Gartenbahn
A piece of
German border railway
in North Hampshire
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CROOKHAM
GARTEN BAHN (HO gauge)
It all began at
Easter 1999, when the idea of building a garden HO layout emerged. This was to
enable the operation of a Thalys set that was
presented to me at a recent birthday party by a group of friends. Two working
model trams were also part of the gift. With a large 25-year old "N"
gauge system in the garage the garden was the last option if the presents were
to be seen running.
The shape of the
garden demanded a sinuous route around a large oak tree (authentic year-round
leaves here) with one terminus parallel to the patio wall.
An extension was
included before the original route was finished and now provides a useful
alternative terminus and a crooked "Y" formation.
CONSTRUCTION
Peco track was laid on roofing
felt which not only provided an authentic ballast look but also a weatherproof
cover over the wood base. Virtually all the layout is raised about 12-18"
above ground to minimise damp problems, but it has proved the necessity of
fully painting the underside of the timber base, whilst the airspace has proved
invaluable for (the considerable) electric wiring. Support is provided by fence
post bases hammered into the earth. The stretch across the patio is laid on two
concrete lintels (spare from fencing) supported by house bricks. This posed a
potential problem of drilling through to the underside - a sharp masonry bit
was required.
An early tip
learnt was the need to hardwire around each rail joint to ensure conductivity.
Another early problem was that point motors mounted underside of the base were
prone to collect water and therefore rust, impeding operation. All exterior
point switches are, therefore, surface mounted on Hornby or Peco
bases with P.Way hut covers.
SIGNALLING
Although the
original intention was to have a simple layout with minimal electrics outdoors,
inevitably the inborn desire for operational accuracy was to prevail and the
flexible system offered by Embedded Controls of Alyth,
Dundee, was chosen. This small company provides signals hand built by Roger
Murray with "plug-in" or direct fix bases and their own
micro-electronic circuits with track circuit options and an excellent
after-sales service is offered. Six such circuits were installed, at each
terminus, three around Knotenpunkt and another at the
sidings junction. The outdoor environment (and the need to inter-work with
infra-red train detection units by Heathcote
Electronics) caused some mystifying problems at first but after a personal
visit by Mr. Embedded himself (a 500 mile journey!) the problems were solved.
The result is authentic 2 and 3-aspect operation of the colour-light
signalling. Where necessary signals have been installed at a slight angle from
vertical to permit better vision.
OPERATION in
the early days
Each of the three
termini had two tracks enabling up to five trains to work the system, although
the single main line restricts operation to one train at a time. It is wired
for automatic operation using slowdown and shuttle reverse units by Kent Panel
Controls. Use of a Gaugemaster Duo controller,
however, also allows manual operation from the original shed.
The rolling stock
units comprised a DB regional two-car tilting Pendilino
set, A DB diesel loco with two double-deck suburban coaches in push-pull mode,
the initial Thalys articulated four coach set, and
other examples of DB and Swiss trains.
Having arrived
from the sidings in the adjacent garden shed the sequence started at the Rabenau terminus, named after a delightfully-situated
station in Lower Saxony. A train will then depart across the long suspension
bridge before rounding the 120-year old oak to cross the tracks at Gartenmühle by girder bridge This station is reached
through the shubbery via a length of square roof
guttering which leads to the points at Knotenpunkt
(German for junction!). The curving left hand route is taken here along the
raised perimeter wall of the shrubbery culminating in a sharp left turn into Gartenmühle station itself. Only one short platform is
provided here for a three-car train. It then returned to Rabenau.
The out-and-back sequence was then repeated by the Thalys
(or fourth train). Two hidden sidings were served by a parallel line at Gartenmuhle. The expanded operations now use it as a
connector between the oval and shuttle; the sidings have been taken out of use.
A train arriving back
at Rabenau allowed a departure of a train from the
opposite side of the island platform for the third terminus at Rosenstock. The same route is taken as far as the junction,
where the main right hand route was set to take the train over the long Lotchsberg viaduct across the shed entrance to reach the
two platform terminus, covered by a train shed roof. The local train at in the
second platform at Rosenstock was permitted to leave
for Rabenau after the points were changed by more Heathcote equipment.
Back at Rosenstock, detection of the arriving train allowed the
points to be changed for the outgoing departure back to Rabenau.
The sequence was then repeated, providing a 3 to 1 frequency on each branch.
LANDSCAPING
It can reasonably
be expected that the plants and flowers will provide an authentic backdrop to
the railway but limited scenic dioramas have been provided, particularly at Gartenmühle, where, apart from the windmill (illuminated at
night) a working brewery is to be found near the station, separated only by the
town garden and its clock, a replica of that which stood in Berlin Hbf. Round the narrow bend in the road (controlled by
working traffic signals) stands a pub with bier-garten,
although the beer seems to come from a source other than the nearby plant.
Some buildings
have been affected by the weather or little beasties who seem to include paper
in their diet. On one occasion a bigger beastie, in the form of a squirrel made
a visit damaging several items. A new purpose-built animal-proof cover has now
been provided which has conveniently allowed improved cabling to be installed
from the main shed.
With the Essbahn extension, a low level town scene has been created
which includes a tram shuttle and brass band playing musical concerts. Whilst listening,
look for the shop offering strip shows!
The enclosing of
the additional wiring and control units allowed expansion of the streets around
Rabenau. A lively market is sited next to the 4 wheel
carriage while at the end house a fire is raging with the fire crew battling
for control. The large churchyard (with funeral in progress) is separated by a
narrow road and level crossing over the high-level Hochbahn
line. When the new loco depot is complete some more scenic items will be added.
Scenery at Rabenau, apart from the usual railway operational buildings
(the line's HQ is here), is limited to local housing and small station approach
with car parking and cycle rack. Occupying the single station siding is a
redundant 4-wheel carriage now used by local rail staff.
At the elevated Rosenstock terminus, there is space only for the terminal
building behind the buffer stops. The overall roof, along with the church,
brewery and many other buildings are internally lit at night and these,
together with the trains' working head and tail lamps, make evening viewing
very attractive.
10 YEARS ON
About 20% of the
formation has been rebuilt recently after our climate had made its mark on
sections built of other than natural timber. The term "wrong kind of
wood" sprang to mind. The use of roofing felt has definitely paid
dividends but dampness can still pervade any untreated surfaces.
The original
curving Y layout has been extended in three ways culminating in provision of a
purpose-built shed (10’ x7’), supported on two sides by lateral battens fixed
to stone walls. The arrival of this quality "room" has meant
much-improved protection for not only Rabenau
terminus, but the low-level line of the new oval route, town tram shuttle and
scenic dioramas.
The latest
extension, a two metre long platform at Rabenau Hochbahn, plus a steep downgrade chord to the clockwise
oval line, provides a reversing facility for main line trains on a continuous
run. For this to occur, however, the Gartenmuhle
shuttle has to stabled at that terminus, whilst the main line trains uses its
pathway to Rabenau and the connection to the Hochbahn platform.
When a
replacement shed was necessary for the golf equipment, this was obtained one
size larger, thus permitting an extension of both platform lines at Rosenstock into it. Relocation of the route at the original
garden shed has eliminated troublesome interfaces at the Lotschberg
bridge and permitted simplification of the carriage sidings store as two
purpose-built steel depots (wall & tree) are now in place, giving eight
longer sidings.
OPERATION AND
CONTROL
The present
system includes both manual and automatic control. For both the inter-urban
tramway and rail shuttles automatic mode is the norm. It is wise, however, to
have a supervisor on duty as trains can occasionally stop short of platforms
etc. CCTV permits remote supervision of Rosenstock
sidings.
The continuous
run can also be operated automatically, but the local Controller has to select
the place at which each train should commence its deceleration to ensure a
correct stop at Essbahn station. As with the
prototype right-hand running is the norm on double track sections.
When the
Controller wishes to send the train back to depot, he must take over manual
operation of the Rabenau shuttle after a train has
arrived at Gartenmuhle. As already mentioned, this
permits the main line train to reach Rabenau and take
the through route via platform one to R-Hochbahn. The
track power then has to be reset for clockwise running. This is indicated by an
audible warning and clearance of the platform starting signal. The route will
then be clockwise until its time for the train to
terminate at Essbahn and return to Wall depot. To add
further interest a second reverse loop is almost completed, allowing the
continuous anti-clockwise run to restart again from Essbahn.
The original Rabenau shuttles have been expanded and simplified, three
new sidings beyond Rosenstock give an improved
variety of services asd all use platform 2 at Rabenau. After arrival there the route is set from the
other platform for the train to leave for Gartenmuhle.
On its arrival back at Rabenau, the loco-hauled train
returns to Rosenstock. When the Lotschberg
diversion was opened the opportunity was taken to provide a second track
between the sheds to provide a dedicated tram route. A connection exists
however, for trains to use Rosenstock’s far platform,
or for stock movements.
ROLLING STOCK
In addition to
the original acquisitions, the system now has a 6-car ICE tilting unit, a 6-car
IC Express set, a Swiss Double-deck train, a lengthy freight train and, in
common with many European operators, has a "nostalgia zug",
with two steam locos to haul it. The tram fleet comprises a Karlsruhe
tram/train unit, a Stuutgart S-Bahn set and a Berlin
triple car tram.
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