By Peter Pernsteiner

Cold winter weather and long dark evenings mean more time devoted to indoor leisure activities. No wonder that this creative tech hobby is very popular around Model Railway Day on the 2nd of December. And at "Eisenbahnfreunde Vaterstetten" (Vaterstetten railway fan club), the young people are going full steam ahead. Around 50 percent of the 80 club members are teenagers or younger." One main reason is that the "oldies" don't play the teacher, but allow the young members free rein when it comes to creativity. They let their imagination run wild, designing and building N gauge features for model railways on a scale of 1:160. This could be anything from a campsite, a circus a zoo, or even a disaster management centre. Others build railway stations, a village, a factory or a small town. The only binding requirement for the 100 x 50 cm modules is that there must be two tracks at exactly the same height at both ends so that the modules can be linked together endlessly. "Children between eight and twelve still need help with this from us older members, of course," said club chairman Ernst Stegmeier, "but when it comes to designing the landscape, adding greenery, assembling the building kits and brightening up the little dioramas with figures and cars, it’s a pleasure to see how quickly they develop their skills."

In this YouTube video the author takes you on a tour through the world of modules designed by this club.

Model Railway Day

A sort of public holiday was established a few years ago to liven up the theme of model railways. The second of December is "Model Railway Day". This special day was launched in 2015 at the initiative of the German TV series Eisenbahn-Romantik (Railway Romance) together with the European Association of Model Railroaders and Railroad Friends MOROP and other associations. To mark the event, at the end of November a lot of specialist retailers will be launching model railway campaigns and clubs hosting exhibitions. This year, accessories manufacturer Viessmann Modelltechnik is even organising an open day on 2 December and KM1 Modellbau is putting on an in-house exhibition.

This year, Märklin has once again produced a new special model with a fitting design to mark the day. On one side of the H0 gauge refrigerated wagon (scale 1:87, length: 11.5 cm) there is a picture of the Swiss RhB Capricorn train during its spectacular world record run on 29 October 2022 when the Rhaetian Railway assembled and ran the longest passenger train in the world through the Swiss Albula Tunnel. It consisted of 25 modern four-part train units and was an impressive 1906 metres long.

More modern vehicles

Stadler Rail started delivering this record-breaking train and 31 other four-part units to the Swiss rail operator Rhaetian Railway (RhB) in 2019. It is now available as a realistic adult toy for garden railway layouts on a scale of 1:22.5. Märklin has produced a two-part train set for its LGB brand that is 153 cm long and has electrically operated pantographs, interior fittings and lots of different sound effects. Two 77 cm long matching centre coaches are also available. In total, the train set is over three metres long. But, with a list price of € 3197, not many model railway enthusiasts are likely to consider buying 25 sets to recreate the world record journey.

Other manufacturers are now also developing more modern vehicles to appeal to young model railway enthusiasts or the young at heart. ROCO, for example, has had Railjet trains in its range for some time now and they can be found on countless layouts. At the beginning of the year, they announced that were developing Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) double-decker long-distance trains in H0 gauge (1:87). They will initially be produced as four-part and eight-part Interregio trains. Even more futuristic is the design of the Austrian Nightjet trains. Siemens Mobility has just completed the development of these trains for the Austrian rail company ÖBB. ROCO now plans to make a matching H0 gauge seven-part coach set on a scale of 1:87 which could certainly be very popular on many modern layouts. The market launch date for the 214 cm long ÖBB Nightjet wagon set is scheduled for the end of 2024.

Fascinatingly realistic on a scale of 1:32

When you look into the driver's cab of KM1’s new gauge 1 prototype of the modern Siemens Vectron electric locomotive, you could almost believe that it is a real locomotive. Even the engine compartment of this model has also been replicated in astonishing detail. The locomotive, weighing around 7.5 kg and just under 60 centimetres long, is made of die-cast zinc and has a lot of cast brass attachments. It is due to be released in 15 variants in spring 2024 and is a replica of the prototype operating conditions from 2013 to 2019. Depending on the variant, the model has two or four electrically controlled pantographs.

Modern gauge 1 locomotives are not the only trains with an impressive richness of detail, abundance of sound effects and elaborately reproduced functions. Märklin’s Class 2 0314-1 steam locomotive, which came out in the summer, now has a train driver that for the first time can move. Shortly before starting off, a hidden servo actuator triggers the figure to tilt and operate the control lever as in reality. At the same time, another servo engine moves the delicate steering linkage on the locomotive's front driving wheels. The train, 739 mm long and weighing 8.7 kg, has a triple smoke generator that can realistically replicate the steam exhaust in the chimney, the cylinders and steam whistle independently (see also the cover pictures of this article).

Click here to watch a YouTube unboxing video by our author.

Realism on a scale of 1:87

In addition to the larger scale locomotives, H0 premium models for adults are now increasingly being produced with a high level of detail. PIKO is scheduled to release a steam locomotive with a tender before Christmas as part of its Expert product family. The 275 mm long Class 3 model weighs just over 500 g and not only has fine metal spoked wheels, but also filigree add-on parts such as bells and pumps. The Expert Plus version, expected a little later, comes with sound electronics including wheel-synchronised steam locomotive noises and a pulsed smoke generator for the chimney in tune with the sounds. It also has switchable lighting in the engine and driver's cab as well as flickering firebox lighting.

With its recently launched H0 E locomotive based on the Swiss model, model railway electronics manufacturer ESU has once again demonstrated what is possible in terms of technical gimmicks on a scale of 1:87. The short Ae 6/6 class locomotive (just 212 mm long) has electrically controlled pantographs, spring-loaded buffers and switchable lighting in the engine room, driver's cab and even on the driver's desk. Other nice gimmicks are the replicated brake sparks on the wheels when braking sharply and the electronically generated squeaking noise when cornering slowly. Two speakers with large sound capsules ensure maximum sound performance. This ESU model can also be used on either two-wire or Märklin three-wire tracks thanks to a plug-in grinder and slide switch. And there is even a clear view of the very detailed engine room.

While we’re on the subject of Swiss locomotives, it’s worth mentioning that lots of model railway layouts are set in this country. But, with all those mountains you’ll need quite a lot of space if you want to recreate the Gotthard north ramp in your model railway room. The H0 layout on the left in Mühldorf, Upper Bavaria, was created in a basement room that is eight metres long and 2.44 metres high. A dream world like this can’t be built overnight though. Construction began back in 1999 and since its rough completion in 2003, it has been continuously embellished and modernised - true to the motto: the only constant in life is change. That explains why historic steam locomotives from all over Europe as well as modern Taurus locomotives, the ICE 4 and the TGV are all travelling on this impressive Swiss layout. It‘s pleasing to note that not only the 52-year-old owner finds relaxation in this Alpine world, but his 22-year-old son, too.

In this video the author presents the model railroad layout in detail.

About the author:

Peter Pernsteiner, graduate engineer and freelance journalist, discovered his love of technology journalism while studying electrical engineering and soon after joined the editorial team of a major ICT trade magazine. Since 1994, he has been writing as a freelance journalist, particularly on technology topics - including for model railway magazines. In 2016, he also launched a YouTube channel for technology reports, which has since attracted worldwide attention.