In the first two weeks of January 2025, I was in the Netherlands to finish taking care of my mom’s belongings and legal paperwork’s, related to her passing away and funeral earlier in December 2024. Although it was not a vacation as usual, there were emotional days, I did set aside a few days to relax and take my mind off my mom’s passing.
I visited a few cities because I knew they have model train stores and earlier before I departed to the Netherlands I bought one train via mail order, that was agreed upon to ship once I arrived at my aunts home. I posted this earlier.
So yes, I went to the cities of Utrecht and Amersfoort, which both have well stocked model train shops. I purchased a few passenger cars as well as one locomotive. In Utrecht I visited “Kuijpers modelbouw” and “ModeltreinCentrum Amersfoort” in… where else, Amersfoort.
The one locomotive I bought here is shown in the title picture, the black and pink model of a MaK G 1206 (MaK is now Vossloh AG) from the Dutch railroad operator: Independent Rail Partner. I have never heard of this operator and after a Google search I come to find out that this operator is headquartered in the town of Zwijndrecht, which happens to be where I lived most of my life in the Netherlands. I bought this locomotive mainly because of the pretty colors, and it was one of the few without a DCC decoder, which means it was around 150 euros. (A decoder can be installed)
Check out these pictures, isn’t he cute.
Next to this model I also bought a few passenger cars to compliment locomotives and trains I bought in the previous years. Two German DB AG intercity cars used on the line Amsterdam CS – Berlin Hbf vv.
I have one 2nd class coach and one 1st class coach with dinning facility, “Bordbistro”.
Back in the 1980’s my spouse and I drove a German IC train from Munchen to Amsterdam and enjoyed a dinner onboard of the dinning wagen and it was a true pleasure to eat dinner while driving alongside the river Rhine in Germany. Anyway, back to these cars.
These two cars are meant to be for my NS Vectron locomotive I bought in 2023. I was looking to buy at least one more to have at least a 3-car train, but unfortunately, they did not have but those two. I was running out of time to mail order one, or two. But we see in the near future what I can do about that. Coincidently 2024 (or the first one or two weeks in 2025) was the last time these cars were in service on this route, now being replaced with new German DB AG Talgo trains made in Spain.
Check the details:
I also bought a NS ICR “stuurstand rijtuig” from Piko, to add to my two ICR coaches I bought in 2023. This is a coach with a control stand for the engineer when the train is pushed by the locomotive.
Although this model is made by Piko it blends in with the two ICR cars made by Exact-train. In the 1980’s Lima did make this model in the Dutch/Belgium IC livery yellow/burgundy red. The yellow/blue livery was not built and placed in service until many years later.
Check on the datails:
The Dutch manufacturer Artitec used to make resin model kits from Dutch scenery, ships and buildings. They stopped doing this and at this time they make military vehicles, typical Dutch people and new in their assortiment are trains. I bought the “ongevallen wagen”.
It is a modified baggage car to accompany the heavy crane used at derailments. It is equipped with all the tools and materials needed during the work process of getting trains back on the track. Two models are available, depot “Rotterdam” and depot “den Haag”. I choose the later since I worked nearby den Haag at the Dutch railroad maintenance shop in Leidschendam Voorburg.
The details in the following pictures:
Wait there is more.
I also bought two DAF miniature cars. My parents used to have DAF vehicles until they switched to the Renault R12 series.
