drake Passage, in which a ship during the ‘night’ through various techniques, will attempt to sail through a thunderous storm. The icy world of the Antarctic then finally forms the end of the newest section.

The largest glacier area in Patagonia is located in the South American Andes. One of the most famous glaciers is the Perito-Moreno. This glacier is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Argentina and is the most visited place in the UNESCO World Heritage classified Los Glaciares National Park. We felt it was particularly important to depict the breakup of the glacier. To do this, we conducted various tests with real water and real ice, but in the end we decided to use a mechanical system because of the inertia of the ice. When the glacier ice breaks off, there is still a lot of air trapped in the water, which rises out of the water when it resurfaces” – Gerrit Braun.

Visitors to Miwula are encouraged to get their tickets before arrival

“We are actually always fully booked during school holidays and on many weekends. If you are planning a Wonderland visit in these times, it is absolutely necessary to book a ticket online as early as possible, because on site the waiting time for spontaneous visitors can often be six hours and more. We are actually always fully booked during school holidays and on many weekends. If you are planning a Wonderland visit in these times, it is absolutely necessary to book a ticket online as early as possible, because on site the waiting time for spontaneous visitors can often be six hours and more. If there are no more tickets for your desired day, there are still a few alternative ways, which are often available on the remaining contingents of tickets. Together with Hamburg Tourism, we offer, for example, complete travel packages in every price range where the Wunderland ticket is already included without a waiting time:”

With a charter train of Trains Unlimited Tours (TUT) 1922 built Baldwin Mikado #1 is crossing the Chubut River on 31 Oct. 2007 and will soon enter El Maitén station. The 402 km 750mm narrow gauge line through Patagonia is called "La Trochita" or "Old Patagonia Express". Click on the image below for the KochersbergTV video of the Old Patagonian Express and/or the Railbikers adventure on this line.

© Hinrich Brümmer. Henschel 101 pulls passenger train between El Maiten and Norquinco, Patagonia

© Georg Trüb.