The Denver & Rio Grande Western, while perhaps more remembered for it’s famous narrow gauge operations, is also famous for it’s extensive passenger service through the Rocky Mountains. One such train was the Royal Gorge, which was operated from 1946 to 1967. During the final year of operation, the train was operated between Denver, Colorado and Salida, Colorado and was run daily. The train was typically run with two or three cars.
“Royal Gorge” near Cotopaxi, Colorado. Photo by Steve Patterson
Wil Hata has chosen to model the 1967 train, consisting of an F7A and F7B unit with a baggage car and Pullman passenger car. Bright light orange was used as the DRGW’s signature orange-yellow color combined with light bluish grey. The results are, there’s no other word for it, awesome.
The Trans Europ Express, or TEE, is a magical name when it comes to railroading and pioneer in high speed, and international and luxury travel. Today we dive into the history around this concept and the train which made this concept a reality. We’ll look at not one but two LEGO versions of the TEE, in this collaboration article between Holger Matthes and myself.
VT 11.5 – A star is born.
In the
mid-1950s, the European economy picked up speed again, and the western European
countries began to establish new relationships after the devastation of the
Second World War. In this context, eight European rail companies decided to
introduce a joint train offer: the Trans-Europ-Express, TEE for short. The
modern express train network was intended to connect the European metropolises
with one another and, in particular, offer the wealthy business travelers of
the economic miracle an alternative to car and air transport. For this new type
of traffic system, the Deutsche Bundesbahn procured several multiple units with
type VT 11.5 railcars, which were put into operation in June 1957, later also
locomotive-covered trains were used. With this decision, DB made history. For
15 years the German diesel multiple units were used as TEE and shaped the image
of international express train traffic like no other train set.
601 001 in Friedrichshafen Stadt, 24.04.1983 . Foto credits go to ( Thomas Reincke )
Symbol of a Europe without borders
Close
cooperation with its European neighbors was of great importance to the Deutsche
Bundesbahn right from the start. An example of this is the European freight
wagon community “EUROP”, which was initially founded in 1951 with the
French State Railways, creating an extensive, freely available European freight
wagon pool. Three years later, the DB agreed with most of the European railway
companies that in future only two wagon classes would be used, which would be
comfortably adjusted.
Another
result of the growing (western) European cooperation was the establishment of
the European express train network TEE. Development began in 1954 with the
founding of the Trans-Europ-Express Commission based in The Hague. The founding
members were the State Railways of Belgium (NMBS / SNCB), the Netherlands (NS),
the Federal Republic of Germany (DB), France (SNCF), Italy (FS), Luxembourg
(CFL) and Switzerland (SBB); later the Spanish State Railways (RENFE) also
joined.
Since the
railway administrations were unable to agree on the introduction of a standard
vehicle, they were limited to introducing the trains under the common name and
logo TEE and defining several binding criteria:
Due
to the low degree of electrification in the individual countries, the TEE
trains should initially run as diesel multiple units.
They
should reach a top speed of 140 km/h.
Only
the 1st car class should be offered (at least 120 seats and no more than three
seats per row).
The
trains should have exclusive on-board catering.
There
should be spaces for passport and customs control while driving.
The
trains should be painted uniformly in a wine red / beige color dress (in
Germany RAL 3005 / RAL 1001).
Some countries did not have their own vehicles built for TEE traffic. In DB’s opinion, the requirements set by the TEE Commission could only be met with a new development. That was the birth of one of the most striking rail vehicles of its time, the VT 11.5.
Last year we published the results on December 9th, this year we are doing so on January 6th. Not everything can be a tradition after three years, but it seems that slow judging is definitely one of them.
So, I’d say it’s nothing more than fair to cut the chase and just announce the winners of OcTRAINber 2019: The Technic Challenge!
And, ofcourse, our Guest Judge Mahjqa also had something to tell about this design:
“Denis H Garnier: Very unique concept, good looking model. “
Prizes
Yes, prizes, the most important part of any contest! This year we have been able, thanks to our sponsors FX Bricks, BrickTracks and TLC, to arrange five Prize Packs. Since we know that every builder might have some different ideas how to use any of these items, we are giving the first winner the first chance to pick one of these five Prize Packs, the second winner the second chance, etc. etc. all until the Winner of the WIP-story category, who will receive the final Prize Pack. One of us here at BMR will reach out to you on short notice (we promise, it won’t be as long as you have been waiting for the results) to arrange things with all five of you!
In fact, Mahjqa reviewed all posted models, so we thought it would be good to post these as well, just so you guys know what to do to score even better next year!
“ColletArrow: Solid model, lots of functionality in a small package.
Brett Wiebold: Gorgeous model, doesn’t skimp on functions.
The Chestertonian: Very entertaining concept, works like a charm.
Sparks Again: Great concept; wish the function was more functional instead of just decorative.
William.Cooper: Love that you managed to fit a very functional mechanism in such a tiny model.
Beck: A very solid effort overall.
JMChisel: Very out-of-the-box, it’s obvious a lot of effort went into this.
Brickmodder: Hilarious function, very appealing.”
Final Words
First of all, you guys might remember we had a Direct Drive and Indirect Drive category where entries could be submitted. In the end we decided to combine both categories, because it turned out our differentiating between both categories was very unclear, even for us…
We were again stunned by the high quality of the entries and the amazing functionality that you managed to cram into your designs. Even though some of you weren’t able to finish in time, and some even weren’t able to do so after the extension, we have seen some great stuff from all of you. Even after three years of OcTRAINber, the creativity still amazes us. Congrats to the winners, but definitely also kudos to all other builders that participated!!
It has been a lot of fun for us here at BMR to organize this event for the third year in a row now. Yes, some things could have gone smoother, and we apologize for this. Running BMR, writing articles and also keeping a contest afloat takes a lot of time, definitely because it’s just as much a hobby for me as it is for any of you.
Oh, and yes, we still very much would like to receive some feedback on this years OcTRAINber, and the two previous editions, so that we can come back with an even better OcTRAINber 2020. Feel free to drop your feedback in the comments!
Happy New Year to our followers and supporters. The Brick Model Railroader team hopes you had a wonderful holiday season.
Today we celebrate our third birthday. 2019 was filled with many new experiences, some old ones, new challenges, and new opportunities. We’d like to reflect on some of that today.
We start with some statistics. Below are current statistics for our website and social media outlets:
249 articles posted (this one not included)
446 comments on articles
921,124 views on our website
6 more Premium Instructions produced
2,821 people who “like” our Facebook page
125 followers on Twitter
335 posts on Instagram
2,273 followers on Instagram
26 videos uploaded to YouTube
1,530 subscribers on our YouTube channel
Our 1,000th Premium Instruction Kit Sold
We averaged almost one article a week, which is hitting our goal compared to last year. We’ve also added a new writer to our staff, Enrico Lussi. We’re happy to have Enrico with us and glad to be growing.
Kevin Johns was the lucky buyer of our 1,000th Premium Instruction Kit sold.
Shows Attended
We were able to make it to several shows and conventions this year, some were planned trips, and others less so.
At Brickworld this years, trains were also some of the hot items donated to the Charity Auction. Together, trains brought in more than $4000 for the The Esther Walner Memorial Charity Fundraiser, with Tony Sava’s Warbonnet F7 locomotives bringing in $2700 alone. Cale is looking forward to donating more trains to the 2020 auction in hopes to raise more money than Tony in a friendly challenge. Cale says he’s “GOING FOR THE RECORD!”
Tony’s F7A and F7B model set from the 2019 Brickworld Charity Auction brought $2700. How much will Cale’s train bring in 2020?
In 2019, Brick Model Railroader assisted with publishing the new standard for modular LEGO train layouts, the L-Gauge Modular Standard. So far we have had a successful first layout at Brickworld Chicago 2019, but another LGMS layout is planned for the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium, Maryland this coming February. Cale will be attending the show and contributing to the layout, and we are looking forward to seeing LGMS grow. Cale and Glenn are both members of the standards committee and work to refine and improve the standard.
New Products
This year also saw the continuation of our original Premium Instructions products by adding five models to our regular lineup and one exclusive model.
We’re pleased with our models this year and look forward to adding more this coming year. We have some already in progress, and we hope to also have our first Premium Instructions locomotive available this year as well.
Reading T-1 4-8-4 Premium Kit
Speaking of locomotives, this has been the primary focus of our work this year. Putting together a plan of action for a big kit, then following through and producing it, has proven to be a huge task with a lot of challenges we planned for and some we could not think of. Regardless, we’re happy to be in the phase of putting kits together to deliver. Our 3D printer has been printing parts as fast as we can use it while getting quality parts in the end, and part sorting has begun though there’s still plenty to do. We look forward to wrapping up the T-1 project in 2020 so we can continue on with other projects.
We’re all looking forward to our fourth year, and we’re excited to see where we go. Thanks to everyone for their support.
Happy new year, and play well.
Brick Model Railroader
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
You must be logged in to post a comment.