This re-build of my HO scale model tramway in a bookcase was necessitated by a house move. I have retained most of the scenic features including the Four Seasons theme, but this time I made the layout free-standing so that it can be taken to exhibitions occasionally. The baseboard is 11’ x 1’4” (3.3m X 0.4m) in three sections designed to pack into the back of a small car.
The track is Peco HO Code 83 laid in a Das modelling compound roadbed. Code 83 rail has a flat-topped profile, much like tram track, and it is a good match for the Conrad/Hartell points (switches) which I bought back in 1985. The track plan is a simple double-track line with a single-track reversing spur at each end. The left-hand end of the layout has a length of non-functioning double track and the street appears to continue into the distance through a mirror. Several Alpine cities have routes which run as tramways in the urban area but become light railways with proper stations and signalling in the counrtyside; the right-hand Winter section is intended to give a flavour of this.
Operation is automatic by means of four block sections corresponding with the baseboards. There are infra-red detectors (far more reliable than the reed switches on the old layout) and station stops with analogue acceleration/braking. The disadvantage of analogue acceleration is that the settings have to work for all the trams in use. Reasonably smooth settings for the Rivarossi/Electrotren/Lima models gives quite an abrupt stop/start for the Halling-made trams, which looks even worse in the video. (DCC Concepts Zen Automation would probably work for this layout, but the system was not available when I started the re-build).
The centre section of the layout now references Freiburg im Breisgau thanks to the Faller St. Martin's Tower city gate. Originally, I wanted to recreate part of the surrounding street. I found some second-hand buildings on eBay and kit-bashed these to get the right look. However, I think the Faller Martinstor must be under scale, because the smaller of the two arches is way too tight to accommodate trams and the larger one needed extending, whereas in the real thing trams run through both archways. Another consideration was that if I put buildings on both sides of the street as in the prototype, it would be impossible for viewers to see the trams. I therefore decided to use a bit of artistic licence and I have put an area of parkland on the spectator side. This has also allowed me to introduce a Magnorail cycle path, which has turned out to be a great crowd-pleaser at exhibitions. For exhibition purposes I say that the layout is “based on” Freiburg im Breisgau, and I hope that it conveys something of the look and atmosphere of towns in that part of Europe.
The layout can either show my collection of trams from different European cities, or it can run “as Freiburg”. For Freiburg, I have two Leopald Halling Nürnberg Variobahns which I have made bi-directional by moving some passenger doors and installing a second driver’s cab. I’m fortunate that Nuremberg and Freiburg share the same red and white city colours and the transport operators have the same acronym- VAG. I also have two Rivarossi Duewag M6s painted in Freiburg colours. These are not accurate and would not please purists but I think I get away with it. Railway modelling is all about telling a story and putting on a show.