John and Dave’s Magnum Opus
The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – A suspension railway in Germany
The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars in the world and is unique.
It was constructed between 1897 and 1903. The first section opened in 1901. The Schwebebahn is still in use today for local public transport, moving millions of passengers annually.
The Schwebebahn runs along a route of 8.3 miles at a height of about 39 ft above the River Wupper.
The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn – The Model
The G Scale Society Journal Vol 33, No 4 contained “the ultimate modelling challenge”. It was to build a model of the suspended mono rail at Wuppertal in Germany.
West Midland’s member John Bint couldn’t resist the challenge and began the building of the model. He created 14ft of elevated track, the suspended vehicles and successfully motorised them.
Unfortunately, John suffered a stroke and is unable to finish the model so his fellow modeller, Dave Tilling took on the task of completing the model.
You can keep up to date with Dave’s progress on his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/david.tilling.96
To see the model in operation :
https://www.facebook.com/david.tilling.96/videos/4085279854846883/ (You will need to log onto Facebook to use these links)
