Scale ‘HOe’ [3.5mm scale on 9mm gauge]
Built by: Jeremy Christie
Schmalzberg represents a preserved German narrow gauge railway. It has no particular prototype, but is loosely based on lines such as the DEV (Deutscher Eisenbahn-Verein), at Bruchhausen-Vilsen south of Bremen and the Selfkantbahn near Aachen. Some features are taken from other German narrow gauge railways; street running is a feature of the ‘Mollibahn’ in Bad Doberan near Rostock.
Unlike in Wales where most narrow gauge railways were built to serve a single industry, the German lines are usually secondary railways serving the general traffic of the area like any branch line in this country. Goods traffic is usually handled by loading the standard gauge wagons onto transporter wagons known as ‘Rollwagon’.
Schmalzberg. An 0-4-4-0T Mallet waits to depart with a passenger as an 0-6-0T shunts a goods train in the yard.
