The "Ringbahn" - a simple tramway layout in HO

[marknewton]

I haven't been active on the forum much lately - not because I've lost interest, but I've been busy with a little side project. My son Harry and I both like trams, and we've managed to acquire a decent-sized fleet. We reckoned it's about time we built something we could run them on. So we've started building an HO scale tramway layout. We've called it the "Ringbahn", partly as a tribute to the gorgeous little tramway in Naumburg, and partly because my nickanme is Ring. (Long story...)

 

Progress so far:

 

 

 

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[Densha]

Looking great so far! I once wanted to make a tram layout too but at some point I decided to focus on my Japanese N gauge first. Both can be done in very compact layouts.

Is it H0? Those are Roco Düwag GT8N Straßenbahn right? I have one of those too; one with ads on it. I have one other tram, you will probably not know about it: a HTM RegioCitadis that are used where I live so I just had to get it!

Maybe you are interested in these links of Dutch tram modellers:

http://www.marks-modeltrambaan.nl/index.htm (very famous German prototype layout) -> Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/modellstrassenbahn/videos

http://bruinbaa.home.xs4all.nl/ (also German prototype and very compact)

A very small Dutch prototype layout but I think even this is a lot of fun: http://www.youtube.com/user/HtmtramsH0

Edited October 20, 2013 by Densha

[John P Boogerd]

I have always liked the Roco trams - they are so nicely done. 

[Densha]

Yeah, they really are. I also like the motor units of them, very smooth and quiet. Much better than the stereo (there are two) grinding motors in the RegioCitadis from Halling. The horror.

[marknewton]

Is it H0?

 

Yes, HO.

 

Those are Roco Düwag GT8N Straßenbahn right? I have one of those too; one with ads on it.

 

They are. I now have more of these Roco trams than I ever intended to get, but as you know they're very nice models. It's hard to stop at one.

 

I have one other tram, you will probably not know about it: a HTM RegioCitadis that are used where I live so I just had to get it!

 

I know of Halling, you'll see a few of their models above. I didn't know they did a Citadis - nice!

 

Maybe you are interested in these links of Dutch tram modellers:

http://www.marks-modeltrambaan.nl/index.htm (very famous German prototype layout) -> Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/modellstrassenbahn/videos

http://bruinbaa.home.xs4all.nl/ (also German prototype and very compact)

A very small Dutch prototype layout but I think even this is a lot of fun: http://www.youtube.com/user/HtmtramsH0

 

There's some very nice modelling featured on these links. I knew of the first two, but the third was new to me, and I really like what he's done. Thanks for posting these.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

Edited October 21, 2013 by marknewton

[marknewton]

Yeah, they really are. I also like the motor units of them, very smooth and quiet.

 

In particular, the more recent versions with the large flywheels have very nice mechanisms.

 

Much better than the stereo (there are two) grinding motors in the RegioCitadis from Halling. The horror.

 

Halling trams can be funny things. One of my Stuttgart Esslingens is very noisy running in one direction, reasonably quiet in the other. Whereas the other nominally identical model is whisper quiet in either direction. The little single-trucker is not too bad, but as you would expect it's very sensitive to dirty track or wheels.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

Edited October 21, 2013 by marknewton

[Densha]

Awesome collection Nick! You have a great taste in trams.

I also spotted the Hiroshima Hannover tram. The N model of it stops at almost every gap in the track. :(

And Kotoden is also nice! You really notice the difference between 1/80 and 1/87 scale here.

 

I know of Halling, you'll see a few of their models above. I didn't know they did a Citadis - nice!

Halling did quite a lot of Dutch tram models. It's usually in collaboration with local shops in towns where the trams are in use (for example the Hague for a HTM tram) and the Dutch SKIPtram company: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING

Some Dutch models:

ex-Hannover TW6000 that was used in the Hague (HTM) for a few years: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:Den_Haag_hannoverianen

HTM RegioCitadis: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:Randstadrail

HTM Avenio (which will be introduced next year): http://www.skiptram.nl/?MODEL_in_H0_%281%3A87%29:HTM_materieel:Siemens_Avenio

Rotterdam RET Citadis: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:RET_CITADIS_%28initiated_by_SKIPtram%29

Utrecht SUN tram: http://www.skiptram.nl/?MODEL_in_H0_%281%3A87%29:BRU:De_SUN_tram

They also did one Dutch train: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:Valleilijn

 

I only have the RegioCitadis you can also see in this video:

[marknewton]

Awesome collection Nick! You have a great taste in trams.

 

Thanks. But I can't take all the credit - my son and wife have chosen some.

 

I also spotted the Hiroshima Hannover tram. The N model of it stops at almost every gap in the track. :(

 

I have three of these trams now, the Hiroshima car, a Dortmund motor/trailer set, and a Düsseldorf motor and two trailers. In HO they're not bad runners at all, although rather noisy due to the design of the drive. I experimented with replacing the stock drive with a spare Black Beetle I had lying around. It worked quite well, now all I have to do is order one that has the correct wheel diameter and wheelbase.

 

And Kotoden is also nice! You really notice the difference between 1/80 and 1/87 scale here.

 

Yes, you do. They're not likely to be run on this layout for that reason.

 

Halling did quite a lot of Dutch tram models. It's usually in collaboration with local shops in towns where the trams are in use (for example the Hague for a HTM tram) and the Dutch SKIPtram company: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING

Some Dutch models:

ex-Hannover TW6000 that was used in the Hague (HTM) for a few years: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:Den_Haag_hannoverianen

HTM RegioCitadis: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:Randstadrail

HTM Avenio (which will be introduced next year): http://www.skiptram.nl/?MODEL_in_H0_%281%3A87%29:HTM_materieel:Siemens_Avenio

Rotterdam RET Citadis: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:RET_CITADIS_%28initiated_by_SKIPtram%29

Utrecht SUN tram: http://www.skiptram.nl/?MODEL_in_H0_%281%3A87%29:BRU:De_SUN_tram

They also did one Dutch train: http://www.skiptram.nl/?KleinSERIEfabrikanten:HALLING:Valleilijn

 

I only have the RegioCitadis you can also see in this video:

 

Nice! For a modern tram they're quite attractive cars. But I really like the PCCs in this video!  :)

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

I have always liked the Roco trams - they are so nicely done. 

 

You're not wrong, they're very appealing models. The model has obviously been developed/improved over the years. The earlier versions don't have a flywheel, while later versions have a small flywheel, and the most recent have a larger flywheel. I have examples of alll three types. The recent models with the big flywheel are superb runners.

 

 

These are my 2-unit Duewag GT6s. The car on the right is in Karlsruhe livery, the rest are in Köln/KVB livery.

 

 

And these are my three-unit Duewag GT8s, all in KVB livery. I need to do a bit of renumbering...

 

Also 3724, the red and white car on the left, needs some repairs to its front. It was described as being damaged and not running when I bought it. It does now!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Gora]

Wow Mark, that's quite a collection! Thanks for sharing your build, look forward to the updates.

 

I know I'm on the other side of the city, and my layout "Glenburn" is "heavy rail" but you're more than welcome to drop over if you need somewhere to give stock a run also. The clearance on the Dn line has been Ok with most visiting stock excepting the Sydney Bradfields where the underfloor bracing had issues.

 

Cheers, Andrew

Edited October 31, 2013 by Gora

[marknewton]

Thanks Andrew, that's a very kind offer. Once things settle down here a bit I'd love to take you up on that.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[Nick_Burman]

I also spotted the Hiroshima Hannover tram. The N model of it stops at almost every gap in the track. :(

 

 

Stuff a few slugs of car balancing weights into the car. To make them less obvious, paint them black. I did that to my Kato Pocket Line electric loco which now has a 10g slug inside the cab (+ a TCS Z2 decoder!), this has improved performance markedly.

 

 

Cheers NB

[Gora]

No hurry Mark, Glenburn isn't going anywhere soon....I hope. All the best with your growing family - I know the feeling. :)

 

Cheers, Andrew

[marknewton]

I've been slowly making progress on the tramway layout. The track is laid, and the structures part-assembled. 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[NYNE]

Great work. I love how this is coming along.

[marknewton]

Thanks Brian.

 

Here's my progress as of tonight. I've been doing a few overtime shifts, so my modelling time has been a bit limited.

 

 

 

 

And some rather shaky video of a tram running, just to prove that it all works!  :)

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94424961@N00/12632900723/

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94424961@N00/12633137213/

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

Still making slow progress, the weather here lately has been wet as buggery, which has made painting and ballasting a bit difficult. But here's where I'm up to:

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[twerp888]

Hi, what are the dimensions of the baseboard for this layout? (length & width )

[marknewton]

It's 1700mm long by 800mm wide. This is my original rough sketch:

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

I seem to have missed this so far...you have a lovely selection of trams and a great little layout taking shape. Our club is currently building an H0 model inspired by Berlin Friedrichstrasse, which includes a tram line, so they are very much in my sphere of interest at the moment.

[marknewton]

Thanks for the compliment. I've made a fair bit of progress since I posted these photos, I must take some more and put them up.

 

I've been following your thread over on RMweb with great interest, particularly the tramway.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[MikeMendoza22]

It's 1700mm long by 800mm wide. This is my original rough sketch:

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

 

I love this layout,  cant wait to see more of it!  

[marknewton]

The Ringbahn came out of storage in my shed last weekend so that my friend Ben and I could finish off the wiring. Once that's done I can get started on the scenery and buildings. The layout has been in storage for a few months as I haven't really had enough time to work on it properly. As the layout is primarily for my son, and to avoid having to fit decoders to our tram fleet, we're sticking with DC power and control for this layout. The photo shows trams standing in their respective electrical blocks or sections. This is the maximum number of trams the layout can accomodate and still be capable of running, as long as there's one unoccupied electrical section in one of the crossing loops.

 

 

The arrangement of the buildings has been slightly altered again. The older corner building, which is an Auhagen kit, is now next to the front WBS70 apartment block model by Piko. It's original position on the top left-hand corner of the layout will probably be taken by another WBS70. 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

As well as working on the wiring my mate Dave came over so he could run some of his trams and get some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

Edited April 23, 2015 by marknewton