How to make your N & TT scale military train realistic!
A military train is one of the most impressive trains you can run on your layout. Both the Bundeswehr and the NVA moved entire units by rail to their training areas, and trains like these ran regularly on the main lines in East and West Germany.
In this guide we show you how to put together a prototypical transport in N and TT scale: which wagons and locomotives fit, which vehicle goes on which wagon and what makes a train look realistic.
First choose: Bundeswehr or NVA!
The most important rule first: a train belongs to one army and one railway. A Bundeswehr transport runs with wagons and a locomotive of the Deutsche Bundesbahn, from 1994 of Deutsche Bahn AG. An NVA transport runs with wagons and a locomotive of the Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR.
Also choose an epoch. A Leopard 1 behind an ocean blue and beige 151 belongs in Epoch IV, a Boxer behind a traffic red 185 in Epoch VI. In our military vehicles in N scale and TT scale you can easily filter by epoch.
Which wagons fit?
Tracked vehicles travel on four-axle and six-axle heavy-load wagons, wheeled vehicles also on regular flat wagons.
- Bundeswehr: The Bundeswehr owns its own four-axle flat wagons. They match the Rlmmp type and carry the Iron Cross on the side sill. In addition, heavy-load wagons such as the Rlmmps and the six-axle Samms are rented from the railway, and today also TWA 800 low-floor wagons from Transwaggon.
- NVA: The wagons were supplied by the Reichsbahn. Typical are the six-axle heavy-load wagons such as the Samms, plus four-axle heavy-load wagons such as the Salmmp and low-sided wagons.
Suitable models in N and TT scale:
Bundeswehr, N scale
- Fleischmann 848605: Bundeswehr Rlmmps 651 in bronze green
- Fleischmann 845601: DB Rlmmps 651
- Arnold 0497: heavy-load wagon with Bundeswehr Leopard (second-hand)
- Roco 25946 and 25947: heavy-load wagon with Leopard (second-hand)
- Roco 25595: heavy-load wagon with Leopard 2 (second-hand)
- Roco 25944 and 25945: heavy-load wagon with M109 self-propelled howitzer (second-hand)
- Hobbytrain H23784: DB AG TWA 800 low-floor wagon, Epoch V
- Hobbytrain H23781: Transwaggon TWA 800 low-floor wagon, Epoch V/VI
- Hobbytrain H23786: TWA 800 with two TPz Fuchs, Epoch VI (both Fuchs were made by Panzer-ShopNL)
NVA, N scale
- Brawa 67039 and 67040: DR six-axle heavy-load wagon RRym
- Brawa 67041: DR heavy-load wagon Samms 4818
- Brawa 67042: DR heavy-load wagon Samm-u 4818
NVA, TT scale
- Tillig 15623: DR heavy-load wagon Salmmp with BMP-1
- Tillig 15624: DR heavy-load wagon Salmmp 4823
- Tillig 01627: DR set “Militärtransport” with a troop coach and two SSyms with T34/85 (second-hand)
- Tillig 01712: set with low-sided wagon Res, two trucks and a covered goods wagon
- Tillig 95005: DR six-axle Samms 4860 with load (second-hand)
- Schirmer 20243: DR four-axle heavy-load wagon Rlmmp in green
- Roco 37583: set with two DR heavy-load wagons and T55 (second-hand)
- Busch 31175 and 31176: DR heavy-load wagon Samm 4818 with load
Many older wagons from Roco, Fleischmann and Tillig are also available second-hand.
Which vehicle on which wagon?
The rule of thumb: heavy tracked vehicles on heavy-load wagons, wheeled vehicles and light tracked vehicles on flat wagons, stake wagons or low-sided wagons.
- Main battle tanks such as the Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 each stand alone on a heavy-load wagon. A four-axle Rlmmps carries 61 tonnes, a Leopard 2A6 weighs around 62 tonnes. Newer Leopard 2s therefore travel on the six-axle Samms.
- Wheeled vehicles such as the Fuchs, Boxer, Fennek and trucks fit on low-floor wagons or flat wagons.
- Light tracked vehicles such as the M113 could also travel on stake wagons or low-sided wagons.
- NVA: A T55 and a T55TK recovery tank often shared one wagon. The T72 was too heavy for two vehicles on one wagon and travelled alone.
What belongs on a real transport?
A military train takes a unit with all its vehicles to the training area. So it is not a random collection, but a complete unit.
- Tank company: the main battle tanks travel together with the unit's armoured recovery vehicle.
- Armoured infantry: infantry fighting vehicles, an armoured recovery vehicle, trucks and protected wheeled vehicles.
- NVA: tanks with a T55TK, plus trucks such as the GAZ-66, Ural and W50 with radio body.
- Personnel: the soldiers travel along. That means passenger or couchette coaches, and with the NVA also covered goods wagons for troops and luggage.
Other typical vehicles are the Marder, Unimog and MAN KAT1 for the Bundeswehr, and the T72M1, BMP-1, BMP-2, MT-LB, the 2S1 and 2S3 howitzers and the Robur for the NVA. You will find a wide selection in our NVA vehicles in N scale.
You will find suitable vehicles in our Bundeswehr collection for N scale.
For a Reichsbahn train, take a look at our NVA vehicles in TT scale.
Train formation: order and placement!
A typical order that is easy to recreate: passenger or couchette coaches at the front, behind them a covered goods wagon for the equipment, then the loaded flat wagons. On a model railway, four to eight loaded wagons are enough.
- In the passenger coaches, compartments were reserved for the railway's train escort, the transport commander and the train guard.
- Every vehicle stands in the middle of the wagon. Otherwise the wagon is loaded on one side only and the loading gauge can be exceeded.
- Barrel to the rear: The Bundeswehr turns the turret to the 6 o'clock position for rail transport, so the barrel points backwards over the rear of the tank. This makes the tank shorter.
- NVA: When two tanks shared one wagon, the turret was also turned to the rear. A single tank, or a tank together with a T55TK, could keep its barrel facing forward.
- Long vehicles such as a T72 on an Rlmmp needed an idler wagon.
- If the tracks of a Leopard stick out a few millimetres beyond the wagon, that is prototypical: on the real wagon they overhang the deck by several centimetres.
Three example trains to build!
- Bundeswehr, Epoch IV: BR 151 locomotive, a passenger coach, several Rlmmp each carrying a Leopard 1, an Rlmmp with an armoured recovery vehicle and two flat wagons with trucks.
- Bundeswehr, Epoch VI: BR 185 locomotive, an escort coach, TWA 800 low-floor wagons with Fuchs or Boxer, Samms with Leopard 2 and an armoured recovery vehicle.
- NVA, Epoch IV: BR 120 or BR 132 locomotive, two troop coaches, a wagon with two GAZ-66, Samms with W50 and Ural, heavy-load wagons with T55 and T55TK.
How long your train should be depends on your layout: just four to six loaded wagons behind a passenger coach already look convincing.
Which locomotive pulls the train?
Military trains were hauled by the regular heavy freight locomotives of the railway. There was no dedicated military locomotive: the Bundeswehr-owned 290 999 never hauled military trains.
Bundeswehr, Epoch IV
Military trains were photographed behind electric locomotives of classes 150, 151 and 140. On non-electrified lines, diesel locomotives such as the 212 and 218 were used, and in the Sauerland a 290 or 218 often banked heavy trains.
- Minitrix 16496: DB BR 151, Epoch IV, N scale
- Fleischmann 7380: DB BR 151, N scale (second-hand)
- Roco 02163A: DB BR 150, N scale (second-hand)
- Minitrix 2068: 140 and 151 in double heading, N scale (second-hand)
- Tillig 02703: DB BR 218 293-9, Epoch IV, TT scale
- Tillig 02702: DB BR 218 217-8, Epoch IV/V, TT scale
Bundeswehr, Epoch V and VI
Today military trains are mostly hauled by the BR 185, alongside the 152 and the 151.
- Minitrix 12565: DB BR 185, N scale
- Fleischmann 7570018: DB BR 185.2, N scale
- Arnold HN2105: BR 185 238-3 Railion, N scale
NVA, Epoch IV
Former soldiers recall classes 118, 119 and 120 at the head of NVA trains. For a whole tank battalion, the 132 “Ludmilla” was the minimum, otherwise two 120s worked together.
- Fleischmann 7370009: DR 120 024-5, Epoch IV, N scale
- Minitrix 12845: DR 132 629-7, N scale
- Roco 36295: DR BR 120, TT scale
- Roco 36212: DR BR 132, TT scale
- Tillig 02651: DR BR 118 714-5, Epoch IV, TT scale
How to secure the load!
On the real railway, every vehicle is secured with chains and wedges after driving onto the wagon, and then the railway's wagon inspector checks the loading. According to eyewitnesses, standard loading blocks were often enough for the NVA, and tanks were also secured with wooden beams in front of and behind the tracks.
On a model railway, loading blocks are the most important detail: they show at a glance that the vehicle has been loaded the prototypical way. Our Loading Blocks Set 20x for N scale contains 20 blocks.
If you want to go one step further, use fine wire or thin chain to add tie-down chains from the vehicle to the corners of the wagon. A dot of removable glue under the vehicle makes sure nothing shifts in the curves.
Small details with a big impact!
- Uniform: all vehicles in the same version and epoch, as they would be within one unit.
- Number plates: give every vehicle its own registration, for example with our Premium Decals for TT scale.
- Iron Cross: the wagons owned by the Bundeswehr carry it on the side sill.
Checklist for your military train!
- Army, railway and epoch match
- Tracked vehicles on heavy-load wagons, wheeled vehicles on flat or low-floor wagons
- Every vehicle centred, Bundeswehr tanks with the barrel to the rear
- The unit's armoured recovery vehicle and support vehicles are included
- A passenger or troop coach travels with the train
- Loading blocks on every vehicle
- The locomotive matches the railway and epoch
Have fun putting together your military train!
