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Biografy
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My Way to Gauge 0
- Collected, Planned and Built
- I was born in 1945, am married with three adult children and was a passionate railway modeller in HO-gauge, with an emphasis on CFL rolling stock. But my secret rail passion was for gauge 0, especially for tin-plate models. I kept moving in this marvellous world of tin-plate railways until in 1993, quite by chance, I acquired some O-gauge carriages from the French firm AS. This rolling stock, beautiful, lithographed carriages and elegant locomotives made me feel that. modelling-wise, I was on the right track.
- This was the beginning of the realization of my childhood dream.
- Its most important stages have been:
- 1993
- I acquired my first AS carriages and began to research this firm and its products.
- 1994-1998
- The collection kept growing. As trains run on rails, I started looking for some. In the United States I found a suitable system, Curtis Hi Rail (see links), a well thought-out programme with slim points, and above all a flexible rail which also happened to be affordable.
- One express train had three carriages, another five. What was to be the length of the straight rail in the station area?
- The station was to have three tracks, with a shunting neck at each end. Three slim Exel 20” points in the approach area, plus connection track, worked out as a total module length of 1.70 metres. As the whole network was to be transported to exhibitions at a later date - the deadline then was the year 2000 - all the station modules had to be of equal length.
- This determined the length of the straight track in the station area: two 1.70 m modules produce a length of 3.40 m, allowing the use of express trains with at least six carriages plus locomotive. It sounded futuristic at the time.
- A suitable diameter of 4.50 metres was also calculated.
- 1998
- The original wiring was completely refurbished; the soldering of 3,500 connections was renewed.
- 1999
- First exhibitions with part of the network in Roeser (Luxembourg) and Sedan (France), using a borrowed trailer. In Sedan I had to promise to return with the completed network two years later. Transport boxes for the rolling stock were built.
- 2000
- The acquisition of a larger trailer was planned; it had to have a base of 3.50 m by 1,50 m.
- 2001
- The promise made at Sedan was kept.
- 2003
- The trestles and their cart were built in aluminium, saving over 300 kilos.
- 2004
- The wiring was redesigned, and the network was rewired.
- 2005
- It is planned to take part in an exhibition for the 30th time. A new home page is being constructed.
