The Eisenbahnfreunde Breisgau showed their model construction layouts in Riegel for the first time after a long Corona break. The response was great.
“Now he’s coming!” Who? The train. He is just leaving the tunnel and heading in the direction of the young and old who are curious. However, it is the small train of a model railway. Place of action: the Rmerhalle. Departure and arrival: last weekend. After a long time, trains rolled through the hall again. Corona had forced the Breisgau railway friends to abstain. Now they were allowed to put their model railways back into operation and set their locomotives and freight cars in motion. The event for railroad fans and children’s curiosity came at the right time: due to the bad weather there were few alternatives outside and so the hall was bustling with activity for two days.
Two years without trade fairs or exhibitions
“We’re starving,” explains Othmar Huppmann, chairman of the Eisenbahnfreunde. Nothing happened for two years, neither trade fairs nor own exhibitions. In November there was hope. But then the exhibition in the Rmerhalle had to be canceled at short notice because of Corona, which cost railway enthusiasts a lot of time and money in addition to the disappointment. And Covid-19 is not gone yet, here comes Putin. Until recently, the date was on the brink because the municipality intended the hall as possible accommodation for the refugees from the Ukraine, reports Huppmann. The relief is great: So far, no halls have to be occupied in the district.
Eagerly awaited return to the control panel
For some of their railway friends, the forced break meant that they could no longer run their trains, Huppmann explains. The approximately 130-meter route, on which fans of the ICE and small-scale steam locomotives can let off steam, belongs to the association. So the railway enthusiasts can now stand at their control desks again and shunt their trains.
The “N’ler im Dreilndereck” who have traveled here make this a bit smaller on their layout, namely in N-gauge format. While the masters of technology can direct which train goes where, the visitors have to wait in suspense until a train passes them. The little ones stand on stools so that they can overlook the lovingly detailed landscape and railway facilities and can hardly wait for the ICE to come by.
Play area and flea market
As part of their exhibition, however, the railway enthusiasts also offer the little ones the opportunity to become active themselves. In one corner there are a few small circuits on the ground where the children can steer themselves. Their excited comments about who was probably faster speaks for the appeal of being in control of the situation yourself. Then it’s less about details and sophisticated technology, which is so important to the model builders. The fans can also take some of this with them. The railway enthusiasts have set up a flea market on the stage, where they sell donated trains and model building literature.
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