brick train awards 2022: bergschwebebahn

[XG BC]

Hi guys, today i would like to open a topic about my submission for the brick train awards 2022. my submission is the dresden bergschwebebahn. it will most likely be only one car along with a section of the support beam. now onto something about the prototype

Prototype:

most of you gus probably know about the wupperthal suspended railway. this one is similar in that it travels along a single rail which is above the cab. the difference to the system in wupperthal is that this one is pulled by a cable like a funicular instead of each coach having individual electric motors. the suspended railway was built by the same principle as the one in wupperthal (system eugen-langen). it came into service in 1901. just 9 years later the original steam engine was replaced by a dc electric motor. in ww2 it wasnt damaged and between 1984-1992 it was restored with the help of mi-8 helicopters. further repairs to the support structure where made in 2001 up until 2002. in 2013 a part of the drive system was replaced. it continues to operate as a very popular tourist attraction and as a public transport to this day.

the model:

my model will consist of part of the support structure and one coach. the coach will be the one opposite of the one seen in the picture above but they are pretty much identical except the actual thing that rides on the rail which is mirrored. first step was to model the cab which wasnt easy due to it being angled to account for the slope on which this travels up.

the side windows are snotted. this is one of the few 8-wide mocs i have ever done. 6-wide just is too small for this one. front and rear windows have a slight arc to them. next step was to make a base for the roof and attaching the upper structure more or less securely.

the issue i had here was that the front windows are slightly more forward than the rest of the car on the prototype so this left an unwanted gap. i will need to eliminate said gap. next up was finishing the acutal roof of the car which was a bit difficult to align in stud.io but the result is ok id say.

there are some gaps but that is just the compromize i had to make. normal slopes looked kinda wrong from an angles standpoint in that they where too steep. even the shallowest one was still too steep.

[JaBaCaDaBra]

Nice workout of this quite unusual cabin
but are you going to make a working model?
if so I'm afraid it will never hold on the two 4460 slopes

[XG BC]

that is an issue i know. will be digital only.

Edited August 19, 2022 by XG BC

[ivanlan9]

Wow!  I'd never heard of the prototype.  It's amazing! 

I think your design so far is pretty close; it's an unusual prototype with *extremely* tricky angles. I'm looking forward to seeing how you proceed.

[Shiva]

Looks good, but, the angle is way off.

1 photo https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Dresden.Schwebebahn.Nov.2018.-019.jpg/1280px-Dresden.Schwebebahn.Nov.2018.-019.jpg

But that one not giving the 100% right feek either. Maybe some help here? https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Schwebebahn_Dresden?uselang=de

[XG BC]

i had the choice between to shallow and too steep. too steep looked even more stupid so it was just a tradeoff.

 

[zephyr1934]

such a crazy prototype, the model is well executed

[XG BC]

another update: i added some railings and details. had to make some compromizes in terms of colors.

 

[CastleRail]

It looks like you have part collisions along the entire roofline apart from the lowest tile?

Have you tried mounting wedge plates 47397/8 on their side for an angle of ~10° and then filling the space between them with tiles as per the existing roof?

[XG BC]

17 minutes ago, CastleRail said:

It looks like you have part collisions along the entire roofline apart from the lowest tile?

Have you tried mounting wedge plates 47397/8 on their side for an angle of ~10° and then filling the space between them with tiles as per the existing roof?

i have collisions because it is difficult to align the tiles correctly in stud.io. wedge plates are a different idea but you have the gaps between the individual ones. it is a tradeoff either way.

[XG BC]

...and done (atleast this step, may add a part of the rail structure later). all that is left is to align the tiles correctly.

the prototype has a kind of guide rail underneath it to prevent too much swaying of the car.

[ivanlan9]

Do you know about an article by Willy Ley in the June 1956 Galaxy Science Fiction magazine entitled, "Mutant of the Iron Horse"? It's about the Wupperthal monorail in Elberfeld-Barmen, and also has some information about propeller-driven railcars and monorails.  Interesting stuff!  (The pictures aren't very good, considering the article and phototechnology are 66 years old.)

[XG BC]

i think i know this one. but thanks for recommending.

[Toastie]

18 hours ago, ivanlan9 said:

It's about the Wupperthal monorail in Elberfeld-Barmen

Still available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Science-Fiction-June-1956/dp/B000KP0FGE

Well, I live close by and take it from time to time. When wanting to travel along/above the river Wupper (connecting the city "centers" of Vohwinkel - Elberfeld - Barmen, since the 1930 meshed into Wuppertal) nothing beats this means of public transportation!

The Bergschwebebahn is very nice as well - the river is missing though

Best,
Thorsten

[XG BC]

well it doesnt travel above the river but the elbe is very close to it. only like 300m from the bottom station to the elbe.

Edited September 3, 2022 by XG BC