HO Central European

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hello!

I am new to this forum, and I was just wondering whether there’s anyone who’s into the HO gauge model railways, specifically interested in railways from Central Europe (Poland, Germany, etc.).

I am 20, and I am resuming my early-childhood hobby, although (for now) on a more theoretical level as there’s very little time and space for me to run the trains. Currently I’m interested in the signaling systems used in Central Europe, both the mechanical semaphores and the light signals. I am also looking for HO models of PKP EU07 electric locomotives.

Łukasz

2

No European interests at all?

3

I think most folks on this forum are more interested in US trains, so that’s why there is no overwhelming response. If you live in the US, you could contact ETE, European Train Enthousiasts (http://www.ete.org/).
Here is an ETE website with a lot of links that could be useful to you:

http://web.syr.edu/~pdverhey/ete-cny/

I grew up with model trains from Germany, France, Belgium, etc but am not familiar with central/eastern European countries. For the better part of my life, Poland was behind the iron curtain.

There are some nice prototype info sites, such as the European Railway Gallery.
Picture Gallery - Directory: /pix/pl/electric/EU07/100-149

I’m not aware that any manufacturer produces this engine in HO. German manufacturer PIKO (former eastern Germany) used to produce many models of “socialist countries” railroads. Sachsenmodelle, now part of Tillig, also produces models from eastern europe.

http://www.tillig.com/cgi-bin/tillig.pl?templ=tillig-pl/index.html

Hopes this helps a bit.

Frank

4

Thanks there. I myself don’t know much about American railroads, and it seems this forum is mostly for enthusiasts of American trains. Nevertheless, I was suprised by the last newsletter. Supposedly there is a steam-engine-pulled-train trip Berlin-Poznań-Warszawa-Kraków!

http://www.railtravelcenter.com/Poland.htm

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to go, but the sentimental memories are there!

5

I’m very interested in European trains, primarily German (DB and DR) and have some SZD and PKP stock as well for my East-West (Paris-Moscow) Express.

I’m also responsible for the Central New York Chapter of European Train Enthusiasts Chapter mentioned in an earlier post. My own layouts are at here. The main ETE site is here.

In terms of dealers, Euro Train Hobby in New Jersey is great. Among the brands he carries are Gützold, Piko, Sachsenmodelle/Tillig, all of which carry central/eastern European stock. There are also other brands. You may also be interested in Red Star Railways.

Hope this helps.

Peter Verheyen