Vi har målat mattsvart på insidan av några hussatser för att blockera interiörbelysningen från att lysa igenom plasten. Vi kommer då att montera fönster och dörrar, men inte faktiskt montera dem; så att vi kan lägga undan dem i deras lådor tills ett permanent hem har hittats åt dem. Vi började med modellen av Åmåls stationsbyggnad (vår Lövhöjden, som behövde bytas ut efter att ha skadats av så mycket väder). Under denna månad har vi även tagit del av några bra priser på Joswood laserskurna kit och två har köpts in, redo för samma behandling.
Tillverkarens Nyheter
HNoll har kommit med fler nyheter. Förseningar beror som vi redan vet på problem i Kina med Covid, och problem i Sverige med räntor och generellt stigande priser! B4/BF4/BF7 väntas på sensommaren. Resten av A7/B7 och specialvagnarna väntas strax därefter. A11/B11 skulle vara nästa, men för närvarande finns det inte tillräckligt med intäkter från befintliga modeller för att betala för deras produktion. HNoll befarar att folk kommer att ge upp att vänta och behålla sina Roco-modeller, men när HNolls överlägsna kvalitet väl uppskattas tror vi att de flesta modellbyggare kommer att välja att ändra dem. Första generationens A7/B7 och BFS9 finns på ritbordet/CAD. Förutom ett omnämnande av B2/B10 finns det, klokt, inget vidare utvecklingsschema. (Vi hoppas på följande modeller: A7 (första serien), B7 (första serien), B2, B4 och UAF7, alla i brunt, två av varje utom UAF7 (en). Om HNoll skulle producera R4 i brunt utan InterCity pil skulle en av dem också vara trevlig.) Utöver 1980-talets vagnar överväger HNoll 1940-/1970-talets BC2 liggvagn, 1960-talets R1 restaurangvagn och 1960-talets WL1 sovvagn. (Alla dessa skulle passa oss väldigt bra.) De skulle vara dyrare än befintliga modeller eftersom de nästan inte har några designdetaljer som kan “bäras över” till/från andra modeller! (Varken R1 eller WL1 finns i NMJ:s 1960-talsvagnar.) HNoll planerar fortfarande att tillverka ett Ma-lok i toppklass, även om Jeco har en befintlig modell; och vi befarar att detta skulle hamna i priskategorin Brimalm och locka så få köpare att det inte skulle vara en klok investering. (Varför inte bygga en acceptabel modell av Mg-loket; det skulle vara mycket mer användbart och populärt?) Dessutom vill HNoll producera X10-enheten och alla dess derivat. De enda aktuella modellerna är satserna från SWB/UGJ, men med ett Byggsvenskt chassi fungerar dessa fint; skulle X10 locka tillräckligt många köpare för att vara värd att producera? Vi skulle föredra X9; aldrig gjort färdig att köra tidigare, men en bra representation av SJ:s rullande materielhistoria.
Andra intressanta nyheter
Vi har återställt en länk till det Storbritannien-baserade Scandinavian Railways Society, nu när deras webbplats är tillbaka under samhällets kontroll och ser mycket bättre ut; snyggt, läsvärt, relevant, osv…! Vi har också lagt till en länk till Model Train Prices på vår hemsida. Priser på modeller jämförs mellan butiker, inklusive 20 i Sverige; men det är inte bara för svenska modeller. Prova och se.
It’s been a low-activity month, again. We won’t bore you with the saga of finding a suitable home for the Railway, because it is just about buildings. But this has taken up a lot of time recently. Desperate to do some model-related activity, it was decided to open some of the housing kits, paint matt black on the insides to block interior lighting from shining through the plastic; and then fit things such as windows and doors. Stopping at this point means that the kits can be put back in their boxes, for assembly once in situ in the eventual location. But we can also use a very low-tack adhesive if we want to put them together for photography or other reasons! During this month, we also took advantage of some good prices on Joswood laser-cut kits, and two have been purchased, ready for the same treatment. We started with the Heljan model of Åmål, as used at Lövhöjden. Our existing model is quite badly weather-damaged, so having found an unbuilt kit on Tradera (the Swedish ‘eBay’) some time ago, we decided that it would be good to replace it. In addition to the insides of the walls and rooves, we painted the gutters and downpipes, chimney tops (and insides), and small details on the main base plate. Looking further ahead, we are intending to not use the printed paper curtains, because the interior lighting shines through the curtains but not the space in-between. Instead, we intend to fit home-made interior walls, basic interior details suitably painted, and have a more authentic appearance. Quite how well this goes will be determined as we do it!
The Joswood summer house and school buildings, as kits.Matt Black (looking glossy whilst wet) has been applied to the insides of this model to prevent the light from shining through the plastic!Åmål station building, by Heljan, seen here at the old Lövhöjden.
Manufacturer News
HNoll continues to keep modellers up to date with developments, and despite all the problems being experienced, Rickard remains up-beat, which is good to know. The problems are of course, the delays in China due to Covid; and an enormous hike in interest rates and utility prices, affecting people’s ability to buy the models, and subsequently HNoll’s ability to produce the next round of models. a) The B4/BF4/BF7 are expected late summer. b) The remainder of the A7/B7 and the Special carriages are expected soon after. c) The A11/B11 would be next, but currently there is not enough revenue from existing models to pay for their production. HNoll fears that people will give up waiting and retain their Roco models, but once HNoll’s superior quality is appreciated, we think that most modellers will choose to change them. d) First Generation A7/B7 and the BFS9 are on the drawing board / CAD. e) Other than a mention of the B2/B10, there is, wisely, no further development schedule. (As a point of interest, we are hoping for the following models; A7 (first series), B7 (first series), B2, B4 and UAF7, all in brown, two of each except the UAF7 (one). If HNoll were to produce the R4 in brown without the InterCity chevrons, one of those would also be nice.) There are however, mentions of other, non-1980s carriages; either to accompany the proposed ‘InterCity’ concept train or as requested by modellers. These are the 1940s/1970s BC2 couchette carriage, 1960s R1 catering carriage, and 1960s WL1 sleeping carriage. All of these would suit the FLMJ very well. They would be pricier than existing models because they have very few design details that can carry over to/from other models! (Neither the R1 nor WL1 are in NMJ’s 1960s carriages range.) HNoll still plans to produce a top-of-the-range Ma-loco, despite Jeco’s existing model; and we fear that this would end up in the Brimalm pricing category and attract so few buyers, that it would not be a wise investment. (Why not build an acceptable model of the Mg-loco; that would be much more useful and popular?) And on top of this, HNoll wants to produce the X10 unit and all of its derivatives. Fair enough; the only current models are the kits from SWB/UGJ, but with a Byggsvenskt chassis, these work fine; would the X10 attract enough buyers to be worth producing? We’d prefer the X9; never made r-t-r before, but a good representation of SJ’s rolling stock history.
The Märklin R1 (with reduced scale length) is seen in a train on the old KRBJX10 3149 (the prototype for the FLMJ’s model) at Kungsängen.X10 3149 at the original Köpingsvik station.
Other News
We’re delighted to re-establish a link to the UK-based Scandinavian Railways Society, now that their website is back under Society control, and looking much better; tidy, readable, relevant, etc…! We’ve also added a link to Model Train Prices on our website. Prices of models are compared between shops, including 20 in Sweden; but it is not just for Swedish models. Try it and see. As a rule of thumb, there is very little price competition between the shops for Swedish models. (Customer service says a lot, here in the Nordic territory.) Swedish models are produced in small batches to match the smaller demand than for other countries like the UK, Germany, US, and so on. Smaller quantities lead to higher prices, so there is very little margin for shops to compete, knowing that the prices have to be low enough to attract customers, but without putting themselves (or the manufacturers) out of business. Look above at the problems being experienced at HNoll, for example.
Behind the Scenes
Mini-Series around the FLMJ; E: The Stocklist
Additional to the Year Book, and with a similar cover photo, we have produced a printed Stock List every year. Its purpose was simply to catalogue all locomotives, units, carriages and wagons that we have here. Even after a computer program became more relevant, this provided a good back-up, quick and easy to read. But only one copy was ever printed, and kept on file. This has been maintained, but this year’s list (as always, correct to January 1st,) could be the last. We also have this information in other formats, formats that are more useful to us with regards to operating the railway; such as a service schedule in Excel. A simplified list is produced in Word and is taken to all events and places where there might be an opportunity to acquire desired models; its purpose is to ensure that we can avoid duplicating existing models! And this copy is sufficient for our insurers. In our previous updates, we considered the future alternative for the Year Book. It could include elements from this book; if we feel that it makes interesting reading.
A lucky opportunity saw the purchase of a copy of the model that we have used at Lövhöjden station, Heljan’s model of Åmål station building. It is a good representation and very typically Swedish, but our model was very weather-beaten, and we had wanted to replace it for some time. Done!
The paved area, grass, trees, and more gave the entrance to Lövhöjden station building a nice atmosphere.
We have also used our spare time without a railway for research, and will clarify an irritation with certain wagons. We purchased a ‘Kbps’ last year, thinking it was the ‘missing one’, but in fact we had recorded one with a completely wrong number onto our database with the correct number as it should have been, with the intention that we would correct it later on. So, the duplicate will either be sold or renumbered completely. NMJ’s ‘Kbps’ wagons have either 335 or 370 as the fifth to seventh digits. 370 is completely wrong, it applies to the ‘Os’ wagon. Interestingly, the latest wagon has the usual incorrect UIC control check digit, but it would have been correct if NMJ had printed 335 instead of 370; so arguably it has the correct control digit, just a wrong wagon type number! Our duplicate wagon is article 602.107, but the one that we need is 602.106, which the advertising suggests also has the incorrect 370! It does seem a shame that after all the effort that NMJ went to, to produce these wagons, they failed at the last hurdle, in not getting the number right! (We have made a list of 24 of our wagons with incorrect control digits, and 15 of them — yes, more than half — are NMJ!)
The Kbis from NMJ comes in two slightly different versions, shewn here!
Manufacturer News
HNoll is increasingly frustrated with the Chinese production lines. It seems now that the A7/B7 carriages will not be produced before the Chinese New Year, and with the delivery schedules as they are, we may not see them this side of midsummer! As for the B4/BF4, photos of a prototype model have circulated on social media, but it would be foolish to make any estimates for a date to arrive into the shops! We certainly appreciate HNoll keeping us informed; we have quite a few on order, not just for the FLMJ, but for friends, also!
This is the time of year when there is a bit of a frenzy of announcements of newly proposed models. Here are the ones that we know about — obviously many of these new items are too modern for the FLMJ, but we thought maybe some of our readers would like to know about them!
An Rc4 in SJ blue with Green Cargo branding is proposed from Roco (a revised livery on a standard product).
A black liveried Rc6 is proposed from Märklin/Trix as a completely new model, digital, metal, and even gets heated mirrors!
The BR 185.2 is to come from two manufacturers, but different in detail. From Piko, it will be DB-AG red livery but branded for “Green Cargo”; and from Roco it will be in Green Cargo’s green livery (the 185.2 is the same as the ‘Re’, a TRAXX loco).
The Hector Rail G6 diesel loco (a very modern looking V5, in essence) is to be produced by Piko. As with many modern diesels, it is a standard European design, so it is easier (and cheaper) for the model manufacturer to produce than before.
A replacement motor for the NMJ Y1 and YF1 has been announced, using the Faulhaber 1624 with specially made flywheel, and a new engine mount from Winterzone. Construction description in Swedish is included. We are unsure of the producer of this ‘kit’ but hope to know more, soon.
Sadly, in order to give Märklin’s black Rc6 a train to pull, Märklin is also releasing a set of four black carriages of their standard 1960s designs, which is totally inauthentic as these carriages were withdrawn before the black livery was introduced!
The ‘DV30’ by Märklin is back in Epoch-IV condition. (If, unlike the previous one, it comes in a box that will accommodate a close-coupling head, then one could be procured for the FLMJ!)
The ‘Eaos’ wagon will also be produced by Märklin/Trix, in a set of three with a scrap load.
The ‘Sdggmrs’ articulated container wagon is to be released by Roco, labelled for DB-AG, but carrying two “Bode Spedition” containers.
A set comprising two ‘Zacns’ bogie tank wagons in “Pure Performance” (Green Cargo) livery is proposed from Roco.
Brawa does not produce Swedish models, but they are to produce the VTG Gigawood XXL, a non-Swedish timber wagon that is used by Hector Rail in Sweden, today. But it is not due until 2023.
Behind the Scenes
Mini-Series about the FLMJ, 2: Lövhöjden, Månstorp and Ålunden
Lövhöjden, representing the central area of Sweden, was naturally the centre point on the Railway. (At least it would have been, once the projection to Fjällnäs had been completed!) But it was designed to be a major station with several passing loops and three platforms, two of which were later split into halves by a crossover in the track. The control panel was designed so that the local controller could control the whole railway (well, maybe not the industrial sidings). Lövhöjden also had the most developed scenery, as much as we could manage given the weather damage (and cat damage)! Naturally, Lövhöjden became the most photographed location, and in the final days, the most was made of this. Even with forthcoming closure confirmed, development continued until the very last day.
A general view of Lövhöjden from 2011.
The main road through Lövhöjden, with grass embankments, pavements, trees; scenic details that the railway needed.
Månstorp, representing the southern area of Sweden, needed a more modern look, and the buildings could be more European in style. Unfortunately, it became very modern in respect of being truncated, losing passing loops and becoming just the essential layout for passing trains. This had become necessary due to the vulnerable location of the station; at the front of the garden, near the gate, where things could be ‘uplifted’ by unwholesome people! Nevertheless, we made the most of what little we could have here. The track sections were switched from Lövhöjden, and a CCTV overlooked the area. The crossover points here were the first to be remotely controlled. An almost amusing fact here is that the model cars on this area of the layout were of the ‘toy’ Eko brand; no great loss.
A nice model of Diö station building at Månstorp; but the road vehicles were vulnerable, so were of the lowest standard!
The modern black Rc-loco and train clash with the heritage railbus. This loco was probably the shortest-owned model on the FLMJ!
Ålunden was our shadow station. This was the encouraged location for placing models on the track and removing them. It gave the railway a sense of purpose; the trains arrived onto the FLMJ through a tunnel (hole in the wall) from anywhere on the SJ network. Ålunden therefore, determined the length of the trains, and the tracks would accommodate seven carriage trains (so they were seldom used to capacity). One track was set aside (by virtue of a point midway, and then a long curved section) for extra long goods trains. As a secondary line; longer passenger trains would be out of place.
Both Rc2 locos, an Ma and a Da, line up at Ålunden, ready for their next duties.
The shelf above the control panel stored empty stock boxes by day, and the model buildings by night!
Next month, we’ll look at the Siljansbanan and the areas that it served.
Ett lyckosamt tillfälle var att köpa ett exemplar av modellen som vi har använt på Lövhöjdens station, Heljans modell av Åmåls stationshus. Det är en bra representation och väldigt typiskt svenskt, men vår modell var väldigt väderbiten, och vi hade velat byta ut den ett tag. Gjort!
Vi har även använt vår fritid utan järnväg för forskning och ska reda ut ett problem med några vagnar. Vår nyaste “Kbps”-vagn är faktiskt en kopia av en som vi redan har! Numret är fel och vi har antecknat rätt nummer, med avsikt att ändra det som står på modellen. Så den här vagnen kommer antingen att säljas eller numreras om helt. NMJ:s “Kbps”-vagnar har antingen 335 eller 370 som femte till sjunde siffran. 370 är helt fel, det gäller ’Os’-vagnen. Faktum är att den senaste vagnen har den vanliga felaktiga kontrollsiffran för UIC-kontroll, men det hade varit korrekt om NMJ hade skrivit ut 335 istället för 370; så man kan hävda att den har rätt kontrollsiffra, bara fel vagnstypnummer! Vår dubblettvagn är artikel 602.107, men den vi behöver är 602.106, som reklam antyder också har den felaktiga 370! Det verkar synd att efter alla ansträngningar som NMJ gick till, för att producera dessa vagnar, misslyckades de vid det sista hindret, med att inte få rätt antal! (Vi har gjort en lista över 24 av våra vagnar med felaktiga kontrollsiffror, och 15 av dem – ja, mer än hälften – är gjorda av NMJ!)
Tillverkarens Nyheter
HNoll blir allt mer frustrerad över de kinesiska produktionslinjerna. Det verkar nu som att A7/B7-vagnarna inte kommer att tillverkas före midsommar! Vi uppskattar verkligen att HNoll håller oss informerade; vi har en hel del på beställning, inte bara för FLMJ, utan även för vänner!
Det här är tiden på året då många nya modeller tillkännages av tillverkarna; här är en sammanfattning, än så länge (de flesta är för moderna för FLMJ, men DU kanske skulle vilja veta ändå)…
¨ En Rc4 i SJ-blått med Green Cargo-märke föreslås från Roco (en reviderad färg på en standardprodukt).
¨ En Rc6 i svart föreslås från Märklin/Trix som en helt ny modell, digital, metall, och får äntligen uppvärmda speglar!
¨ En BR 185.2 ska komma från två tillverkare, men olika i detalj. Från Piko blir det DB-AG rött liv men märkt för “Green Cargo”; och från Roco kommer den att vara i Green Cargos gröna färg.
¨ Dieselloket Hector Rail G6 ska tillverkas av Piko. Som med många moderna dieslar är det en europeisk standarddesign, så det är lättare (och billigare) för modelltillverkaren att tillverka än tidigare.
¨ En ersättningsmotor för NMJ Y1 och YF1 har tillkännagivits, med Faulhaber 1624 med specialtillverkat svänghjul, och ett nytt motorfäste från Winterzone. Byggbeskrivning på svenska ingår. Vi är osäkra på tillverkaren av detta “kit” men hoppas att få veta mer snart.
¨ Tyvärr, för att ge Märklins svarta Rc6 ett tåg att dra, producera Märklin också en uppsättning av fyra svarta vagnar av deras standarddesign från 1960-talet, vilket är totalt oäkta eftersom dessa vagnar skrotades innan det svarta livret introducerades!
¨ ‘DV30’ av Märklin är tillbaka i Epoch-IV-skick.
¨ Även ‘Eaos’-vagnen kommer att tillverkas av Märklin/Trix, i ett set om tre, var och en lastad med skrot.
¨ ‘Sdggmrs’ ledade containervagn ska släppas av Roco, märkt för DB-AG, men med två “Bode Spedition”-containrar.
¨ Ett set bestående av två ‘Zacns’ boggivagnar i “Pure Performance” (Green Cargo)-liveri föreslås från Roco
¨ Brawa tillverkar inga svenska modeller, utan de ska tillverka VTG Gigawood XXL, en utländsk timmervagn som idag används av Hector Rail i Sverige. Men det kommer inte förrän 2023.
