Publications Modelling branch lines in Württemberg from Epoch I to IV

By Wolf-Dieter Upphoff

24 pages. Over 50 photos in black and white and colour, diagrams, bibliography.

It is difficult to find detailed information when attempting to model railways in the era of the Länderbahnen (before the nationalisation of all German railways in the 1920s). This booklet focuses on the railways of the former German state of Württemberg, in the south west of modern Germany. Here the state intended railways to be privately funded but soon found that there was often a lack of willingness or capability, and so had to get involved. The state created a railway organisation of its own, the Royal Württemberg State Railways (Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen, K.W.St.E.) With limited funds, the organisation employed a high degree of standardisation to cut costs. It was also necessary to minimise infrastructure costs: in other words, simple, light trackwork with few if any centralised signals on all but major routes. This makes for an attractive opportunity for the modeller of German railways.

The booklet fills an obvious gap in the literature, especially in English, with a survey of characteristic structures of the K.W.St.E. including stations, goods handling and facilities for loco maintenance. Although the literature is modest, the standardised buildings have been reproduced by several of the kit manufacturers in the popular scales of H0 and N (sometimes also in other scales). Many are detailed in the booklet, along with archive photos and drawings of actual structures.