ThomasI

Hi Tony I got some stones from the construction site at the harbor. Beautiful roughly carved sandstone. Otherwise winter is here. But got a new Acela Express for Christmas. *yes!* Merry Xmas Thomas PS: I search for a translation for the german word "behauen" and I used 'carved' now, but my Smartphone recommended me to use the word 'hewn' instead. Is that real a word in English?

It was just a hypothetical "if I have won the lotto".. ...but the jackpot is untouched yet.... ...dream!!!

Hi Tony! After winning the lottery (here at the moment the jackpot says 75 millions Euro) I think I can manage to have enough track to run all locos of my dreams at the same time..... Wish you a Merry Xmas! Thomas

Hi Tony! Last time we had snow here in Ludwigshafen was January 2008. Sometimes it snows, but dew away on the ground immediately. At the moment we have 7 degrees Celsius. I found the Auscision web site. It's like being a drug addict and to meet the Medellín Cartel. They have NSW and V-Line electric locos! OMG!! Thomas from the Rhine dreams of winning the lottery.

Hi Tony! It's now wet and cold here outside so I focus myself on the slab track thing a the moment. And we got a little baby dog who has to learn that his toilet is outside (and because outside it's now wet etc. he prefer to do it inside... ). There is no Aucision dealer in Germany, so I've to add customs to the 1200 AUS-Dollars... ....but Qantas will start direct nonstop flights Frankfurt - Sydney in 2018, maybe.....

Hi Guys, hi Tony! Got a Thalys PBA (the older one with the second generation TGV-like power cars) instead of the TGV-RD and an Amtrak Acela Express Made today reservations for the new TGV PSE in Carmillon design from Jouef, the TGV Duplex in the same design from Mehano and TGV Lyria "de la neige" and TGV Ouigo both also from Mehano. To have all TGV I now only miss a TGV-Atlantique, a TGV-Reseau and naturally a TGV-RD (I told you I don't like Airport Charles-de-Gaulle, right???).

Saw today the Auscision XPT... ...lovely!!!! But the price .... But for Sydney you will need one or two, right?

I don't have a shed, I use a room inside my house. It has 12 x 2 metres. On the levels 0cm and 24cm it will house the sidings for the outdoor layout. At the levels 48cm and 74cm it will house more sidings which can be reached from levels 24cm and 96cm. On the levels 96cm and 105cm I plan to built my indoor layout: inner-city railway station with a hall like Hamburg-Dammtor or Berlin-Friedrichstrasse but next to 4 transit-tracks with 5 further stump-tracks for local traffic. When everything is ready, train traffic from the train station inside to the train station outside is possible but also only between one of the stations and the sidings.

Bad News: My TGV RD 600 got lost at Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle. DHL will pay full damage, but the train is no longer availaible so I can't buy another one. Good News: I and the guy with the factory for plastic injection moldings will for sure start to produce slab-track-elements to make a H0 slab track in style of the big concrete constructions company "Max Bögl". http://www.vde8.de/mediathek/file/1338/dToFyLnkH0Bu24dvcJU-Usm1JTlViZHj_qXh0g8Yh7s/VDE-81-NBS_Feste-Fahrbahn_System-Boegl_b.jpg We will offer these feature later in 2017 also for everyone else.

I use the printer to print the steps. The rest I will scratchbuilt. There are kits available but they are expensive. And the escalators in the posterior part of the station, primarily in the lower level, don't need to be so detailed, they are more than 1metre away from any viewer. For the bar car: Give me a time and I think I can organise the set T678 for you. If you want another full length Thalys red/silver (not purple/red/silver) with bar car, I just get one offered for 325 Euros...

Hi Tony I bought the Thalys via e-bay. The guy wanted to get 390 euros, after he did not get sold the train twice, I offered him 290 euros. I thought more he is negotiating now and we meet at 340 or so ... ... but he accepted 290! And this Thalys has also the bar car. The TGV RD 600 is a unique combination of used TGV-Reseau motrices and new double deck intermediate cars. These motrices lost their intermediate cars to the new engines of the TGV-Est-Europe. This new-old TGV today drives as Lyria from Paris to Switzerland. So the TGV RD 600 has second generation motrices like TGV Atlantique or TGV-Reseau or Thalys-PBA while the "real" TGV-Duplex has third generation motrices like the Thalys PBKA... With the RD 600 I've both types of double deck TGVs... ...at the moment I do tests for the construction of escalators for my station. First time my 3-D-printer works helpfull...

At least I had the opportunity to expand my stock of high-speed trains. I got another Thalys PBKA (the first one was in two-tone-red, the new one is just plain), a AVE S-102 "Pato" and a TGV RD 600 All trains at full length, TGV and Thalys with 10 parts, the AVE with 9 parts.

My station is based on Zaragoza-Delicias. But for the interior with to levels of track it will be based partly on Antwerpen Centraal. And unlike Zaragoza-Delicias, my station will represent a right-angled quadrangle and not a oblique quadrangle.

In N Kato has Shinkansen-style slab track also with slab track bridges etc. In H0 not. I definitely have to scratchbuilt my station. The hall will have 4.8m to 1.2m and will be 0.5m above the upper level of tracks. ' I will do the roof with glass only because I want to see the trains... The walls and the outside of the station generally has no much details: At one side I will replace the plain stone wall with a glass front like this: http://c8.alamy.com/comp/EYAK10/cologne-cathedral-railway-main-station-reflexion-building-face-glass-EYAK10.jpg''>http://c8.alamy.com/comp/EYAK10/cologne-cathedral-railway-main-station-reflexion-building-face-glass-EYAK10.jpg' rel="external nofollow">http://c8.alamy.com/comp/EYAK10/cologne-cathedral-railway-main-station-reflexion-building-face-glass-EYAK10.jpg Reason is the same as with the roof: Better view at the trains.

Hi Tony! What Kato setup did you mean? Greetings Thomas ä

There are metals which oxidize in such colors.

Hello I make a calculation with base plates. I will need about 300 plates for 1 metre of track. 5 plates cost 2,50 €. 300 plates makes than 150 €. Ok maybe I will get a reduction when buying thousands of plates so 300 plates will make about 120 €. Than ad rails, card, glue, paint and I will end with at minimum 140 € per metre track. I was thinking about having slab track on both levels on my central station, each level with 12 tracks a 5 metres (= 120m) and the long straight part of my HSL, two tracks a 15m (=30m). 150 metres with costs of 140 € per metre says 21.000 € just for that. And I'm not sure how stable it is outside with glued track. I was thinking of doing slab track with parts made of Keramin and rails glued on that. But I was not convinced that this will work as a lasting solution for outdoor. But good news: I've talks with someone who has plastic injection molding machines and industrial 3-D-printer and is thinking about producing a slab track in which you only have to push the rails. We both think there is a market in H0/00 for that and I offered him to buy 200m if the price is below 40 €/m. He showed me first models and they were really very appealing. There is one point in favor of slab track outside: No trouble with ballast. With a young guy who is very talented in the production of turnouts in the method you mentioned I work on ideas for slab track turnouts (also one with moveable frogs). He just told me he has also a idea for producing slab track for only 15€/m but has not spoken about details I will use for the baseboard outside WPC and PVC and no wood, so water or insects will have no chance. I've made plans for the last 20years. But my health is uncertain. Maybe I will have 40 or 50 more years. Maybe I will not have just another 20 years. I will see my trains on track. So I'm not in a hurry but time is a critical point. Best Regards Thomas

Hi Tony! These bending of 12ply it's interesting 'cause I've the same problem with to much waste of ply by creating trasses and bridges with big radii. Would be interesting to see details how you do these bends. Greetings Thomas

Start of construction will probably unfortunately nevertheless no longer be this year . Apart from the fact that the delivery of the WPC is delayed, there are problems with the slab track. The one who really wanted to help me in the production of slab track with 3-D Printers is "submerged". Another guy who is able to do refused, he will just provide me with stuff printed by himself - and asked me to pay him about 60 Euros per meter track, rails not included. I need about 150 meters.... 9000 Euro for this? No way. Tried some products from Shapeways but they are so rough that even with code 100 and RP -25 wheels the wheels rattle on the rail fastenings. For N there is slab track available from Kato but in H0/00 not even a small volume manufacturers. At the moment annoys me very this focus on the "Railway of grandfathers" in the field H0 / 00. This frustrates me and takes away me just the desire to carry on.

Found another guy in german railway forum who offered me to make points. He is just 19 but his points are quite well! He also offered to make whole sets of points (routes). That saves me much money and gives new perspektives. Naturally I will pay him for his work. He has a H0 indoor layout and with 19 you'ill never have enough money for this hobby. But for the before shown points I paid between 110 and 150 each.... ...Euros. If I pay him 50 to 75 Euros I save much. But his costs for material a just 3 Euros, so he earns money for his layout.

So the jungle has cut back. I've changed the plans for entrance to the lower level of central station. Now can 3 trains enter or leave to/from the south simultaneously and I need 3 points less and no diamond crossings. On the other entrance all points will now be underground e.g. well protected against rain, sun and other weather. I decided to built most of outdoor layout with WPC (Wood-Plastic-Composites).WPCs do not corrode or bow and are highly resistant to rot, decay, and Marine Borer attack, though they do absorb water into the wood fibers embedded within the material. They have good workability and can be shaped using conventional woodworking tools. Hopefully next week my ordered WPC has arrived and I can start.

Hi Andrew. Nice to see a german electric in the garden, especially a class 103 which is my favorite german electric loco. What means I've at the moment 5 of them... Greetings Thomas

Fleischmann has also a version with interior and lights... ...just a little bit more expensive. I can't see the differences you mentioned for the cabs: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/DB-Baureihe_407.JPG http://www.siemens.com/press/pool/de/pressebilder/2014/mobility/300dpi/IM2014120282MO_300dpi.jpg And the e320 has only 16 cars. So you've to buy a 8-car set (about 650 Euros) and add 8 intermediate cars ( 4 sets of 2, about 500 Euros).

Hi! To scratchbuilt the e320 in H0 you have just to buy a Fleischmann Velaro-D (ICE 407) and ad the needed amount of intermediate cars and than repaint the whole train . The e320 is just a long Velaro. https://www.fleischmann.de/de/product/226108-0-0-0-0-0-0-003003/products.html There are sets of 2 and 4 intermediate cars available. Greetings Thomas

Hi Tony. There are 500mm double track outside now. It has started. Greetings Thomas