Rubin Mill – A Shunting game with FREMO FiNescale adapter

As of May 2026, this module is in the planning stage. I will be posting regular updates here throughout the year.

The Idea

Inspired by John Whitby Allen’s Timesaver shunting puzzle, I developed a concept for a relatively small shunting game suitable for my living room. I have an ideal, compact space on the wall for two segment boxes, each measuring approximately 120 cm by 32 cm, which can be stored vertically one above the other. For operation, one box will be taken down and connected to the other to create the layout.

The Subject

My shunting game, which I will call “Rubin Mill”, is inspired by the Aurora Mühle (formerly Diamantmehl Mill). This mill is located on the Rethe, a connecting waterway in the Port of Hamburg, in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, and features quay facilities.

Several parts of the complex are listed buildings (historically preserved), which makes them attractive to replicate, including the main building (1953/1954), the boiler house (1896/1922), a residential building (1904), and two of five silos (silo II and silo III, 1934)

Notably, the mill’s water side is protected from flooding by a 5-metre-high concrete wall above a sheet pile wall. However, there is no longer any railway connection, and no visible traces of one remain.

The model is therefore, just like its name, purely imaginary. The track plan is based on the Timesaver by John Whitby Allen.

Fantasy logo created by Gemini AI (Nano Banana 2)

In the original, the main building is about 100 metres long, 20 m deep and 35 m high. In the model, I would probably shorten it in length while taking proportions into account. One Silo (no. III) would be reduced in size. The concrete wall in front will be reduced in height.

My design

The design calls for two trapezoidal segments, with the front side concave and the back side convex for aesthetic reasons. The tallest structure will be the chimney at 43 cm, followed by Silo II at 34 cm and the main building at 19 cm.

Description from left to right: Embankment with greenery and slag stones, warehouse, main building, silo II, silo III, transition to further module (top), elevator (bottom) and then continue on the right segment: chimney, boiler house, heavy oil tank, embankment made of slag stones

The Tack Layout

The track plan is inspired by the Timesaver, to be built with 190 m radii in Code 40 track (FS160).

Layout

Operations

The following operating procedures are planned:

Goods receipt

Grain (wheat, rye, maize) mainly by coastal motor vessel and barges at the quay
Additives (baking agents, vitamins), pallets and sacks: covered goods wagons (Gs), track 2a
Grain (wheat, rye, corn) by self-unloading wagons with swivel roofs (Ktmm, Tdgs), track 2b

Goods dispatch

Flour in bulk (for large bakeries), Ucs dust container wagon, track 1a
Flour and bran in sacks, covered goods wagons (Gs), track 2a
Mill products for export (via quay): sliding wall wagons (Hs), track 3a
Direct transfer: If the mill’s silos are full or the grain is not to be processed in this mill but sent on to another facility (e.g. inland), it is loaded directly from the crane into the waiting hopper wagons (Tdgs) at the quay, track 3b

Operating resources

Heavy fuel oil (for own power station system): Tank wagon (Z), track 2d
Packaging material: sacks, pallets, cardboard boxes, covered goods wagons (Gs), track 2a
Machine parts / maintenance: Staggered wagons (Ks) for larger plant components or crates, track 2c

Freight Transport

Track	Track length [mm]	Goods Receipt	Goods Issue	Wagon type
1a	190		Flour in bulk	Ucs, Uacs
2a	190		Flour and bran in sacks	Gs
2a	190	Packaging material		Gs
2a	190	Additives pallets and sacks		Gs
2b	400	Grain		Tdg, Uagpps, Tals
2c	400	Machine parts		Ks
2d	265	Heavy fuel oil		Z
3a	190		Grain	G, Hs
3a	190		Mill products for export (via quay)	Hs
3b	210		Grain (direct transfer)	Tdgs, Uagpps, Tals

Further ideas

Another idea is to create an adapter to expand the shunting game into a single-track FREMO module showing an industrial connection at a through line. It could look like this:

Green: FREMO module adapter, single track; brown: the two segment boxes; black: tracks

The FREMO module adapter will be 100 mm high, and the segment boxes will be about 80 mm or so high, so that they can rest on the adapter in a corresponding recess (and, of course, be secured there).

I am concerned about achieving the necessary precision for the horizontal curved vertical contact surface, as depicted in the drawing. Nevertheless, I find the concept of the curved track’s edge aligning with the segments appealing (referencing the Jigsaw approach, Iain Rice, Layout Design, 2010, page 50).

Pictures of the Prototype

View from the east: the quay and the main building (foreground, centre), Silo I with the Aurora logo (centre, background), Silo II (half-right behind the main building), Silo III (behind Silo II), elevator crane (yellow, right)