Our News
With a work-free weekend mid-month, there was a plan to paint over the Z66 000 number on the little shunting loco so that we could apply the Z69 659 decals; but the decals were in a safe place and couldn’t be found! So, instead, we repaired the broken buffer on one of the FV1/F5-L models. Comparing this with the other two that we have here, we found that one of the others also had a damaged buffer and we could see that the cause was the nature of the inner packaging that is supposed to support the model and protect it from damage! This was also repaired. Using available time, we finished by modifying the homemade inner ‘tray’ for the equally homemade box for the FV1 that was bought second-hand without an original box. This will protect it from further damage.
As the month drew to a close, and having located the decals, Z69 659 was accordingly branded, and is now fit for full service.
We took delivery of the replacement buffers for the N-loco in October, but time has not yet been allocated for fitting them. We are looking at a weekend in December…!
Manufacturer News
Without a doubt, the biggest news of the year has to be the announcement of a new loco, this from Jeco; the T23 diesel. There will be six different numbers, and it will be available in analogue and digital, and two livery versions. During the 1950s, SJ bought 25 narrow-gauge ‘Tp’ locomotives to replace the steam locomotives on the 891mm gauge lines. However, as the narrow-gauge lines were shut down one by one, it soon became clear to SJ that they had more locomotives than they needed, and they were unsuccessful in selling them; so, it was decided to rebuild fifteen of them into standard gauge locomotives. The rebuilds took place in collaboration between SJ’s workshop in Örebro and AB Svenska Järnvägsverkstäderna in Falun. A new framework had to be constructed and the locomotive bodies widened. Axle-description changed to D (0-8-0 in British nomenclature) instead of 1’C1’ (2-6-2), but still with coupling rod drive. The locomotives were given a livery similar to T21 in red-brown with yellow decorative stripes. They were used in freight trains and shunting in, among other places, Halmstad and Jönköping, but the period of service was short. Towards the end of the 1970s, the locomotives were taken out of service and set aside as standby locomotives. One locomotive (115) was sold as an industrial locomotive to Gullfiber and ended up in the early 1990s with the freight company Österlentåg. After the company went bankrupt, the locomotive was sold to a scrap company. In 2002, Banverket decided to dispose of the T23 locomotives that were on standby and they were sold to various museum associations and scrap dealers. Several T23 locomotives are therefore preserved; represented by five of the six to be produced as models.
Jeco has also renewed their intention to produce more Rc-series locomotives, including Rc1 and Rc4 in orange livery, and several more modern liveries on Rc2 and Rc3.
Dekas is extending their range of grain wagons with three marked ‘Udg’, suitable for the earlier part of Epoch-IV; and a couple as S-RT (Epoch-VI). The S-RT Ugkkpp is a model of SJ sand-train covered hopper wagon, used from 2015, and currently. These are all expected January 2023.
Brekina has released a Büssing Senator 12D bus in “Stockholms Spårvägar” (SS) livery. Described as a 1962 model, it is actually in rebuilt condition with doors on the right for right-hand traffic (from September 1967). At least one of these has been preserved in the Stockholm area. A sample has arrived here; very nicely made, but disappointingly without any decals for route number or destination!
Whilst doing a round-up of manufacturers’ updates (which we don’t do as often as we ought), we found a dead link, and upon further investigation, found that Brimalm Engineering AB was declared bankrupt in 2017. Brimalm was best known for hand-built models in etched brass, aimed at the high-earners and collectors, and made in very limited editions. It is generally considered, however, that Brimalm did nothing for model railways as a ‘whole’; the models were priced in a different league to the interests of serious railway modellers. They were often considered to be in a similar class with “Fabergé eggs”, more about investment than true railway modelling, and certainly nothing to attract children and youth into the hobby. Naturally, businesses of this nature have a high risk of collapse in the slightest wobble in the global economy, and this seems to have been the case.
Other News
In our review of the holiday around Swedish Railway places this year, reference was made to hospital carriages, of which no information could be found. SJK’s latest edition of Tåg carries an article about hospital (and ambulance) carriages, but seemingly no mention of these two (one at Oxelösund, and one at Grängesberg). Reference was made however to two Bo14b carriages, 1899 and 1901, which had been converted to So10, and the descriptions fit (and further research shews that these were originally wooden bodied Co6 carriages). But their demise is quoted (in Tåg) as one at Nässjö Railway Museum and parts of the other at Gävle Railway Museum. Digging deeper, we found that 1899 was purchased from Gävle a few years ago and is at the FSVJ at Oxelösund. It is believed that the reference to ‘1899’ on the ‘parts’ probably relates to something else, or something that had been a temporary fit! 1901 was last said to be in railway ‘department’ use, and the one photo that we have of the carriage at Grängesberg does show a tiny part of a wagon number under the grey paint; making this very likely to be 1901. The website for Nässjö’s Railway Museum says nothing about the rolling stock there, and we’ve not visited (since 1998), so we are cautiously confident that we have identified both carriages.
We recently had a good look around our website to see if anything needed updating. Oh yes; and a few typos need correcting also. We will be spending the time between now and the end of the year to tweak and polish, but there seems little point in cataloguing them here. Any big changes will, of course, get a mention.
Behind the Scenes
Mini-Series about the FLMJ, 11: The Team behind the Railway
Whilst the FLMJ was managed by one person, it ought to be remembered that it was owned by Adnalms Järnvägar, and the operation and maintenance of the Railway was carried out by a team of dedicated volunteers. These friends of the Railway were known as a club, Adnalms Järnvägsklubb (AJK); and when the belligerent site owner decided to ban clubs from the (residential) estate, we changed our status to ’Friends of the Railway’ thus Adnalms Järnvägsförening (AJF)! (The site owners really were control freaks who imposed many pointless and unnecessary rules and prohibitions; they even tried to prevent the development of the railway!) The railway’s investment was assumed to come from one source, the Manager (or Director General to use the official title), but this was not the case. There were several outside sources who were suitably inspired by the railway to want to contribute to its success and development. But the Railway’s influence resulted in a number of volunteers building their own Swedish or multinational railway layouts, and to them we are sorry for the FLMJ’s closure.
Adnalms Järnvägsförening (the ’Friends’ of the Railway) continues to this day, albeit as a remote club sharing news, ideas, and inspiration, largely via this website. The Friends will continue to receive our support and encouragement especially with the development of their own Swedish railway modelling. Adnalms Järnvägsklubb (the Club) will be re-established once a start has been made on the new railway. We have no delusions about how big such a club could become, especially considering that ‘DCC’, in which we have no interest, has quite a large following here; and the railway will be designed in the same way as before, so that it can be operated by just the one person alone if necessary, or by a team.
Because of the nature of sharing this hobby, our updates tend to use ‘we’ instead of ‘I’; and it is fair to record that almost everything that is done – even the outings – has more than just the one person taking part. The summer tour of railway museums was mostly in the accompaniment of one or more friends; the work on developing a temporary layout here in Odensala is being made possible by housemates’ assistance; and so on.
Next month, in our final instalment*, we’ll look at the possibilities for the way forward.
*Well, we actually have something ‘different’ but related, planned, for 2023!