All Activity

Ha, quite a story. They've been doing more of the Shinkalion stuff for Plarail as of recent and having seen a few episodes of the first anime I am super tempted to grab one. The robot transformation is genius with the way it works.

No, that’s part of the overall effect! Getting it to stay in the track at the curves will be the challenge! one birthday in grad school at Berkeley a fellow student gave me a little Estes mosquito rocket to build as they knew I loved to make thing and use to shoot off rockets (and made them in grad school from nitrocellulose, but that’s another story). It was a little feather weight rumble recovery rocket, no parachute or streamer. He also gave me a pack of motors that fit the main tube size not looking at the instructions where you only use tiny motors in these and there is a smaller rocket tube fit inside the main body tube. I made it and painted it and it sat in my desk for months and late one night (a beer or two may have been involved waiting for a gel to end) Tom (who gave me the rocket) asks why I haven't shot the rocket off. I said well no clear place around here to do it we would loose it, the motors we have for this are like 10x what is sposta use so it will just disappear, and we would probably have the cops on us. I sat there thinking how could we shoot it off and not loose it and it came to me why not shoot it on a wire horizontally! We went to the stock room and found a spool of like 20g copper wire. We went up to the roof and erected the poles that folded down on the corners of the roof (we were never sure what these were used for but like 7’ tall when folded into the upright position and pinned in place) and strung the wire about 200’ the length of the building from one end to the other. I attached the rocket to the wire and we lit the fuse. We’ll let me tell you with the big motor and without the motor thrust having to lift the weight of the rocket against gravity and the very little friction it had going down the wire it was to the other end of the building in less than an eye blink! We had draped some pieces of cheesecloth around the far end to try and stop the rocket in a light net, but this plan failed. Plan B for the rocket with plenty of thrust and momentum at this point was to completely rip off the two epoxied tubes attached to the rocket that held it to the wire. But this violence ended up on turning the rocket into a flaming pin wheel still with forward momentum, but now slower and very spectacular flaming pinwheel. This proceed across the street and into the chemistry building, which unfortunately had the 60s design element of each lab having a 6’ wide external patio, which usually held bikes of grad students to keep them from cutting the lab up. Our now flaming pin wheel hit one of these and then proceeded to bounce around on the patio behind the railing and among the bikes there in a spectacular display of fireworks for a couple of seconds! At this point Tom and I have the same vision flashing through out head of the chem building in flames and us in handcuffs! But the motor ended finally and smoke cleared and no fire, thanks to all cement, metal and glass construction. But it could have put us at war with the chem department and they had way better materials for making projectiles and fuel than the molecular biology department. new rule, never do rocketry late at night after a couple of beers. Never got busted, but one of the other grad students came up to me the next day and asked if I was shooting thing off the roof the previous night. Apparently she was on the back of her boyfriend’s motorcycle getting a ride home on the road between the two building and saw the whole thing. She said she figured it would be Jeff… jeff

It’s so great when folks end up meeting like this all over the world (especially in Japan) through the forum! Makes the forum worth having just for an adventure like this happening. Glad you guys got to get together, thought you would have a fun time. cheers jeff

Welcome @doodlebugdepot, glad you found us. the tiny layouts are quite fun and a real art form in its own in Japan. the scenery and scene development on these tiny layouts are some of the most superb I’ve ever seen. I’ve had it on the list to make one just to have on the desk and to take to shows to display the variety of Japanese train modeling. keep us post on your tiny layout(s) and start a topic in them in the layout forum! cheers, jeff

I saw a great demonstration system like 20 years back when hydrogen was getting touted. It was a carport that was all solar panels and a small electrolytic cracking unit, compressor and h2 tank. Idea was to use h2 as batteries and all day long your carport would be making h2 for use in your car or home later when home or for driving. Problem at the time was the high cost of solar panels and good and cheap catalytic units for electrolysis and fuel cells. Als mechanical compressor. Also it’s been a nagging thing to get folks over h2 exploding, they just think Hindenburg all the time and hard to convince them elsewise. I saw a demonstration of an armor piercing incendiary bullet into a car tank with gas and a h2 car tank full of h2. The gas gave a nice Hindenburg explosion and huge flame ball brining everything around it, the h2 tank just had a small flame jet coming out the hole in the tank, it didn’t explode. Dramtic. jeff

I think you'd have to use different materials than plastic for that since the exhaust would melt it 😆

What's the over under on JR preserving one of the cars at a museum like SCMaglev Park, etc? It would be nice to at least have that so everyone can experience the happiness of seeing Doctor Yellow.

I'm gladdened by your kind words. I wound up ordering that RM book on JNR EL via Amazon anyway. Thanks again for coming! 🇳🇿🇺🇸🇯🇵

Quick update on this after some applied Google-Fu, but ED75 501 has been saved and decontaminated. Linked article features a paywall, but does give enough details: the ED75 has had the affected materials removed, while the unfortunate ED76 509 was scrapped and one cab saved for display at the museum. If I have read the visible section of article correctly, it was found that less equipment had to come out so it was actually practical to decontaminate rather than dismantle. Hopefully this one-off locomotive will be placed under cover at some point too, along with the rest of the Otaru Museum collection.

It's been a long day, and while I wait for my washing upstairs to finish, may as well do another quick update. Today's plan was to meet up with Mason - alias @SL58654号 - and tour around some of the sights and sounds of Kumamoto. I'd briefly stopped there during my last trip in 2023, when I'd gone to ride the SL Hitoyoshi and wound up paying a visit to Nikkyosha Models to buy my Kato DE10 after seeing the train off. That hadn't left much time to look around though, and it was incredibly generous that Mason was willing to take time out of his day to show me 'his' city. Mason didn't get off work until lunchtime-ish, so I had plenty of time to get down to Kumamoto on the shinkansen. This time around I was aiming for an 800 series, a type I'd seen but never ridden before. I got lucky with Tsubame 319; it was a 800 so I got my first ride on the type almost straight away. And while I didn't see Doctor Yellow at Hakataminami, I did spot one of the two 'preserved' 100 series dining cars looking a little unloved in a siding. As said siding housed cab coaches from a 0 series and WIN350 before they were scrapped, it left me pondering if this dining car may also be up for the chop before long. Shame really, but can't save everything. On arrival in Kumamoto, there was enough time to check out the narrow gauge platforms, where I found a pair of KiHa 183's idling away and a sign for the SL Hitoyoshi still gracing Platform 6... memories. On coming out of the station, there was a tram already waiting at the station tram stop so instead of taking my time and checking out what looked to be a motorbike event on the station forecourt, I hurtled across and leapt onto tram 1355 for the trip up to Kumamoto-jo. Once there, I was at least half an hour early so there was plenty of time to take tram photos. Eventually, Mason showed up and we set off around the city. I have to admit, Mason is one of the most enthusiastic individuals I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and very friendly to boot. In the process of shambling around Kumamoto-jo, we chatted about our shared interest (railways), nearly crashed a Shinto wedding at the castle's Inari Shrine by mistake (oops!), I traded some books and a DVD and Mason kindly shouted me some omiyage souvenirs from one of the little shops below the main keep. He also treated me to lunch at the nearby Saizeriya which was both good, and cheap. In return, when we visited Nikkyosha Models, the least I could do was reciprocate with a Kato truss bridge for Sakuragi no yu sen. Mason also helped guide me to one of his favourite second-hand bookshops where he of course found more railway magazines, and I picked out an interesting little book on railways in Kyushu which I still need to translate the title of. Eventually the two of us had to part ways as Mason had another appointment to make, but it was a pleasure to make his acquaintance and walk around Kumamoto. With a bit more time to play with, I ended up retracing part of our route around Kumamoto-jo and taking some time to read the various information panels about the reconstruction works. Eventually it was time to head back home though, and I retraced my steps to the station where I took the time to hunt through the Amu Plaza mall attached to the station to see if a book I'd recommended Mason was available there (sadly not). Another 800 happened to be waiting to return me to Hakata, where I decided once more to dine at Champion's Curry. That location, I'm sorry to hear, is closing down at the end of this month so I won't be able to enjoy it in 2025 so I've certainly made the most of it this trip. I'm hopeful that at some future point I will be able to take up Mason's hospitable offer to come back and see more of the city - and perhaps, one day, ride the Hisatsu Line to Hitoyoshi behind steam again. It sounds like Hisatsu-sen Again has plenty of steam behind their campaign, and I sincerely hope they'll succeed in their cause. Likewise, if Mason ever were to make it down to Christchurch one day, I'd be pleased to reciprocate his hospitality with some of my own. Still not decided on what I'll do tomorrow and whether I'll hike back to Hiroshima to visit the Streetcar Festival. We'll see on the day. Alastair

Since Arnold is a German brand if I remember correctly you should find them in German stores under the term "Arnold HN3510". At least I hope that is the set you were referencing. So far I found it here: DM-Toys They have international shipping so ordering should work just fine. The shipping fee for international orders is 20€, and it gets free if you buy stuff for a total of 500€. I hope it helps and if you need help with translating things it's ok to ask. Junech

Hey y’all! A few months ago I bought this spectacular Arnold RABe 503 from Buyee since I was getting into European models. It was only a 4 car set and I was researching and found that it is a full 7 cars. But I couldn’t find the extra 3 cars anywhere for sale by a retailer, but was wondering if you guys can also help me find a store (doesn’t matter where!). Would be great fully appreciated! (photo attached to view what it looks like & admire 😂)

Thank you for the praise. What just came to my mind was those see-through curtains, cause we used them in our club before switching to the fly nets. I hope you can find something! I will need something like this too at some point.

HI @N-Osoi welcome and thank you for sharing the video, Luke Towan's work is always impressive. I do have some Tulle, it's good stuff and it comes in some very fine sizes. I picked it up from a wedding dress maker. I am planning to use some to represent this style fence used along the catwalks: source: google streetview It is more like a chicken wire with hexagonal holes than diamond. Hopefully it will look quite good with the styles of fence running parallel in front of and between the tracks. If you like I can make a similar sample as above with the tulle so you can see compare the two fabrics. Hi @Junech firstly, lovely the diorama some really nice attention to detail. I was looking at window meshes a while back, then I found the filter meshes and went down that path instead. Maybe I should have another look. Joe

More steam would, I admit be awesome. With the return of the Kato Hokkaido D51's and the C12, I'm hoping this means they may indicate a willingness to return to their back-catalog of models and rerun certain models on an occasional basis, potentially as upgraded versions too I myself do have a bit of a wishlist, so here's an updated one: 8620: I have a soft spot for 8620s, and it would be nice to see some 'new' variants of this locomotive tooling. By this I refer to things like smoke deflectors (or lack thereof as might be the case), or in the specific guise of locomotives from specific regions (Kyushu, Shikoku, etc.) The fact that the model of 58654 has separable smoke deflectors rather than having them as an integral part of the front deck, suggests that something along these lines might be in the works. 9600: No one currently does a modern, up-to-date-detail version of this type and it would be nice to have one. C50: Kato has done these in the past as their anniversary model, but it would be nice to have again some 'new' variants. C56: Kato has obviously done the Koumi Line versions (2020-1) and recently C56 160 (2028-2) but it would be nice to have again 'new' variants. Kato Store Kyoto has done at least one or two in the past but these are highly expensive. C57: Kato has done models of the first (2024) and fourth (2023) production series models, and the fourth only had a short production run of just one year if my hazy memory of my Kato catalogs at home is anything to go by. Again, it'd be nice to have some new regional variants, and a rerun of the fourth-series locomotive wouldn't go amiss, particularly as it goes for silly prices second hand. C58: Tomix has obviously just done C58 239 (2009), but it'd be nice to see some JNR-era examples and of course Chichibu Railway's C58 363. I can't see Kato doing this as it would be a whole new tooling to replace the old one. C59: Kato has done these in the past (2026-1) but they were again only available for a limited time in 2015 and 2016. Again, regional variants and of course a rerun of the 2026-1 would be welcome, especially as my own C59 needs a new bodyshell and this type is again known for commanding silly prices second hand. C60: I don't know why this one hasn't been done, as Kato holds I would say 99% of the tooling to make this from doing the C59. Potentially it's up to 100% if the trailing bogie is the same as that used on the C62, but I'm not expert enough to make that call. D61: This is another model that Kato holds most of the tooling for, this time from the D51, with the biggest new parts needed being retooled smokebox doors and cabs for the shorter number plates, and of course that trailing bogie. Admittedly though this type only ran to six engines though so this one might be a hard sell unless you could offer other models utilizing some of the specific parts, i.e. Hokkaido-based 'slug' D51's. E10: As @disturbman has mentioned previously here, these command hefty prices second hand because only two manufacturers have attempted them. A true-to-scale model at a reasonable price would be very welcome. Yes, new RTR C51 and C53 locomotives would be nice, and I'd not say no to a RTR C54 either, but I can't see any mainstream manufacturers looking at them in a hurry. As @Kamome has indicated somewhere, Kato are not keen to tool a new steam locomotive in a hurry, hence the stream of familiar types thus far which are far easier to produce. Perhaps this is also why Tomix aren't in any hurry either. Still, never say never, someone might turn around and surprise us all. Or someone could decide to start up their own model train manufacturer and make these models, though that's an expensive thing to do. Still also wouldn't mind more Kokutetsu-steam-era rolling stock, particularly flat cars! JNR definitely had them, but nobody's attempted them with the exception of Kato's late-steam era KoKi 5500 container flats which are too modern for my tastes. Alastair

The thing I used in H0 so far was a fine fly net you normally put in front of your windows. Maybe there are smaller sizes of that too and it could fit N.

The issue for cars is filling stations. I read that some people in the US were demanding buy-backs from Toyota because the infrastructure wasn't going in like they had been promised. Of course electricity for EVs is everywhere already.

In this video Luke Towan makes an HO fence out of Nylon tulle, perhaps there's a finer tulle that would make for a nice N fence?

Very glad to have met a new friend in person today, and I had such a grand day out with you on one of your last days of your tour of Japan. Thanks for everything @ED75-775. It's not every day I have met such a like-minded and knowledgeable rail fan with whom I am so glad to associate with. You have furthered my interests in New Zealand railways as well. Thank you for the books and the extra bridge for my layout. I welcome you to return to Kumamoto anytime!

Welcome @doodlebugdepot! Great little layout 😄 @Kingmeow I'm already planning my next trip so I can buy a steam loco and spy a freight loco 😎

Hello! It's been many years since I've signed up for a forum. I miss the days when they were a major way to interact and communicate about hobbies and interests. Trains are a lifelong passion of mine. I have always wanted to get involved with model railways. I am more a fan of the small and whimsical than the strictly prototypical. I am most interested in crafting my own things that I would like to design and scratchbuild. I love trains from all over the world, Japanese included. I especially appreciate the ready available material from Japan like Kato, Tomix, Tomytec, Rokuhan etc. like "shorties," small radii, and mechanisms. Small and "micro" layouts and things like the Kato Diorama Circus appeal to me. As of now, all I have to show for my interest is a little Rokuhan Z Shorty loop. I would like to start engaging more in the hobby and since I have both lurked this place for a little while and have questions probably best answered here, I thought it would be a good start. I hope you all are well and having fun. 😊

Does anyone know an operating train, in Tokyo, that still has the original GTO-VVVF? Keikyu replaced them in all their units (I think). I am searching this but maybe someone knows the answer straight away. Thanks!

I’m guessing those numbers are MESH measurements as if it were micron for holes or distance between holes it would be way tiny at 80 microns, like 12mm hole size at scale. fraying is the problem. I’ve tried a number of filter materials for chain link. Best stuff is a mesh ribbon that I found that has fused cross pieces so it does not unravel with cutting on a diagonal to get the diamond pattern. jeff

jeff, I imagine it is the hole size, I actually have a few different sizes already 50/80/100/120. It is a nylon mesh for water filters and cost around 90p per meter, I will say it is a pain to cut as it does fray easily. The 80 is pretty much spot on for chainlink. To work it out I had a reference photo of the fence between the tracks. I worked out the height and drew two lines on a sheet of paper. Then I counted the links from top to bottom on the picture after that I placed each size mesh on the paper and counted how many holes were between the two lines. The 80 was 1/2 a hole over, so I don't think I could get a much better match if I tried. I will probably use the 100 for the netting under the bridge with an open spacing just under 4 cm life size. That is probably double the size it should be for the type of construction netting used there but finer meshes start to look a lot more opaque. The 30 and 60 will have oversized holes for fencing, the 60 might at a much look okay for some variety the 30 will be way too big for my liking. It should come in handy for some trellis that is in one of the shop windows and a few other little projects on the side.

Today was an easy day. With day trips to Nagasaki and Kagoshima all but ruled out, I decided to head back to Kokura and wander around the shops there. With most train stores well off the beaten track, it turned into a bookstore crawl. A disappointing bookstore crawl. Not much railway material to be had! I think Kinokuniya holds the title of best bookshop to date for that. By mid-afternoon I’d returned to Hakata, and after a brief break at the hotel and forum update, set out for dinner. Only this time, I ended up ignoring all the konbini stores and wound up at DiverCity Mall where, after watching a fountain show and revisiting the Gundam Base, I plumped for a ¥900 bowl of ramen from the Ramen Stadium. It came out in less than five minutes too - speedy noods, and they were tasty at that too! Despite having ignored them earlier, I could have only ignore the siren call of the konbini for so long, and ended up deciding not so far from the hotel that I wanted dessert. In the process I ended up shambling almost around an entire city block or two, and witnessing the ends of two northbound freight trains in quick succession. Then, as I walked down the elevated walkway across the front of Hakata Station, a flash of a familiar fluted stainless body caught my eye… Last time I’d seen EF81 303, it had just rolled through Tosu nearly a year ago while I was ogling passenger trains. This year, I decided there was no fudgin’ way I’d miss photographing it! Unfortunately for me, it beat me to the bridge at the south end of Hakata Station, and hid behind a Series 885 that was running into the station to boot! Oh, well. At least I haven’t seen any plans for it to be retired, unlike the last ED76’s which I understand from some Google-Fu are being retired this month, so there’s every chance I may see it yet this time, or maybe next year… In the end, I got dessert, and it’s been a chilled day so far. Though I still haven’t decided on whether or not to head back to Hiroshima on Sunday for the Streetcar Festival - suggestions welcome! - there’s a bit to look forward to tomorrow. It’s sightseeing day in Kumamoto with Mason. Alastair