The Grimstad Line 2.0

Yesterday me and a friend started construction of the Grimstad Line 2.0. I have kept the three main modules for the Grimstad station, but the rest of the layout will be totally rebuilt. I hope to be able to post a schematic track plan soon.

L-girder benchwork under construction.

Grimstad will be in the center of the room now, where the old peninsula used to be.

Goodbye peninsula

I have never been really pleased with the peninsula of the Grimstad Line. So, although it took me a great deal of effort to move it to my new hometown, it soon became evident that it had to go. The lack of progress on the layout is usually a good indication that something is not right. The peninsula is now gone, and Grimstad Line 2.0 is already underway. 

A sad sight. All the trees and mountains are gone...

Not much left now.

Almost complete

The Grimstad depot is almost complete now. I've added signs made in Photoshop. They are actually a screenshot from the old video from 1961 (shown earlier here in the blog) which I've modified slightly. I'm still missing windows and other details.

Snow in Grimstad

Even though Grimstad is pretty far south in Norway, it can be quite snowy, as evident in this picture from 1954. The tracks are somewhere to the left of the skis :)

The new Grimstad depot!

Here is a "work-in-progress" shot of the new Grimstad depot building. It's custom built from laser cut wood. Now it's just up to me to finish the painting of it all. This is going to look so much better than the old plastic stand-in i had in place temporarily.

The new layout room

Well it's about time I showed you the new layout room for the Grimstad Line. Here's a panoramic view of it, clutter and all. To the right you can see the Grimstad modules, and the peninsula in the center. The two are not yet connected, so that will be the next challenge I guess.

Current state of affairs

This picture of Grimstad was taken last weekend when I attended a FREMO meet at Ask in Norway. Not much has happened to the modules the last year or so, but things are looking up. Stay tuned!

I love Facebook!

Old pictures from Grimstad regularly appears on a Facebook-page with members from Grimstad. The picture below is the newest discovery. It's shows the narrow gauge GFB #1 or #2 during the construction of the line sometime in 1906/07.

Trains are finally running again!

I've connected up some wires, and the trains are finally running on the Grimstad line again. It's been a year since the last time I was able to do that, so it feels really good. So far, only the Grimstad modules are hooked up. I need to build some new benchwork to be able to connect these to the main peninsula, but in the meantime I can have some fun switching Grimstad station.

In the picture NSB class 32 loco no. 390 is heading a short passenger train into Grimstad.

The Grimstad layout is being reborn

After what seems like an eternity, I have finally started rebuilding my Grimstad Line layout in its new location. The new room is slightly longer, but narrower than the room in my old home. I've had to scrap some pieces of the old layout, but I hope it all will come together nicely in it's new home.

Today I've been working on installing lights in the layout room. I was given some spotligths from an old shop, and they look rather stylish hanging above the layout. Unfortunately it's hard to get good pictures of sharp lights. Anyway; here's a mobile phone snapshot :