Innholdsfortegnelse for JULY / AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2023 - 114 i Voie Libre international

MIGHT IT BE THAT? Might railway modelling simply be seizing the opportunity, the image or that small inspiration that happens to pass by just then? An idea so fleeting that it does not catch your attention, but would really deserve to. A photograph worthy of a second look, because it opens up its perspectives, because it carries us towards its background, because it shows us more than just a simple image. Inspiration that finds its source in something quite different, in an object to which a different purpose is assigned, in scenery glimpsed from a car window, in a distant memory that pops up again… So, let us be on the lookout, ready to grasp all those small things that stimulate our imagination, and let us be carried away by…

To complement his set of four 4-wheeler Pechot bogies, Pascal Boivin, of L'Atelier du Tacot, has just released the reproduction of a 320mm calibre naval gun barrel. The prototype weighed 48 tons. Carrying this gun barrel was tested on Pechot stock by the French Artillery at Le Havre in 1889. The kit comprises three sections for the barrel and two cradles that fit in between the stanchions of the swivelling bolsters on the trucks. Assembly is straightforward. Simply fill in the seams between the various parts of the barrel with acrylic putty. Even though in real life, such a load was never hauled mechanically, it is tempting all the same to run it on a layout… The Atelier du Tacot catalogue now also features a Péchot flat wagon (35€), a…

Architecture & Passion has enlarged its range dedicated to the Tramways de la Corrèze by releasing a large station building with semi-detached goods shed: the first class building at Lapleau. The edges of the goods platform are supplied in the kit. A kit that must be assembled and painted, consisting of laser-cut card parts of various thicknesses. This reference complements the second and third class station buildings and the two-road engine shed – TC enthusiasts are truly spoilt! François Fontana ARCHITECTURE & PASSION LAPLEAU STATION BUILDING PRICE: €69 ARCHITECTURE-PASSION.FR H0…

(RAILWAY SECRETS OF AUVERGNE AND A BIT BEYOND) Texts and drawings: Véronique Béné. Published by Éditions de la Flandonnière I fell for this book, I was thrilled, I want more! This fine album – in Italian format to make the most of the drawings – is very much like a travel journal that takes us through the railways of Auvergne. Like a well-known apéritif, it consists of several thirds: on third travel, one third poetry, one third graphic arts, one third encounters and one large third of railway activism! The size of each third is for you to determine, this will help you make this book your own, filled with your own feelings. Véronique Béné walked along the tracks, seeking a viewpoint, an enthusiast, a customer (as they are known…

THE MODEL AT A GLANCE Marcel Jolly Modélisme kit TU-Koppel A 0-4-0 chassis, from Micro-Modèle Price of the kit: €15 Price of the chassis: €55 The kit consists of a 3D printed black resin superstructure 3D and of a whitemetal chassis acting as ballast. Both aprts fit onto the tiny TU-Koppel A 0-4-0 chassis produced by the Japanese artisan tgw (Tsugawa). PREPARATION Start by removing flash from the whitemeatl chassis. To do so, noithing better than a soft flat file. No work is required on the superstructure: it is provided without its printing supports. However, a good cleaning/degreasing can do no harm! ASSEMBLY Quite straightforward! The ballast, once cleared of flash, fits into the superstructure. The two parts are assembled with a drop of glue. Marcel Jolly has not included any…

IIm rolling stock I opted to modify an open wagon, a flat one and three box vans, all 4-wheelers, from an LGB set. During a visit to the Voies Ferrées du Velay heritage railway, I took pictures of two preserved goods wagons, a box van with its markings on the body ends and an open wagon, before undertaking the conversion. Being in favour of simple and easily implemented solutions, my requirements were as follows: no slicing of the wagon bodies, using readily available commercial parts and accessories, and making sure that converting each wagon would be a fairly quick job. CASE BY CASE Converting the open and flat wagons is straightforward: simply dismantling them and repainting them is sufficient to give them a CFD appearance. However, when it comes to…

CENTRAL FOLDER *Translator's note: Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838), French statesman and diplomat, bought the château at Valencay in 1803. He was at the time Napoleon's Minister of Foreign Affairs. The name Valençay brings to mind Talleyrand*, the town's chateau, a protected destination of origin for wine and cheese and the BlancArgent line, not forgetting the Châteauroux – Valençay line of the Tramways de l'Indre. The latter's history is told in Bernard Moreau's book «Le Tacot, petit train berrichon» (volume 2). The joint BA-TI station was located a little outside the town, and the Champ de Foire on-demand stop was close to the centre, but had no building when the line first opened. As the number of passengers using it was growing, the town asked in 1904 that a shelter be…

Iused the MinitrainS reference 2092 as a base. I made some minor modifications to the cab and applied some light weathering, to give it an appearance more in line with what we would expect from an industrial engine with a long career behind it. Details and weathering The engine block is removed from the body by levering it forwards. I masked the top of the body and painted the chassis in matt black. The silencer is very rusty, the air filter cover is painted orange. On the chassis frames, I weathered the leaf springs in oily black and rust. The bolts holding the ballast were given a touch of rust. The engine bonnets were greased and the radiator grille, slightly damaged, was given a few traces of silver. A small…

MinitrainS has re-issued two references that had vanished from the catalogue too long ago. The small Krauss 0-4-0 T is available in black version or in Stainz version. And the American 0-4-0 with a cow catcher and 4-wheeler tender in plain black or in black with Fiddletown & Copperopolis markings. The driving mechanisms are the same, the level of finishing identical. The quantities produced will not be very large, so if you missed these models when they were first released, catch them this time. François Fontana HO-9/009 MINITRAINS KRAUSS 0-4-0 T REF. 5040 STAINZ 0-4-0 T REF. 5042 0-4-0 + TENDER REF. 1002 0-4-0 + TENDER F&C REF. 1001 PRICE: €144.90€…

Maxime Boiteux has released a fine station building, complete with toilet block and goods shed. The kit consists of lasercut MDF, card and Rhodoïd parts, and must be assembled and painted. The high goods platform is supplied. This building was located at Cléron in the Doubs and was part of the Chemins de fer du Doubs (CFD) network, not to be confused with the Chemins de Fer Départementaux company. A fine structure, almost 32cm long and 8.3cm wide, which will look splendid on your layout. François Fontana H0 BOIS MODÉLISME REF. 101025 PRICE: €70 BOISMODELISME.COM…

PRODUCT AT A GLANCE Manufacturer: Zimo Model: MN180N18 Price: 42 euros Having been around for 20 years, digital solutions for railway modelling are now fully mature. Most of the industrial types available on the market feature a socket for fitting a decoder or, at a fairly high additional cost, are fitted with a sound decoder. Following on from N scale, whose driving mechanisms are the same size, manufacturers of narrow gauge motive power have offered the same products. Bachmann Europe, REE and Roco have called on the Austrian firm Zimo to develop their sound-fitted models, leaving the buyer the choice of buying an engine without a decoder, and leaving it to him to find a suitable model. This has now become a great deal more simple. THE ZIMO MN RANGE…

TECHNIQUE A GOOD START Arduino is a combination of hardware and open source software originally designed for «prototyping interactive projects» developed by students. Since then, it has become one of the main tools for developing abilities in electronics and programming. Nowadays, the Arduino platform is also used in shools and by private individuals in the «Maker» community. Having said this, the word «Arduino» often refers to the card used in the projects. It features input ports that can read information (switches, sensors, etc.), a processor and a memory able to carry out treatment via a programme, and output ports that can produce a result (display, sounds, lights, etc.). POUR POURSUIVRE L'AVENTURE Découvrez notre Guide Pratique N°8 “ANIMEZ VOTRE RESEAU” What do I need to start with Arduino? A prerequisite is…

H09/009 ROLLING STOCK SMALL BUT STRONG! A toastrack carriage would fit the bill perfectly. I had the body and seats of a Jouef Decauville toastrack carriage, whose chassis had been used to build a goods wagon (see Voie Libre n° 91). My model is inspired by a toastrack vehicle from the Decauville catalogue, but is not a true scale model. A 60cm gauge vehicle, it was found on many railways and tram lines (Sousse to Kairouan, Maréchaux quarry, Deauville, Biskra, etc.). As my own Port-Dizan layout is 75cm gauge, the loading gauge of the carriage is a tad more generous. Naturally, the model can also be built for 009. BUiLDiNG THE BODY Remove the bogies, roof and seats from the Jouef carriage and cut the body as close as possible…

0-16,5 Layout In issue 110 of Voie Litbre, Eric Fresné reviewed the MDF layout caissons produced by Bois Modélisme. And he ended his article by a somewhat enigmatic sentence: «All that remains now is to imagine a small layout fitting into this frame». Well, it so happens that this fine 90 x 40cm box miraculously showed up on my workbench with the following mission statement: «I'm sure you can manage to build a layout in this box, don't you think?». Naturally, the job ends up with me again!… So, if a layout must be built, let's maximize the fun, let's plan for as much operational potential as possible: a length of track for running, a headshunt for… shunting, a dead-end siding to vary the consists, a private siding just for…

VIDEO But let us return to where things begin: under the hopper, a skip is filled with fine sand. The company owns a second skip… Just in case… But who, exactly, is this Mr. Baurion? A chap who runs a small farm on the coast, north of Les Sables d'Olonne. On blustery days, the sea breeze carries the sound of the blower landing buoy, located one nautical mile from the local harbour, all the way into town. In the streets, it sounds as if the noise was coming from the distant farm. So, it doesn't take much to imagine that the farmer also operates a quarry. Bernard was quick to pick up the idea, he who enjoys concealing many clues in his layouts! Bernard Junk: You have to understand that…

H0N3Z The small and short 4-wheeler carriages from the Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn rack railway in 1/87 scale for 10.5mm gauge have been added to the range produced by this Austrian artisan brand. In red livery, they reproduce the contemporary prototypes, with their canvas tarpaulins rolled up along the edge of the roof. The models are very small, just like the real thing: 30mm wide, 30mm high and 60mm long. François Fontana HALLING MODELLE KURZER AUSSICHTSWAGEN PRICE: €116 SHOP.FERRO-TRAIN.COM…

Still applying its usual simple rules, Tomytec has released a new set containing an electric locomotive and two side-tipping skips. This time, we are off to the Northern branch of the imaginary Nekoya Line, on the Akasaka Mine Railway. As is customary, the set comprises the basics, meaning the engine with a non- motorized chassis, the two wagons and a length of display track. Modellers will add a pantograph and a TM-TR07 four-wheeler driving mechanism. The basic set costing ca. 50 euros, you will need to double that sum to obtain an autonomous train. At one end, there is a link and pin coupling, at the other, a standard N scale coupling. The latter will have to be modified for this pleasing train to become compatible with the remainder of…

Already well-known for its realistic trees and shrubs, MBR Model has enlarged its range with a series of flocked mats designed for layouts or dioramas. The product consists of a very thin layer of glue onto which fibres and flocks of varying shades have been applied. Each mat evokes a given type of vegetation. The 21 references available bring together natural meadows, undergrowth as well as tilled fields. The mats I studied are realistic, and should be very simple to use. They can be applied either to large surfaces or in small irregular patches glued onto an existing support. Their other attractive feature is their size. The meadows measure 30 by 40cm and the undergrowth 20 by 30cm. This means large areas can be covered with an excellent costquality ratio.…

Actually, it all boils down to the walls in my girlfriend Christelle's house: they are not straight. So having bought three Ikea shelves, she soon found herself in trouble: they simply would not hang properly. At my place, the walls are more regular, at least at first sight: Christelle gave me her shelves. They had to accommodate something. Why not a railway? François Fontana: So, Laurent, what kind of layout were you thinking of? Laurent Morin: What I was after was both specific and vague. I had some specific ideas: a small layout with trains running permanently, no shunting. I wanted gradients, tall scenery that would be simply drawn, so that the trains would stand out on a white background. But also, via the drawings, I wanted to recreate something…

The layout at a glance Scale: 1/87 Gauge: 9mm Dimensions: 60 x 90cm Plan of the layout The layout is truly simple: a tram line coming from somewhere (the fiddleyard), curves up a gradient to its terminus in the upper town. The line features a tiny depot and a private siding. The original project had been drawn for 16.5mm gauge track, on a surface of 60 x 60cm, but Bernard opted for a 60 x 90cm rectangle and, above all, decided in favour of 9mm gauge track. However, the scale – 1/87 – is the same and the main objective – to have fun – remains unchanged. François Fontana: Hello Bernard, we find ourselves here somewhere in central France, I would tend to say in the south of the Massif Central,…

A PAVED PATH Modelling clay is very easy to emboss. This consists in pressing a negative shape into the fresh clay, to create a raised pattern. This method is well suited to making repetitive scenic items such as paving stones. SMOOTHING SOIL Apart from roads, modelling clay is also very well suited to representing beaten earth areas surrounding dwellings. TRACING RUTS A small stylistic exercize to conclude! The station at VilleleChâteau witnesses a sizeable amount of goods traffic. The yard is somewhat damaged by the vehicles fitted with solid rubber tyres, which have left a fine network of muddy ruts… MODELING CLAY, WHAT'S THAT? Air-drying modelling clay is sold in 0.5 or 1 kilo cakes. This is a mineral-based product, available in two shades and different textures: terracotta, fairly supple,…

TECHNIQUE We enjoy doing this type of work together; cogitating around the basic project: thinking about the principle, the mechanism and the electrical supply. Then, once the preliminary drawings are ready, things get modified, all the potential sources of trouble are spotted. To cut a long story short, additional drawings are produced and a first prototype is printed. More brainstorming follows, with printing and testing of yet another prototype. It is the latter that we describe here. CHOOSING THE DESIGN SOFTWARE François: Éric, we have defined what we wanted, decided upon bevel gears for operating the turntable, chosen a diameter… You are now in charge of the baby. How will you draw it? Éric: I believe we should go for parametric software. As the name shows, a part is defined…

DISCOVERY Cap Ferret is a peninsula at the end of a barrier beach which separates the Atlantic Ocean from Arcachon Bay. This natural site has always attracted visitors and residents, and dwellings began to be built there from the early XXth century, despite the remoteness of the area and the its tricky access. In the early 1950s, Jacques Millet, a young railfan who was staying at Arcachon for health reasons, went off exploring the remains of vanished railways (built in the late 19th century) on the peninsula. Once cured, he returned to settle in Cap Ferret and devoted the rest of his life to resurrecting the erswtwhile rail connection between Bélisaire and the ocean. The route With help from an investor, and having obtained the necessary administrative permissions, work started…