Press release from 04.02.2025: Private investment competition – From the hobby cellar to the limelight!

In the past years, the interest in the private plant competition for the Fascination MODELLBAHN Mannheim was always very high.

Once again this year, 8 private model railroad layouts worth seeing were selected for the MIBA Private Layout Competition 2025. Participants come from all over Germany with their model railroad beauties, often built especially for Faszination MODELLBAHN Mannheim.

Here you will find an overview of this year’s private plants:

Heinz-Ulrich Grumpe, stand 1320 A: Factory railroad of the VEB-Chemische Werke (H0e gauge)

The year is 1975 and industry in the former GDR continues to meet its transportation needs mainly by rail. Narrow-gauge railroads are also used. At my “VEB Chemische Werke”, a narrow-gauge works railroad is also used for internal transportation. However, there is also a standard-gauge siding to the nearby Deutsche Reichsbahn station. In order to be able to deliver the Reichsbahn wagons without roller blocks or wagons, there is a three-rail track on the factory premises. During the period shown, there is still a lot of traffic on the narrow-gauge tracks to supply the various areas of the factory with raw materials and to take away the finished products.

Wolfgang Stößer, Stand 1320 B: A beautiful day at the seaside (gauge H0e/H0f)

The lighthouse and outbuilding are located on the narrowest part of the peninsula. It is shift change and a little chat outside the door is always possible. At the same time, 100 sheep (painted) walk along the track. A trip to “Lange Sven” is popular, so there is always a lot of hustle and bustle. Buying fresh fish at the lighthouse is a must, because it is fresh and delicious. All excursionists enjoy the vastness, the salty air and the sea. The waves tempt them to go for a swim, but unfortunately the last storm has badly damaged the steps to the beach. The trolley tracks have also been destroyed and there is no sign of them being rebuilt. The railcars regularly carry passengers from two directions comfortably along the old tracks. Everyone enjoys using the train by the sea.

Otto Gisch, Stand 1320 C: Gischweiler (H0e gauge)

The rail and car traffic routes run over three levels. A digital Märklin C-track is built on the lower level. It contains a double-track station. Two trains can run in opposite directions here, controlled by signals. One siding leads to the freight yard. Another ends at a ballast plant. Wagons can be loaded electrically here. A narrow-gauge railroad runs on the second and third levels. A further station track and a siding can be switched using a block circuit. The Carsystem track leads from the second to the lower level and is equipped with a manually operated stop. All the houses are illuminated and patinated. 150 figures populate the scenery.

Andre Fay, stand 1320 D: At the coal-fired power station (track 0e)

Depicted is a pull-out track at the coal bunker of a British coal-fired power station, which is shown very impressively in the background. Slow driving to enjoy with the Dapol Class 08 diesel locomotive with coal wagon. No operation necessary, because the Schönwitz automatic shuttle takes care of that. The signals are also controlled by reed contacts. Typical English accessories from Dapol: telephone box, bobby, level crossing, signal box, signals and freight cars. Impressive trees up to 36 cm high have been built in-house and many little birds chirp from them. Dummy field railroad, people and animals are also available.

Heiko Wendler, stand 1320 E: Volmestahl (track 0)

The “Volmestahl” layout on a larger scale of 1:45 shows a small factory courtyard of a fictitious metal works on the River Volme in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia at the end of the 1970s. The musician Gabriele Susanne Kerner, who later became famous as “Nena”, was just starting her career in this town. The patinated operating diorama for the presentation of rolling stock was designed as a very small shunting facility based on a specific model and implemented in an LED-illuminated showcase with a stage set and integrated, laterally separated sidings. The yard, which can be accessed via two factory gates and is surrounded by self-built semi-relief buildings, is located slightly above the riverbed of the Volme, which is finely modeled, still flows naturally and, apart from the retaining wall, largely untouched towards the Ruhr and flows into it behind the BAB 1 motorway. Thanks to the standard-gauge tracks embedded in the concrete floor, the inner courtyard can also be used by various Deutsche Bahn rail vehicles or factory traffic. Occasionally, a short shunting unit passes through the large gates into the open area with goods, most of which can be assigned to the steel processing industry. For more varied journeys, a hand switch has been installed with which another siding can be operated. Due to the limited space available for movement and the necessary health and safety regulations, train movements are very slow with occasional use of warning sounds. The sound, driving and shunting functions of the universally applicable locomotive models are therefore fully utilized in digital operation. The scenery backdrop used provides considerable support.

Christian Danziger, stand 1320 F: VEB Rügenkreide factory 1 (track 0f)

The unloading point for the wagons of the light railroad is positioned in a shallow chalk quarry in the foreground. The imaginary track comes from the quarry and leads to the unloading bunker which is located in the middle of the foreground. There is some space left to tip the wagons by hand. Some of the workers must have strong upper arms and are busy doing this. The grab excavator then takes the next step. It transports the broken chalk out of the bunker and loads it into the waiting bucket wagons of the light railroad stationed above. The track system then leads via a pull-out track over a switch to the engine shed and then to the main building on the left. What would probably be time-consuming in real life makes for shunting fun in the model. The train consists of two bucket cars and the V10C diesel locomotive. This train enters the main building. Here the chalk rock is unloaded, ground and packed into sacks. The sacks of chalk are loaded onto standard gauge wagons in front of the main building for further industrial processing. After the work is done, the empty train of the narrow-gauge railroad returns to the loading area and the game starts all over again. The loading process is carried out manually using small loading inserts.

Willi von Simonsdorf, stand 1320 G: The Bahnhofsstrooß & The Bass Railway (N gauge)

The Bahnhofsstrooß: A drivable diorama in N scale. A streetcar shuttling back and forth in “de Bahnhofsstrooß” in the late post-war period. The shop windows are set up and illuminated. Several scenes can be seen on the small area, including an arrest by the police, an elderly woman “asking” her sweetheart with an umbrella not to look after the light girls… or sometimes a curtain hangs out of the window because there is a draught. The scene is accompanied by an appropriate “urban” sound. The trees in the ruins are self-made from broom, sea moss and flockage. The bass train: A shunting scene, also N gauge, embedded in a bass guitar case. Both tracks are equipped with lighting from above. The bass track is slightly lower and, due to its construction, is viewed from above, while the station track can be viewed at eye level.

Ronalf Kramer, stand 1320 H: Wales (scale 1:76, track gauge 9mm)

The layout shows a fictitious harbor town in Wales around 1950. A narrow-gauge railroad with passenger station also provides access to the small harbor, various factories and – by means of a branch line – the surrounding countryside on the sea coast! Among other things, you can see a functional 4-part old English barrier, a functional slewing crane as well as functional points signals, turntables, factory gates and shunting locomotives. The buildings are completely self-built, based on prototype photos from Wales. All stores have interior fittings. All buildings and street lamps are illuminated and the lighthouse emits flashing signals!

Images for royalty-free use for your reporting here: http://www.faszination-modellbahn.com/presse/

_________________________________________________

Contact: Messe Sinsheim GmbH, phone: +49 7025 9206-102, e-mail: presse@messe-sinsheim.de