May 7, 2026
Description
This is the model of a typical small signal tower from the Berlin/Brandenburg region, built in the first half of the 20th century. These signal towers were ubiquitous on railway lines in the age of manual / mechanical switches and signals, and you could find several of them in one railway station, even on small branch line stations like Treuenbrietzen, southwest of Berlin. This model is the Treuenbrietzen W1 signal tower located at the eastern end of the railway station, there was at least one more signal tower further west.
As you can see, these buildings have a simple utilitarian design, plain and simple with straight lines, little decoration and a flat roof. I have created two versions of this building, one with brick walls, as the original building in Treuenbrietzen, and another with smooth beige/gray plastering, which was also a very common picture. Pick your preference.
Today, these signal towers are no longer in operation, the signals/switches are remotely operated from a few control centers. Consequently, they stand idle – often in a sorry state – or have been razed. As far as I can tell the Treuenbrietzen W1 signal tower falls into the first category – idle in a sorry state.
The model is in H0 model railway scale (1:87) and has little over 50 parts that need to be assembled. I designed it using Tinkercad and have printed my copies on a Bambu Lab X1C printer using PLA filament. The joints and part fittings are designed with tolerances of 0,2mm, which should give a good fit – not too tight, not too loose. You may have to cut and file some edges after print.
The model will be a nice fit for a model railroad with a rural branch line theme. And it will make a great combination together with another of my models, a Brandenburg railway station.
A PDF with step by step assembly instructions is included.
Enjoy.
License:
BY-NC-SA