One of the nearly realistic French model railroad layouts - HO scale model trains of SNCF in France

Published on April 12, 2024

In France, model railroading, railway modelling or rail transport modeling is of course also a very popular hobby. And when real artists, such as the members of the “Club Ferroviaire de Franche-Comté” (CFFC), start constructing model train layouts, they create truly brilliant model railroad layouts. It is a nearly realistic model railway layout because the Club Ferroviaire de Franche-Comté builds absolutely realistically and true to the original.

The miniature world presented in this video, depicts the train station of La Praz (“Gare de la Praz”) located at the “Culoz-Modane Railway”, sometimes called “Ligne de la Maurienne”, a 135 kilometers (84 miles) long railway running from Culoz to Modane in France. Together with the Italian “Turin-Modane Railway” it is often called “Fréjus Railway” or “Mont Cenis Railway”. The “Culoz-Modane Railway” is one of the most important railway connections in Europe and one of the great transverse valleys of the Alps, namely the “Maurienne Valley”.

This magnificent HO scale train layout represents the railroad line between the mountainous region of Modane and Chambéry in the 1970s. In 1925 the railway was electrified with 1.5 kV DC, using a third rail. This was the highest voltage ever used on a third rail system in Europe. In 1976 the third rail was replaced by an overhead wire. This is why we see electric locomotives that run without pantographs. Furthermore, train traffic concerns exclusively the period from 1956 to 1973.

The members of CFFC have attached great importance to the landscape design. Therefore, many parts of the model railway layout and of the model trains have been wonderfully weathered. The quality of the scenery is astounding and the landscape looks very realistic. The model train layout consists of several modules with a length of 9.0 meter in the foreground and a large stabling yard for trains in the background.

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