FLMJ-Nytt.
Sweden 2012Sweden 2012Sweden 2012Sweden 2012
FLMJ Open WeekendFLMJ Open WeekendFLMJ Open WeekendFLMJ Open Weekend
And all the usual regulars…
Adnalms Förlag (Järnvägar)
Edition 3/12 80p
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Edition 3/12;
June 25th, 2012.
Published by Adnalms Förlag (Järnvägar).
Copyright © 2012 to Adnalms Järnvägar. All rights reserved.
“Siljan” | 38 Brookside Park | Farnborough | GU14 9AZ | England +44 (0)1252-377647
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EDITOR: Adrian Allum.
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E&OE.
Front Cover: Rc7 1421 in IC-11 livery, brings a train towards Toraberg, with a new B7F (5500) directly behind. Although the loco has been restored to Rc6 condition, our model will remain like this to mark a brief period in SJ history! The black coach is very new.
Photos by A. Allum, unless credited.
Edition Press-stop Published
4-12 August 24th September 3rd
5-12 November 2nd November 12th
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Readers are welcome to copy parts of “FLMJ-Nytt” provided that such copies are not used to harm the welfare of Adnalms Järnvägar or any of its associations. Annual Subscription (for 2012) costs £4, post-free to UK addresses. Elsewhere at cost. All views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Adnalms Järnvägar or any of its subsidiaries or associations. All information is published in good faith; no liability shall be accepted by Adnalms Förlag (Järnvägar). This journal is also available online at our website; www.adnalm.org.uk (as PDF).
Contents: 3 Editorial / Infartssignal 4 News about Model Railways and Swedish Railways 6 Sweden 2012 10 FLMJ Open Weekend 12 DVD Reviews 14 X10 3149 15 FLMJ Stock Reviews and other closing notes 16 And Finally / Utfartssignal
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Infartssignal…
I delayed this edition until my return from Sweden (but also because the publication date coincided with my time away)! The English summer weather (rain) followed me across the North Sea, but it didn’t prevent me from visiting the ULJ, or doing any of the other things that I would usually do - except perhaps, take as many lineside photos. Strangely (from a railway point of view), the two most important days were my day-trip to Åland (Finland) and the Midsummer celebration, neither having anything to do with railways, but both attracting glorious weather. SJ’s black livery is becoming much more widely used and it was inescapable. I have responded by ordering a couple of B7 coaches for the FLMJ and will try to get a Roco Rc6 in that livery. Although the Jeco Rc3 would be a nicer model, it is dearer, and my interest isn’t that great! (I want it, but don’t want to spend too much on it!) The two coaches arrived as we were closing for press, but one of them is quite badly damaged with both bogies sheared off! The box (which is a standard Fleischmann design - see the note in the previous edition) was unable to protect the model during transportation, and that too, was smashed! This would NOT have happened if the model had been in an original Roco box. Rather than going for a full InterCity train in this livery (impossible whilst there are no restaurant cars available in H0-scale), these coaches will be mixed with other liveries in a train. Also the FLMJ has too many first class coaches at the moment, so I have decided against purchasing the black A7. Book reviews will have to wait (see last edition) until there is time to sort through them. In the meantime, the rarely operated X10 set gets a page to itself. Although a poor runner, it is a nice model, and I would like to get it back into service soon; difficult with an obsolete model requiring parts!
Adrian Allum.
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Modell Järnvägar / Svenska Järnvägar Contributors: MJ-Hobbyexperten, The Local, Radio Sweden, Bo Gillberg.
MJ News.
Jeco’s X2000 in foggy-grey livery has just been released (as we closed for press), with the original version due about a month or two later! It is available as a basic set (not a full length train) and with extra cars as individual items to complete the sets. Jeco’s proposed Ma-loco will be available at first in SJ version (oblong side windows) with later headlamps. However, as with the Rc-loco, it is being designed so that other versions can be made later, TGOJ (with round side windows) for example, and with the larger original headlamps. The FLMJ has made known its interest in a TGOJ orange version, but the Jeco representative believed that this was only ever with the larger headlamps. Thankfully, we now have photographic evidence that it had later headlamps (see the cover to the LEG cab ride video from Eskilstuna to Oxelösund), and we hope that Jeco will do this version!
SJ News. Over 20 SJ train departures from Stockholm were cancelled on Monday 30th April after an electrical failure at Hagalund depot. No trains could leave the depot between 5:00 am and 7:00 am but from 7:00 am trains were leaving the depot by using another track, but it took longer and caused delays. Most of the cancelled trains were headed to Uppsala and Linköping, but even lines to Nyköping, Västerås, and Hallsberg were affected. However, SJ did not use replacement buses; they told passengers to wait for the next train. Neither commuter trains nor the Arlanda Express train were affected by the electrical failure. Plans to align Sweden's rail network with neighbouring European countries by investing billions of kronor in a new signal system carry with it a warning of fresh chaos for rail travellers. The new signal system called ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) should make it possible to allow more trains on the rail network travelling at greater speed. However, where the system has already been installed there have been reports of train traffic being severely disrupted by signalling problems. The Bothnia high-speed railway line in northern Sweden is one such route which has been affected. The Swedish Rail Administration plans to have the signalling system operational throughout the country by 2030. An 11-year-old autistic boy walked for nearly an hour, with bare feet and in his swimming trunks, on the track between Jönköping and Värnamo, closely followed by a slow moving train, before he was helped to get off the track. Passengers wanted to get off the train to help the boy but were
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stopped by staff who said it was not allowed to open the doors on route. The boy is said to have thrown stones at the train, and was sometimes so tired that he sat down to rest, but only after three kilometres was the driver able to convince the boy to come onboard. The boy had absconded from a day-out with the sheltered housing where he lives. Finally, after about 50 minutes, police and staff from his home, were able to come and collect him. A rail strike in Norway forced the Swedish state-owned mining company LKAB to declare force majeur. The strike closed down the Iron-Ore railway that the company uses to deliver iron-ore to Narvik. By declaring force majeur LKAB frees both its customers and itself from any liability or obligation concerning any contracts. LKAB says the situation was so serious that they had no choice. Passenger trains were also cancelled and replaced with busses. LKAB mining group has been forced to close down its operations at one of its newest mines in northern Sweden, following a Supreme Court decision not to hear their case. The decision means that the environmental permit granted for Gruvberget in Svappavaara by the Land Environmental Court in 2010 has been repealed. At least 100 jobs will be affected by the closing of the mine. The company will now draw up a plan to close its operations safely with as few negative consequences for the environment as possible. The Infrastructure Minister Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd said she does not know what to do with the legislation Parliament passed recently to improve the coordination for maintenance on the country's struggling railway infrastructure. The bill states that the government should, "as soon as possible, propose how upkeep of the railways should be organised to ensure that more trains are on time.” The parties of the centre-right Alliance argued that the opposition wants to re-nationalise maintenance of the railways. The Transport Agency has overall responsibility for rail maintenance, but uses several different companies to do the work. The opposition says no one takes responsibility for the upkeep, which they say leads to freezing train passengers, standing trains, or trains that don’t come at all. Drunk passengers have managed to shut down a night train between two small cities in south central Sweden. The weekend night train from Falköping to Skövde has been cancelled for a few months. This was after safety supervisors decided that the work environment was too dangerous. The two cities each have less than 35,000 residents, and the journey between the two destinations is only 17 minutes. But apparently that is long enough for passengers to cause problems for train staff. They were fed up with being exposed to threats and violence while on the job. The safety inspector says that Västrafik, has known about the problem since February but has not done anything about it. _
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Sweden 2012 By Adrian Allum.
A much needed holiday was taken in June, and the decision was made to coincide with the Swedish Midsummer. Midsummer is a very important celebration in Sweden; for a country that has less sunlight during the year, the most is made of the time when it does shine. However, Sweden, like Britain, is having more of a monsoon than summer weather this year, and I was lucky that Midsummer-eve was one of the few glorious days that I experienced. This, and a trip to Åland (a Swedish speaking Finnish island) were absolutely non-railway days, and change is certainly as good as a rest!
The X55 train (also known as the X3000) is now in service, about a year late, but all seems to be well, now. The extension of the Tvärbanan (tramway) beyond Alvik, towards Solna, via Sundbyberg is making good progress and already there has been a test-run with a tram on part of the section. There is still a lot of work required at Solna, but it is clear (again) that the line will be extended farther in the future. It should open next summer. Various T-bana lines are being closed during the summer for heavy engineering, some of which is in connection with the Citybanan construction. A day was spent on the Uppsala Lennakatten (narrow gauge steam railway). The journey was all the way to Faringe and back. Faringe was a junction station with the line from Gimo in the north, and there were various
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carriages stored under covers on a small part of that line! Whether this railway extends to Gimo or southwards to Rimbo, is an interesting subject to speculate, the latter would make it closer to a ‘connect ion’ with the electrified railway at Kårsta! Whilst at Uppsala, I had a look around the rebuilt station there. Apart from some snagging, it is now complete, and very smart it is, too! One of the platforms has a slightly lowered track in readiness for X60 trains extending the Stockholm commuter service beyond Märsta! (More X60 trains are on order, and these will lead to the eventual withdrawal of all remaining X10 sets. This is essential because the new Citybanan will require opening doors to align with platform doors!) Models for the FLMJ were purchased on both Tuesdays during the visit (Tuesday as a railway day has become a bit of a ritual)! The much awaited Rc2 1100 in orange (and almost original condition) was one of two locos to be purchased, made by Jeco, and their attention to detail includes not only different roof profile to our two more modern Jeco locos, but also the window surrounds (which were changed during the 1990s)! The other new loco was T43 212 in orange and blue livery; but this differs from our T43 227 in that the 'skirting' below the running board is missing / removed. This makes it a later version, but the model is still suitable for the closing
Far Left: X55 3347 stands at Uppsala station. These trains serve as relief for X2000 units (and are known as the X3000) on the less prestigious routes! Left: “Thor” is seen shunting over the crossing at Marielund, having run round its train to take on water; and is returning to the front of the train. Below: The rebuilt Uppsala is clean and nicely laid out, but it seems that getting rid of the ‘hump’ at the south end of the station was not on the agenda!
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years of Epoch-IV; but not for passenger traffic. Only one passenger coach arrived, the Heljan Co8cs, a 1930s design, complete with older style gangways! There is a very poor selection of 'refreshment' coaches as models, so this coach will fill that gap, and will eventually have newer gangways made in our workshop! The NEM coupling pockets are incorrectly positioned, so it will retain standard H0-pattern couplings for the time being. NMJ has released the first of a different version of the 'Gbs' van, and one of the two desired models has arrived (the other seems to still be pending production). The modern epoch was not forgotten, with the purchase of a 'Kbis' from Rivarossi in "Nordwaggon" livery. This is strictly a duplicate of one that we have from another manufacturer, but without an incorrect UIC control digit! A decision has still to be made about renumbering or selling the ’wrong’ article! Aside from railway models, it is nice to note that Herpa's model of the Volvo P1800 has now been released!
Above: Rc2 1100 with Co8cs 3208 at Gärde. The Rc2 has the older original window surrounds and original roof profile. But it has the ‘stamp’ logo on the ends … perfect for the latter end of Epoch-IV. The carriage has the older style gangways, but it is our only authentic 1930s era carriage! The two Volvo cars are also new, a P210 in SJ livery (as a limited edition) and the P1800 which is a very welcome addition. Below: T43 212 is also seen at Gärde, with the two goods wagons that were purchased in Sweden, one quite modern, the other a bit older!
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Two versions are offered in Herpa’s tradition, though I’m not sure if any real P1800 cars were painted in a metallic colour! Brekina’s P210 in SJ livery was also purchased, and I understand that this was a limited edition (I had not seen it advertised, and the packaging with it suggested that it had been produced for a museum). _
Top Right: Åland / Finland: a most delightful day out! Right: Dancing alongside the Midsummer pole (not around it). Below Left: Two ladies dressed in traditional costume. Below Right: The Maypole, named not after the month of May, but derived from “Majstång,” it’s a Midsummer thing!
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FLMJ OPEN DAY, JUNE 2012
The FLMJ was open for invited guests in early June, just before the Director General’s trip to Sweden! (Therefore, any new models won’t get seen in public until the next.) Any outdoor activity this year is quite a risk considering the bizarre weather we're having, continually going from one extreme to the other!
Saturday was a sunny day mostly, with plenty of cloud to prevent it from getting too hot! Two AJK members were present, along with nine guests, some with visiting rolling stock. We started to operate the timetable, but this soon gave way to ad-hoc running of trains. Our new Rc3 1135 double-headed with Rc6 1324 on the first train, and then went on shed at Lövhöjden as a stand-by loco. Our other new loco, Rc2 1097 worked a goods train comprising, among others, the new articulated wagon from Hobby-Trade, but this (wagon) was taken out of service because it did not stay on the track very well. We have identified some modifications that we need to make to it! The IORE loco came into service with its 12 wagons, plus more wagons with loads; quite a lengthy train! A visiting Rc (a copy of our Hamo Rc 1010) operated with a brown (Lima) InterCity train,
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and later this worked with a camera-wagon, so that we could see the layout from the driver's-eye view! Unfortunately, there was no facility to record this (yet) but it was helpful in identifying uneven track! In the evening, the Lövhöjden controller was rewired, and the point recently removed from Månstorp was replaced. Sunday was dry to start with, but very light rain appeared mid-afternoon, but although we continued to operate the railway for a while, we decided to pack everything away, and did so just in time before the rain got heavier! Again, we had only two AJK members, but only five guests. Rc6 1353 worked the InterRegio train and TMY 101 was a standby loco. All other trains were provided by the other member and guests. They included some German diesel locos that are in the process of being modified to become Swedish! During the day, we reached the conclusion that Peco's PL-11 point motor just isn't up to the job, and although it gives a positive throw, the throw isn't enough for the blades to completely close against the rails. We had it set so that the throw was equal (so it wasn't anything that we could adjust), and we are amazed that a Peco point motor cannot provide enough throw for a Peco point! It was removed and replaced by a traditional PL-10! _
Left Upper: The first train of the day at Månstorp, with through coaches from Norway! Left Lower: The IORE and TMX at Lövhöjden. Above: Two German diesels being converted to Swedish, seen at Lövhöjden with a goods train. Right: Kits “being built” formed a “side-show” at Kopparberg!
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DVD Reviews
Svenska Tåg 32 LEG Video; Citronvägen 4, SE 293 33 Olofström, Sweden. Web: www.legvideo.se DVD, 80 minutes, Swedish narration. © 2012. Format 16:9, Colour.
As usual, the “Svenska Tåg” series brings us up to date with all that is happening on the Swedish railways. Starting with some short scenes, the program looks at winter traffic, Tågab’s new passenger train, the KUJ Museum (Köping-Uttersbergs Järnvägs museiförening (http://www.kujmf.se)), Vista Kulle (rail operations in Jönköpingslän), Da 888 in service and the Blue Train (Blå tåget). The first main feature looks at train services between Nässjö and Alvesta / Växjö, some services of which are operated by X11 units from Skåne. The main feature, as pictured on the front cover, is the operations in and around Skandiahamnen in Göteborg, where there is a
lot of container and trailer traffic. The diesel locos are hired in from Germany, but there are plenty of other locomotives to be seen, including one of the T66 diesels, now blue instead of green! Still with the theme of container traffic and trailer traffic, the program turns its attention to the new Coop trains which operate between Bro, Alvesta and Helsingborg; very long block trains, which was hinted at in one of the cab ride videos by TTR! Uppsala travel centre was opened during the winter and the opening speeches are shewn followed by some operations with the ULJ, where the climb out of this interchange station does make for interesting operation with the lighter steam locomotives! Steam features in the next feature, the last steam train to Lysekil, where two locomotives double-head tender-to-tender a train from Uddevala to Lysekil and back. The start is quite tough on the wet rail, and the train is seen struggling at walking pace (engines barking nicely). Aside from the lineside shots, the on-train filming was done by leaning out of the window, but the overall effect is worth any amateur filming! The final subject, still with steam is the 50th anniversary of the JTJ, shewing the intensive operation and equally intensive weather!
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Spårvagnar i Stockholms innerstad - 1967 Trafik-Nostalgiska Förlaget. +46 (0)8-717 17 82. Web: www.tnf.se DVD, 30 minutes, Swedish narration. © 2004. Colour. The film shows the street scenes on the busiest routes in Stockholm during the summer of 1967, before Day-H and the end of the trams. Each route (4, 6, 7, 8 and 10) is shewn on a map and then a collection of lineside and interior footage, including at the front with the driver. These images were of course, captured just before Sweden changed to right-hand traffic (Day-H, where H = Höger (right)), and there is much evidence of Stockholm preparing for the changeover. Buses seen in the films are a mixture of left-hand and right-hand drive, and even the short-lived double-decker buses are seen. It is also interesting to look at the scenes around the subject material; the other vehicles on the road (and many car designs long forgotten), the clean and tidy market place where the food actually looks tempting, clear and open roads, and of course the clothes being worn all those years ago. It was interesting especially to observe that the tram signals that we are so familiar with today are exactly the same as those in use then, with the “S”, the “Hyphen” and the “Arrow,” all in white. Route 7 is of course, still open today, or part of it, at least. This is the line to Djurgården, and it is interesting to compare circumnavigating the turning circle at Waldermars Udde in a clockwise direction! Stockholm’s tram network was not deemed suitable for conversion to right-hand traffic. After all, the T-bana was not yet 20 years old, and high hopes had been placed on that to keep Stockholm’s streets clear of excessive traffic. The final scenes are of the scrapped trams! Despite the T-bana’s success in terms of being kept busy, it is not enough to cope with the demand, and most of route 7 is now shared between preserved and modern trams; and of course the newer Tvärbanan has been the real start of trams returning to the streets of Stockholm. _
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X10 3149
X10 3149 arrived at the FLMJ in 1994 as a static model. In our workshop, it was modified to a working model, complete with Tenshodo motor bogie and Fleischmann couplings between the cars. Since then, the prototypes have been repainted into a newer livery, and although there was some desire to repaint ours, we didn’t! The train has been out of service for about a year following a broken pivotal pin to one of the bogies on the ‘B’ car, but it remains a job to be completed.
The prototype units’ days are now numbered, with the order for more X60 replacement sets; and so the decision has been taken to transfer the ‘status’ of our set from ‘Revenue’ to ‘Preserved,’ and especially into the Epoch-IV collection. It is hoped that a repair to the bogie can be completed before the September Open Weekend, for its first run as a preserved unit! _
Above: X10 3149 at the un-rebuilt Månstorp station. Left: The train’s last duty was a couple of years ago, where it is seen on the old track alignment through Kopparberg. Adrian has travelled on many of these units during his many visits to Stockholm.
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Identifying the black livery
The FLMJ produces a stock register every year, and inside the front cover, there is a key to the liveries that the models appear in (except for the wagons). The letter ‘B’ is for the Brown livery, and ‘BC’ is if it has chevrons (carriages only, of course). No distinction is made regarding the logo-type carried! With the newer liveries, we have used the prefix ’S’ for SJ (although there are exceptions) and the second letter ’B’ for blue (locos and intercity carriages), ’O’ for orange (older locos, for example), ’R’ for InterRegio carriages, ’S’ for “Serveringsvagn” catering carriages, and ’W’ for baggage carriages. So, what do we do for the new Black livery? What do we do for the SSRT grey livery? The SSRT livery was quite easy as it is mostly grey, thus ’SG.’ (And we do not intend to purchase any of the plain grey SJ coaches.) We felt that it would be in some way sacrilegious to use the ’B’ and find something else for Brown; after-all, the Brown was here first! The ’S’ for ’svart’ (black) was already taken, so we considered ’N’ (thus ’SN’) for ‘noir!’ But that comes from a completely different language, so it wasn’t favoured. ’ST’ was considered, given that the black first appeared on Tomas Ledin’s rock-train (’SL’ is for the X10’s SL livery), but we didn’t want to get too personal! Eventually, we returned to the FLMJ Director General’s first observation about the black livery—it looks like a Hearse! So ’SH’ it is! _
In the NewsIn the NewsIn the NewsIn the News
NMJ is certainly flooding the market with G-style wagons, and many more colourful liveries are now appearing. Two ASG blue vans are on order as we closed for press. Curiously, the ’Gbls-u’ van in the list above is advertised as having fibreboard doors, but we cannot see any physical differences between this and the other three ’Gbls-u vans that we already have. So far, our inquiry with NMJ has not yielded a reply! We think we’ll be safe with one advertised with doors at BOTH ends. _
Stock RevisionsStock RevisionsStock RevisionsStock Revisions
[SJ] Rc2 1100 Electric loco purchased June 19th (Jeco). [SJ] T43 212 Diesel loco purchased June 19th (Jeco. [SJ] B7F 5500 Passenger coach delivered July 12th (Roco). [SJ] B7M 5506 Passenger coach delivered July 12th (Roco). [S-SSRT] B9 5201 Passenger coach delivered May 5th (Roco). [SJ] Co8cs 3208 Passenger coach with café purchased June 26th (Heljan). [SJ] Gbls-u 2174 1564918-5 Goods van delivered July 12th (NMJ). [SJ] Gbs 2174 1500232-7 Goods van purchased June 26th (NMJ). [SJ] Kbis 2174 3382411-7 Goods can purchased June 19th (Rivarossi).
Utfartssignal…
T43 - two versions
T43 212 and T43 227 at Lövhöjden.
The second T43 from Jeco has arrived at the FLMJ, and it is intentionally different from the first. Starting in the late 1980s, the T43s received some modifications which included removing the large bodyside ‘skirting’ under the footboards and providing better air intakes. It is in this condition that you are likely to see a T43 today. When first introduced, the T43 locomotives were equally at home on passenger duties as goods duties. Only one was ever fitted with train heating, however. Today, they are used on goods and works trains, though the preserved sample in the original red/white/blue livery does of course haul passenger trains. On the FLMJ, these locos are both available for goods trains, but if one is required for a passenger train, T43 227 (the older-style of the two) is the one that will normally be selected. Seen (above) coupled together, the T43 can also work in multiple with the T44, but unfortunately, Jeco’s T44 cannot run coupled to another T44 with close couplings!
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