Exclusive: Technology trends in model railroads

05 . 2014
THE MAGAZINE FOR
CLUB MEMBERS
news
Exclusive: Technology
trends in model railroads
N-GAUGE OFFENSIVE
New products for the fall: Fireworks in
models and accessories
CLUB INTERNAL
Layouts and running fun in a class apart
New Club partner Oktorail
Interview: Martin
Lingens, Märklin
Development Manager
Content
6
Optimally positioned: impressive
new products for the fall, factory
extension and Trix Club birthday –
2015 has many highlights for Trix.
A look ahead.
Detail
9
Pioneering: The display doors on the Trix LINT are an
idea typical of Märklin Engineering GmbH. The ideas
factory for models – an interview with development
boss Martin Lingens.
12
4News & Facts
Survey of exhibitions/
cooperation partners
DBK Historische Bahn
6N-gauge strategy
Minitrix serves up
fascinating models
and great value
9Miracle of technology
High-tech development
in model railroads
12Behind the scenes
Trix optimizes the design
of models with design
software
Scene
14Club portrait
Whether modular or stationary, the N-Bahn-Club
Rhein-Neckar layouts
are a real eye-opener
18Layout construction
The cave dwellers’
modules by the French
N-gauge club AFAN
Fascinating: Märklin’s
Design department
uses powerful CAD
software which is
also used by car
manufacturers and
airplane constructors.
A peep into virtual
product development.
Service
22
2
Fantastic: the freshly-overhauled original Öchsle loco 99 633
will soon be in service again for the Öchsle Railroad Operating
Company – one of the Club’s cooperation partners we present
here. And a new one: the large Oktorail layout in Essen.
21New cooperation partner
Reduced admission
prices to the large
Oktorail layout in
Gruga Park Essen
22On tour with the Club card
A railroad trip through
Bavaria and Franconia
24Model highlight
Class 038.10-40: The
former class P 8 in
service with the German
Federal Railroad
trix club news 5.2014
YOUR SERVICE NUMBERS
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Club hotline
Telephone Monday – Friday
10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Tel.: + 49 (0) 71 61/6 08-2 13
Fax: + 49 (0) 71 61/6 08-3 08
E-mail: club@trix.com
Questions on technology, repairs and
spare and replacement parts / complaints
Telephone Monday – Friday
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tel.: + 49 (0) 71 61/6 08-2 22
Fax: +49 (0) 71 61/6 08-2 25
E-mail: service@maerklin.de
Internet
www.trix.de
club.trix.de
Are you moving?
High-tech model railroad: Martin Lingens, CEO of Märklin Engineering GmbH,
gives an exclusive interview on trends in model railroad development.
Dear
Club members,
The Märklin Open days were once again a hugely enjoyable model railroad party, thanks to the huge number of railroad fans celebrating in the main factory
in Göppingen. Once again, the exchange of views between the Club members
and Märklin management at the get-togethers went down extremely well. In the
next issue we’ll bring you detailed reports on the exclusive discussions which
took place. You can also enjoy Trix H0, Trix Express and Minitrix at the six fall
exhibitions ahead of us. This issue also includes a summary of where you can
enjoy reductions on admission fees.
As the model year 2014 draws to a close, we discuss with two experts where the
model railroad is heading. Trix Product Manager Claus Ballsieper explains,
using models, where the innovations and trends lie. Martin Lingens, who as
CEO of Märklin Engineering GmbH is in charge of the sector research and
innovation for Trix, Märklin and LGB, has the entire picture under observation.
The effort being put into development in the field of design alone is illustrated
in our poster depicting the use of the Catia CAD software.
It is a particular pleasure to introduce the agile Trix fans in the N-Bahn-Club
Rhein-Neckar, who celebrate the 40th anniversary of their club in 2014. We also
illustrate an unusual modular section constructed by the French club AFAN
“Freunde der Spur N”, who have immortalized the cave dwellings in the valley
of the river Cher. Our Service section finally makes some suggestions for a trip
out to Club cooperation partners in Bavaria and Franconia – and also presents a
new Club partner: the great H0 Oktorail layout in Essen’s Gruga Park Essen with
2,500 meters (8,200') of track. We hope you enjoy reading your Club News.
YOUR TRIX CLUB TEAM
trix club news 5.2014
Please inform us in good time of your new
address so we will know where we can reach
you. A simple application to the post office to
forward mail is unfortunately not enough.
Thanks for your cooperation!
MASTHEAD
Publisher
Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH
Stuttgarter Str. 55 – 57
73033 Göppingen, Germany
Supported by the heller & partner media
group, Head of Publishing: Lutz Eckardt
Trix Club
Silvia Römpp (responsible)
Editorial
3G Media GmbH: Peter Waldleitner
(Editor-in-Chief), Lars Harnisch, Rochus
Rademacher, Stefanie Hirrle
Concept and art direction,
pre-press production
heller & partner communication GmbH
Tel.: +49 (0) 89/45 71 00
www.heller-partner.de
Photos
Unless otherwise stated: Trix Club
Title: Kötzle
No liability is accepted for dates quoted.
E 242621 – 05 2014 © by Gebr. Märklin
The Club News is an exclusive and integral
part of this mailing for Trix Club members. All
products mentioned are subject to alteration
and availability. All rights reserved. Reproduction, complete or in part, prohibited except with
written consent. This also applies to storage in
electronic databases and copying onto CD-ROM.
The editor is not liable for any unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations.
The following enclosures are in the Club mailing
05/2014: Trix Club News 05/2014, Märklin Magazin 05/2014, brochure Fall New Items for 2014.
3
2014
Don’t forget your Club card! Many of the fall exhibitions like the IMA Cologne (picture)
allow a reduction to Club members on the entrance fee (see table).
gültig bis:
Mitglieds-Nr.
OVERVIEW OF FALL EXHIBITIONS IN 2014
Experience Trix live
T
he many exhibitions
in Europe as the year
draws to a close offer
a wealth of ideas and
impulses to model
railroaders and model constructors. Naturally Minitrix and Trix will be present
with magnificent models and impressive
demonstration layouts. With the Club
card, Club members receive a reduction
on the entrance fee at many exhibitions –
see the table alongside.
At the IMA in Cologne, the Club team
will welcome Club members at the Trix
and Märklin stand with a little gift. There
will also be a premiere: the 2015 H0 Club
model will be on view for the first time.
Special car IMA Cologne: The Märklin sliding
tarp flat car Shimmns (48314) in H0 will be
on sale at the Märklin stand during the IMA.
After exchanging the wheelsets, this car too
will add to Trix running operations.
4
Exhibition
Date
Home page
Club reduction
IMA
Cologne
20 – 23 November, 2014
www.modellbahn-koeln.de
Production of Club card
10 euro instead of 13 euro
Modell Süd,
Stuttgart
20 – 23 November, 2014
www.messe-stuttgart.de/
modell
Production of Club card
10 euro instead of 12 euro
Faszination
Modellbau,
Friedrichshafen
31 October – 02
November, 2014
www.faszination-modellbau.de
Production of Club card
10 euro instead of 13
euro
Grote Model-spoor, Belgium
18 – 19 October,
2014
www.modelspoorexpo.be
Center Brabanthal near Leuven
–
modell-hobby-spiel, Leipzig
03 – 05 October,
2014
www.modell-hobby-spiel.de
Online ticket 8.50 euro
instead of 12 euro
Suisse Toy,
Bern
01 – 05 October,
2014
www.suissetoy.ch
–
Märklin has also produced a flat car with
sliding tarp cover with the advertising
slogan “Früh Kölsch” as an H0 special
model, which will be sold exclusively at
the stand. After changing the wheelsets,
the sliding tarp car will also be able to run
on Trix layouts. The Minitrix 2015 Club
model will be presented to Club members for the first time at Modellbau Süd
in Stuttgart.
For modell-hobby-spiel in Leipzig, there
is a discounted online ticket for Club
members which also gives privileged
admission to the exhibition. Advance
purchase in the online shop of the day
ticket costs 11 euro; on the day it costs
13 euro or on Sunday 12 euro. In the
ticket shop (www.modell-hobby-spiel.de,
see ‘Besucher’) Club members receive an
online ticket for 8.50 euro, on entering
the exclusive Märklin promotion code
MKLMHS14. With the printed online admission ticket, the Club VIPs then march
a green line straight past all the queues at
the ticket booths. Trix events and exhibition dates
will be found on www.trix.de
under (Experience / events).
trix club news 5.2014
DETAIL
Club trip to Hungary
The steam and diesel running days run
by the DBK Historische Bahn association
create lasting memories. The passenger
trains with baggage car for carrying cycles are hauled by “Bubikopf ” 64 419,
assisted by diesel loco 212 084-8: on the
Swabian Waldbahn the diesel is used
as a pusher on the 2.5 percent grades.
On production of the Club card, Club
members receive benefits on the DBK
Historische Bahn: for trips on the Swabian Waldbahn between Schorndorf and
Welzheim there is a free drink, and if a
family ticket was bought, there is a free
drink for each family member. And for
all long-distance trips organized by the
association, Club members receive a dis-
A guided tour of the Märklin factory in Györ, railroad nostalgia, trips
by train and LGB production – the
exclusive Club trip to Hungary from
November 28 to December 5, 2014 will
be an enjoyable experience with great
entertainment value. Information on
the trip with Club members will be
found in the Insider News 04/2014.
Registration forms from Bahnreisen
Sutter (www.bahnen.info).
Tel. +49 (0) 76 52/91 75 81
Fax: +49 (0) 76 52/91 75 82
E-mail: eisen@bahnen.info
Photo: Gernot Riecker
Club benefits at the DBK Historische Bahn e. V.
Steam pleasure: excursion on the
Swabian Waldbahn with the “Bubikopf”.
count of 10 percent on the ticket price.
Full information on the varied DBK program of special trains will be found under
www.dbkev.de
Trix Club News already
published will be found as
a PDF file in the Club area
under club.trix.de
Attractive rewards:
for recruiters there
are exclusive
models in Minitrix
and H0 as rewards
to be chosen – or a
voucher.
Campaign “Members recruit members”
Our membership campaign with new premiums got away to a very good start, and
it is continuing, although the closing date
for participating in the draw for the major
prize is on October 31, 2014. A draw will
be made among recruiters by that date for
a crimson Minitrix class 212 diesel loco
(16121) from era IV – one of the Minitrix
product highlights of 2014. Generally in
this campaign a member who recruits a
new member to the Trix Club receives
a premium of an exclusively-produced
special car in the gauge of his choice
(N/H0) – or a voucher for 30 euro, 35 CHF
or 40 USD, which is redeemable at a
trix club news 5.2014
First prize: All recruiters have the chance of
winning the new Minitrix
class 212 diesel loco.
Trix retailer. The procedure for recruiting a member is perfectly simple. The
person interested logs on in the Club
area under club.trix.de using the button “Become a Club Member”. During
the online registration, the person will
be asked for the recruiter’s membership
number and the premium requested.
Alternatively download the form under club.trix.de (see: Model Railroading
Downloads), fill it out and send it to the
Club admin.
5
DETAIL
MINITRIX COMING UP TO THE TRIX CLUB ANNIVERSARY 2015
Something to celebrate
Minitrix Product Manager Claus Ballsieper promises the
Club model 2015 will be a loco „which has never before
been produced in N gauge“ – after all, the Trix Club will be
15 next year. A good mood all round is promoted by new
products for the fall and the factory extension in Györ.
M
initrix product Manager Claus
Ballsieper works patiently towards
delivery and quality assurance of Minitrix models: “We have now inaugurated
the two-story production hall with the
most modern manufacturing machines
at our Györ location and with the area
there increased by 40 percent, capacity, flexibility and vertical
integration in the production partnership Göppingen-Györ have
all been improved. In manufacturing terms, this means we are
brilliantly equipped to face the future”.
The strength of the fall products in N makes a major contribution to this assessment. “For steam locomotive enthusiasts, a
class 038.10-40 is waiting – a former Prussian P 8, which
ran throughout Europe as one of the most successful
steam loco designs”, says the Minitrix Manager,
naming one example. Diesel loco fans are to
be spoiled by the appearance of the chunky
class V 90 switcher, of which many examples are still performing sterling service
in switching yards. The new designs of
these locos of class 038.10-40 (16384; see
next page and back cover) for passenger
and freight trains and V 90 (16292) for
switching and freight services display
the current technical state of Minitrix.
“On the class 38.10-40 for instance,
superstructure and chassis are of
metal, separately-applied parts
such as grab handles and steam
whistle can be seen, and the digital
decoder and sound generator fitted
create many switchable functions
which bring operations to life”, says
Claus Ballsieper, who also takes into
account the different tastes of the
➞
N milestones: Minitrix Product Manager
Claus Ballsieper is justifiably proud of
N models like the Club loco 18 612
(left, 16186) or the DB‘s „bird of paradise“
the class 103 locomotive used to haul the
Tourism Train (16343).
DETAIL
Great performance: Minitrix stands for sumptuous detail and functional versatility.
Prototypical, delicate and fully equipped: the current state of Minitrix
technology in series products can be seen in the class 038.10-40 tender
loco (16384) (product data see Club News back cover).
many separately-applied
parts like the steam whistle or
the bell in front of the three
domes
clean lettering, as the
owner‘s plate (DB), road
number with computer
check digit, operating
type and home depot
delicate design of the domes and
pipework on the boiler
dome arrangement DSD
(dome, sandbox, dome)
Witte smoke deflectors
Type 2’2 T 21.5 box
tender with two-axle
trucks
digital decoder
accommodated
in the tender with
smoke unit
(DCC, Selectrix,
Selectrix 2)
can motor with bell-shaped armature
and flywheel is mounted in the boiler.
three coupled axles; characteristic of
the P 8 is the greater wheelbase
between center and rear coupled axles
spoked wheels with traction tires for
improved adhesion
state railroad
lamps on
the buffer beam
buffer plate warning stripes
detailed tender design with
molded rivets on the water
tank and coal bunker
engineer‘s cab with two windows each side: open to the
rear, ventilators in the roof
two-axle leading truck
triple headlights with warm
white LEDs
tender close-coupled
trix club news 5.2014
7
Something for
ev­eryone: The
crimson Minitrix
V 90 loco (16292) has
a digital decoder and
a sound generator
fitted – but there is
also one without
sound (16291).
➞ N railroaders: “The V 90 is available as item 16291 without
sound functions, and this version of the switcher of course has
its own road number”. The three-position headlights and the red
tail-lights of both the switcher locomotives are prototypically
controllable as a special highlight.
The Minitrix brand now includes popular N-gauge accessories
like the laser-cut “gateway to the world” kits, with huge stations
and impressive mid-Victorian houses. “This strategy will be continued with a set of municipal busses in N, representing current
municipal undertakings all over Germany”, says the product
manager, telling us of a new Minitrix delicacy shortly to appear.
The bus display (65400) is made up of two each omnibus models
of type MB O405: a DB touring bus (65401), Frankfurt night bus
(64502), municipal bus of the Hamburg Hochbahn AG (65403),
the Berlin BVG (65404), the SWM Munich (65405) and the SSB
Stuttgart (65406).
Production reliability, new products boost, range expansion –
Minitrix is heading for 2015 with the wind behind it, offering
the Trix Club an occasion for celebration: the Club will be celebrating its 15th birthday. “Appropriately, in 2015 there will be a
Club model which has never before been produced in N gauge”,
says Claus Ballsieper, announcing a surprise. And naturally there
will also be anniversary cars for the Club in H0, Express and
N gauge produced.
“The Modell Süd exhibition is a great opportunity to have a look
at the new Trix products in N and H0 gauges”, is the advice the
Minitrix product manager gives us – to visit the Stuttgart exhibition from 21 to 24 November, 2014. Many N railroaders already
have this in their calendars anyway because of the great N-Club
International module exhibition at the European N-Scale Convention. So for Club members a trip will be doubly worth while,
“as the 2015 Minitrix Club model will be presented here for
the first time”. Don’t forget to bring your Club card: when you
present it, you’ll get a two euro reduction on the admission fee
to the exhibition (see news page 5).
Text: RR, photos: Kötzle, Trix
Trix will be at Modell Süd in Stuttgart with a stand
and demonstration layouts. Information on the exhibi­
tion under www.messe-stuttgart.de/modell, on Trix
products under www.trix.de and on the European NScale Convention under www.n-club-international.de
Colorful municipal traffic
With a sure nose for the preferences of the N-gauge railroader community, in 2013 Minitrix even went off the rails:
superb card buildings like Hamburg-Dammtor station and
the harbor sheds with semi-portal luffing cranes added to
the range sold like hot cakes – and the mid-Victorian building series has now been reintroduced. Not to be forgotten
either are the French-style laser-cut town houses and
the modern single-family houses. Now Minitrix Product
Manager Claus Ballsieper is addressing road traffic with
a twelve-piece bus display (65400): “Layout constructors
need plenty of variety in the accessory field, and in any
case, our Minitrix rolling stock with its high level of detail
feels good when it’s included in realistically-designed scenarios”. The prototypes selected by the product manager
are municipal busses of the MB O405 type from cities like
Berlin (BVG), Hamburg (Hochbahn), Munich (SWM) and
Stuttgart (VVS). There are also two universal models: one
DB touring bus and a night bus. Good thinking: the front
axle of the busses can be set so as to represent a turning
off maneuver.
8
Modern times: The twelve-piece bus display includes
among others two Frankfurt night busses (65403, top),
DB touring busses (center, 65401) and BVG municipal
busses (65404). The price (RRP) per bus is 20.99 euro.
trix club news 5.2014
DETAIL
INTERVIEW: MARTIN LINGENS, MÄRKLIN DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Fascination of technology
Thanks to new technologies,
model railroads have experienced
a tremendous development boost.
Martin Lingens on the challenges
now faced.
Märklin Development
Manager Martin
Lingens is also CEO
of the Märklin
Engineering GmbH.
Where do you see the greatest changes in model
railroads in recent years?
Lingens: Through greater detailing and additional functionalities, Trix has created a world of play which has moved even
closer to its prototype. Many situations in a locomotive can
be replicated today with physical functions such as various
lighting functions and a large number of different sound
representations. So the overall behavior of the locomotive
as a mechatronic product has become more realistic.
What are the important milestones along the
way up to now?
Lingens: Prior to 1983, using “electronic multiple train
control”, it was only possible to run the models. With
Selectrix, the digital era began in 1983 – now it was possible for model railroaders to run, and control functions.
Finally in 2005 the Märklin digital system with DCC
came on the market. With the Central Station, we now
have a multi-protocol control unit which can handle
DCC, Motorola and mfx, and for hand controls there
are the Mobile Station and the Mobile Station App for
tablet PCs and smartphones. Today, it’s a matter of
course to be able to control a number of locos separately
on one electrical circuit and that the various functions
such as sounds or lights can also be called up separately. Communications within the digital system is being
further extended with DCC or mfx.
What in essence do the protocols do?
Lingens: Communication between Control Units and
decoders was designed in one direction. Mfx now allows two-way communications. It’s no longer just a
matter of commands from the controller to the loco;
the loco now logs on with its own address, and taking
advantage of this bidirectional communication is by
no means finished yet.
➞
trix club news 5.2014
9
Development boss Lingens: “The model on
the layout will always
be the central attraction – control functions
merely enhance the
quality and intensity of
the play experience”.
Is the model railroad not merging increasingly
with the virtual world as a result of digitization?
Lingens: At Trix, the model itself – the locomotive – is in center
stage, as it has been for 80 years. There are additional operating
and control functionalities in and around it, but it is the model
with its visual refinements which is under the spotlight. Digital equipment does admittedly increase playing enjoyment and
ability to experience enormously.
What more worlds of experience are feasible?
Lingens: On the H0 class Dm3 ore locomotive with DCC digital
decoder for instance, a third light is switchable at the ends.
Other examples of technology which attract the attention are
the display doors on the LINT or the firebox flickering in the
N-gauge steam loco 18 612. Technical advances such as LEDs
in components contribute to this. Using white LEDs with adjustable lighting intensity, we model ever more authentic light
controls, and with the ‘aux’ functions of the decoder every output can be set individually. This is how interior lighting such as
the table lighting with random switching in the Insider model
“Donald Duck” is designed.
Where are the challenges today in the development?
Lingens: When designing the model, the design engineer
always has to find a compromise in the tricky area bounded by
robustness, running capability – above all on small radii – and
the high standards of authenticity and delicacy of design we
seek. And however complex, manufacturing costs must always
be kept within specified limits.
This is how running
operations make for real fun
Lifelike: Four integrated displays on the
class 648.2 commuter diesel railcar set
(H0: 22930) in digital operation show
typical boarding and alighting scenes.
It’s not just model technology, but also the design
which has advanced. How useful is CAD software?
Lingens: The advantage of powerful software programs like Catia lies in the wide variety of databases the company uses. Catia
is connected to a product data management system. Design department creates the 3-D data, and these are then incorporated
in the various development stages of the model. This ranges from
tool design through tool filler simulation for the zinc die-casting
to exploded drawings.
10
trix club news 5.2014
DETAIL
You are also CEO of Märklin Engineering GmbH. What
is the contribution of this ideas workshop?
Lingens: Counting all brands, Märklin brings well over 400 new
products to market every year. In the Engineering GmbH, independent of the strictly-defined development process of our
parent company, we examine brand new ideas as to their feasibility. That applies for digital functions or process concepts like
3-D printing and cast parts with integrated switches. For the
innovation process, Märklin Engineering GmbH also keeps in
very close touch with colleges and technical universities. This
way, young engineers are always able to offer fresh impulses.
What are the most important subjects for the future?
Lingens: There are a whole stack of them: simpler controls, more
extensive plug-and-play for vehicles, decoders, drive and track
systems as well as supplementing the main controller Central
Station by operating concepts such as the Märklin Mobile Station
Apps on smartphones and tablet PCs. And naturally, we continue
down the road to realism, both in the design of the models and
their operation.
The idea of a plaything is not being abandoned then?
Lingens: A Trix loco always was, and is still, a plaything of value.
Many model railroaders tell me that models they had as kids
were the decisive factor in their taking up a technical training.
Today, mechanics and electronics are supplemented by programming. If we succeed in promoting the awareness of these
disciplines once again, this will reinforce the future viability of
the model railroad hobby and attract the younger generation to
the engineering professions.
Martin Lingens
Märklin Development Manager
Märklin’s development
section combines the
expertise of some
90 staff from the fields
of tool making, product
design, electronics development, art work and
design services.
“The future is
plug-and-play
with locomotives,
decoders, drive
and track systems.”
Text: RR/PW, photos: Kötzle, Trix
Possibilities for applying for student work
at Märklin Engineering GmbH will be found
under www.maerklin-engineering.com
Refinements: even on complicated
designs like the DB promotional locos on
the “mouse show-train”, the Trix coloring
in H0 and N remain faithful to the original
– whether the motifs have to be printed
on the windows, roofs or the rounded
locomotive bodies.
Fine Art: The hand-crafted fine detailing
on the Minitrix electric loco EG 507 (22674)
bear witness to the high quality of the
manufacture. The engineer’s position of the
brass loco is worth looking into as well.
trix club news 5.2014
Running enjoyment: Minitrix always
broadcasts a good atmosphere, as
it does here with Club model 18 612
(16186) with its digital functions like
the firebox flickering and the smoke
generator.
11
Detail design: on average, an H0 loco is composed of over
300 individual parts, whose design data are created with the
Catia CAD software, and every rivet, every pipe and every
wheel has to be defined, including tolerances and fitting.
For the generation of a wheel, Märklin Engineering GmbH
has developed a design aid which enables a wheel to be
designed for a particular model by laying down over 30
parameters such as diameter, number of spokes, balanceweights and rod attachments.
1
2
Catia
Assemblies:
installation room
and interference analyses
guarantee the developer optimum use of space, which is very
helpful when fitting components
like the motor, gearbox and
decoder.
3
Complexity: the CAD software offers the designer a host of working views. Whether it’s a detail, an assembly or a transparent view (pictured) of the workings, the
state of development is visible at all times. Due to the large number of parts there
is a high level of vertical integration at Trix models and Catia and associated software modules ensure efficiency with a uniform data scenario. The CAD software
is also the platform for product development at different locations.
Trix locos are highly complex workpieces with an enormous amount of detail and
their design demands the use of powerful CAD software. So Märklin Design works
with Catia, the industry standard for development work in high-tech branches.
Technology in detail
Photos: 4N, Keyshot/Burgess, Kötzle, Märklin, Siemens
6
5
4
Visualization: with the help
of high-power computer
performance, pictures with
photographic realism can be
created from the 3-D data.
Every detail of a model is
recognizable in the so-called
‘rendering’. This is used to
assess how the model will
look and be presented for
marketing and distribution.
The rendering can also be
used for video-clips.
•• Enovia Smarteam
•• Keyshot
The Catia software by Dassault Systèmes is used for design data for large constructions such as airplanes or cars, as well as for highly integrated workpieces like
watches or complicated machinery. The Märklin concern has been working with the CAD software since 2010 as well as with modules for visualizing the 3-D data.
Uniform world of data: The software Enovia Smarteam manages the development data and this way the data models form the working basis for many other
specialist areas in the continuous production chain such as tool design or printing
preparations (illustrated). The draft data can also be used for the NC programming.
Documentation: The draft design data serve
as basis for exploded drawings. The software
automatically pulls the individual locomotive
parts away from one another in perspective, and
the illustrations in the owner’s instructions are
created in the same way.
7
•• 3-D design
•• 3DVIA Composer
You will find an animation of the VT 95.9
(22995) railbus created with Keyshot on the
Internet under www.maerklin.de/de/produkte/
sondereditionen/schienenbus_VT95.html
Illustration: The technical illustration is not based on individual
points in the picture; it represents for example assemblies
(above), irrespective of definition. The representation can be
animated, such as with the VT 95.9 (see Internet reference
below) or the Club model E 17 111 (22172; see www.schwindt.
eu/maerklin.html). 3-D model data can also be used for an
augmented reality representation (left): the volumetric model
is embedded in illustrations of the real world.
SCENE
Fantastic: Most of the
passenger trains on the
stationary layout of the
NBC start from or
terminate in “Eppfurt
Hauptbahnhof” (Eppfurt
Main Station).
PORTRAIT OF THE N-BAHN-CLUB RHEIN-NECKAR
Respectable
and scratch-built
The N-Bahn-Club Rhein-Neckar is
building a stationary layout, and
because it’s such fun, they’re building
a modular layout too. Specialty of the
N-gaugers’ association, with over
40 years’ history to look back on:
scratch-built buildings.
W
hen Werner-Bodo Gerstenberger goes
for a walk in the woods with his wife,
he observes his surroundings closely.
This is less to wonder at the marvels
of nature, as he says: “I imagine everything in miniature – in 1:160 scale”, he
explains with a smile. Model railroads
are his hobby, and have been for a long time. “The hobby has
been following me all my life. It’s like an addiction”. Minitrix in
particular captivated him. “Minitrix is my brand”.
Gerstenberger is a member of the N-Bahn-Club Rhein-Neckar,
or NBC for short. Along with 18 other active members, he can
devote himself wholeheartedly to his hobby here – N gauge.
NBC-chairman Gerstenberger and his deputy Michael Riffner
are especially proud of the club layout. “We have the largest stationary club layout in the south-west – of this we are convinced”.
The N-gauge layout has an area of 60 m² (645 ft²), 800 m (2625’)
of track and 220 turnouts. The layout was started in 1974, the
same year the association was established. But dust hasn’t settled
on it. Originally, the layout was planned to represent the style
of era III. “There is a change in the layout; it develops with the
times”, as Werner-Bodo Gerstenberger explains. Until 2011, it
was built in era III and IV styles, but for the last two years, the
model railroaders have been working in current eras.
The layout is divided into four sections: two electrified main
lines and two partly-electrified branches. “We run on two levels, points out NBC track supervisor Riffner. There are eight
stations, two staging yards and one halt. All the sections are
interconnected by the stations. The two main lines are divided
into one high-level and one low-level line. Here too there has
been a change: originally, the high-level line with two stations
was intended only for steam- and diesel-hauled trains, and it
was not planned to electrify it. But since 2012 the foundations
14
Modern: the present
day is also to be
found on the NBC
modules – like the
cute little singlefamily suburban
houses alongside
the tracks.
have been laid for electric traction, such as the erection of
overhead catenary masts and the installation of transformer
stations.
The outside station can accommodate trains up to
4.5 m (14’9”) in length.
By contrast, the low-level line was designed as an electrified
line. This line has the large terminus and the associated outside
station and the loco depot. All passenger trains start from and
terminate at the terminus. This has 11 platform roads, while the
station outside can accommodate trains up to 4.5 m long. Along
the branch lines, we also find two staging yards. The layout can
be operated either fully automatically by computer program or
computer-aided using switching panels.
The N-gaugers set great store by individual buildings. “We have
many scratch-builds”, emphasizes track expert Riffner. One of
them is a model of the Mannheim suburb of Neckarstadt West –
the Club is based in Mannheim. Monday and Saturday evenings
are club evenings, and members get together to develop ideas
for new modules. As well as the fixed layout, the Club has a
modular one. “That’s this club’s great advantage: we have a room
for the module builders” NBC-chairman Gerstenberger tells us.
Around 30 m (98’) of modules are accommodated in this workshop room. At the moment there are some 29 modules in various
stages of completion and different qualities of workmanship.
➞
trix club news 5.2014
Magnificent: The finely-executed
historic old town of Staufen
demonstrates how good the
building artistry of the Rhine-Neckar
N-gaugers really is.
Leadership duo: the association
chairman Werner-Bodo
Gerstenberger (left) and
Michael Riffner with the old
Friedrichshafen Harbor
terminal station.
SCENE
Speed merchants
again: call-out for
the rescue team
because of a car
taking the wrong
route – no great
surprise, given the
state of the road.
NBC maintains international N-gauge contacts
The module group first ‘went public’ in 2006, when it displayed at
the “Faszination Modellbau” exhibition in Sinsheim. Since then,
the group, which now builds to N-Club International standards,
has been represented at many events both at home and abroad. Not
just for the sake of accolades: the NBC module builders establish
international contacts and friendships – there are close contacts
in particular with Finnish and Spanish model railroaders. Little
wonder that the Rhine-Neckar N-railroaders are present at the
European N-Scale Convention at the Stuttgart Modell Süd exhibition, where hundreds of modules are joined up just for the pleasure of running together. “The special highlight of our modules
is a medium-sized terminal station modeled on the former Friedrichshafen Harbor station”, says track specialist Michael Riffner.
Terminal stations are not often seen on modular layouts. There is
16
“Minitrix is
my brand”.
also an outstanding model of Remagen Bridge which one of the
members has built. The miniature version of the famous bridge
has already drawn the admiration of visitors at many exhibitions.
Designing landscapes, servicing locos, laying tracks – there are
individual specialist and working groups in the NBC for all
the different aspects involved in model railroad construction.
trix club news 5.2014
SCENE
Joint activities: “With N gauge on tour”; that’s how the NBC sees
itself, making contacts at exhibitions at home and abroad.
The N-Bahn-Club
Rhein-Neckar (NBC)
The N-Bahn-Club Rhein-Neckar (NBC) attracts
enthusiastic N-gaugers who with flair run
one of the largest stationary N-gauge layouts
in the south of Germany and their modular
layout. In the four working groups landscape,
track-laying, electronics and controls and loco
and rolling stock servicing, everyone can make
use of their special talents, or indeed just enjoy
running sessions and good company.
In 2014, the general meeting of the NBC voted
Werner-Bodo Gerstenberger and Michael
Riffner as chairmen on the committee. The two
have taken up office in a very special year: in
September 2014, the Mannheim club celebrated
an important anniversary with a large N-gauge
exhibition: the 40th anniversary of the NBC’s
founding. “Some N-gauge enthusiasts met
in Ludwigshafen in 1971”, reports chairman
Werner-Bodo Gerstenberger. “That was more
or less the nucleus of the NBC, as nine model
railroaders then founded the association with
its base in Viernheim, near Mannheim in 1974”.
The club layout was dismantled in 1987 and since
then, the club has been based in Mannheim.
One group looks after servicing of rolling stock and traction units,
and there’s plenty of this needed on exhibition days. The landscaping group creates landscape elements, constructing houses,
buildings and trees and so that the trains can run at all, someone
has to build and look after the club layout’s controls. That task is
undertaken by the electronics / controls group, and the track construction group looks after the basic framework of the layout and
track-laying. “Guests are always welcome at our meets by prior
arrangement”, says NBC chairman Gerstenberger, underscoring
the openness of the club. “We have also decided to let non-members operate our layout on our regular running days”.
Text: Christoph Klawitter/rr
Photos: Kötzle, NBC
trix club news 5.2014
As a rule, the club organizes model railroad
exhibitions every year at Easter and in the fall.
There is also a public running day every last
Saturday in the month, to which visitors
can bring their own models to run
(info: www.nbc-rn.de). Contact the NBC by
E-Mail (nbahnclub@t-online.de) or telephone
on Mondays and Saturdays between 03:00 p.m. –
08:00 p.m. on +49 (0)6 21/31 79 79.
Exchange and fun with models is also to be enjoyed
at Trix round tables – a current list will be found in the
club area under club.trix.de
17
Picturesque:
Jean-Luc Dubray
has captured life in
the cave dwellings
in the Cher Valley
on his N-gauge
modules.
MODULE PORTRAIT ASSOCIATION FRANÇAISE DES AMIS DU N
Living in caves
Picturesque cave dwellings nestle in the Cher
valley sandstone, and French AFAN club N-gauge
enthusiasts have captured the extravagant
scenery on modules.
Dynamic: Locos like
172060 of the CC
72000 class by Minitrix in En-Voyage
colors are well-received in France.
Attractive: The
little lake in the Cher
Valley offers anglers
enjoyment, while a
single cow slakes its
thirst.
Concealed: Behind
the vineyard on the
far left, a staging
yard is concealed,
while a chimney in
the cliff face indicates living accommodation.
Bustling: Casks are
being loaded in
the winery with the
cave cellar, while
in the foreground,
vegetables are being
tended.
A
fascinating life-style has survived
in Touraine in the Cher Valley,
a tributary of the Loire: The
cave-dwellers, the “troglodytes”,
have hewn their dwellings in the
limestone cliffs – and they are
often trimmed with attractive
façades, and many have light and airy rooms. Those
less suitable for living in are mostly used as warehouses.
This is the architectural style Jean-Luc Dubray from
trix club news 5.2014
Monnaie, near Tours, has selected as the prototype
for his module building. A member of AFAN (French
Association of N-gauge Enthusiasts), he has shown his
modules in Germany on a number of occasions.
The double-track AFAN main line runs through
the foreground of the module while Jean-Luc Dubray leads a branch line off over a bridge and
through a tunnel in the steep rock-face lining the
river to a carefully-concealed staging yard.
➞
19
Imposing:
AFAN-member
André Pinat from
the Club d’Orléans
masters large
buildings such as the
Saint-Denis-Catus
viaduct (right).
Everyday scenes:
Pinat attacks environmental pollution
such as the illegal car
scrap yard (above)
and also captures
road scenes.
➞
The most sensational items are the cave dwellings, some of them as houses in semi-relief, some of
them merely windows in the rock-face, many of them
indeed only detectable due to doors or smoke-stacks
peering out of the crudely-modeled sandstone. No
less impressive is the area between the cliffs and the
rail tracks. Here you find French country life; to go
with the vineyard, we see an active winery, farmers
looking after fields of vegetables, a lock with a little
barge and a lumber mill round off the picture of the
troglodytes’ world.
People are feasting in the little Bar ’Brasserie’
The AFAN is also home for other design artists such
as André Pinat of the Club d’Orléans, who stands
out not only due to his mighty Saint-Denis-Catus
viaduct: with an unerring nose for atmosphere, he
designs scenes from everyday French life; if you look
past the roadworks with the little excavator, you’ll
discover a busy restaurant in the Brasserie, while
behind Renault and Supermarket advertising hoardings we see in the bushes an illegal scrap yard with
rusty, dismantled and damaged cars.
Naturally, AFAN also runs Minitrix. Indeed, in 2013
the French model railroad association FFMF voted the Minitrix SNCF class BB 15000 electric loco
(item 12294) ‘Model of the Year’. AFAN President
Michel Grannec took it as his honor to present the
document with the distinction for Trix. Text: Rochus Rademacher, photos: RR, Trix
20
The Association
Française des
Amis du N
The French Association of N-gauge
enthusiasts AFAN, with its base in
Paris, unites N-gauge railroader
clubs all over France from Alsace
to Brittany and the Ile de France to
Rhone-Alpes. Members are also
often to be encountered at exhibitions other than AFAN meets with
their modules; in Germany they
often make an impressive
appearance at the European
N-Scale Convention, organized by
the N-Club International (homepage: www.n-club-international.
de) at the Modell Süd exhibition in
Stuttgart. Associated with the FFMF
(Fédération Française de Modélisme
Ferroviaire), the AFAN’s President
is Michel Grannec. Contact via the
homepage: www.afan.fr (e-mailaddresses under “Nous Contacter”).
Europe’s N-railroaders meet for the N-Scale
Convention at the Modell Süd exhibition
(20 – 23 November) in Stuttgart.
Trix will be there as well. Information:
www.messe-stuttgart.de/modell
trix club news 5.2014
NEW CLUB COOPERATION PARTNER: OKTORAIL IN GRUGA PARK
Time travel
T
The general subject of Oktorail is the manufacture of steel (left). That’s why there are also mighty block trains in an
industrial atmosphere (center). In the course of the layout, freight trains pass by castles in the Alps.
he Gruga Park in Essen has a new sensation: the
large Oktorail H0 model railroad layout with an area
of 460 square meters (4950 ft²) and 2,500 meters
(8202’) of Märklin C-track. Highlight of the miniature world devoted to the subject of steel is that as
you progress through the layout, buildings, cars and
trains all become more modern. The journey through time starts in
the industrial region of the Ruhr of the 1960s and ends in 2014 – at
the start, steam locos are snorting along the tracks; at the end, the
ICE and a bi-level train hurry past.
“On our layout there are over 200 Märklin model trains, 12,000 model trees have been planted and over 10,000 figures bring life to the
model towns and industrial installations”, says Oktorail boss Jens
Kürvers, outlining the layout’s profile. It was designed with model
railroad enthusiasts and families in mind as well as classes of schoolchildren and their teachers: “Oktorail is recognized as an out-ofschool learning facility, and it illustrates graphically the question
of how steel is made”. There are highly-detailed models of mines,
cokeries, furnaces and steelworks to be seen. They explain the production stages of steel from the basic raw materials of coal and iron
ore. A model car factory with working assembly lines illustrates how
vehicles are made through to the ‘marriage’ of chassis with bodywork. Model trains finally transport the finished H0 cars through an
Alpine panorama to northern Italy. “With this scenario, model railroaders get a glimpse of enchanting tunnels, mountains and bridges”, explains Jens Kürvers. There are also lifelike everyday scenes to
be discovered, such as a colorful circus or a lively fairground.
The industrial buildings authentically placed in the landscape are
of an impressive size. “Roy Genkinger from Switzerland spent
trix club news 5.2014
Terrific: the large train shed
of the Oktorail layout is two
meters (6’6-3/4") long and
the platforms are seething
with passengers.
Party mood: after work at the fairground is effective when the lights
go down.
almost 16 years working on the model furnace alone”, reports the
Oktorail boss. “The mine, the cokery and the steelworks are all
kits by the laser-cutting specialists Joswood”. In the upper story of
Oktorail visitors get to run trains themselves: there is a play area
where they can play with model trains to their heart’s content.
The Oktorail model layout is to be found in the orangery
in Essen’s Gruga Park: 45147 Essen, Germany, Oktorail,
Virchowstr. 137; times of opening: daily 10:00 a.m. – 06:00 p.m.,
Tel.: +49 (0)2 01/5 07 38 13, info@oktorail.de, www.oktorail.de
Club benefit: on presenting their Club card, members pay the
reduced admission of 3 euro instead of 3.90 euro. During the
summer months there is also an admission charge of 4 euro
to the impressive Gruga Park.
Text: RR, photos: Frank Zarges
21
SERVIC E
SERIES CLUB COOPERATION PARTNERS: PART 4 – A BRIEF SURVEY OF BAVARIA
Railroads galore
Y
our Club card should
always be taken with
you; after all, there are
cooperation partners
offering reductions on
entrance fees on presentation of you Club card all over the place.
You can see that on a trip through Bavaria
and Franconia.
Three top-class family excursion destinations are at home in zip code areas 82 to 89:
in Geiselgasteig, the Bavaria Film City
(info: www.filmstadt.de) looks forward
to welcoming Club members – 300,000
visitors are guided every year through
the film and enviroment of Bavaria
film sets, villas and studios. Just as fascinating, the Ravensburger Spieleland
(Land of Games) (www.spieleland.de):
over 60 attractions can be enjoyed in
the popular leisure park by Lake Constance. The third destination is terrific:
in the Steiff Museum (www.steiff.com) in
Giengen (Brenz) there are the teddy bear
Excursion
delights: Mini
train, steam loco
workshop and
many exhibits –
the Bahnpark
Augsburg is a
super address for
railroad enthusiasts.
exhibition, worlds of experience, the Steiff
pets’ corner as well as a sewing room and
demonstration manufacture.
Less cuddly, but no less worth seeing are
the exhibits in the big prototype museums
in Bavaria. Bahnpark Augsburg (www.
bahnpark-augsburg.de) looks after giants
like 44 606, with a service weight of
170 tonnes, or 03 295, which has driving
wheels 2 meters (6’6-3/4”) in diameter.
Apart from turntable and locomotive hall,
the “Glass steam loco workshops” and the
TEE exhibition offer entertainment and
an H0 layout brings the era of the famous
Trans-Europ-Express trains back to life.
Since 1985, the Bavarian Railroad Museum (BEM) Nördlingen (www.bayerischeseisenbahnmuseum.de) has brought a
large part of the dismantled or abandoned
equipment and trackwork of the former
Nördlingen depot back into service. The
BEM is known for its museum events such
as the Rieser steam days and museum
trips such as those with 41 1150-6, which
is currently deputizing for S3/6 No. 3673:
the graceful Bavarian is being overhauled
in advance of her 100th birthday in 2018.
As well as the oldest serviceable steam locomotive in Germany – the loco “Füssen”,
built in 1889, the museum has 25 steam locos
ranging from the class 01 to the class 44.
The heart of Loco World in Freilassing
(www.lokwelt.freilassing.de) beats in the
roundhouse loco shed, built from 1902
and containing 20 stalls – most of the locos
here belong to the German Museum
for mobility and transport (DeutschesMuseum-Verkehrszentrum), there are
other railroad exhibits and an authentic
model of the Freilassing depot as a model
railroad layout. As well as steam locos,
electric locomotives such as E 103 167-3
and E 44 508 are also stabled here.
The Öchsle-Bahn Operating Co. Inc. (www.
oechsle-bahn.de) in Ochsenhausen has
the narrow-gauge locos 99 716 and 99 788
in service on its preserved railroad. Here
SERVIC E
special trains are frequently run through
Upper Swabia. It is planned to have the original 1899 Öchsle loco 99 633 fully restored
and in steam on the line in 2014 as well.
Attractive exhibition layouts in the
Allgäu
Layout enthusiasts really have value for
money in the Allgäu. In the Allgäu Railroad
Museum and Shop, MarktoberdorfThalheim (www.eisen-bahn-museumallgaeu.de) there are showcases full of
locomotives and railroad cars from 1920 to
the present day as well as a model railroad
layout portraying the 1950s/1960s era. The
museum shop sells accessories. The Miniwelt Oberstaufen (www.miniwelt-allgaeu.
de) finally scores with models of wellknown lines along the Rhine and Moselle
Valleys. The H0 model landscape spreads
over 300 square meters (3230 ft²).
Club cooperation
partners in Franconia
UNIQUE PROTOTYPE COLLECTION
90443 Nuremberg, Germany,
DB Museum im V
­ erkehrsmuseum
Nürnberg
Venerable: the
DB Museum is
the oldest railroad museum in
Germany. The
collection dates
back to 1882.
Club benefit: Club members
receive a reduction of 1 euro on
the entrance fee for an adult.
GERMANY’S LARGEST N-GAUGE LAYOUT
90599 Dietenhofen, Germany,
Miniatur Erlebniswelt
Text: Rochus Rademacher
Photos: Markus Hehl, DB/Jet Foto Kranert,
DDM, Miniaturland Treuchtlingen,
­Thomas Freidank
The complete current list of
cooperation partners will be
found in the Club area under
club.trix.de
Lessingstr. 6,
Tel.: +49 (0)9 11/2 19 24 28,
info@db-museum.de
www.db-museum.de
Langenzenner Straße 10,
Tel.: +49 (0) 98 24/92 31 20,
info@miniatur-erlebniswelt.de
www.miniatur-erlebniswelt.de
Extensive: In Dietenhofen, 488 meters
(1600’) of track are laid and over 80 trains
run – that way, N gauge impresses everyone who visits.
Club benefit: Club members
receive a reduction of 1 euro on
the entrance fee for an adult
250 SQUARE METERS (2691 FT²) OF MODEL RAILROAD
91757 Treuchtlingen, Germany,
Miniaturland Treuchtlingen
Elkan-Naumburg-Straße 35,
Tel.: +49 (0) 91 43/83 78 51,
mail@miniaturland-treuchtlingen.de,
www.miniaturland-treuchtlingen.de
Anniversary: The popular Miniaturland has
now been open for ten years. Between 15
and 28 of the 218 trains are always running
on the tracks, which have a total length of
2,500 m (8200 feet).
Club benefit: On presentation
of their Club card, members pay
4 euro instead of 5 euro entrance
fee. Children up to 12 years pay
2 euro instead of 3 euro.
CRÈME DE LA CRÈME IN THE STEAM LOCO WORLD
95339 Neuenmarkt, Germany,
Deutsches DampflokomotivMuseum
Birkenstr. 5,
Tel.: +49 (0) 92 27/57 00,
ddm@dampflokmuseum.de,
www.dampflokmuseum.de
Please ask the promoter directly
for details of the Club benefit.
An experience: “Bubikopf”, “Glaskasten”,
class 50 or the proud 18 612 (photo) – the
steam loco museum at the foot of the
“Schiefe Ebene” (‘inclined plane’) is home
to legendary steam engines.
At home – everywhere
Good performance, simple design, easily maintained, reliability:
development of the 100 km/h (62 mph) six-coupled P 8 from
1906 followed these design principles – ‘one of the most successful
Prussian locomotive designs of all’, as Thomas Estler assessed this
two-cylinder superheated loco with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement in
the ‘Grosses Loktypenbuch’ (Big book of steam locomotive types).
In Germany, over 3,500 of the machines were delivered by 1923:
“Almost every German locomotive factory built them, they were
allocated to almost every loco depot, and they handled passenger
and freight trains and expresses”. In the 1920s, the class was to be
found elsewhere in Europe as well. The 1,200 locomotives taken
over by the DB were later classified as class 038, and it was not
until 1974 that the last examples were withdrawn. Forty years later,
and Minitrix pays homage to the class 038.10-40. The model has
small Witte smoke deflectors, a box tender and a triple headlight.
The pulling power of the bell-shaped armature motor is assisted by
traction tires and a metal weight. Furthermore, the loco has great
playing value, as it has several controllable functions.
Text: RR, photos: Märklin
You will find fully-detailed product information on
the Minitrix locomotive 16384 on the Trix homepage
under www.trix.de
16384 Steam Locomotive with a Tender
e %!S,W
Model: Loco and tender mostly of die-cast metal.
Bell-shaped armature motor with flywheel in the boiler.
Equipped with digital decoder and sound generator
with DCC, Selectrix and Selectrix 2 formats. Loco and
tender close coupled. Three axles driven, traction tires.
Triple headlight, warm-white LEDs. Length over buffers
116 mm (4-9/16").
Model highlights
•• New design
•• Loco and tender mainly of die-cast metal
•• Digital sound with several functions
•• Up to eleven digital functions (DCC) controlla-
ble: headlights, loco whistle, steam loco running
sounds, bell, direct control, brakes squealing off,
air pump, switcher whistle, letting off steam,
shoveling coal, shaking up the grate
Universal machine:
the P 8 – here produced as
class 38.10-40 with compartment
cars – was widely distributed
in Europe in passenger and
freight service.
E 242621
Prototype: German Federal Railroad (DB) class 038.10-40
steam locomotive with a tender, with Witte smoke deflectors. Former Prussian P 8.