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We have settled on ANA for our trips to Japan as they went way above what I was expecting to make sure we made connecting flights to Sapporo (2017) and Hiroshima (2018) (fun to see the back parts of Narita Haneda). They also allow for an extra bag at no cost compared to the Canadian airlines. But we have to use Air Canada to get to Vancouver (YVR) from Nanaimo (YCD). They are both Star Alliance so AC is obliged to use the ANA baggage limits. Works for us, although AC can make even the 13 minute fight from YCD to YVR a painful experience 😵 Back on topic, my wife says Canada Post delivered a large box "from a hobby store in Osaka, Japan". Of course I am on the road 4 hrs one-way away so my unboxing will need to wait till I'm home. Pretty psyched to see my first order though!

"Obviously, all of this came from our favourite no batteries, no glue seller 🙂" I know who that is lol.

@Tony Galiani Dōmo arigatō! Thank you so much that is exactly what I need. Now to buy the turnouts 😁

Thanks.

Easy to use and most companies have online instructions on how to use them. First and only time I used them was in 2014. IC has spread wildly since then.

Personally I would love it if Nj took off more. It just looks so much better than regular N gauge for japanese trains.

The accompanying Digitrax instruction booklet that came with the decoder has pictures on how and where to apply the Kapton tape to prevent the short to the motor. https://www.digitrax.com/media/apps/products/mobile-decoders/dn163k0d/documents/dn163k0d.pdf

The three D51 class 2-8-2s in this picture are hauling the daily limestone train at Nunohara on the Hakubi line in Okayama prefecture. This was a very popular spot for photography with railfans in the closing days of steam locomotives. I also have a vinyl record featuring trains here. Cheers, Mark.

I will be in Tokyo in August for JAM, if anyone is there I am game.

I've seen those change machines on busses before. You're right, if you didn't know how they worked it could get embarrassing. We used to use the local busses with change in Amagasaki but later we started with the IC cards. I think I'd be in trouble if the IC cards stopped working.

Here you go. I am having a quiet day at work (since I was on call Saturday and worked Sunday) so taking some time to check the Forum. Survived a surprise visit from friends from Ottawa on Saturday and our Commencement Program on Sunday - awful speech, student demonstrations, general craziness - which cut into my planned modelling time. Last night I was poring through some of my Japanese layout books since I was too tired to do any actual layout work when I ran across this after seeing your post. Hope this is helpful. If you want more info from the page on this layout plan, just let me know. Cheers, Tony

Tony thank you so much for the offer, I don't have the 50 track plan book so this would be most useful. Hopefully the moderators are OK with it but I will understand if they aren't.

Thanks for the awesome pictures Madsing

These are photos of my EH500 install with the same decoder. Marc

@Grant_T - sounds like your travel is going really well! Cheers, Tony

Been a while since I've had an update on this. Of course, most my model train time has been spent on the H0 stuff. At one point I considered not doing anything with the N layout anymore at all, but taking down the yard and helix didn't feel right either. I've been thinking about a multi-deck layout with the lower deck for the N layout, and the upper deck for the H0 layout. Recently, I was at Intermodellbau in Dortmund, where they had a layout / diorama that was around 140cm above floor level, so for me that would be just below eye level. This height (give or take a few cm) really struck me as a really good option for the H0 layout. It's low enough to still get a good view over the layout, but also high enough to really be able to get sucked into small scenes in the layout. With this in mind, I did some testing at home. I took the first section of the yard back out of storage and put it in place. Then I took a temporary frame and suspended that above the yard at about the height I would want it to be at, and then checked clearance between the N layout and the H0 layout if that would be at around 140 height. The N scale layout will be quite low, but I always designed that to be optimally viewable when sitting in a chair (this was because my father wasn't able to stand for long periods.) So, anyway, I will continue on the N layout, while at the same time working on the H0 layout above it. I hope to be able to get some plywood cut soon to build the new frame for the N layout, which will also get some supports for the yard. That way I can slide out the entire section with part of the yard included. Currently the yard is on its own legs, and the main layout sections above it were of different lengths, which made things really awkward. I will also get some smaller plywood sheets so I can experiment a bit with a frame for the H0 layout which I can then temporarily mount to the wall above the N layout. A revised track plan for the N layout is already being worked on. Once I have something presentable, I'll post it here 🙂

Been a while since I got new N-scale stuff.. Last weekend I received: - Tomix 0 series shinkansen NH16 formation - Kato EF55 with old passenger car set - Kato C12 with Temu 300, Tora 45000 and Yo 5000 - Tomix E2 power unit (replacement for the Tomix 300 series that had zinc pest) Obviously, all of this came from our favourite no batteries, no glue seller 🙂

I'd be okay with the machines if they made them less confusing. I thought I understood the Japanese mindset, but maybe Japanese people find them difficult to use as well. It seems like you just need to know how it works, because it's not written clearly anywhere. Express trains are a good example, where you need a special express ticket in addition to your normal one. Or multiple tickets for the Shinkansen. None of the navigation apps seem to explain it either. Busses can be a pain too. The ones with numbers are easy enough, at least once you figure out how to pay*. But the ones with just the destination on the display... It never seems to match what it says on Google Maps, or on the signage at the stop. * In Nagoya I was on a bus that didn't accept IC cards. I think the system was down or something. Anyway, I didn't have the change but I saw there was a slot for notes and a dispenser for the change, despite the sign that said "no change given" in English. So at the terminal I put 1000 yen in, it spit out some coins that I scooped off, and off I went... "Gaijin-san!" the driver called after me. Turns out it's just a change machine, you then have to put the coins and ticket into the slot yourself. How embarrassing.

Sorry, for the slow reply, I don't even know what day it is due to the travel (and the sake). Tony's suggestion seems the best of a place to meet.

I was thinking that maybe we could have a shared calendar or something so we can see when people are overlapping in Japan, but I don't know how to make one.

I'm surprised how fast this goes, the first printed Prototype maybe even in this Week.

Ahhh, true. I missmatched with the long one.

Thanks for the great pics and instructions looking forward to using an MT decoder in upcoming DCC installations.

If you happen to have the 50 track plan book, layout 7 uses this arrangement and the drawing with the track plan shows the center island. This version has one siding going off the loop as well. If you want a picture of the track list and the layout drawing, I think I could send you one. (Thinking that would be okay since it is for non-commercial purposes. Moderators - please advise if that is not okay.) Cheers, Tony

The whole shutting down the ticket counters originated during the coronavirus period when demand cratered, and dovetailed with the campaign to get more people to make reservations online. Personally, with simpler itineraries the midori no madoguchi ticket machines are adequate, but the more elaborate convoluted railfan itineraries I sometimes conjure up require human facilitation. But most importantly, manned counters are required when there are service disruptions, like I experienced when snow shut down the Hakubi Line last December 23, and my planned journey on ltd express Yakumo was nixed- I had to get a refund and book a new return journey on Sanyo/Tokaido Shinkansen. Okayama Station midori no madoguchi was swamped, tho more with domestic customers rather than inbound (few foreigners know about Sanin, at least for now)- 40 min. wait in line, IIRC.