Planning fun.

It's an incredible winter/spring storm here in Minnesota. Roads are closed. No travel is advised until tomorrow morning. As a result, I've spent the afternoon messing around with track planning templates to come up with a layout for the baseboard. It doesn't always go as planned, you get to the last track section and it doesn't quite line up. So, just for fun. Here's a few pictures to show that planning with templates doesn't always work out...

(all these pictures are closeups of the final track joins of some track plans)

Coupling up

Someone had asked me about the coupling system used to couple the wagons to the locomotive. 

My efforts hadn't come out too clearly on the video. So, I put a macro lens on my iPhone and despite the dubious quality of the $5 lens I managed to get some close ups that I hope will clear things up.

There are many different types of couplings used to assemble trains on prototype narrow gauge systems revolving around hooks, chains rods, bars, and probably even rope. 

Busch seems to have gone for a representation of a three link chain (feldbahn experts can correct me). One end of the wagon has a pin, and the other end of the wagon, this tiny etched chain link thing. The buffer beam of the locomotive has a pin on it, and to couple the wagon to the locomotive you just slide the link over the pin. It's as easy as that.

1. The link on peat wagon

2. The pin on the locomotive. I expect it's very, very over long.
You can also see a Neodymuim magnet under that. 

3. The link is over the pin the wagon is coupled.

I'm not sure if it's fair to say. "It's as easy as that" for the coupling. There's certainly a knack to it, and a magnifier is certainly going to help. But there are people in the finescale railway modeling fraternity who positively enjoy coupling wagons together using scale three link couplings (that would be me then). The pin on this locomotive looks a bit on the high side to slide the link over using a tiny hook. But I will have a closer look at that, and report back. I'll need to find one of my coupling hooks first. But that's a story for another post in the future.
So that's the basics on the coupling system. Then again, there's that Neodymium magnet on the loco buffer beam, and that's another story too.

First thoughts on video.

Here we are then, a first look at, and some first thoughts on, this Busch Feldbahn set as I take a look at it. 

Apologies for the pronunciation of Gmeinder, (correct pronunciation advice much appreciated). 

You will also notice that I have issues going between English and American terminologies and mixing 3.5 and 4mm scales.  

Here we go

I did think of entitling this post with more than one "Here we go" to acknowledge my beloved Lincoln City FC's victory in the Checkatrade trophy final at Wembley stadium today but I thought better of it.

I spent Saturday exhibiting my new HO scale layout at the Granite city train show yesterday. It was a very trying affair with all kinds of problems I've never experienced before. So when we arrived home I was feeling pretty jaded. That was until I went down to the post office and opened our PO Box to find a large box from Germany there. I immediately perked up. This was the Busch Feldbahn set arrived 4 a whole days earlier than predicted! I rushed home and opened the package up

Nicely presented in the box on its arrival.

 A very nice, cleanly laid out package. The assembly instructions were printed in three languages, including English, so there were no problems in assembling things. Not that instructions were needed to put track together and wire things up.

The set sits on the approx. 19" square board made for it.

As you can see, the starter set sits very comfortably on its baseboard with plenty of room for me to expand the oval, maybe add a point and a siding, perhaps a passing loop. I'm excited to see how I can fit things on the board and develop it.

Yes, it's small

The Gmeinder locomotive is a nice looker, and yes it is quite small. Perhaps it's a tad bigger than I expected, like I said. I had no idea what the physical size of these items was.

Anyway, I'm quite impressed by the quality of the model and the detail. I'm now going to spend some time watching the train run around in circles to get a feel for it.