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I got my first shipment from RG-Rokko. Shipped using FedEx on the 6th of May from Japan and arrived here in Texas today (the 8th of May). I will buy from them again. The package was 17.5 x 14.5 x 12 inches (45 x 37 x 30 cms) and weighed 5.3 kgs which is slightly less than 12 pounds. I mention this because if I would have purchased the same amount of items from buyee, the package probably would have been twice the size. This order contains: TOMIX 2720 JNR Chi 1 (with wood) ｘ 9 TOMIX 2721 JNR Chi 1 (with clay pipe) ｘ 9 TOMIX 2774 JNR Chiki 7000 ｘ 9 KATO 23-579 Type U50A container (Sagawa Express) ｘ 12 KATO 23-575-A ISO tank container (NRS / INTERFLOW) ｘ 3 KATO 23-503-B U41A type container (Zero/NISSAN) ｘ 10 KATO 23-503-A U38A Container (Nissan Land Transport) ｘ 10 KATO 8058 Taki 9900 Nippon Oil Transportation ｘ 2 KATO 8058-1 Taki 9900 Nippon Oil ｘ2 KATO 10-1573 JRF Koki 200 (No JRF mark/No container loaded) - 2 car set ｘ 7 KATO 10-1377 Tora 90000 - 8 car set ｘ 3 Here are some pictures:

The Multiverse Line? The track appears to pass through several different worlds.

Having a brakeman or guard on any freight train is rare now. Most are driver only operation. You still occasionally see brakevans used by JRF to escort oversize or hazardous loads.

Arguably an LRT system would impact the local community less than a mass of buses by taking traffic off the roads. This assumes the visitor cap remains so you are shifting the same number of people to a less intrusive mode of transport.

I’ve used the same technique on old motors to revive them. Many small motors now days are sealed and don’t have the two screw in bumps on either side of one end of the motors where you can unscrew a cap and pull out the brushes and springs to clean or replace them. jeff

No issues whatsoever. Total value was about CAD500 so we were well below any limit that might exist, but customs didn’t even bother to ask… just waived us through at YVR after we filled out the touch screen form. Maybe having a cranky 2 year old coming off an 8-hour flight was like having a free pass, because nobody wants to deal with that! i was surprised that nothing went off at security at Narita since I had a bunch of stuff in my carry on. i thought all those small parts would appear kind of sketchy on the scanner. They must be used to people travelling with trains 😃

Based on this video, it should fit I guess. Though it does seem to sit a bit high, but that might simply be because of the smaller bogeys used in the Kato chassis.

Angled overpass bridge for level 5,6

apologies. just realised, these are sealed motors. Where I can't get to the brushes or armature, I have used CRC 226 product which is a lubricant/ electrical aid/moisture removal product. The wand for spraying is hard to control the amount dispersed, but after spraying at each end of motor on shafts and running motor with some wires attached to controller, you should see an immediate improvement in speed and smoothness. I have had stuttering motors on old units come back to life when nothing else worked. it dosen't dry out, so you need to wipe down excess.

you can declare up to $800 duty free so i would imagine it would be alright from that photo to the untrained eye (can pass off as toys ). that is unless he had even more gifts that he bought

Pretty much as it says, just sound recordings of various steam trains. I had a similar one as a kid of us steam. Japan has a lot of rail related stuff like this a it’s been a very rail centric country and tons of rail fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is still around in cd format. jeff

I've been meaning to post some photos here, but never got around to doing it until now January 2nd, 2024 Kaiun Hatsumode-go. I only found out about this special service about two weeks before my trip, yet somehow there were still seats available, so I reserved a ride from Shinjuku to Chiba. Being a JNR fan, I naturally had a great time on it. I do slightly regret not going for the full ride to Kashima Jingu though (I have the exact model of this KiHa - Tomix 98013) First visit to Kominato Railway, as well as my first ever ride on a KiHa 40. I've always wanted to ride one of these diesel cars. Loved the retro atmosphere throughout the railway. Heard that they're doing a collaboration with JR Hokkaido, so I might visit again during my next trip in June. January 3rd, 2024 Took advantage of my JR pass and spent half the day or so on Shinkansens. Headed to Nasushiobara early in the morning. I was quite surprised when the E2 J66 rolled into the platform as my first ride of the day; I didn't think I'd even get to see it in person And for the return trip as well... Guess I won the Shinkansen lottery that day! Spent about an hour at Nasushiobara, before taking a short ride to Utsunomiya. Both the Silver Tsubasa E3 and the Disney E2 passed through during that time As well as an E3-1000, which is now retired from service 😢 Seems like there was an abundance of E3s during that hour Transferred to the Nikko like at Utsunomiya, and headed for Shimo-Imaichi station for a jump back in time. Had a relaxed 30 minute trip on the SL Taiju to Kinugawa-Onsen, where I then got on a Kinugawa service to Omiya. I had originally planned to get more Shinkansen photos there, but it was already 6pm and the sky was completely dark. I'll try to post some more photos soon, although they're mostly just the usual JR commuter trains

I've used Eneloop a lot. Mostly Pro but I also have the regular ones in my Z21 controllers. I also use IKEA brand ones in my trackpads and other issues. But the Enerloop are the ones I use in my camera flashes, and other "heavy lift" uses.

https://batteriesamerica.com/collections/battery-cells The R/C guys (my other hobby 🙂) use them a lot.

Correct that Kato USA does not do decoder installations for customers. The job posting is for someone on staff to do decoder installations for items to be sold as "Equipped with DCC" when they arrive at the distributors/dealers. You will see these as Kobo Shop items in the US. It's an internal thing and not public facing.

Was Customs an issue coming back?

thank you - how did you take it apart to clean the armature and brush area?

Still trying to figure out a name for it. ! Going to change the front on the spiral section so it has 3 open sections to match the spiral sections. (Glad I only screwed it on. 🙂 )

Now thats how I wish anybody that their Japan trip should end.

Back from Japan with a mighty haul! Pretty easy to break my budget given the favourable exchange rate, this is an opportunity right? My three-day JR Shikoku rail pass adventure (detailed report to come at some point) prompted many of the purchases pictured below as I got to ride the Kiha 54, Kiha 32, N2000, Kiha 185s and spotted the Kiha 40s at Kagoshima depot. Special thanks to RG Rokko for great service and speedy delivery to my in-laws' house while I was in Japan. They even had my trains protected in an extra layer of bubble wrap so transport back to Canada was worry free 😃 The plastic bag is filled with a Kato V3 set, whose box had to be left behind to save space and weight in my pack. Here's the breakdown: RG-Rokko MicroAce A6438 JR Kiha 54 with skirt + Kiha 32 round headlight JR Shikoku color KATO 7011-3 DE10 JR Freight New Color KATO 10-1627 JR N2000 Series 3-car set TOMIX 98125 JR Kiha 185 Series (Tsurugisan Color) 2Cars Set TOMIX 98087 JR Kiha185 Series (Resurrection national railway color) 2Cars Set Hobby-Off (items listed as used but appear to be unopened) Tomix 8461 JR Shikoku Kiha 40 - 2000 (M) Tomix 8462 JR Shikoku Kiha 40 - 2000 (T) Tomix 2715 JR Wagon (WAMU 380000) X 2 Amazon.jp Tamiya Craft bond (because never enough glue!) Sankei Miniature kit MP-33-38 - Small shrine TGW - Plastic retaining wall material Kato 20-429 - Single-truss bridge (248mm) Greenmax 2114 (tunnel portals) Kato V3 Rail yard switching set

Cannot see it gaining traction. They recent capped daily visitor numbers. Road/LRT access will be blocked for at least a season or two.

Wowzers, this is moving along quickly!

While in Japan recently, I saw some news regarding the proposed Fuji Subaru Line LRT. Sounds like an old-news story, but the report on Japanese TV highlighted the rising level of opposition among local residents and concerned seismologists so the idea may be gaining traction. 🤔 I hadn't heard about the plan but can definitely see some advantages given the increasing number of tourists wanting to visit Mt. Fuji. I'm sure the owners/operators of all those buses that take people up the mountain are not keen about the idea. Additional info: https://unseen-japan.com/mt-fuji-light-rail-overtourism/

Yup 😳 Update: Just after I posted my bit of a rant, the following happened: I asked Plaza Japan to cancel my second order I got a notice that my first order was shipped as I had ordered it, with no deletions Plaza Japan did a full refund on the second order with no fee So my positive impressions of Plaza Japan are renewed and I look forward to receiving my order towards the end of May. Will update when I have the order in hand.

Front on view of the progress. Couple more bits of track ordered to finish off the top spiral. Have started on the isolation joints and track inputs, Finish them, then onto set-up tracks... then start on the scenery.