Press info from 09.09.2022: Introducing the Model Railway Layouts at the 2022 International Model Railway Exhibition in Friedrichshafen
IIm (G) Gauge: Passion IIm
Passion IIm is a module layout depicting an imaginary metric line and imaginary railway companies. The rolling stock consists mainly of LGB models that have been repainted and realistically weathered. The modular concept opens up countless possibilities for adaptation to the respective room size. As a result, every modular layout is unique. The layout consists of terminal stations only, so there’s no endless circling. The single track is connected to a hidden reversing loop which functions as a staging yard. The trains are controlled via a functional signal system. Emphasis is focussed on the countless shunting manoeuvres, which are fascinating for the audience. The steam engines are returned via a turntable at the terminal stations. The rolling stock is equipped with Kadee couplers. In both depicted stations, remote uncoupling by means of magnets is explained to the public.
Operator: Passion IIm, Jean-Michel Mayor, 1612 Ecoteaux, Switzerland
Layout size: 18 x 9 metres
IIm (G) Gauge: West Side Lumber Model Logging Railway
This layout depicts a US forest railway with sequoia trees up to three metres tall. Amongst other features it shows a US western town with a fully equipped saloon (with hillbilly sound), hotel rooms, a sheriff’s office with jail cells, a church with altar and benches, and two general stores. All of the locomotives – including Shay, Climax and Heisler – are aged and equipped with pulsed smoke generators, and provide for a genuine atmosphere. The layout showcases timber harvesting during the years 1880 to 1920 – transport, unloading and feeding tree trunks to the sawmill, as well as sawing the trunks and haulage of the boards on a narrow gauge railway. All of the sounds and motion effects can be triggered by the visitors using pushbuttons located around the layout.
Operator: WSL & Co. Logging Railway, Klaus P. Kerwer, 53881 Euskirchen, Germany
Layout size: 22 x 6 metres
I Gauge: Modellbahn Team Spur 1 Hannover
The basic shape of the layout is a triangle, extended with an additional reversing loop. There are approx. 150 metres of track, a turntable, a slip switch and 25 points. The minimum radius is 1650 mm, and the approaches to the curves are greater than 2000 mm. The layout depicts a through station on a double-track line in northern Germany. Trains on the layout are not only run in a circle – shunting from the station to the depot is also possible. The reversing loop makes travel possible from the depot, over the layout and back to the depot. The landscape is rural in character and is continuously enhanced with new ideas. Care has been taken to ensure that details (e.g. a stream with a small lake) lighten up the overall impression without making the layout appear cluttered. There’s a small farm at the reversing loop. The railway is operated digitally using Motorola and DCC protocols. The rolling stock from manufacturers Märklin, Hübner, Kiss, Benecken and KM1 is privately owned.
Operator: Modellbahn Team Spur 1 Hannover, Gerd Krauße, 30165 Hannover, Germany
Layout size: 23 x 12 metres
I Gauge: German Federal Railway
The layout, set in epochs 1 and 2, has three stations and a curve radius of 2.4 metres. The background is comprised of a half relief and a full relief, and corresponding platforms of brick, gravel and asphalt. Due to the backdrop and indirect lighting, the layout has the appearance of being in an aquarium. Steam locomotives by KM-1, Kiss und Märklin (all with synchronous steam output) are the highlight of this layout and magically attract the attention of numerous spectators. Another eye catcher is the steel rolling stock by Wunder-Modelle.
Operator: Spur I Team Hasselt, Paul Schraepen, 3511 Hasselt, Belgium
Layout size: 22 x 6.5 metres
0 Gauge: 1. Tiroler Spur 0 Modulanlage with American Motifs
The layout consists of a large oval with a 2-track line, on which long trains with multiple engines – typical for America – also make their rounds. One side of the layout is dominated by enormous rock formations in a desert landscape. The route crosses a mountain gorge on traditional trestle bridges. There’s a station with 2 passing tracks on the other side, as well as a station for the maintenance of steam locomotives and a group of sidings, allowing for varied train service. Rolling stock with signs of ageing is used predominantly. The switches can be controlled either digitally or manually.
Operator: 1. Tiroler Spur 0 Modulanlage, Robert Wolf, 6410 Telfs, Austria
Layout size: 12 x 6 metres
H0 Gauge: Model Railroading and Transportation History by Hagen von Ortloff
Together with Lutz Mäder and Rolf Brändle, popular celebrity moderator Hagen von Ortloff of the well-known television series “Eisenbahn-Romatik” will present a show layout set in the 1950s and 1960s entitled “Model Railroading and Transportation History”.
Trolley buses produced by Esslingen-based EHEIM GmbH & Co. KG in the 1950s and 1960s (production of which was taken over subsequently by BRAWA GmbH & Co. KG) are operated on this layout. A highly modern monorail from the late 1950s manufactured by Schuco is also included on the layout, which was not very successful as a toy and is accordingly in demand and expensive today. Trams make their rounds on the other side of the layout: a Stuttgart tram made by Gogtram in Ulm and a Dresden tram from Dresden manufacturer BeKa. These are further augmented by a cable car from EHEIM GmbH & Co. KG and a cable car from BRAWA GmbH & Co. KG. The cable railway from BRAWA is the highlight and centrepiece of the layout.
The railway, which links up all of the other vehicles and runs around the layout’s periphery, comes from model railway manufacturer Märklin in Göppingen, Germany. The railroads, mainly from the 1950s, rattle along the metal tracks – some with middle rails. Buildings from tradition-rich companies Faller, Vollmer and Kibri are also included – the legendary “Villa in Ticino” deserves special mention in this regard, which has been sold more than 400,000 times in four decades. The Elbe, from its headwaters to its estuary, is depicted on picture postcards, some of which are over a hundred years old:
110 images, somewhat enlarged and joined together to form a zigzag, create a colourful background with a length of more than 20 metres.
Operator: Hagen von Ortloff, Lutz Mäder and Stephan Kraus
Layout size: 11 x 6 metres
H0 Gauge: Märklinfan Club Italia – Modular Italian Layout
The layout portrays a double-track Italian railway line. It doesn’t reproduce any actually existing track segment, and instead replicates several features which are typical of the Italian landscape. It consists of numerous classic Italian trains in transit, from epoch III to the present day, including a number of international trains that have made their way to into Italy.
Settebello, Frecciarossa, Espresso del Levante, Riviera Express, Freccia del Sole, Autozug and many others provide continuously for a highly interesting show.
Operator: märklin Club Italia, Alberto Pedrini, 12037 Saluzzo CN, Italy
Layout size: 12 x 6 metres
H0 Gauge: Landscape Depicting Epochs IV to VI
The layout consists of roughly 35 modules on which Märklin C-tracks have been installed with track spacing of 77.5 mm.
All tracks are ballasted as well. Landscape arrangements are based on the spring and summer seasons.
The layout is not assigned to any particular archetype, in order to give free rein to the imagination. Several modular blocks are assigned to specific topics.
The four-track through station, the Faller car system, a fairground, a wooded area with bridge and an open staging area can be mentioned in this regard.
In addition to digital layout operation, computer-controlled automatic operation with WIN DIGIPET 2021 “Premium” is also used at the exhibitions. This permits lively traffic with 8 trains.
Integration of the staging yard into the programme makes it possible to change trains during operation as a special feature.
Operator: IG Modellgruppe der märklin Insider Stammtisch Hildesheim, Michael Ptok, 31185 Hoheneggelsen, Germany
Layout size: 11 x 6 metres
H0 Gauge: Railways through Germany’s Central Uplands
The epoch III and IV model railway layout has no specific archetype and is based on prototypes found in Germany’s central uplands (Eifel, Bergisches Land). It’s single and double-tracked with stations on the single-track sections for the purpose of railway crossings.
A brewery, timber operations and sawmills, a reservoir with power generation, a funfair, a weekly market, restaurants, farms and a replica of the Moselle bridge at Bullay can be found to the right and left of the tracks.
In order to get visitors involved, the model railway layout features various pushbuttons by means of which figures and the like can be set in motion.
The modular layout is operated digitally. If visitors (especially children) are interested in operating a station or running a train themselves during the exhibition, this is possible under supervision.
Operator: ECRS Siegburg/Hennef, Uwe Bodenstein, 53721 Siegburg, Germany
Layout size: 20 x 6 metres
H0 Gauge: Timber Harvesting
The forest, as well as multifunctional forestry with the three forest functions including protection, utilisation and recreation are the theme of the 12-part H0 gauge modular layout with the title “Holz auf der Spur”.
At Germany’s only forestry and timber layout, the roughly 1000 spruces, pines and firs, which have been extended and optimised to scale, are particularly eye-catching and, in combination with numerous deciduous trees, bring the diversity of the forest to life in detail.
Loading of the freight cars and trucks in epoch VI is also depicted at its best: trains and trucks with loaded and lashed long and short timber, reproduced faithfully in detail, transport wood as a raw material to the modern sawmill.
The representation of a safety felling at a tunnel portal by means of an interactive functional model with sound is a genuine visitor magnet.
The motifs for the layout come from the southern Black Forest, including the model of the Wutach viaduct at the “Sauschwänzlebahn”.
Operator: Kooperation Holz auf der Spur, Jörg Hammes, 78052 Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Layout size: 19.5 x 8 metres
H0 Gauge: Impressions of the Saarland
The club has created a perfect representation of their native Saarland with this layout. A double-track main line runs through gentle green hills, past half-timbered houses and vineyards. In many years of intricate handiwork, the vineyards were crafted by modelling a total of 2173 vines. A road also winds through the landscape. The modellers deliberately chose vehicles that have been known for decades, from an ocean-blue/beige 216 to the old Rheingold tinplate passenger cars. Up to 9 trains can run simultaneously on the layout. The centre of operations is the five-track St. Wendel through station from which a double-track main line originates. The romantic landscape, true to the original, is interspersed with industrial areas and shopping centres. Sidings on the industrial estate ensure plenty of interesting shunting operations.
Operator: Modellbahnfreunde Bliesen e.V., Heribert Horras, 66606 St. Wendel, Germany
Layout size: 7 x 4 metres
H0 Gauge: Verein Schweizerischer Digital Modellbahner (VSDM)
The Swiss Digital Model Railway Association (VSDM) was founded in 1995 to promote digital model railways. The association’s objective is to teach its members the ins and outs of using digital technology on model railroads. As a result, primary attention is focussed on a purely technical layout without landscaping. The core members of the association have been working on the layout for 17 years, on which up to 18 trains are operated. The trains run on the left-hand side in accordance with the Swiss standard. Signalling in the upper station, the left loop and the track helix comply with Swiss railway operating regulations. Signalling in the lower station is currently in planning. The layout measures 12.5 × 3.6 metres and consists of 25 modules. The trains are operated on Märklin C-tracks. A total of 4 digital systems are used. Digital operation is implemented with a Märklin CS3 and 5 Märklin boosters. TrainController Gold was chosen for use as the control programme. Switches, signals and feedback signals are operated by means of a self-made model railway control system (MoBaSbS). Illumination of the Symo console, with its 163 LEDs and 32 buttons, is handled by a self-built Z21 DCC control unit. The console’s buttons are read out via an S88 bus using a digital system developed by the association. The Symo console operates the upper station, the left loop and the track helix. The lower station is operated with a monitor screen, a Raspberry PI and a TrainController 9. The layout has a total of 48 switches, 26 signals and 271 feedback signals.
Operator: VSDM, Bruno Geninazzi, Lindacker 11, 3465 Dürrenroth, Switzerland
Layout size: 12.5 x 3.6 metres
H0 Gauge: Klappstadt Railway Depot
The “Bw Klappstadt” layout was built with blockboard panels connected by means of hinges. Locomotive treatment plants corresponding to eras 3 and 4 are featured. The Fleischmann turntable is located between the two enginehouses, which in reality was rather rare in railway depots.
The layout is analogue controlled, and electrical power is supplied to layout components by means of plug-in cable connections. Fleischmann profile track was used as track material. Whereas the enginehouse on the right comes from the Faller 190069 car shed, the one on the left was self-built using parts from the Kibri “Ottbergen” enginehouse.
In terms of operation, steam locomotive depot procedures are replicated. The locomotives pass the coal bins coming from the right and are loaded with coal from mine waggons. Then they take on water at the water cranes while the slag is emptied into the trenches which run along the track. The next operation is coke breeze removal before the locomotives move to the sanding towers, where the sand tanks are filled. The locomotives are then ready to proceed to the turntable. As an unusual feature on the front track, the engines first have to advance to the end of the track in order to reach the turntable in reverse via a switch. The locomotives are distributed to the sidings leading to the enginehouses by means of the turntable. Track sections can be de-energised via small switches inserted into the layout plate.
Interesting operations result from several Peco locomotive lifts at the right end of the layout. Various locomotives are placed here in turn onto an short section of electrified track that leads into the layout. Shunting sections, consisting of a short shunting locomotive with single or two two-axle vehicles, provide replenishment for the workshops in the enginehouses. They fit on the locomotive lifts as well as on the turntable.
Operator: Friedel Helmich, 93339 Riedenburg, Germany
Layout size: 3 x 0.5 metres
TT Gauge: Layout with Double-Track Main Line and Branch Lines
The motif is not based on any concrete archetype and comprises a double-track, fully electrified main line with branch lines. Rolling stock from epochs III to VI is used. Steam and ICE operation is thus possible. Attention is focused primarily on epochs III and IV. Model track from Tillig was used as rail material. A block control system is used for primary layout control by means of which the following train is always pulled into the next block according to occupancy. The trains are started from the staging yard by remote radio control or with the control panel. The main lines are equipped with signals. Each signal is connected to an automatic braking and starting system in order to provide the trains with starting and braking performance true to the original. One of the special features is a self-designed, self-made video train. Spectators have the impression that they’re riding along in the driver’s cab. Ten pushbuttons are included around the layout where interested viewers can activate certain functions themselves.
Operator: Modellbahn-Club Guben e.V., Christoph Garcia Almendaris, 03172 Guben, Germany
Layout size: 8.5 x 6 metres
TT Gauge: 2-Track Railway with Main Line Character
The club has chosen a spectator-friendly installation height of 1 metre. The depicted line is a 2-track railway with main line character and isn’t based on any specific archetype. An detailed stop and a small railway station currently complete the ensemble. The layout group is a highlight, where lots of rolling stock and wagons can be presented in exemplary configurations on a depth of 70 cm and a track length of up to 320 cm. Track connections are implemented to a certain extent without switches by means of swivel arms, and entire trains can roll out of their TrainSafe tubes onto the layout. As a new feature, guests can enjoy a branch line which reflects northern German character.
Operator: TT Modulstammtisch Hamburg-Holstein, Ralf Küster, 20257 Hamburg, Germany
Layout size: 15 x 10 metres
N Gauge: Arlberg in N Gauge
The layout is digitally controlled and operated via a TrainController timetable. All of the rolling stock is equipped with sound, as well as interior lighting and other details.
The club takes great pride in presenting the modules with faithfully reproduced motifs of the east ramp of the Arlberg line. This impressively crafted model portrays the following track sections of the legendary archetype:
Schmidtobel tunnel and viaduct, Weinzierl tunnel, Trisanna bridge with Wiesberg castle, 3-track Pians station with a length of 4.5 metres, Engelwand tunnel and Engelwand bridge, Burgfried viaduct, Wolfsgruberbach viaduct. The entire layout includes 2 stations (Braz and Pians), as well as Hintergasse passing point. A total of more than 60 metres of track is included which depict the single-track line created with loving care, as well as many details. Operations are conducted for the most part with models based on the ÖBB archetype, but other models can also be seen on the layout.
Operator: N-Spur.at, Herbert Buchinger, 3430 Tulln, Austria
Layout size: 11 x 8 metres
N Gauge: City Station and Railway Depot
This system consists of various individual elements:
City station with 15-storey roundhouse and 7-track transfer table in the depot. The station has 9 through tracks, 2 dead-end tracks for reversible trains and 1 cogwheel track for a mountain line in the station forecourt.
Train traffic with 13 train configurations runs along a ring layout on the 2-track main line with 2 staging yards, as well as a branch from the 13-track shunting yard back to the main station.
The terrain is not based on any particular archetype, but it includes essential details such as urban buildings, an amusement park, agricultural elements etc. The digitally operated layout is controlled with the WinDigipet operating system.
Operator: Eisenbahnfreunde Ravensburg-Weingarten, Alfons Horn, 88276 Berg, Germany
Layout size: 18 x 5 metres
N Gauge: Chalon sur Saone Railway Station in France circa 1995
The model railway layout presents a replica of Chalon sur Saone station in France and 4 kilometres of the actual line on a scale of 1:160 (N gauge) from around 1995.
The model is equipped with 98 switches and 120 metres of track, and the backstage model has 19 storage tracks with 50 metres of track and 40 Roco switches.
The network is operated using a 3-light SNCF BAL car with relay, and the console can monitor 80 possible lines.
The buildings, signals and overhead lines are all self-made!
Operator: Jean-Marc Monin, 71440 Lessard-en-Bresse, France
Layout size: 11 x 8 metres
N Gauge: Pennsylvania Steel
Here we have a small blast furnace plant with steel works in the East of the United States. The era is the mid-1950s. The blast furnace plant is completely self-built. Diesel locomotives already dominate the works railway traffic. The trains travel continuously to and fro carrying raw materials and pulp between the different factory units. On the elevated railway limestone, coke and of course iron ore are delivered and stored in bunkers. The raw materials are distributed by crane and conveyed up the inclined lift into the blast furnace.
The plant is situated by a river, from which the necessary large quantities of cooling water are pumped via a pump house. Hand-painted figures round off this little layout.
Operator: Heinz-Ulrich Grumpe, 48151 Münster
Layout size: 1,6 x 0,65 metres
Z Gauge: Z Gauge – Small Railway Making it Big
Z-Freunde International will present several noteworthy Z gauge model railway layouts from a variety of builders during the International Modellbahn-Ausstellung Friedrichshafen. Z-Freunde will be on hand and look forward to answering questions and providing information.
Operator: Z-Friends International, Sylvester Schmidt, 81827 Munich, Germany
Layout size: 12 x 8 metres
Images of all model railway layouts can be found on our website at www.ima-friedrichshafen.de/en/ under the heading “Press” or via the following direct link: https://www.ima-friedrichshafen.de/en/press/