Making supply-trains for winter warfare

There hasn't been so much time for hobbies like wargaming and model railways as I'd like to lately, and therefore it's been 'all quiet on the blogger-front' for a while. When I was invited by friend and his wife to join their annual 'winter/season/Christmas drive-in running session' in their garden, I decided to use my modelling time to prepare my military garden trains for winter warfare and giving them a season-theme due to the occasion.

The driver in the Heeresfeldbahn locomotive by LGB was given a winter-camouflage uniform. They're seldom completely bright white due to use and making them dirty on purpose for better camouflage effect. He is a 'mirrored' model of the driver in 'Feldgau' I usually use.

Firstly I just planned a kind of 'Santa theme' with red sleigh and reindeer. Then I found that Finnish and Soviet troops used reindeers to pull simple sleighs. I've also found some few photos of reindeers in German service. I found these reindeers in a toyshop.

Since it was not going to be a traditional 'Santa sleigh' after all, I needed to find some more realistic one. This one I found for free at Thingeverse, intended for some 28mm tabletop gaming. I resized it to the maximum my 3D-printer could do. I also added some sacks of potatoes and a barrel of herring for the troops at the front. Being traditional christmasfood some places, I'hope we don't get that to eat during our 'run-in session'. 

Not only bringing food to the troops at the front, I wanted to give them a Christmas-tree/Weinachtsbaum for the upcoming season as well. The hostess remarked that it might look like the tree Norway gives United Kingdom every year as gratefulness for help during WWII; Looking good on only one side....

The soldiers handling the sleigh and reindeers were given (again 3D-printed) braizer. I used a flickering tea led-light for the fire, just about fitting into the barrel. The smoke is some stuffing from one of our dogs toys...

I kind of get of "Where Eagles Dare"-feeling of those soldiers.

Keeping it serious with the German Heeresfeldbahn train, I decided to not take it to seriously with the W^D train. Due to the mechanism there is not so good place in in fitting a driver, so I found one slim enough. Besides he'sin 'Christmas-mode'...

On the wagon behind it that's not a 19:1 scale model of Glühwein for the troops. Thats a gift for the host and hostess opening their beautiful garden for letting us run our trains on their railway.

Here are some impressions of my military trains in action during their winter-service:

Here are some other impressions from the garden and other trains. And yes, there was a lot more crowded than the photos show though.

The HF110C belongs to a friend and the original is also of military origin:

Last year our MRC went to Germany and rode on the original in Harz:

And even som further years ago our MRC went to Switzerland and took a ride with the Glacier-Express:

If you want to read more about our MRC, Gleng Modelljernbane Klubb, please visit our website

Looks like there were no 'potatoes and herring', just hot dogs, gingerbread cookies, waffles, Glühwein and coffee. It don't get more Christmas than this(!)

We were running until it started to get dark (which is kind of early in Norway during the winter)

Looks like my lansers are keeping warm on the braizer as well

Finally it was so dark that some seemed to be afraid of it...

...so then there was time to finish up, and pack everything together. The weather was perfect for a winter running-session. Thank you Astrid and Heine for your hospitality, great time and letting us run trains in your beautiful garden.