Zonengrenze (2023)

Henk Wust & Jan van Mourik

When due to the Corona crisis all our appointments for various model railway shows were cancelled, Henk agreed with Jan to rebuild a diorama which was under construction into a three-module railway, each of which measures 80 x 40cms. Soon however it became clear that neither of us would physically be able to attend more model railway shows, so Henk reconstructed the units previously meant as fiddle yards into scenic modules. The complete railway is now installed as a home layout. Part of the track and technical work was still made by Jan. Another friend, Gerrit Schuitert, was so kind to complete the technical work. The scenery was largely made from scratch by Henk. The H0 scale layout represents the border area between Eastern and Western Germany in the 1945-1965 period. The starting point is the original American occupation zone.

The photos above show the initial diorama, the final photo then shows the original set-up of the original first module. The change-over to a home layout resulted in the reconstruction of the first module (originally a fiddle yard) as a station, which connects with the three original scenic units, with the line continuing into a fifth unit with a storage siding, an East German watchtower and border barriers. By September 2023, the layout was completed.

The next photos in succession give an idea of the entire layout. The first scene is a freelance station called Maurich-Dorf, named after Jan van Mourik. This originally was the fiddle yard. At the far end there was going to be another fiddle yard, enabling Jan and Henk, each at their end of the layout, to create chaos on the track! Regrettably that won’t be possible anymore.

The photo below shows another station called Wustenrode. Both this and Maurich-Dorf was based on an old kit which then was modified so it didn’t look like the original anymore. This photo rather incongruously at the Zone border, shows a Trans Europ Express train (owned by Jan) passing through, with two older layout units in the distance. The 5th unit hasn’t yet been completed, but gives a good impression of the way Henk designs his scenes and fills them with scenery.

Meanwhile, all the layout modules are nearly 100% complete, although everywhere some final detail must be added. The left hand unit depicts a 1950s scene at some distance from the so-called “Innengrenze”. The second and third unit represent the late 1940s up to the mid-50s, when the border slowly became a more serious obstacle. The fourth unit represents the late 1950s to early 1960s. At Wustenrode only pedestrians are allowed to pass the border, that is if they have the necessary papers. The right-hand unit finally shows the 1964-1965 period, when the first concrete watchtowers appeared, and a great many border fences and walls. The final photo was made mainly because I love that rod-coupled diesel locomotive!

photo album: