This year, for the fourth time in a row, the LEN-Eisenbahner from Leipzig (Germany) organized one of the biggest l-gauge meetings in Europe. Where builders from all around the world come together to form one of the biggest community layouts that the community has ever seen. But what makes this event so special? And what goes on behind the organization of this event? This and many more will be shown and explained in this article. It is going to be a big one. So, get something to drink and enjoy a story that starts a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away.
Origin story, something that started out small.
Back in 2019 the LEN-Eisenbahner group had the idea to organize an event which was similar to an event, what other model railroad organizations in Europe organize. Where, depends on the gauge, similar building model railroad clubs would join up in a location and try to connect the group diorama’s together to make a big enough layout to be able to drive from point-to-point. For accomplishing this, they had to find a location that would be big enough to house a lot of layouts at once, and which was suitable to welcome all the builders and visitors.
They found one in an amazing little old tram shed, which is not in use anymore by the public transport company. This tram shed is located in Schkeuditz, a small residential village right beside Leipzig. The tram hall is owned by the local model railroad organization that uses the location as both their base of operation, and to organize a similar event as the LEN-Eisenbahner were planning. This would turn out to be the perfect fit as a location for some many amazing stories and adventures. The tram shed is around 700m2. And one of the plus sides of this location, is that it is located, almost in the middle of Europe. And therefore, relatively accessible for builders all around the EU.
For the construction of the layouts, they relied on 2 things. First, builders would enter their layout by BlueBrick or planning sheet. Where they would specify what their dimensions are, what type of power system they use, and if they built using MILS, LEN, NOIS etc.
Second, they use a lot of wood, and I mean tons of it. Most of the tables under need the layouts are constructed on side in advance. And after 4 years of doing this, they exactly know what they are doing and how to be creative. A lot of my respect go out to these guys and how they are always able to build tables and connection units for all the amazing complicated and unique shaped layouts. Be doing the constructions of tables on side, they are able to house more unique looking layouts and display them in curves and different shapes and therefore they are able to be more creative compared to using standard square tables.
What makes this event unique and I think is one of the reasons why it’s gotten so big, that it doesn’t matter how or what you built. Not only does that mean you can pick any type of layout you want, it also implies on what power system or modular standard you use. You can pick whatever you want, PF, 9v, r40 curves or R104+. The organization will make sure that your layout get’s places somewhere and that trains will run over them. The mainline itself is always pf and R104+ where a big part is also 9v powered so that you can excess those areas. A few of the branch lines are 9v r40 so only specific trains are able to excess those. By doing this, the event becomes a dynamic and lively thing, where different builders and different building style meet and come together.
After the 2019 version they decided to go bigger for the 2020 version, and even bigger after that. And now we are at a point that the tram shed is becoming too small.
Back in early 2021, myself and a few other LLMTC members decided to join BSBT with our layouts, and before we knew it, we were in for a big adventure and the event of a lifetime. So, what follows is the report of that 2021 event (what maybe was supposed to have been uploaded back in 2021).
BSBT2021, what an event.
So, after a long time of uncertainty because of the epidemic, we were finally able to go to the event on Thursday 12th of august 2021. We decided to rent a van to transport our modules and trains to the event. So, after meeting early morning at Erwin his apartment we drove together to the event in a really well packed van, which later turned out to be well not so appropriately named. We rented the van from busjehuren.nl, and once the fellow Germans noticed, we came to the conclusion that “huren”, which means “renting” in Dutch, has a really different meaning in German. After getting a tour of the location by the organization we were able to unpack and see what survived the journey. The days that unsuited where filled with seeing amazing trains run, a really cool trip to Leipzig, and one of the best night photoshoots I have ever seen.
To fully show the size of the event, I will now give a fictional tour of this event. So, take place in my Trans Europ Express while we cross the layout from one amazing layout to the other. Oh and don’t pay attention to the pieces that we are losing on the way, those were “non-essential”.
First location has to be number 12, Maciej Drwięga his Maciejowo station. And come on, who has not been following him for ages. His station has gotten immensely big over the years, what once started with a small station building is now a complete functioning train station. The current station is the size of 88 48×48 baseplates! And all the infrastructure like signal box, a huge station building, and a really neat train shed combine it into the perfect scenery. Combined with the fact that all these have lighting made this the perfect spot for late night photo stops. Oh, and it’s the perfect place to store/dump a train who runs terrible but looks good.
Our second stop has to be the station Linderei with bridge (number 7 and 56), a group layout from Urban Erwin and Pieter Post. The station itself is set in the 1920-1930’s where all the scenery, including minifigures, match this time period. Behind this station building is the bridge Urban Erwin made, and this bridge is the starting point of the branch line, which extends all the way to the other side of the tram hall. A perfect location for photos and a lot of traffic jams.
Not only is the bridge a starting point of a branch line, the station itself also features a branch line, where once you drive through a piece of scenery you arrive at station Wörrstadt Hbf (number 6). Nick Kleinfelder, from the Noppenbahner group, is the builder of this station. And it is the perfect typical small German railway station. The entire station has controlled signals and working switches and combined with the lighting it was a true sight to behold. I highly recommend checking out his Flickr page to see the progress of the station over the years.
After you drive future down the line, and through a time machine, you arrive at the Western layout from Chrisian(number 5). This Western layout was full of little details and moving elements, that made it a layout you just kept looking at. Oh, and it was a really fun place to see a modern day train drive trough.
Future down the other branch line that uses Urban Erwin his bridge, you come across station Stammbach from Ben Gollwitzer (number 2). Ben is also a member of the Noppenbahner group, and since they wanted to stay in contact during the event, they made a direct phone connection between Nick and Ben there stations. The station also uses working signals and was perfectly located for trains to wait to go up or down the branch line.
After getting the clear signal we can leave the station and see the beautiful Bw Kleinfeld (number 32) which is also built by Nick Kleinfelder(I wonder if that’s where the name of the layout came from). This turntable and roundhouse were the perfect spot for loco’s to turn and refuel before heading back onto the branch line.
After driving down the branch line a bit more we come across the amazing Glenfinnan Viaduct (number 57) by Thomas/TS, where we are slowing down a bit, since we really don’t want to crash and destroy the bridge. This bridge is of course modeled after the iconic real-life viaduct which was featured in some kind of wizard movie. The bridge itself is located, like the real life one, in a curve and therefore a true piece of L-gauge Engineering.
There is still so much more to see here, but one layout I do got to mention is the Rangierbahnhof Zwickau-Bakken(number 41) by again Thomas. This shunting yard uses a hill to shunt freight wagons into random order, and can be operated fully automatic or manually, I highly recommend checking out this video he made of the shunting yard.
The combination of these amazing layouts with all the amazing models, and people made it a weekend that we will never forget. And after 3 days of running trains, we all came home with enough pictures and new ideas to last us for another year.
Beside showing off amazing models and running on a huge layout the entire weekend, the organization also organizes multiple games and challenges. One of these challenges was a speed building competition, where 2 builders had to build a Lego train set, where only one builder is able to see the instructions, and the other is able to see all the parts. Or the legendary pot racer building competition where you had to build a pot racer by using an existing speed champions set.
BSBT2022, were legends meet again.
Before we realized it, it was time for BSBT2022, were luckily this time there were no covid restrictions. With the lessons we learned from BSBT2021 it was time to head out for another weekend of running trains and meeting amazing builders. (And this time without renting a van with a name that some Germans still talk about to this day).
The significant difference from last year was, that this year the organization purchased a lot of black clothes, and I mean a lot of them. The difference was immediately noticeable, and we highly recommend it for events. It hides all the mess and ugly wood with a blank continuously black cloth which helps with not only the presentation but also the pictures. Talking about pictures, the tram hall got some really cool ambiance lights, which are adjustable and therefore perfect when taking nighttime pictures. The difference between the settings was highly noticeable, and it was nice to not run into things in the dark that you are not able to see. There was a perfect quote from Tamás when we drove our trains in the dark without these ambiance lights:
“I was running my br65. It hit something and I heard a lot of bang. The nose was damaged and a 9v controller fell on the ground, no idea what happened.”
The layout set-up was similar to last year however, there were even more builders that we able to travel all the way to the event. By the uses of the NOIS modular system by Tbx Nicolas a lot of the layouts felt like one continues connected module which was an improvement upon last year. Some of these modules were built on the spot, and Nicolas really loved it when I asked if he was able to build one with 2 R104 switches for a crossover. By having more builders than the previous year a lot of the blank spots in the layouts from last year were corrected.
I would like to take you through a tour of all these layouts again and stopping at a few that are really worth mentioning. This time take a seat in my ICM 4241(also known as the orange banana).
Let us start at Wörrstadt Hbf (number 3) by Nick Kleinfelder. We already visited this amazing layout during our 2021 tour, but a lot has been added, like this amazing looking bridge that we are just quickly going to crash into.
After getting back on the tracks, and gathering all the pieces that we already lose, we are stopping on the number 62 Brücke(bridge) from Michael. And this bridge is the perfect spot for so many photo opportunities. The landscape around the bridge is perfectly covered with a lot of small and interesting details. And it might be one of the most photographed layouts from this event.
After passing by some of the other amazing layouts on the branch line we arrive at Tamás his layout (order ehh I mean number 66) that gives us perfect excess to the main line. We are driving for a quick stop towards number 68, Erwin his banana fiddle yard. This yard is built using a lot of grand curves and therefore has a realistic and natural feel to it. Combined with the added lights makes it the perfect spot to stop and drop off some wagons (or dump your hopper wagons here during the entire event since they were a nightmare to use).
After passing by my Roundhouse (number 32) we are off back to Tamás his layout and onto Maté’s station (number 6) from Maté. This station is filled with models from both Maté and Donát and has a really cool modern-day train shed with some really cool and interesting details.
After a quick stop we are continuing our journey towards the PFx project layout (number 82). Here Michael Gale was able to evaluate and show his new PFx products. And man was it a treat to see these things in action. I do not want to give away too much, since a lot of the products were still test versions. But the craftsman ship was impressive. And talking to Michael while you are waiting for a green signal to pass was a real treat and amazing experience.
Talking about green signals, this was the first of many working signals provided by Donát Raáb. With the center point being Ashilfalva station (number 7). This was the center of operations for the working signals project, whereby uses of original Lego sensors and S-bricks, he was able to detected if a train was in a certain part of the layout, and therefore preventing a crash. This system did take some work to set-up but was amazing to see in action, and I highly recommend checking out more about it this video. The station itself was huge and the meet-up point for a lot of the express trains that were going across the layout. And at night, the lights that were added to the layout gave it the perfect look of a busy mainline station.
After getting the green signal we are able to leave the station and continue towards a favorite from last year Maciejowo station (number 8) from Maciej. And of course, a lot of pictures have to be taking once passing through this legendary station. After that we arrive at the last big fiddle yard (number 75).
A destination we aren’t able to reach with this train (and not because of the tight radius curves this time) is the narrow gauge layout they had on display. These layouts (number 22, 31 and 42) used the narrow-gauge Lego system and had some really intricated and interesting models running on them. A surprise to see so much narrow gauge in action!
As a special event, the organization team organized a “loc-Olympics” event. Where you were able to enter your locomotive in a series of challenges. Like a speed run, or a pulling power test. And the results behind these where surprising. As a building competition, there was the special “95 years of Lego” competition. Where all the participants got the same creator set and had to build something in the theme of 90-years of Lego. And the result builts from this challenge was surprising and creative. These challenges make a cool extra entertainment factor to the event itself, and we are already looking forward to what the challenges are next year!
Nighttime photo’s.
Uncommon compared to other events is that BSBT is open until late on the Saturday evenings. And therefore, has a special “late night photoshoot”. The goal behind is to turn on all the buildings and trains that have light and thereby creating light in the darkness. The result off this is utterly unique for any event and is one of the highlights of the weekend. Unfortunately, still builders are still too lazy to add lights which can make driving in the dark a bit dangerously. Anyway, the layouts get a different life to it. Driving around the layouts gets impossible since everybody is stopping every 2 seconds to take a picture. I remember back in 2021 that there was an entire group of photographers taking pictures off our trains in Maciej station at the same time, while a traffic jam formed behind the station for other builders who were waiting on their turn to take photos.
So, what’s next.
The BSBT even has been growing increasingly throughout the years and that comes with a real problem. The current location (the tram hall) is getting to small to host every layout and builders that wants to take part in this event. So that’s one of the reasons they are now judging all the entries more strictly than before. Therefore, we highly recommend that if you want to join the even next year, that you would let the organization team know as soon as possible. The dates have already been set(11-13th of August 2023). So see you next year?
I really want to thank the organization team behind the BSBT event. What they pull off every year is so impressive, and they surprise me each year on what they are able to each eve. The event itself is growing and growing and I am really looking forward to the bright future what this event is able to hopefully fulfill. The team behind this event is full of the most enthusiastic and friendly people I have ever met in the community and their only goal is that everybody can enjoy the weekend and have a fun time. Being able to be together with some many likeminded builders who you can share ideas and stories with is something I am truly grateful that I’m able to be a part of.
I also want to thank Nick and Tamás for helping out with this article.
Ciao! ~Enrico
If you’re looking for more photo’s and video’s of the events I highly recommend checking out these links:
BSBT2021:
BSBT2022:
Flickr groups:
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