SBB Ae 3/6 II (at Galleria Baumgartner)

Photo of me by Mari

This page is in group MODELS. Published 10July2017, updated 1Mar2018

This note shows some pictures I was kindly allowed to shoot of the gauge ‘1’ model (scale 1/32) by Bockholt and the gauge ‘O’ model (scale 1/43.5) by Metrop at Galleria Baumgartner in Mendrisio in Switzerland in June 2017.

I was given permission to publish the pictures in a blog note. Thank you! I present them here because there seems to be few pictures of these locos on the net (and because I enjoy doing it).

Standard disclaimer, valid for all blog notes: No ads, no money, no gifts drive this blog or any of the notes here. It’s entirely a hobby with no income of any sort.

Galleria Baumgartner

The models may be seen here in the Swiss section here of the Bruno Baumgartner collection here. Also GB Gallery Baumgartner  + Congress Center (German: GB Galerie Baumgartner + Kongress-Zentrum) (Italian: Oggi GB Galleria Baumgartner + centro espocongressi) in Mendrisio in Switzerland here (obs! The email addresses there seem to be obsoleted as of 30June2017). It’s closed on Mondays.

From what i have found out this collection is a net-wise very under-communicated Mecca for model lovers. And it’s modern (the building was opened in 2001) with no sign of dust anywhere!

Observe that GB is not an SBB Ae 3/6 II only model collection! However, for me I was looking particularly for them. But I also enjoyed the myriad of other jewels!

It took some years before I figured out how to integrate a visit with a family vacation. We rented a car (in Nice) and went to Como in Italy and stayed there for some days. It’s only a short drive (half an hour) to cross the border into non-EU Switzerland and Italian-speaking Mendrisio. (Sorry, we should have gone by train, of course..) Since the collection is so huge I advice to go there when it opens in the morning.

Models

I don’t know much about the story behind these models. Please mail me if you have any info you want to share here. I will acknowledge you by name if you want to. All pictures here: press to see fullpixel versions.

Bockholt-Lokomotiven (scale 1, 1/32)

Bockholt is described blog note 048. I have chosen to move the details of this loco here. Their models are produced in Dassendorf but there is no showroom there.

10412 – Bockholt, SBB Ae 3/6 II (scale 1, 1/32)

  • Brown, 440 mm long
  • Made of iron, so weights in at 7 kg.
  • Original built around 1922 (it was in the first 1-20 series with two fan frames on each side and four doors to open)
  • Model built as it was in 1962 (“R3 YV 28.9.62” painted on it. Press on fig.4 to read it. More about revision dates at another blog note: SBB Ae 3/6 II revision dates?)
  • Different lamps from 10437
  • This model has a full page picture in the Loki spezial magazine  [046, 18], page 108
  • At the Galleria Baumgartner the model is also labeled
    • “Bockholt BO-108”
    • ‘3362’ – what is this?
    • ‘1996’ – this must be the production year of the model
  • This model may be seen with lots of pictures at lokschuppenhagenhaspe.de
  • Read about the other version of this model, the green 10437 on my mentioned note, here
    • Bockholt has documented their 10437 model, but I haven’t found any such document of the 10412 model

This is the largest SBB Ae 3/6 II model I have seen. The runner-up was SBB Ae 3/6 II (1:45 by model rail ag) Both are works of art.

I don’t know why the top boards along the sides have been filled with cardboard(?)

This model is one of the first one would notice entering the large display hall. There it resides with two SBB Be 4/6 from Bockholt and two Ce 6/8 II, one of them by Lemaco. But there are hundreds(?) of other gauge 1 locos in the collection, plus “all other” gauges! Many of them are well lit, like this model.

Fig.1 – Bockholt BO-108 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner. (Press for fullpixel)

Fig.2 – Bockholt BO-108 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner. (Press for fullpixel)

Fig.3 – Bockholt BO-108 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner. (Press for fullpixel)

Fig.4 – Bockholt BO-108 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner. (Press for fullpixel)

Metrop (scale O, 1/43.5)

As I said in note 048 mentioned above I am confused about Metrop, Metropolitan and Metropolitrain. How many are they? My guess is two model makers and one shop?

10429 – Metrop ME-801 (scale O, 1/43.5)

This model is just listed in 048, all text is here.

  • Original built 1922(?) (of the second series starting with 10421, with three fan frames on each side and two doors to open, one on each end and side)
  • Model built as it was in 1966 (“R1.YV 9.12.66” painted on it, press on Fig.7 to read it)
  • At the Galleria Baumgartner the model is also labeled
    • ’32’ – what is this?
    • ‘1976 – this must be the production year of the model
  • According to Galleria Baumgartner the SBB Ae 3/6 II models were produced by a clock maker in Geneva for Metrop. Therefore the different parts are screwed together and there is no soldering

This model stays in a cabinet with sparse lighting so, even if I have worked a lot on the pictures, the quality is not very good. But again, there aren’t many pictures of this model on the net.

Fig.5 – Metrop ME-801 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner

Fig.6 – Metrop ME-801 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner

Fig.7 – Bockholt BO-108 of CH SBB Ae 3/6 II (10412) at Galleria Baumgartner. (Special preview, press for fullpixel)

To read the revision info with date: The revision number has been lost during the camera distorsion transformations, color transformations etc. for Fig. 5. An almost non-edited jpg as coming from the camera is seen above. In the above picture the revision number “R1.YV 9.12.66” is readable – but in this case you must press to see the fullpixel version.

My camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ-100 and the full originals were 5472 x 3648 pixels shot in iA mode.

Other SBB Ae 3/6 II models

I also discovered these. I just cannot have found them all among this huge collection. I did photograph them through the cabinet glass doors. The pictures are ok to help memory, but not good enough to publish.

  1. Märklin green Z-scale model 81418 (a set), #10409. About it: search for “green” in SBB Ae 3/6 II (Z scale by Märklin
  2. Märklin brown H0-scale model 37510, #10426, see it described in SBB Ae 3/6 II (H0)
  3. Metrop brown H0-scale model ME-313B, #10439 (model built 1977, no revision date on loco). I guess this is brass? I’d certainly like to see some good pictures of it because it looked like a high quality model
  4. Emil Baudenbecher brown O-scale model #10453 made by “Emil Baudenbecher (Herisau), 80er Jahre”. It looks like an amateur work, but it certainly has charm