Rail3D*

 

Luxembourg

A year or two ago, I managed a short visit to Luxembourg. Luxembourg has a surprising amount of railway interest, this layout project represents the Luxembourg railway network circa 2014.  As a Rail3D project it has quite a lot to offer:

  • A manageable complete national railway network
  • Local passenger services
  • Freight workings
  • Express and long-distance passenger workings

On the other hand:

  • Needs custom CFL rolling stock
  • Custom signals and OHLE etc

For further information on Luxembourg railways, past and present, see http://rail.lu/

 

Download the package from the layouts page.

The Luxembourg Railway Network

The network consists of a number of routes radiating out from the city of Luxembourg.

The longest route is the northern route, to Troisverges and the Belgium border, this route passes through attractive scenery of wooded hillside and narrow valleys.  In contrast in the south-west are a number of industrial areas with steelworks and several marshalling yards.

The Layout

The layout was created from a digitiser session using sections from OpenStreetMap, this was used to lay out the railway routes, and main roads.  Terrain was imported from DEM sattelite data.  Each route was straightened and graded by hand to fit the terrain and map.  Cab-ride videos from http://railvideo.co.uk/ cover most of the lines and these were used to check the line and positions of signals and signs etc.

 

Rolling Stock

Class 1500 Diesel Locomotive

 

The 1500 is a diesel shunter/trip loco used for various freight duties, shunting, station pilot etc.

See Creating A Model With Sketchup for details of how the model was made.  There are still a few details of the model to finish up - the roof and some details, and I intend to add a cab interior and controls in due course.

There are also 1500s in Red:

 

 

Class 4000 Electric Locomotive

 

The CFL 4000 electric locos are a version of the Bombardier Traxx loco.  This is also a conversion of an MSTS model with kind permission.  See also bls%20locos

Class 2200 EMU

This is a new model made in Sketchup and converted to Rail3D using the Sketchup Rail3D plugin.

The model is not finished - some of the cars need interior added, and I intend to add driving position and controls in due course.

 

SNCF also has a version of this unit in several variations - and the model will be re-skinned to produce the French version in due couse.

Belgium AM96 EMU

 

Belgium AM96 units operate into Luxembourg City.  This is a very simple model (although the rubber mouldings around the end where tricky to make) with a crude skin. If anyone wants to make a decent model with a proper skin, please let me know!

Arbed 300

 

The Arbed 300 series is an industrial loco used in the steelworks and yards on various frieght duties.    This is a fairly simple model, made a tutorial in simple loco building (creatingsimplelocomodels)

Coaches

I haven't made any CFL loco-hauled coaches yet. 

The R10 service into Belgium, is loco hauled and I have subsituted some OBB coaches (at least they are the right colour) until something better is available.

As well as the class 2200 EMUs some passenger services are operated by class 4000 loco's with push-pull rakes of double deck stock.  As I haven't got  model of these coaches yet, I've used the cars of the 2200 EMU for the moment.

 

Routes

See also http://www.cfl.lu/espaces/voyageurs/en/horaires/carte-du-r%C3%A9seau 

R10 etc

Route R10 is the northern route from Luxembourg City through Ettelbruck and Kautenbach to Troisvierges.  There are several sub-routes along this line.

  • R10.  Is the main, hourly, service, from Luxembourg to Troisvierges and return.  This service is worked by 2200 EMUs and runs semi-fast to Kautenbach, stopping only at principle stations, then all stations to Troisvierges.
  • R10B is a continuation of the above service on into Belgium.  This service is loco hauled.
  • R10D is a stopping service from Luxembourg to Ettelbruck then down the branch to Diekrich.
  • R10W is a stopping service to Kautenbach then the branch to Wiltz.

All these services run to a timetable.

The route is reasonably well laid out and signals placed in the correct positions.  Some stations have platforms and buildings.  North of Ettelbruck, the river and some of the roads are in place, and some areas have trees.

R30

Route R30 is the eastern route from Luxembourg City to Oetrange and onwards over the border to Wasserbillig in Germany.  There is one train (plus a test loco) operating on this route, but it does not operate to a timetable yet.

The track has been laid as far as Oetrange, but beyond Oetrange has not been graded and straightened yet.   There is no scenery, roads or trees along this route yet.

R50 / R50B

R50 is the western route to Belgium.  Route R50 runs from Luxembourg City to Kleinbettingen near the border, also on this route are SNCB AM96 units operating service R50B which crosses the border into Belgium and on to Arlon and beyond.

The route has been laid out and signals added, it does not have scenery, roads or trees yet.

R60

Route R60 is the southern route through Bettembourg and Belval to Rodange.  Passenger trains on this route stop at all stations and operate to a timetable.  One of the trains on this route is the push-pull set mentioned above.

The route has been laid out and signals added, it does not have scenery, roads or trees yet.  The area around Esch-sur-Alzette and Belval should have a lot of industrial facilites, steelworks etc but I haven't started these yet.

At Petange there is a steam-worked museum line.

R70

Route R70 is also an eastern route to Rodange and this route crosses over the border to Athus in Belgium.

Trains operate to timetable and stop at all stations.  The route has been laid out and signals added, it does not have scenery, roads or trees yet.

R90

Route R90 runs south from Luxembourg city and over the French border to Nancy.

 

Freights

There are some freight trains running on the layout.

  • Route FRT are mainline freights running on lines R30, R50 and R90.  These freights take the avoiding line at Luxembourg City and don't run through the city centre station.
  • Route FRT.Arbed is a local freight serving the steelworks along line R60.  They run between Bettembourg and Esch-zur-Alzette. 

Other Models

Signals

The layout package includes some Luxembourg type signals and a CFL pattern "Crocodile" AWS ramp.

Buildings

The layout package includes some new bridges and a small station building.

The new "Quick Building" feature will be used to add buildings to towns and villages, starting with the northern route.

OHLE

The package includes LU style OHLE catenary posts.  Note, not all lines have been correctly setup with these post types yet.

  • LUX.OHLE.A is a taller version of the standard OHLE post to allow for the higher wire height of CFL (and other mainland europe railways)
  • LUX.OHLE.B is an even taller post with the additional support for the extra catenary wire.  (Which might be supported by a new version of Rail3D)

Luxembourg City

There is still a lot of work to do at Luxembourg City.

  • Station layout and platforms set up more or less OK
  • Tunnel at the north end needs some attention
  • The valley between the main station and the city-centre is quite distinctive, and needs a lot of work to add suitable building models, the battlements and some of the bridges.
  • A lot of buildings are needed around the main station area.

 

Lots more to do

  • Lots of terrain issues to sort out and tidy up
  • Add roads etc
  • Add towns and villages
  • New stock, including more loco's and loco hauled coaches etc
  • Check signal positions, speed restrictions
  • Add sidings and yards in industrial areas.  All industrial lines to add.

 

Anyone who'd like to help with any of this - please get in touch through the Rail3D mailing group.

 

MRG 23/12/2015 13:01:47