I’ve looked at many examples around Europe at trams tracks that switch from left-hand to right-hand running, and I’ve found yet another – on the Nockebybanan light rail line in the Swedish capital of Stockholm.
The Nockebybanan is a 5.6 kilometre long line between Nockeby and Alvik in in the western suburbs of Stockholm, connecting with the Stockholm metro and Tvärbanan tram at Alvik metro station.
The first part of the current line to Alléparken was opened in 1914, following the construction of a pontoon bridge across Tranebergssund. The line was then gradually extended westwards, reaching the current terminus at Nockeby in 1929. To the east, the line ran to Tegelbacken in central Stockholm.
Planning for a Metro system commenced in the 1930s, with conversion of the tram route completed in 1952, forming the western section of the present-day Green Line of the Stockholm Metro. As a result the Nockebybanan was cut off from running into the city and became a feeder route for the Metro at Alvik.
Nockebybanan and Lidingöbanan were the only tram lines in the Stockholm region not to be withdrawn in conjunction with the switch to right-hand traffic in 1967. Since the line does not run on the street, and was simple and self-contained, and bi-directional rolling stock was available from the pre-metro tram lines, it was easier to convert to right-hand running than the rest of the network.
The make the connection between tram and metro at Alvik convenient, a cross platform transfer was provided.
Underground stations on metro systems are a dime a dozen, but ones located on mainline railways are far less common – with Holmestrand station in Norway being one of them, being located 70 meters beneath a mountain.
Serving the town of Holmestrand in Vestfold, Norway, Holmestrand station is located inside the 12 kilometre long Holmestrandsporten Tunnel. The station is located inside a 500 metre long, 30 metre wide cavern which contains two 350 metre long platforms and four tracks.
The station opened on 28 November 2016 as part of a project to duplicate the Vestfold line, with the new 12 kilometre long tunnel replacing the old surface route through the town of Holmestrand.
Originally opened in 1881, the single track route through Holmestrand had been built as a narrow-gauge railway, converted to standard gauge in 1949 and was electrified in 1957.
During my visit to Vienna, I found something interesting when passing through the U-Bahn station of Stephansplatz – a window into an underground crypt.
The Vergilius Chapel (German: Virgilkapelle) dated back to the early 13th century, with the Magdalene Chapel being constructed above it in the Middle Ages to serve the neighbour cemetery. After the Magdalene Chapel was destroyed by fire in 1781, the Vergilius Chapel was abandoned and filled with rubble. It was then forgotten until 1973, when it was rediscovered during construction of the Vienna U-Bahn.
Today the chapel lies approximately 12 meters beneath the Stephansplatz, with access provided via the adjacent U-Bahn station concourse since December 2015.
Continuing my theme of modelling the railways of eastern Europe in 1:160 N scale model railways, this time I’m looking at the railways of Hungary and state operator MÁV (Magyar Államvasutak).
Ready to run
These models are ‘ready to run’ out of the box, and don’t require any work on the part of the modeller.
I’ve written about 1:160 N scale model railways here before, this time I’m going deeper down the rabbit hole of obscure prototypes and looking at the railways of Romania and state operator Căile Ferate Române.
Ready to run
These models are ‘ready to run’ out of the box, and don’t require any work on the part of the modeller.
The trams were then unloaded at Appleton Dock in Melbourne.
Government of South Australia / DTEI photo
Placed onto a low loader for the road journey west to Adelaide.
And then finally unloaded at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Government of South Australia / DTEI photo
Footnote: air conditioning
Adelaide’s trams mightn’t been tested in the snow, but they couldn’t handle an Australian summer – so $4.25 million was spent in 2009 to retrofit the initial 11 trams with upgraded air conditioning systems better suited to local conditions.
Footnote: some nitpicking
Some of Adelaide’s Flexity trams were delivered directly by sea to Adelaide’s Outer Harbour instead of via Melbourne, and early deliveries were placed on the track at the terminus of the time, Victoria Square.
One of my hobbies is model railways, with 1:160 N scale being my chosen scale. Unfortunately the number of people who model the railways of Russia is difficult, let alone any N scale model of Russian trains, but there are a number of models out there for someone keen to do a lot of the work themselves.
Ready to run
These models are ‘ready to run’ out of the box, and don’t require any work on the part of the modeller.
M62 diesel locomotive in RZD livery
Manufacturer: Fleischmann
RZD liveried sleeping carriages
Manufacturer: LS Models
As used on the Moskau-Berlin and Moskau-Paris trains (sets 78037 and 78038)
SZD liveried ЧС4 (CHS4) electric locomotive, three liveries
Manufacturer: Piko East Germany (part number 5/4121)
SZD sleeping carriages, three liveries
Manufacturer: Piko East Germany (part number 5/4145)
Trains to repaint
There models are ‘ready to run’ out of the box but are not available in Russian liveries, so need to be repainted by the modeller.
Sapsan high speed train
Manufacturer: Minitrix or Arnold
The Siemens Velaro RUS can be represented using a repainted DB ICE 3.
Display models to convert
There models are static items for display on a shelf, but can be modified into operating models with some effort.
ВЛ80 (VL80) two-unit AC electric locomotive
Manufacturer: Del Prado Can be motorised using a Tomytec TM-04 or Atlas GP-9 mechanism.
СУ 2-6-2 steam locomotive (aka Su 1-3-1)
Manufacturer: Del Prado
I’m not sure how one would motorise one of these – you’d need to find a matching motorised steam locomotive for a donor mechanism. The easier option would be to ‘plinth’ it outside a railway station, just like the real railways did after steam locomotives were retired.
Sapsan
Manufacturer: Del Prado
The Siemens Velaro RUS can be represented using a repainted DB ICE3 power car. Unfortunately only cab cars are available, so you’re on your own for the trailer cars
Kits
There models are a kit of parts to be assembled and painted by the modeller into a completed model. The level of effort required varies depending on the kit.
Soyuz rocket & transport train
Manufacturer: Good Smile
A 1:150 scale plastic kit of the Soyuz rocket and rail transport wagon as used at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Note no ТЭМ2УМ (TEM2UM) diesel locomotive or support wagons are included.
ТЭМ2 (TEM2) diesel locomotive
Manufacturer: UMF – Unique Model Factory
A brass and resin kit of the Polskie Koleje Państwowe class SM48 diesel locomotive, which was the Polish export version of the ТЭМ2.
3D printed models
Shapeways is an 3D print on demand service, with an online marketplace selling 3D prints of designs uploaded by modellers. The resulting prints need to be cleaned up, assembled, detailed and painted to form complete models.
ЧС7 (ChS7) two-unit eight-axle DC electric passenger locomotive
Shapeways store: Tsarew & Villano 3D Shop
A number of websites allow users to upload 3D models for others to print at home on their own 3D printers. These models have been drawn at other scales, so need to be scaled down to N scale before being 3D printed.
As well as tweaking the designs so they can be successfully 3D printed on your own 3D printer, the resulting prints need to be cleaned up, assembled, detailed and painted to form complete models.
ТЭМ2УМ (TEM2UM) six-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
ТЭМ18 (TEM18) six-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
2ТЭ116 (2TE116) two unit six-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
2ТЭ116U (2TE116U) two unit six-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
ТЭМ7 (TEM7) eight-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
ВЛ10К (VL10K) two unit four-axle DC electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
TGM6A / ТГМ6А four-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Turbosquid store: alextim1
ТЭМ7 (TEM7) eight-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
ТЭМ2 (TEM2) six-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
ЧС7 (ChS7) two-unit eight-axle DC electric passenger locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
ТЭП70 (TEP70) six-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
Metrovagonmash 81-717/81-714 metro train in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
ЭР1 (ER1) electric multiple unit (‘Elektrichka’) in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: zhelneen
Model 61-4465 double deck passenger carriage in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
Model 11-066 boxcar in 1:87 HO scale
Cults 3D store: PolarFox
Free 3D models to print
As well as the paid 3D models found above, some generous users have uploaded their 3D designs for free download by anyone.
ЧС4 (CHS4) electric locomotive in unknown scale
Thingiverse user: Tramrunner
2ТЭ10М (2TE10M) diesel-electric locomotive in 1:100 and 1:87 scales
Cults 3D store: AIM4
3ТЭ10М (3TE10M) diesel locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
ВЛ10 (VL10) two-unit electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: tweaker123
ЧМЭ2 (ChME2) four-axle diesel-electric locomotive in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: zhelneen
Metrovagonmash 81-717/81-714 metro train in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: zhelneen
KTM-5M3 (71-605) tram in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: zhelneen
‘Platzkart’ sleeping carriage in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: PolarFox
Model 48-051 ‘PV-40’ narrow gauge passenger carriage in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: zhelneen
Model 12-1505 gondola wagon in 1:200 scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
Soviet Union 50-ton tank car in 1:200 and 1:87 scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
Model 15-1552 tank car for caprolactam in 1:200 scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
73 tonne tank car in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: PolarFox
Model 11-259 boxcar for paper in 1:200 scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
Model 11-270 boxcar in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
Model 11-270 boxcar in 1:200 scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
Model 13-401 flatcar in 1:200 scale
Thingiverse user: AIM4
Model 12-1592 gondola wagon in 1:87 HO scale
Thingiverse user: PolarFox
And some 3D models that probably won’t print
Some 3D models were never designed to be 3D printed – they’re scale drawings with lots of detail, and walls too thin to be realised as scale model.
Moscow Metro type 81-717.6/714.6 train
3D Warehouse user: Victor P
Moscow Metro type 81-760/761 train
3D Warehouse user: Victor P
So what have I modelled so far?
Unfortunately my fleet Russian Railways model trains is still in the works – I’ve got two Del Prado VL80 static models awaiting conversion to motorised models, and a Soyuz rocket & transport train still unassembled in the box.
Future models I’d like to to build include:
ТЭМ2 diesel locomotive to haul the Soyuz train;
some gondolas, tank wagons and boxcars to make up a Russian freight train;
a few sleeping cars and a dining car to make up a passenger train.
One day. 🙂
Further reading
Other than the N scale models I’ve directly linked to above, here are a few more useful resources for N scale modellers interested in the railways of Russia.
The Moscow Metro has 250 stations across the network, as well two bizarre ones not included in that total – technical platform «Troitse-Lykovo» and tunnel station «Д». Just a carriage long and with bare concrete walls, they are a strange sight – so why do they even exist?
The story starts during the westward extension of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line from Krylatskoye to Strogino. A new housing estate established in the 1970s, the area remained isolated for many years, until the decision was made in the 2000s to extend the Moscow Metro as part of the North-Western Tunnel project – a combined road and rail route beneath the forest park of Serebryany Bor.
The total tunnel length is 3,126 meters, with two main tunnels of 13.75 meter diameter, and a 6 meter central service tunnel linked via regular cross passages.
However the extension also created of the longest section between stations on the Moscow Metro – 6.6 kilometres, which takes 7 minutes 42 seconds to traverse.
As a result two ventilation and emergency access structures were required to break up the tunnel – technical platform «Troitse-Lykovo» and tunnel station «Д».
Technical platform «Troitse-Lykovo»
Named for the small village of Troitse-Lykovo located nearby, here the tunnel features a 200 long section of straight track, allowing future conversion into a station if required.
A 26 metre long platform was also provided beside one track.
These two platforms are linked to a central chamber housing a traction power substation, electrical and signalling equipment rooms, and a staircase to the surface.
However in the years since Troitse-Lykovo was completed, the only passengers to use the platform are metro staff attending to equipment at the underground complex, who exit via the cab door of passing trains.
The chances of a proper station being constructed at Troitse-Lykovo have also dropped, with a proposed future stage of the Rublyovo–Arkhangelskaya line featuring a Troitse-Lykovo station located 1.5 kilometres west of the technical platform.
Tunnel facility «Д»
Tunnel facility «Д» is located at the southern end of the North-Western Tunnel, where the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya metro line diverges from the Krasnopresnensky Prospect motorway. It consists of two two curved platforms, one per track and approximately 50 metres long.
The official name of this location varies depending on who you talk to – the Moscow Metro electrical department calls it «308» after the traction substation, while the traffic department calls it «PK-183» for the track datum, and «Д» comes from “point D” in the design diagrams for the North-Western Tunnel.
The section of track is a concrete box section, located on the lower deck of the combined road and rail tunnel.
Unlike technical platform «Troitse-Lykovo», tunnel facility «Д» has not been designed for conversion into a future passenger station, with the tunnel design and track curvature unsuitable for passenger operations.
The narrow ‘tube’ tunnels of the London Underground are known for being claustrophobic, but there was one part of the network was being even more constrained – the City and South London Railway. This is the story of how the tunnels were enlarged.
The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground “tube” railway in the world, and was the first to use electric traction to haul trains, when it opened to the public in 1890, serving six stations along 5.1 kilometres of track. It was then extended south Clapham Common in 1900 and to Angel in the north in 1901, and north again to Euston in 1907.
However a limiting factor this pioneering railway was the narrow tunnels, limiting the size of trains that could operate on the line, and blocking the extension of the City and South London Railway route onto newer tube lines built with larger tunnels.
As a result, in 1912, the City and South London Railway submitted a bill for Parliamentary consideration seeking to enlarging its tunnels to a larger diameter to increase capacity, alongside a separate bill to build a connection at Euston to the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway tube lines. These bills were passed but World War I intervened, with work to expand the tunnels finally starting in 1922.
Photo from The Wonder Book of Railways by Harry Golding
After Extensive Changes Taking Two Years, Including Enlargement of the Tunnel and Modernization of the Stations and Rolling Stock, the City Railway Has Inaugurated Through Service with Other London Underground Lines.
The City & South London Railway of London, England, which has been closed in parts for about 2 years during the work of enlarging its tubular tunnels, was reopened for traffic on Dec. 1, 1924, throughout its entire length of more than 7 miles. At the same time joint services were established with the Charing Cross & Hampstead Railway via the new junction between the two lines at Chalk Farm, through trains being run from the City & South London line to Highgate on one branch and to Hampstead and Edgware on the other.
Down to the time of the reconstruction now completed the tunnels were of only from 10 ft. to 10 ft. 6 in. diameter, with an 11-ft. 6-in. bore for a short distance. The cars accordingly were far from roomy, and they were hauled by small electric locomotives.
The management of the various railways then entered on a scheme for extending them in various directions and for linking them together. No through running, however, could be carried out in the case of the City & South London, as its tunnels were too small to admit of the standard size rolling stock used on the other tube railways. It was decided to enlarge the diameter of the City & South London tunnels to the size of 11 ft. 8-1/2 in. standard on the London Underground lines, and to make a junction with the Charing Cross & Hampstead Railway at Chalk Farm. This is the work which, after 2 years of construction, has now been completed. The electric locomotives have been abolished, the small old cars done away with, and new multiple-unit rolling stock similar to that on the other tube railways, which was described in this paper substituted.
To enlarge the tunnels, the whole of the cast-iron lining segments were removed ring by ring, and as the tunnel was reamed out by the Greathead boring shield the lining was built up again, partly with new segments. On curves the tunnels have been enlarged to from 12 ft. to 15 ft. in diameter. The curves have been smoothed out and the general running conditions improved. The work was one of great difficulty, as during part of the period of reconstruction train services were continued in the daytime. Owing to the infiltration of water, work on some sections had to be carried on under compressed air.
To match the higher passenger capacity possible with the new larger trains.
Improvements have been carried out on many of the passenger stations, some of which have now their booking halls under the street level. Escalators in many cases supersede lifts, and everything has been brightened up. New track and new conductor rails have been installed, the running rails consisting of London standard 85-lb. per yard bull-headed section, laid on chairs bolted to wood sleepers. The positive and negative conductor rails are of special high-conductivity steel. The latest system of automatic signaling has been installed.
The northern section of the C&SLR between Euston and Moorgate was closed from 8 August 1922, but the rest of the line remained open with enlargement works taking place at night.
A collapse on 27 November 1923 caused when a train hit temporary shoring on the incomplete excavations near Elephant & Castle station filled the tunnel with soil. The line was briefly operated in two parts, but was completely closed on 28 November 1923.
The Euston to Moorgate section reopened on 20 April 1924, along with the new tunnels linking Euston to Camden Town. The rest of the line to Clapham Common reopened on 1 December 1924.
Resulting in the stations seen today, on what is now called the Northern line.
Up in the hills above Budapest is a unique railway – the Gyermekvasút (Children’s Railway), where children aged 10 to 14 operate the railway under the supervision of adult staff.
Opened in 1948, the 1.2 kilometres long 760 mm narrow gauge railway was built by the Hungarian Communist Party as a venue for teenagers to learn railway professions, today the line is a popular tourist attraction.
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