RhB Xrot mt 9217 being pushed through Alpine scenery on David Gormley’s H0m model railway

A personal H0m railway project

The spirit of the Rhätische Bahn, recreated in miniature

Models, research, photography and the steady pleasure of bringing a little corner of Graubünden to life.

The project

A railway inspired by the mountains

My model railway is built in H0m scale and inspired by the Rhätische Bahn — the remarkable metre-gauge railway that threads its way through the valleys, forests and high mountain passes of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland.

This website is a home for the models, photographs and stories behind the project. It will grow as new rolling stock reaches the workbench, scenery develops and another small piece of the RhB takes its place on the layout.

Featured model

RhB Xrot mt 9217

Rotary snow blower · Beilhack · 1981

RhB 9217

Front three-quarter view of the H0m model of RhB Xrot mt 9217 at the station

Few items of RhB engineering stock have quite the presence of Xrot mt 9217. Built by Beilhack and delivered to Landquart in October 1980, it entered service in 1981 to strengthen the railway's ability to tackle severe snowfall across the main network.

The vehicle is not self-propelled. A locomotive pushes it along the line, while two Deutz diesel engines power the enormous rotary equipment at the front. In full working trim it can clear a path up to 4.6 metres wide and deal with snow up to 2.5 metres deep.

For a modeller, 9217 is irresistible: purposeful, unusual and full of mechanical character. Its bright red body, yellow warning panels and dramatic rotary head make it a natural centrepiece — especially when photographed against bridges, tunnels and Alpine scenery.

Explore the full photo gallery

Built: 1981
Builder: Beilhack
Service mass: 38 tonnes
Maximum speed: 50 km/h
Rotor power: 2 × 334 kW
Clearing capacity: 11,700 t/h
Maximum width: 4.6 metres
Clearing height: 2.5 metres

Model photography

The 9217 gallery

Eight views of the finished model on the layout, from close-up detail photographs to scenes with RhB locomotives 802 and tractor 242.

RhB Xrot mt 9217 and locomotive 802 crossing a stone bridge on the model railway — 01Across the stone bridge9217 and Ge 4/4 II 802 make a striking Alpine pairing.

RhB Xrot mt 9217 on a curve through Alpine scenery — 02Through the landscapeA front three-quarter view among grass, rock and mountain buildings.

Front view of RhB Xrot mt 9217 beside the station building — 03At the stationThe rotary equipment dominates this close front view.

RhB Xrot mt 9217 and locomotive 802 crossing a steel bridge — 04Steel bridge crossing9217 working with Ge 4/4 II 802 against the rocky hillside.

Side view of RhB Xrot mt 9217 coupled to Ge 4/4 II locomotive 802 — 05With locomotive 802A clear side-on view showing the contrast between the two vehicles.

Rear three-quarter close-up of RhB Xrot mt 9217 at the station — 06Rear detailBody louvres, hoses and rear-end equipment in close detail.

Side view of RhB Xrot mt 9217 coupled to yellow RhB tractor 242 — 07With tractor 242Two distinctive departmental vehicles together at the station.

Model photographers taking pictures of the rotary snow blower at the station — 08The photographersA playful human moment as 9217 attracts plenty of attention.

What comes next

From the workbench

The website is designed to expand. New model pages can be added without changing the overall style.

Rolling stock

Detailed pages for locomotives, coaches, wagons and distinctive departmental vehicles.

Next idea: RhB Fau hopper wagon

Layout building

Track, scenery, structures and the small decisions that help a model feel unmistakably Swiss.

Construction notes coming soon

Photography & video

Behind-the-scenes views, model portraits and eventually cab-ride style films around the railway.

More galleries in preparation

A personal railway

Built for the pleasure of the detail

For me, the appeal is in the combination of railway history, careful modelling and photography. There is always another detail to research, another vehicle to understand and, inevitably, another job waiting on the workbench.

— David Gormley