Voie Libre international JULY 2016 - 86

Plenty of exhibitions and events, new items galore, but what’s going on? Narrow gauge and secondary railways seem to attract more and more enthusiasts... fine! Maybe the numerous playing possibilities, the freedom for setting up the railways and the infinite scope of perspectives that these specific trains offer and that Voie Libre has been supporting for so many years, are more and more in accordance with the way of thinking of our society. Incorporating the railway modelling hobby in our day-to-day life, in an unrestrained and perfectly accepted way, that’s what we recommand : a creative and playful hobby whose practice enables both a manual and intellectual personal development. In line with this state of mind, we offer you the widest contents that do not choose between prototypes, dream, strict…

PMT : TWO SAXON CARRIAGES PMT has released two new carriages based on the Saxon units designed by Technomodell. These are former Saxon bogie carriages built in 1900 by the Chemnitz works and converted for the Rügen island railway, one (ref. 5-2482) n° 970 773 having been transferred from the Mügeln network in 1950 had its clerestory removed, while the second (ref. 5-2482) n° 970201, transferred from Nauen in July 196, has kept this feature. Both are sheet-metal clad 22-seater carriages, with a WC and a coal stove. These carriages are a perfect complement to the 4-wheeler ones produced by Roco, and sometimes appeared in the same consists. Available only in H09, prices range from 56.60 (Model-Shop in Luxembourg) to 62 euros from Schmalspurbedarf (http:// schmalspurbedarf.de). Jacques Royan PMT /…

We always enjoy reading our Australian sister publication Light Railways, especially when it looks at French-built stock exported to the other end of the world, as is the case in issue 249. John Browning takes a look at a small Decauville type 3 0-4-0 T, completely unknown and used in a salt pool between 1916 and 1920. When it comes to unknown or little-known equipment, Rail et Industrie holds its own with issue n° 63, entirely dedicated to wood-gas rail vehicles having run in France. Many bizarre items in all gauges. More little-known things in issue 375 of Chemins de Fer régionaux et tramways, with a study of the Horme et Buire motor units, of which just five were built for three companies. Yet more unknown in issue 106 of…

The Union Artistique et Intellectuelle des Cheminots Français [Artistic and Intellectual Union of French Railwaymen] (see box) celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2013. To mark this event, some of the various railway modelling clubs it brings together decided to combine their efforts by implementing a major project. The idea was to model in 1/87 scale an existing railway line. Or at least the key locations of the line in question. And to spice up the job, the very typical rolling stock had to be modelled also, as it was not available off the shelf. So, let’s see, an SNCF line, where specific stock operates daily, and worthy of appearing in the pages of Voie Libre, does that ring a bell? No? Actually, two lines only fit the bill in France:…

If the Cerdagne line must be compared to others, one should refrain from looking back at the many secondary railways of yesterday, and consider rather the Swiss meter gauge lines that still operate nowadays. This similarity can be traced back to the very origins of the “yellow train”. SMALL LINE, MAJOR PROJECT At the beginning of the XXth century, the Cerdagne region was largely inaccessible. One mountain road used to connect it to the plains of Roussillon and the area turned quite naturally towards Spain. In 1902, it was therefore the French State which decided to create a rail link between Villefranche-de-Conflent and Bourg-Madame. From the outset, and taking into account the nature of the terrain, it was planned to use meter gauge. The Compagnie du Midi was put in…

Before our locotractor takes on its final and so typical appearance, some important details still have to be modelled. Let’s begin with the most tedious job: placing the rivets on the outside chassis frames. Frames won’t frame you! The job is long, tedious, but actually not that unpleasant! You’ll need a steel ruler, a pencil, some 0.5mm diam. plastic rod, a drill bit of the same diameter, a pair of sharp scissors, polystyrene cement and a cardboard file. Ah, I was about to forget: plenty of patience too! Using the ruler, mark the rivet locations on the body, using the drawing. Then with the 5mm bit, carefully drill the holes, ensuring they are properly aligned, this is the trickiest part of the job. Insert the plastic rod, cut it off…