Scenery test

I've laid out some styrofoam sheets to get an idea how things will look when entering the layout room. I have to try to figure out a way to visually seperate the two lines going very close to eachother here to avoid it feeling like the same place. It doesn't look right like the way it is now I think...

A water spout for Grimstad

Today I've built a water spout for Grimstad. It's from a kit I sell in my model railroad shop; www.togbutikken.no. Well actually it's not really available yet, but it'll be ready very soon.

Grimstad didn't have a water tower, so this water spout is the only means to refill water for the steam locomotives. The prototype picture is from another station in Norway; Hønefoss. As you see there are still a few details missing, and I also need to get the correct decals for the signs on the top of the thing. The chain is from Weinert.

Finally some scenery!

After scrapping the old Grimstad modules, I have no scenery at all on the Grimstad Line. So today I started adding some cuts and rock faces on the end of the peninsula which is the place you'll first see when you enter my train room. I use plaster castings combined with plaster cloth bought from the local pharmacy. Much cheaper than the Woodland Scenics one :)

The first Fremo-meet!

This weekend my local model railroad club; AMJK (Arendal Modelljernbaneklubb) held our annual meeting in Arendal, and Grimstad was a part of the large layout! Here are a few pictures.

Here's a Skd206 on the module i built to place outside of Grimstad. This module is only used for meets and also has the entrance signal for Grimstad.

Grimstad in action for the first time! Everything went smoothly with no technical problems whatsoever!
The first station master; Morten Jacobsen

Svein Rasmussen controlling the station.

Overview of a part of the layout.

Turntable

The Fleischmann-turntable from the old Grimstad has now been moved to the new. This'll have to do until I can find the guts to make my own.

Grimstad operational!

After a couple of weeks of boring and tedious work with wiring and stuff, I could finally run the first train on the newly built Grimstad station module. And everything seems to work like it should - strangely enough...

Controlled chaos. I've never done the wiring on a module all by myself, and I was surprised to experience how much work it really is.

Every single length of tracks has it's own set of wires to ensure maximum reliability. Rail joiners have a tendency to stop working after a couple of years, but now this shouldn't be a problem.

Yours truly driving the first test-train :)

I still have to install the turntable and the track leading to it. That will be tonight's task.

Wiring

Every single piece of track gets it's own wire to erradicate problems with railjoiners that doesn't conduct properly after a while.

An easy and simple way to connect all the wires is to use a piece of track. An old piece of code100 flextrack does the trick. Looks neat too :)

Basic trackwork complete

I've laid down all the trackwork for the new Grimstad now, and it looks much better and more correct than the old version although this new one is only 40cm longer. Compare it to the picture of the prototype :) Next on my "to do-list" is cutting the track at the end of each section and mount them permanently.

Trackwork

The new Grimstad sections at home with fresh paint and some trackwork in place. It looks pretty chaotic at the moment, but in a couple of weeks I hope to have all the trackwork complete with most wiring done.


Looking towards the "entrance" of the station. The loco shed and turntable will be on the track to the left where the three wagons are standing now.

Prototype pictures

It's about time I added some pictures of the prototype Grimstad station area. Here are a couple, and the trackplan for the prototype.


Here is a picture from one of the last summers before the line closed down. Notice all the flowers! The track on the right actually goes through the whole freight depot for some reason. The railcar is a Bm87. The flowers on top of the buffer stop is something I wish to incorporate in my model version, and even the three employees standing on the platform and a photographer taking this picture :)


An overview of the whole area. If I were to build it stricly in 1:87 it would be 4,4 meters long. My version is 3,3 so it's not that bad, and the two main tracks are of correct length. The portion from the first turnout to the locoshed will be somewhat compressed. The siding with the sharp curve that goes out to "Torskeholmen" will be built on a section on it's own, but that'll be step two of the contruction process.

This is a very helpful picture for me, and it's shot from the "roof" of the tunnel. You can barely see the open turntable in the front, with the track to "Grimstad Skipsophugning" to the right. This will be modelled only with a track that ends on the module side. Between this track and the main track you can see the coal shed, and in the back, the freight depot and the station buillding.