Preparing some more LGB wagons for winter warfare

 When I was invited by friend and his wife to join their annual 'winter/season/Christmas drive-in running session' in their garden, I decided to use my modelling time to prepare my military garden trains for winter warfare and giving them a season-theme due to the occasion.

Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

The driver in the Heeresfeldbahn locomotive by LGB was given a winter-camouflage uniform. They're seldom completely bright white due to use and making them dirty on purpose for better camouflage effect. He is a 'mirrored' (3D-printed) model of the driver in 'Feldgau' I usually use. in this Engine:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

Firstly I just planned a kind of 'Santa theme' with red sleigh and reindeer. Then I found that Finnish and Soviet troops used reindeers to pull simple sleighs. I've also found some few photos of reindeers in German service. I found these reindeers in a toyshop.
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

Since it was not going to be a traditional 'Santa sleigh' after all, I needed to find some more realistic one. This one I found for free at Thingeverse, intended for some 28mm tabletop gaming. I resized it to the maximum my 3D-printer could do. I also added some sacks of potatoes and a barrel of herring for the troops at the front. Being traditional christmasfood some places, I'hope we don't get that to eat during our 'run-in session'. 
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

Not only bringing food to the troops at the front, I wanted to give them a Christmas-tree/Weinachtsbaum for the upcoming season as well. The hostess remarked that it might look like the tree Norway gives United Kingdom every year as gratefulness for help during WWII; Looking good on only one side....
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

The soldiers handling the sleigh and reindeers were given (again 3D-printed) braizer. I used a flickering tea led-light for the fire, just about fitting into the barrel. The smoke is some stuffing from one of our dogs toys...
I kind of get of "Where Eagles Dare"-feeling of those soldiers.
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

Here are some impressions of my military trains in action during their winter-service:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

Updates

The next winter I upgraded this 'winter train'. The first project started as a couple of photos on a 'WWII German Railway Facebook Group' I follow, featuring snowplows on German Heeresfeldbahn Narrow gauge HF130c locomotives:

Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
These photos made me want to add something similar on my own locomotive for our Garden Railway running sessions this winter, so I set off to resize and 3D-print some suitable files I found on Thingiverse:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
I wanted to see if I could find any more information and photos of these snowplows in a German Heeresfeldbahns book I have, but there I also found drawings of other wagons and snowplows used by the German Heeresfeldbahn during WWII:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
A couple of these wagons resembled one that I got in a lot with some other LGB-wagons I bought a long time ago:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Fitted with one of the snowplows I've made for the locomotive, it was loosely starting to look like one of the Herresfeldbahn snowplows in the book:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
And it looked even better when painted:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
This wagon is pretty light so to be able to move some snow, some weights were added and 'camouflaged':
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

In the same box l found another small stake-wagon from the same lot, which I haven't used in any of my military trains yet. I didn't buy the lot for any of these wagons, as there were other more interesting items in the lot. Therefore It's just been laying around for a while:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
I think it looked almost OK for my use, just a little 'too clean'. I did not do a very elaborate weathering job on this one, just a simple black and brown wash:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
I added some passengers and a braizer to keep them warm I made last winter:

One of the LGB wagons I bought at Faszination Modellbau has already made it to the workbench:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
I added the (military) sleigh I made last year as a load, as it looks more appropriate on this car than the previous one:
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn

Last year I added a couple of reindeers in one load to pull the sleight in another car (as such eqipages were used by German forces on the Eastern Front during WW2). I bought the reindeers in a toy shop as they looked good. When putting them in a rail car it didn't look right. -They were too big. In compassion they were about the size of a moose, and in reality reindeers are a lot smaller. Later I found another reindeer from Schleich in another toy store and it looked smaller, and I replaced it with my 'giants'. - Only to find out that despite being a little bit smaller, it was still too big for a reindeer in this scale. So this year I 3D-printed a reindeer about the right size for my trains:
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.
The original 'reindeer-mooses' top left, was replaced with the one at top right. It looked a little better, but it was still too large. The one I 3D-printed is actually a Christmas decoration, but I think it looks better than it's larger counterparts.

I've read somewhere that Jägermeister was popular and common among German soldiers on the Eastern Front due to not only being alcoholic off course, but also for it's herbs (which were supposed to be good for health). I made some crates which could hold small bottles of Jägermeister, as it would kind of fit the theme of my German WW2 winter-train. I usually gives my friend a gift for letting us running trains on his garden railway (27 meetings just last year). -So today my train finally, after som circuits on his garden railway, arrived the destination with this valuable load to it's recipient: 
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.

Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Running G-scale trains in the garden during winter. Running G-scale trains in the snow. G-scale Heeresfeldbahn
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.
My military Narrow Gauge (NG) train pass the Standard Gauge train in the loop. They share the same gauge of 45mm in model, so their scale is different. The Narrow Gauge model is 1:19 and the Standard Gauge about 1:29
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.
It was heavy traffic on the line, so the passing loops became handy
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.
My NG Heeresfeldbahn with a short rake
My NG Heeresfeldbahn with a short rake
Garden railway in the snow. Running garden railway in the winter. G scale Heeresfeldbahn. German military train in model.

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