Operation 'Fall Weiss'

This is not a Garden Wargame report, but one of the members in our Model Railway Club coincidentally invited to a Club-day out in his fully sceniced Garden Railway, Reichenbach, on the 1st of September. Since I was going to bring my Heeresfeldbahn train I was inspired to make the head photo looking like it was supporting the logistics under Operation Fall Weiss on the Polish narrow gauge network September 1st 1939 (with a little help from ChatGPT).

My military trains have been running on these lines before, but since then Gylmer has expanded it with a longer mainline and brancheline and easier gradients. On these links you can see more photos and videos from previous visits to Reicenbach:

• Reichenbach May 2024
• Reichenbach July 2024
• Reichenbach August 2025
• Reichenbach September 2025
  
  
  

September is also the first month of the fall and it's getting darker earlier now, but the weather was still pretty warm:

Before we could start running trains, I had to use my Heeresfeldbahn Diesel to clear the mainlines by shunting Gylmer's rakes and wagons into different sidings around his layout as he'd arranged a running session the previous weekend as well. I couldn't attend to that one due to my work.

After clearing the mainlines and a branchline we were ready to run trains. There weren't so many members bringing their trains to this day out unfortunately:

A 'premier' and maiden voyage for a new (3D-printed) RhB-engine:

Gylmer was serving coffee, hot dos and waffles...

After the 'lunch breake' it had turned dark:

Thank you Gylmer for inviting us over hand for your warm hospitality

Blog PostScript 

In the comment-section in my previous blogpost Michael from Wargaming with 54mm Toy Soldiers noted how effectfull and how modelling lights added to the atmosphere. I followed up and informed that the lights in Heine's HSB and DR coaches (which can be seen in this post's photos and video) are made by short strings of battery powered Christmas lights which he mounted in a tube and fixed it to the roofs inside. These lights are usually very cheap, and will soon appear in the shops I suppose:

Another Club-meeting in Heine's garden

The summer is about to turn into Autumn, but as we had som few really nice, sunny and hot days Heine suggested that we could hold one of our weekly MRC-meetings in his garden. Yet another day with BBQ, coffee, cakes and a lot of fun:

Heine's wife, Astrid, had made an Apple Cake with apples from their own Garden. Some of the ripe apples were still dropping from the trees, but luckily no trains were hit:

A sign that the summer is over is that the evenings are turning darker. After or break it was dark:

Now I can see how well 'grey trains' are camouflaged when it's getting darker. It's even more obvious in the video. I think I will need to add some car to my (military) fleet I can put lights into

When it became so dark that we didn't see our trains anymore it was about time to call it a day.  Thank you for inviting us over and for a delicious apple cake Astrid & Heine!

Blog PostScript 

Since this 'night out', Heine has taken the consequence of handling trains in the dark by mounting lights on his fiddleyard. Very effectful (no pun intended):

Hummelfjellbanen revisited

This is how ChatGPT interpreted one of the following photos from the day out at Svenn Robert's and Hildegunn's Garden Railway. Guess which one?

August last year Svenn Robert and Hildegunn invited to the Grand Opening of their Garden Railway, Hummelfjellbanen. This year they invited to another running session weekend, and a small group from our Model Railway Club attended. This is about to become an annual late summer gathering bringing together people from different model- and garden railway societies in Norway. Hummelfjell Garden Railway is located 'up north' close to the middle parts of Norway and are therefore a kind of center point for railway modellers from different parts of the country.

Since we were going to a mountain village when the summer is about to end and Svenn Robert is a Citroën mechanic, I brought a train loaded with propper vehicles:

Here are some photos and video of our great day(s) out:

Svenn Robert's Fiddleyard is well executed

As usual barbecue, coffee, cakes and a lot of fun:

It's a prototype for everything:

Thank you Svenn Robert and Hildegunn for inviting us and for your warm hospitality. 

The date for next year is already decided and reserved. I hope even more Garden Railway modellers will attend next year.