A PROTOTYPE LOCATION
FOR A MINIMAL-SPACE Z SCALE LAYOUT

 

If you don't have a lot of space for your layout or just feel that you really just want a small layout to watch the trains of your collection go by, you won't need to worry about complex track plans - limited space always dictates a simplified approach. In fact, this may well mean that you could end up with the bare oval of track which comes with every starter set. In other words: the dreaded anti-thesis of serious railway modelling.

Now it is true that trains going round and round in circles appear to be more like toys than a model of the real railway. But if you hide at least half of the circle from whoever looks at the layout, it's a completely different story. In Z scale, you can do this, with triple track, in just 80cm x 50cm. Better still, it can represent a prototype location with a fairly high degree of credibility.

 

The SBB main line through the Aare Valley

The railway line through the Aare Valley from Berne to Thun was opened in 1859. Originally a trunk line terminating in Thun, the line became a through route when the Bern-Loetschberg-Simplon (BLS) railway company was founded in 1906 and its route through the L–tschberg tunnel was opened in 1913. Linking up with the Simplon tunnel, the line has grown steadily in importance as an essential North-South axis of the Swiss rail network. The line through the Aare valley thus sees ever increasing levels of passenger (both commuter and InterCity express) and freight (both national and international) services.

 

The location which inspires the layout

Situated on the Eastern outskirts of the city limits and bordering on the (fairly urban) village of Ostermundigen, the main road leading into Berne from the East crosses over the railway tracks which run from the wye at Wankdorf Junction (built in 1967 as a connecting and by-pass line, where the lines out of Berne main station diverge to the North and to the South) to Ostermundigen and on to Thun and Interlaken. The location in question lies in between the junction and Ostermundigen station. The green (left) and grey (right) circle marks the location, railway lines are shown in yellow.

Aerial views are (c) swisstopo (Federal Office of Topography)
Railway lines directions: <G> = Geneva / <B> = Biel/Bienne / <Z> = Zurich / <T> Thun/Interlaken

Originally double-track, the evergrowing flow of intercity, suburban and freight services (about 350 trains every day) required a third line of track (on the right in the picture above) to be constructed, which was opened to traffic in May 1998.

Above: the location looking South as a BLS cargo train speeds by on 14 May 2004.
Below: looking North from almost the same viewpoint as an SBB Intercity train is on its way to Interlaken on 3 September 2004
(click for larger images)

Building the layout

This layout can be very small if need be, with a minimum size of just 80 cm x 50 cm (32" x 20"), which will just fit in Maerklin's R3 radius. The limited length of the layout will have no room for a sensible passing siding, however, the obvious operational drawbacks of a "pointless" layout are balanced by the elimination of potential running problems such as derailments and stalling. However, if more length can be added to the layout (120cm / 4'), passing sidings could be installed in the staging area which would allow an automatic flow of changing trains.

Work starts with the construction of a baseboard with a flat top, then adding the trackbed, which is cut (very) roughly to shape from DIY cork panels. Track is either glued or nailed down, and can be weathered and ballasted to taste (alternatively, ready-ballasted track underlays could be used). Once this is done, the scenic divider is installed, together with the basic scenery contours shaped from styrofoam.

Work starts with the construction of a baseboard with a flat top, then adding the trackbed, which is cut (very) roughly to shape from DIY cork panels. Track is either glued or nailed down, and can be weathered and ballasted to taste (alternatively, ready-ballasted track underlays could be used). Once this is done, the scenic divider is installed, together with the basic scenery contours shaped from styrofoam.

Scenery work is next, again to personal taste. Styrofoam is best covered with plaster which then receives a coat of paint to seal it all up. Next, scatter material is sprinkled on and fixed in place, like the ballast, with a 1:2 mix of water and white glue with a drop of washing up liquid to break up surface tention. From here on, all the detailing really is a matter of personal taste, but on a layout as small as this one, you could really indulge in details.

 

Operating the layout

Operation of the layout is simple: there's three trains running at the same time in different directions at different speeds (i.e. every circle of track is operated by its own controller). This at least avoids the repeat of the same "train meet" over and over again as trains complete their laps around the oval, although naturally some sort of "fiddle yard" where trains would stop automatically to send out different trains would add greatly to the interest of the layout. But within this restricted layout size, that is out of the question. Nevertheless, it's a great way to watch those little trains go by instead of just looking at them in a display cabinet.

Finally, the really nice side to basing this minimal space layout on the stretch of triple track between Wankdorf Junction and Ostermundigen is the fact that almost all of the Swiss Z scale models offered in ready-to-run form are prototypically correct. Intercity (still mostly EW IV coaches) and freight behind Re 460s and Re 465s are standard train formations on this line, and a regular parade of Ae 6/6 motive power can still be seen. The ICE runs on this line too, as well as "preserved" locos and stock.

Okay, no more excuses not to build a Z scale layout...

 

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Page created: 16/DEC/2002
Last revised: 22/FEB/2006