German railway sleepers - 1930's

[Geo1966]

I am looking to make a couple of sleepers for a WW2 diorama in 1/35.

 

Having googled the dimensions i came up with this:

 

German railway sleepers measure 16 cm. x 26 cm. x 2.6 m. or 2.7 m.

 

Does that sound right? 16cm x 26cm seems small to me.

 

If you can help i will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

George

[Circloy]

Close match to UK sleepers which are around* 6in x 10in x 8ft 6in long (150mm x 250mm x 2.59m)

 

*overall dimensions of sleepers did vary over time as speeds and weights of trains increased, with these dimensions 'standardising' in the mid 30's. That said as timber sleepers had a life of around 20 - 25 years there would be a variety around (although not usually at the same location). Longer sleepers were used where points & crossings were located.

[malpaso]

Those dimensions sound about right for standard gauge.  UK sleepers were around 6” deep x 8”-10” wide x 8’ or 8’6” or 9’ depending on particular company’s standards or shortage of cash!  Wider and longer sleepers would be used at points.  So those German dimensions are plausible .

 

Also the spacing of sleepers can vary slightly depending on traffic and finances, on older jointed track in the UK they were slightly closer at the joints, though i don’t know about German practice (though US also did).  Apart from the sleepers UK track isn’t a very good guide to the rest of the worlds railways as UK traditionally used chaired bullhead rails whereas ROW was for flat- bottom rail profile.

[Geo1966]

7 hours ago, Circloy said:

Close match to UK sleepers which are around* 6in x 10in x 8ft 6in long (150mm x 250mm x 2.59m)

 

*overall dimensions of sleepers did vary over time as speeds and weights of trains increased, with these dimensions 'standardising' in the mid 30's. That said as timber sleepers had a life of around 20 - 25 years there would be a variety around (although not usually at the same location). Longer sleepers were used where points & crossings were located.

 

6 hours ago, malpaso said:

Those dimensions sound about right for standard gauge.  UK sleepers were around 6” deep x 8”-10” wide x 8’ or 8’6” or 9’ depending on particular company’s standards or shortage of cash!  Wider and longer sleepers would be used at points.  So those German dimensions are plausible .

 

Also the spacing of sleepers can vary slightly depending on traffic and finances, on older jointed track in the UK they were slightly closer at the joints, though i don’t know about German practice (though US also did).  Apart from the sleepers UK track isn’t a very good guide to the rest of the worlds railways as UK traditionally used chaired bullhead rails whereas ROW was for flat- bottom rail profile.

Thanks Gents, very helpful.

 

One thing I forgot to ask is, did they cut into the sleepers to mount the tracks or did they bolt them straight onto the sleeper as below?

 

 

Thanks again,

George

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Please forgive my intrusion on this interesting conversationI’m not sure if you know this but in the U.S. these are referred to as railroad  ties. When I started reading the discussion I was picturing dimensions of sleeping cabins on a sleeping car at first. When I saw the photo in @Geo1966’s last post realized that europe calls them something different. Amazing the things you can learn just by accident. 
 

Dennis

[Geo1966]

Hi Dennis, Well I have learnt something there to, railroad ties! We learn something every day.

 

George 

[Circloy]

4 hours ago, Geo1966 said:

One thing I forgot to ask is, did they cut into the sleepers to mount the tracks or did they bolt them straight onto the sleeper as below?

 

This link to track preserved at Auschwitz  might help answer your questions

 

LINK

 

there's plenty of others available on the web

 

 

 

 

[Geo1966]

On 10/14/2021 at 9:39 PM, Circloy said:

 

This link to track preserved at Auschwitz  might help answer your questions

 

LINK

 

there's plenty of others available on the web

 

 

 

 

Thanks Circloy, that answers my question.

 

My next problem is how to make one or two. Thinking coffee stirrers glued together as i dont have any balsa wood.

 

George

[Circloy]

Balsa is too open grained, if you've a model boat, dolls house, modelcraft or DIY store locally see what stripwood they have.

 

You've nothing to loose with coffee stirrers though there may be a problem hiding the joint's. If you need several layers stagger them like brickwork it will make them much stronger and less likely to deform

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

On 10/14/2021 at 2:22 PM, Geo1966 said:

Hi Dennis, Well I have learnt something there to, railroad ties! We learn something every day.

 

George 

Hi George, not sure if its common anywhere else but in the U.S. these are being slowly replaced by concrete versions so they don't dry or rot. I have done quite a bit of rail-fanning and hiking along tracks over the years. Im slowly seeing more of the concrete ones showing up. BTW Im a big fan of Diesel Electric freight haulers and the bullet type trains. 

[Jochen Barett]

Ties/sleepers are called Schwelle (femininum, singular) or Schwellen (plural) or Bahnschwelle(n) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnschwelle

 

Further reading (we all know the gauge is 1435mm):

 

http://www.brandenburger-in.de/tpb/Verkehr/Eisenbahn/Oberbau/Holzschwelle.htm

 

 

not to forget the Oberbau http://www.brandenburger-in.de/tpb/Verkehr/Eisenbahn/Oberbau/O-Art_K.htm

[Robert Stuart]

Have you looked at MiniArt's railway stuff?
They offer European and Russian rails.   There are a few other brands out there, though I don't know how they compare with the specifications.