Nordlingen steam Festival (Plandampf)

dunnyrail

dunnyrail

DOGS, Garden Railways, Steam Trains, Jive Dancing,
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I was just a couple of months back persuaded to go to this event, initially I was unsure there only being 5 Engines booked. But as it turned out it was a very worthwhile event. So I guessed you guys here might like to see some pics. First some general stuff to wet your apetites. I will post more over the next day or so.

This is the list of events that I printed off prior to the event. It was updated a couple of times with revisions. Thank goodness for Smart Phones as these updates came in during the Trip. To be fair they were mostly Loco Revisions but a couple of odd additional Trains appeared as well which certainly filled a gap or two while out on the line Photting.
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This is the Plan of the Museum site.image.jpg
On entry to the Museum this is the first loco you see.image.jpg
Followed by the only NG Loco on the site, is this a Stainz? If not very like it.
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View of the Shed, so nice to see a big collection of German Steam. Not many of these are runners, but all in pretty good nick.image.jpg
There are some quirks as well, this little Diesel cought my eye. Sady at the wrong time of the day as the Sun is from the wrong direction for this pic.image.jpg
There a quite a few wrecks as well. The class 22 is a 2-8-2, I saw a couple of these at Saalfield back in the 80's. So probably x East German then.image.jpg
This is or was a Pacific. What type just almost impossible to discern it is is in almost Barry Condition. The bits of Concrete that look like a Chimney are in fact Overhead Wire Weights that sneaked into the picture without me noticing at the time. I hope that white stuff was nit Aspesdos. I stayed well clear of it.image.jpg
Finally the last of this set of 10 Pics a delightful little Fireless Loco in the Roundhouse.image.jpg
JonD
 
Some more pics, this time things I saw that hit me as being useful for Modelling Inspiration.

This little Line Side Hut was just outside Nordlingen Station, think that either Piko or Pola makes a kit of these. However I think that one could be made relatively simply as a soldering exercise from old Baked Bean Cans. As it was quite close to a Signal I woner if they were used as Fogmans or Falling Snow Shelters for a Man in such conditions.

Edit Pola 330916 Top Slots advertising these at £16.79. Baked beans less than a quid a Tin!
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My next car when the Smart gives up the ghost?image.jpg
So do not beat yourself about the head anymore with Wires leading to the Track for Track Feeds.image.jpg image.jpg
Whet a lovely way to display a Station Name.image.jpg
We stayed some way out of Nordlingen at Laucheim. This fine Schloss Model was displayed in someone front garden. I reckon the Tower was 3-4 feet high.image.jpg
A van very similar to an LGB Beer Van. Shame about the condition, but one day perhaps.image.jpg
Next to the Van were these 2 4 wheel coaches, so similar to the Piko ones. Again in need of some TLC.image.jpg
Just to show how some things are progressing, this very LGB looking Open well on the way to being a full runner. I was rather taken by the Internal Colour. Not something that would last long with Coal being loaded. But interesting to see nonetheless.image.jpg
Finally on this batch of 10 pics, I rather liked the Numbers of the Sidings clearly displayed on the Buffer Stops at the giant cement works at Harburg near Nordlingen.image.jpg more to come soon.
JonD
 
Nice pics, like the three wheeler too, I suspect SWMBO would not be impressed if given a lift to the shops!
 
Frank Gallagher said:
Nice pics, like the three wheeler too, I suspect SWMBO would not be impressed if given a lift to the shops!
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She would have to ride in the Pickup bit, driving cab basically a Scooter Single Seat with Handle Bars ala Tuk Tuk.
JonD
 
For thise of you that like some Vid, here is a link to one that I Found of the Festival. Only some of the Freights with the 44/41/52 but some great shots.


JonD
 
Another 10 Modelling Pics.
Wassertrudingen Station in a rather yuky colour, now presumably part Private owned.
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This Goods Van is Grounded on a Loading Platform.image.jpg
Couple of pics of Wilburgstetten Station. Some old Schinebuses waiting for the call do be restored.image.jpg
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Some interior detail of a superb old 4 Wheeler that has been restored.image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg
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Plenty more to come.
JonD
 
Last edited:
More pics, Diesels this time. Signals and Steam still to come.
First up a 212 Prototype of a recent LGB/Maerkin Model.image.jpg
Next some pics of 440 EMU's, the staple diet of normal Passenger Trains between Aalen, Nordlingen, Donaworth with some Trains going through to Augsburg and Munich. Some 4 Trains from the South end their journeys at Nordlingen being stabled in the Yard over the Weekend. Only 3 are shown to start at Nordlingen on Mondays. So perhaps there is a bottomless pit somewhere to dump the spare one each Week
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This Diesel was tacked onto the rear of a Passenger Train I travelled on to Feuchtwangen on Saturday. The previous day when passing through I noticed a bod with his head buried in the Yard Pilot here, perhaps this is a temporary replacement. The yard here does generate a bit of Freight.image.jpg
These rather nice Articulated Units were sat in the Yard at Nordlingen, perhaps owned by the Local Preservation Group. They would be very useful on regular services to Feuchtagen and Gunzenhausen should the Society ever choose to run other than Steam to these destinations.image.jpg
Now a set of pics depicting the some Units that Piko has modelled. Though I doubt that they will introduce one in the Livery depicted in the next picture.image.jpg
The next three are in the Yard at Wilburgstetten, perhaps waiting their time to be restored. Sundry others were about at Nordlingen but in difficult to phot locations.image.jpgimage.jpg
Finally from the sublime to the ridiculous. Preserved in the Museum Yard at Nordlingen.image.jpg
JonD
 
Nice piccys Jon.
Great to see a class 212 with cab windows in it unlike the model.
Like the little railcar thingy on the last picky, the steam loco driving wheels behind it are taller the unit.
 
Nemo said:
Nice piccys Jon.
Great to see a class 212 with cab windows in it unlike the model.
Like the little railcar thingy on the last picky, the steam loco driving wheels behind it are taller the unit.
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Yes those wheels could be from a Class 41 at approx 69 inches or a Pacific at 78 inches. They do show the diminutive size of this little beast.
JonD
 
This time it is Signals, one of the main points of the Plandampf is that the Signals are to be replaced with Lights. Very sad, the project to modernise the Area has already started with the demise of the Buffett, Bookshop and Ticket Office. German Railways are indeed changing and not all for the better in my view.

In this picture the Class 41 is waiting for the arm on the Hauptsignale Type 2 to allow him to Depart with a Freight to Donnaworth South of Nordlingen. The arm that is facing to the Left will rise approx 45 degrees and the other Arm just visible will drop to match, thus giving a Double Arm Clear-Go-Slow indication. Imediately in front of me is a Gleissperren Signal, it might be thought that this is a Shunt Signal. However the Lever is the giveaway and these rotate 90 degrees to show which way the point is set, quite different from allowing a movement. But indicating that a movement to or from whatever route the Point is set to is permisable. These have a different indication on each side so that no confusion of which way the route is set can be made.
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Here are a Couple of Hauptsignale 2 Arms (Hp) at the North end of Nordlingen Station. Note the Schutzsignale below the second Vertical Arm. This is more closely aligned to what we know as a Shunt Signal and will allow Minor Movements from these Roads. Note that I do not say Platform, in German Railway Operations no difference is made between Sidings-Through Lines-Platforms in the way that they are numbered. In normal circumstances the numbers commence with the closest to the Station Complex, however as Stations grew over the Years numbers can and did get quite complex. Many is the time in the past where I wondered how what I percieved to be Platform 22 came about when there were only around 10 'Platforms' in the first place. Then I was not aware of this convention.

The H sign to the left is a Haltetafel 'Stop Here' Board indicating that the Locomotive of front of the Train should not pass here. Quite superflous one would think, but it could be somewhat before the Signal so I guess that German Logic says that there must be one so there is. Finally it should be noted that the Signals are "normally" placed to the Right of the Road that they apertain to. Thus the Road next to me has its Signal to the Right and the H to the left. On the next Road the H is to the Right. Confusing.image.jpg
A much simpler view, a couple of views of Nordlingen Box. This is the one to the North of the Station. The second picture from a different angle shows a Chuffer leaving on a Freight.image.jpg image.jpg
This is another Hauptsignale, note that this one has only one arm and is the final one on the approach to the Nordlingen Complex on the line from Dinkelsbuhle. The train that I was waitning for will be coming towards me and the Signal with raise by 45 Degrees to allow it to pass. Thus giving me some indication to get ready to take my Picture. This Signal is controlled by Wires from the box in the previous 2 Pictures, a longish pull. The wires can just be made out at the base. I assume that the Solar Panel is to charge a Battery for the Lights on the Signal, a nice little midelling detail that we could perhaps replicate on our Models.image.jpg
The next two Pictures are the other Box at Nordlingen, this one is at the South end of the Complex.image.jpg image.jpg
A freight waiting to depart Southwards towards Donaworth from one of the Platforms, movements here on this weekend were complicated due to some Tarck being out of use. Thus requiring Platform Roads to be more heavily used than otherwise might have been the case. Note that the Schutzsignale has been Pulled Off,mindicationg that this is more likely a Shunt Mive to one of the Sidings to the South of the Station.image.jpg
The two Hp Signals seen earlier with a puffer comming into the Station.image.jpg
Finally a class 44 or Jumbo waiting to Depart with a Freight to Donaworth. Note that Trackwork to the Right with the relavent Schutzhaltsignal (the Red Markers) indicating No Entry or Exit from this Siding. I have seen better Track than this on Model Railways and wondered how Trains managed to circumnavigate it. This is what made the working so interesting this weekend, the Sidings were all used but Trains had to Depart them away from me and be pushed back into the Station to be run round far a departure towards me. This is in fact what happened with the Train in the Platform.image.jpg
More to come, the final batch will be all Chuffers.

Hope you did not mind my little bit of education re German Signalling, sorry if I made any glowing mistakes. I learn it all from the German Railway Society Signalling Guide, any mistakes would be my own misunderstanding of what I have read in the guide.

German signalling is indeed very diffeent to our own and it takes some time to get ones head around it.
JonD
 
dunnyrail said:
Twas very hot whilst we were there, probably getting on for 90F. Sorry do not do C.
JonD
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32 degrees C.

Looks like a heat buckle. Here train speeds are restricted when the air temperature is above either 33 or 36 degrees, depending on section. Unusual to see a heat buckle on concrete sleepered track though, usually only happens on wooden sleepered track that doesn't hold the rails in place as securely.

This can be a problem on garden railways too, especially with aluminium rail which has a higher expansion factor than other metals. Here's one from last summer:

heatbuckle_zps7rbbokvs.jpg


Apologies for the image quality, it's a still frame from a video captured on a hot summer evening with an air temperature of about 31 degrees.
 
I can't see it being track buckle - look at the sleepers and ballast
It looks way too symmetrical - And not buckled anywhere else.....
Happy to be wrong

buckle.jpg
 
Ian_S said:
I can't see it being track buckle - look at the sleepers and ballast
It looks way too symmetrical - And not buckled anywhere else.....
Happy to be wrong

View attachment 215039
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Yes I think that there was more to this than meets the eye, only a German Speaker with Local Knowledge is likely to enlighten us.
JonD
 
There is a certain amount of optical illusion due to foreshortening in the photo - what looks like an extremely sharp kink in the rails is actually about the same length as the big steam loco.... so like Ian_S, I'm leaning towards it being deliberate rather than a fault...... but as to WHY it's there, I have no idea at all......

Jon.
 
Is there not distortion of the diverging (converging?) road as well?
 
PhilP said:
Is there not distortion of the diverging (converging?) road as well?
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Indeed there is/was. The Red Oblong (1 from behind left track) show that the Track was not being used due to the condition. One just wonders how it became so bad, I assume poorly stressed during laying perhaps when it was too cool and the extreme heat that Week just caused bad expansion distortion.
JonD
 
Aha mystery solved. Translation of report.

It is a normal situation at stations, which can be observed several times a day in Nördlingen: maneuvering. In such a process has been a little over a week, occurred on Thursday night of July 28 around 18.30, a terrible accident in financial terms. A railcar of Fugger-Express derailed at a shunting from one track to another. As the German Railways notifies on demand Rieser news, a bogie jumped off the tracks. With the proper equipment to get the train "can put on the track" little later. At the exact cause of the accident could be made still no exact information. When shunting from the locomotive were no people on board. Fortunately no one was injured in the incident. However, the tracks were badly damaged. Especially soft rod and concrete sleepers, to a lesser extent systems of control and safety systems were affected. The damage should be remedied in the next few weeks. To put the damaged infrastructure maintenance again, around 200,000 euros will be needed, according to the DB.

So it was a derailment that shafted the Track very inconvinient just before the Plandampf, guess I was lucky that it was not in UK. Railway would have been closed for Months and the Plandampf Cancelled!
JonD
 
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