My Military Garden trains in the biggest Hobby Magazine in the Nordic Countries

Allt om Hobby is a Swedish Hobby magazine established in 1966 which covers every aspects of modelling hobbies including scale-, radio controlled- and railway modelling. Although being Swedish it's probably the biggest Hobby Magazine not only in Scandinavia but in the Nordic Countries as well with 6 annual issues, each with a print run of 4000 magazines + 3000 digital readers. This magazine is available at selected Newsagents in Norway.

Late this summer the editor of Allt om Hobby was visiting Heine, who is a member in out Model Railway Club, to write an article about his Garden Railway. So several members from our Model Railway Club was very early up a Monday morning in September to run trains and provide some traffic on Heines lovely garden railway for this article. Now the latest issue of Allt om Hobby is published, and in this issue is also a 8 page long article about Heine's Garden Railway on print:

I was very delighted and pleased to see that almost a page was used to cover my British and German Military Garden Trains:

The Main Character in this article, and well deserved too, was naturally Heine who has constructed this amazing garden railway, and keeps inviting us over for running sessions and are actively contributing to our active garden railway society. Heine continually keeps posting new photos from running sessions in his garden (and others alike) on his and on our MRC's Facebook groups. Both are 'open' groups and you are welcome to visit and follow them if you like continously updated photos of Garden Railways. I know he's planning a running-session this Sunday,  but I won't be able to join due to my work.

• Heine's Model Railways Facebook Group
• Gleng Model Railway Club Facebook Group

Despite the cover-photo and some of the other images in the article are suggesting otherwise, there is absolutely no snow here so far this winter (!). Actually it's mild and been raining more or less constantly since late November. So it's very uncertain at the moment when and if we'll be able to run trains in the snow this winter. -I'm dreaming of a White Christmas ❄️

Two Grand openings and a Closure

This year has seen the premier and opening of 2 new Garden Railways; Pletten Railway and Hummelfjell Banen (Ry). Unfortunately this year also saw closure of a local Garden Railway; The Pine Hill Railway (PHRy), or 'Furubakken Hagejernbane' in Norwegian. PHRy was constructed and made by friend and former member of our Model Railway Club, Kjell, and was unfortunately reaching the end of the line as he was moving houses earlier this year.

I was privileged to visit his awesome and fully Scenic Garden Railway with my Roundhouse Live Steam W^D 'Billy' a while ago. Even if PHRy was gauged to 32mm, this was no problem for my W^D 'Billy' which usually runs on 45mm gauge, as this locomotive very simply and quick can be re-gauged to either. Kjell was kindly lending me a 'rake' of his 32mm gauge wagons to pull around his lovely Garden Railway Layout. Here are some impressions of our great day out on The Pine Hill Railway:

Getting ready in the Fiddleyard:

Trains running on Kjell's layout:

My War Department engine working the line:

There was a lot of details and scratchbuilt buildings on the layout:

When reading this RHRy is unfortunately history. Thank you for inviting us and your hospitality Kjell.
I'm glad some 'PHRy-History' lives on in my military trains as I bought one of Kjell's scratch-built flat cars.

"Svingen" hits the press

Mj-Bladet (The Model Railway Magazine) is the only model railway magazine published in Norway. The publisher is MjF, The Norwegian Model Railway Association, and is issued 4 times a year. Members automatically receives the issueas as 'subscribers', but the magazine can be bought in model railway shops too. Today I received 'the Christmas issue' and was delighted to see that my small 'Christmas Pizza layout' made it to the cover:

Inside the magazine it's a 5 page article about how I made this micro layout in 6 evenings. The article it's a translated and updated version of my blog-post about it:

So if you're here because you followed the link in the article you are most welcome. I hope you'll find something interesting on this blog. 

There was also another very interesting article in this issue about a German WW2 H0 scale layout located to the Balkans. It's constructed as a exhibition layout, and I really hope to see it at a model railway exhibition. If I do, I'll make a blogpost on it.

'Svingen' micro/ Pizza layout was exhibited last weekend at the Christmas market at Borgarsyssel Museum in connection with The International Model Railway Day. Here are some updates photos and atmospheric videos of the layout:

Earlier this week my wife was tidying up some old stuff. She found a similar but smaller table she was not going to use anymore, which she handed over to me. Time will show what I'll eventually going to use it for. Please follow this blog and find out.

I enjoyed a cup of coffee while reading this interesting issue of Mj-Bladet and had a good time in my favorite chair. 

Operation "Christmas Market" and The International Model Railway Day

Like the previous year our Model Railway Club was invited to display model railways and garden railways at the Christmas market held at the local Borgarsyssel Museum last weekend. This was also a great chance to promote model railways and garden railways to the Public as The International Model Railway Day was at December 2nd. Our club didn't arrange anything at that date due to our club house looks like a construction site with a initial start up of a new club layout. The very unofficial statutes for The International Model Railway Day claims that the official day is December 2nd, but events may extend into the following weekend. So I suppose this can be considered as a celebration of The International Model Railway Day after all even if it's 5 days late. This year it's the tenth time of The International Model Railway Day 'celebrations'. 

I brought my very portable H0e Christmas Pizza layout and a couple of 'Military trains' to run at the 'Garden railway section'.

We were up early Sunday morning starting to prepare our model railway displays as the venue opened to the Public just 2 hours later:

This H0 scale Norwegian winter layout was built by Heine and his son:

We also displayed 2 'winter micro layouts':

This tiny layout was built by Lars Tore in a Bell Jar in Z-scale (1:220)

My H0e scale 'Pizza Layout':

Our Garden Railway display with 2 loops. It saw heavy traffic through the whole day:

My German Military Heeresfeldbahn train ready for winter service:

I also brought my War Department Live Steam locomotive. The kids (and adults alike) was very impressed and I gave some kids a short brief how this engine works and how to get it started and how to run it:

Gylmer's trains:

A small cameo from one of his hospital wagons:

Another cameo from the same hospital wagon. This skier does not look too happy:

Rätische Bahn by Arne:

Heine brought his Thomas the Tank Engine which was very popular by the children...

...especially since it was loaded with candy. 720g vanished within an hour and a half:

Since we had more trains to run them all at once but no fiddleyard, Gylmer got creative and improvised  some 'displays':

I also took advantage of the opportunity to visit the rest of the Christmas Market as well. One exhibition which caught my interest was a local re-enactment group from the 'Great Nordic War' called 'Det Norske Geworbne Infanterie Regiment':

Kids could shoot at Pirate or Swedish ships with a heavy sprung operated cannon:

From their market stall:

They sold Prince August soldier at a price:

Lunch Time:

The members from Gleng Model Railway Club participating at the Christmas Market exhibition in connection with The International Model Railway Day. We all agreed that it's been a great day together.

Blog Postscript

When coming home after this day out I saw my wife had tided up some of her old things she was gong to throw in the bin. Amongst the items she was going to throw away was this old game: 

I vaguely remember this game from my own childhood, but didn't have it my own. I gave it a closer look before she threw it away and I found it contained several tools looking just right for my 16mm/SM45mm/G-scale trains. So it is 'saved' for now.

...And yes; We played it once again.