H0 Gauge DB (1950's/60's) Era 3/4 As featured in Continental Modeller (July 2018)
Pottendorf is a small (11' x 2') layout representing a small rural station in Oberfranken, Germany.
Courtesy of Continental Modeller
Pottendorf is a small branch terminus station in Oberfranken at the end of a long hot summer in the 1950’s/60's. Old operating practices remain in place, with passenger services either in the hands of a railbus or larger loco hauled trains that feed direct from the branch to either Nuremberg or Würtzburg. The branch still retains a number of sources of goods traffic which means that freight services remain in operation, including the mining of fluorspar, which is transported to Linz in Austria for the production of hydrofluoric acid. Hopefully these local industries will allow the line to survive the cuts that will soon hit many other rural branch lines.
Originally built by Tim Hale, the layout is of simple design, with DCC operation, that shows that a realistic railway can be built in a small space and allows interesting operations! The layout was purchased to give a basis for further development and the chance for Paul to 'scratch an itch' in terms of building a French layout.
However, as all of the buildings on Pottendorf were removable, why not have two layouts for the price of one? So, through the use of interchangable buildings, removable scenery, vehicles and people, Pottendorf remains but can double-up as Venterol-Rousset as well!
The layout at Derby show 2019
A selection of photos of it in its original German format as time passes during the 1950's and 60's:
Class 70 tank arriving with a branch passenger train
Loco taking on water for the return trip
Class 70 with a mixed branch train, whilst the V36 diesel waits with a rake of fluorspar hoppers
V36 diesel shunting the branch goods
Railcar waiting hopefully for a passenger or two, then departing after the arrival of a V100 with a branch freight
As time progresses, the V100 becomes a regular visitor on the Würtzburg passenger and both local and fluorspar freight services
As the 1960's draw to a close and 'Era 4' begins, a class 218 makes an appearance on a Nuremberg service
