Swedish railway news
Unfortunately, we need to start with a bit of advice, a ‘caution.’ When booking travel with Snälltåget, the 60+ senior ticket is actually a surcharge, not a discount! The return fare for a recent trip with the 60+ option was 863 kr, but when, out of curiosity, we checked the standard adult fare for the same two trains, the total was 831 kr, some 32 kr cheaper! There is no ‘Contact Us’ option on their website, and the onboard inspector was completely clueless! Caveat Emptor.
Swedish model news
Jeco has announced that their retooled Ra-loco will also be available with Marshall lighting (but still with the original door layout). Several different running numbers are to be offered, but as before, not the first two, because they have slight differences in detail (pantograph positions, for example).
NMJ’s Of-loco is now in the shops. That arrived rather quickly! It is suitable for early ore trains along the Malmbanan (before the arrival of the Dm-loco) and latterly for general goods trains a little farther south.
Roco has announced five new locomotives, including Da 917. The orange Rc4 1173 seems to have the original roof profile but later metal window frames, this latter point distinguishing it from the Jeco model. The Amtrak Rc4 1166 is to be in the current condition (with modified roof profile and ‘Nordic Refinance’ branding). And right up to date, there will be two locomotives; the TRAXX F140 AC2 loco with ‘Nordic Refinance’ branding, and the Re 620 052, which was transferred from Switzerland to Sweden in 2025, having been taken over by Nordic Refinance. There will be more, but this one is in a fancy ‘Alpine’ scenic livery!
Rumoured by one retailer, NMJ is expected to produce models of three 1940s carriages: the R3, WL2 and BF2; the first two of which were previously made by Lima. But we cannot find these on NMJ’s own website!
Roco is also reissuing some wagons; the 2-axle tank wagon in “Koppartrans” livery in a pack of two, the ‘Teu’ wagon (pre-UIC) in a pack of two, but also the ‘Himrrs’ double-wagon in “Nordwaggon” livery.
The awaited Minichamps models of the Saab 900 3-door coupé and 2-door cabriolet are now available. Unlike the PCX87 versions, these are of the 1995 year-models, and are therefore models of GM products!
PCX87 is advertising the proposed production of a model of the Volvo 360 saloon from 1985, which will initially be available in four different colours. Some outlets are advertising it as the 340, but the 340 was a hatchback (3-door or 5-door), the 360 was only a 4-door saloon, as in the pictures from PCX87.
Our railway news
There is one change in the planning stage; that of one of the proposed narrow-gauge additions to the main diorama. The Zätaspåret was to have been an H0n2 (7mm gauge) line, representing the 600mm gauge, running from Kållstorp (on the H0n3 line), to a shadow station to be identified as Hemsjön. We have decided that the European H0f identity (aka H0i) (6½mm gauge) would be more suitable for this line than H0n2 (which is American), largely because there are more models available, ready-to-run, and with many significantly from Busch, they’re more European in appearance.
We’ve also decided that the RTJ, being of a more southerly nature, will not be a suitable home for the iron ore railway (Malmbanan) models, so we’ve decided to offer these for sale. Sixteen of the twenty ‘Uad’ wagons have been sold, as well as all of the twenty-two ‘Mas’ wagons. In addition to the four remaining ‘Uad’ wagons, one Dm-loco and one Dm3-loco remain for sale at the time of writing. (The Dm is in England, the rest are here in Sweden.)
With the arrival of the H&M ‘Loco Tester’ from storage, we were able to run-in some locomotives. The newly built kit of the N-loco was the first, very stiff to start with, but eventually got going – and then the eccentric crank broke off on one side! This is a soldered part and thankfully we have been able to solder it back on. We do have some spare parts if this becomes a regular problem (both sides have failed in turn, now)! The U-loco was next, an old Tenshodo model, also a bit stiff, but much better (until it derailed off the ‘rolling road’), though there is one wheel-set that is not perfectly aligned and the loco wobbles – but that is not too difficult to sort out. The Jeco T23 failed again, so we replaced the ‘chip’ with a BP21 and we were then able to run it in fully, albeit without lighting (so we’ve postponed fitting the replacement lighting cable)! Also, T21 64 and T45 328 needed running in; the T45 because this was the first chance since building the kit, and the T21 because it was the first chance with the new motor. The T45, which has a chassis from SV&LV, runs beautifully; but sadly, the T21 still needs more work.
And finally…
One of our Friends took this photo at Nässjö station during the summer (where workmen are seen putting up netting under the station canopy to keep the birds out), and asked, “How many safety failures can you see in one photo?”
The answers included:
- Working close to the platform edge whilst trains are running close by;
- Blocking the train driver’s view of the aspect given by the signal (quite obscured in this photo – but one is there);
- Working at height near 16kV overhead electrification without any protection;
- No hard hats;
- Person in the lift standing on the guard rail, not the floor, and without safety harness;
- Banksman clearly not paying attention, allowing people to pass close to the work and to the platform edge;
- No exclusion zone around the tower (barriers, signs, etc).
There may be more (and we’re not launching a competition about this), but some extra training might not be a bad idea for the people involved!
