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I've always admired the brightly polished brass number plates on steam locos and the bright numerals of plates on diesels and electrics in Japan as well. All locomotives in Japan usually had four number plates in all on each side. Correct me if I'm wrong, but instead of number plates American locomotives usually just had their numbers painted on. They are pieces of railwayana that easily distinguish which railway a locomotive belonged to because of their distinctive design (much like how identifiable plates from British or South African locomotives are). Maker's plates I've always liked too, and there are numerous design based on the several different locomotive manufacturers who've supplied Japan with its locomotives throughout its rail history. I have just a cardboard replica of locomotive 58654's number plate in given to me by a Japanese friend who equally loves the SL Hitoyoshi. Does anyone on this forum collect full-sized replicas made of brass or indeed original Japanese locomotive number plates themselves? I'm not planning on collecting any (so far) but I'd like to hear from others. Also, why were some Japanese SL number plates red, green, blue, brown etc.? Why the difference?

Hi, I just got myself a 103 series kit from Greenmax. I also got 4 sets of bogies and a set of pantographs, as specified by the manufacturer. Everything went well when I assembled the kit. However, I ran into a problem while trying to attach the bogie to the car itself. There appears to be no way to connect the bogie and the car, and I wasn't able to find answers to my problem online. Attached below are the pictures of the bogie and the car. Thank you for reading this, and any advice or help would be appreciated. This is my first time using a forum, so I apologize for any mistake that o may have made. Cheers, kokutetsu103

Jiji Press report on the press preview/track connection ceremony at Sotetsu's new station that connects the new Sotetsu Line extension to Shin-Yokohama/Hiyoshi with the JR Freight Line via a junction just past the platforms. Scheduled to be operational/open 11/30 this year, presumably in conjunction with the autumn timetable revision.

Hello everyone! Today marks one of the first days that I've begun work on an actual (hopefully) N-Scale layout! As these first two pictures demonstrate, I finally arranged a deal to get some space for a small layout, which at the moment is 16' × 2' (really only 20", because of the upper shelf support poles.) Eventually, when time, useable space and family permit, I have plans to expand it into a reversed 'F' shape, through the use of additional shelves along a different wall, and a heavy duty wooden center island table left over from some HO-scale projects. The shelving on the rear wall will the be top part of the letter 'F', and will add about 11' by 2' (again, only 20" of that useable). Final dimensions of the center island table TBD. (Possibly 5' × 6'?) I'll try and post the potential track plan(s) later tonight! I am also always open to feedback, so please chime in, it might really help me out! Thanks for your interest! ~Phillip R.

A very well filmed cabview video of the whole JR Sanko Line between Gotsu (Shimane prefecture) and Miyoshi (Hiroshima prefecture). This line is scheduled to be closed on 31 March 2018, so hurry if you still want to catch a ride on this line!

Hi all, I have a total of nearly 3 hours of driving every day, to and from work and so I listen to a number of podcasts. With my recent obsession regarding everything Japan Rail, I was looking for one but came up empty. I might be missing but the iTunes store doesn't seem to turn up anything. Maybe an episode here or there but nothing strictly dedicated to the history, today and the future of JR (at least, not in English!)... So I was thinking, I had always wanted to start a podcast. However, my problem with this particular subject is that I really don't know much (yet!). I try to read or watch as much as I can in my off time. I've really been enjoying Japan Railway Journal episodes on YouTube as well reading posts here on the forum and blogs I happen to stumble on. Would anyone be interested in starting a podcast centered around all things Japan Rail? We can maybe come up with a structure for the podcast here (topics of discussion, format of the show, frequency of releases, etc, etc.) I wouldn't mind getting the ball rolling for someone else either since I really don't have any expertise on JR trains or trains in general. We could split the show on current Japan train related events then talk about new releases or have special guests come on and talk about their latest projects, layouts or anything so long as it's Japan railroad related content! Honestly, just talking about this has me excited but again, not being any kind of authority on the subject, I may not be well suited to start this endeavor. All I can say is, I would really love to have a JR podcast in my favorite podcast list that I can listen to weekly or every two weeks even. Heck, I'd settle for once a month at this point. I feel like there's so much content that could be covered there'd be virtually no end to the podcast. Well! That's it for now! What do you all think?

Hello, We had another trip to Japan a few weeks ago, so thought i'd post some pics for you. This first batch are from around Osaka and a trip to the railway museum in Kyoto.

Hello everyone, As announced from a short time, the sunrise express is approaching in HO. Here is the Tomix page for this train : http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/menu/index_hojoho.htm As I have ordered two full set, I'll show them there when they arrive. Cheers! Nicolas

(taken from: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/日本の車両基地一覧 with several addition and removal of contents, to limit the content on JR Group's train depots only) Since there are no topics that dedicated for complete list of train depots managed by JR Group in this forum, I decided to make this topic, in order to enhance the knowledge of Japanese trains for all of members in this forum. Below here is the list of JR Group's train depots, from Hokkaido to Kyushu (listed under the respective companies and its divisions), complete with the marking code for each depot (for the original depot mark code in Japanese: katakana is for passenger fleet, kanji is for locomotives). Note that some depots are actually workshops that does not have rolling stocks allocated to the depot, which is noted by the usage of abbreviation instead of usual Japanese letters (like GK, HB, etc). I wrote the list with the following format: English Name - romaji for the depot's mark code (Japanese name of depot - original depot mark code) The list are: A. JR Hokkaido (北海道旅客鉄道) 1. Sapporo Division (本社鉄道事業本部) - Sapporo Depot - SaU (札幌運転所 - 札サウ) - Naebo Depot - NaHo / Nae (苗穂運転所 - 札ナホ/苗) - Tomakomai Depot - ToMa (苫小牧運転所 - 札トマ) - Iwamizawa Depot - IWa (岩見沢運転所 - 札イワ) - Hidaka Line Operation Center - Hi (日高線運輸営業所 - 日) - Naebo Workshops - NH (苗穂工場 - NH) -> only performs repair and overhaul *1a 2. Hakodate Division (函館支社) - Hakodate Operation Center - HaKo/Kan (函館運輸所 - 函ハコ/函) - Goryokaku Depot - GK (五稜郭車両所 - GK) -> only performs repair and overhaul 3. Asahikawa Division (旭川支社) - Asahikawa Depot - ASa/Asahi (旭川運転所 - 旭アサ/旭) - Soya North Line Operation Center - Sou (宗谷北線運輸営業所 - 宗) - Kitami Depot (北見運転所) -> does not have allocated rolling stock 4. Kushiro Division (釧路支社) - Kushiro Depot - KuShi / Kushi (釧路運輸車両所 - 釧クシ/釧) - Obihiro Depot (帯広運転所) -> does not have allocated rolling stock B. JR East (東日本旅客鉄道) 1. Morioka Division (盛岡支社) - Aomori Rolling Stock Center - AO / Ao (青森車両センター - 盛アオ/青) - Morioka Rolling Stock Center - MoRi / Mori (盛岡車両センター - 盛モリ/盛) - Hachinohe Operation Center - HaHe (八戸運輸区 - 盛ハヘ) - Ichinoseki Operation Center - IChi (一ノ関運輸区 - 盛イチ) - Morioka Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center (盛岡新幹線車両センター) -> does not have allocated rolling stock 2. Akita Division (秋田支社) - Akita Rolling Stock Center - AKi / Aki (秋田車両センター - 秋アキ/秋) - Hirosaki Operation Center (弘前運輸区) -> does not have allocated rolling stock *1b - Akita General Rolling Stock Center - AT / TZ (秋田総合車両センター - AT/TZ) -> only performs repair and overhaul *1c 3. Sendai Division (仙台支社) - Sendai Rolling Stock Center - SeN / Sen (仙台車両センター - 仙セン/仙) -> includes Miyagino Branch Office *1d - Shinkansen General Rolling Stock Center - SeShi / SD (新幹線総合車両センター - 仙セシ / SD) - Kogota Operation Center - KoKo (小牛田運輸区 - 仙ココ) - Yamagata Rolling Stock Center - KaTa / Yama (山形車両センター - 仙カタ/山) - Shinjo Operation Center (新庄運転区) -> does not have allocated rolling stock *1e - Koriyama General Rolling Stock Center - KoRi / Gun / KY (郡山総合車両センター - 仙コリ/郡/KY) -> includes both Koriyama Branch Office and Aizu-Wakamatsu Branch Office *1f 4. Takasaki Division (高崎支社) - Takasaki Rolling Stock Center - TaKa / Taka (高崎車両センター - 高タカ/髙) -> includes Kagohara Branch Office *1g 5. Mito Division (水戸支社) - Katsuta Rolling Stock Center - KaTsu (勝田車両センター - 水カツ) - Suigun Line Operation Center - SuI (水郡線営業所 - 水スイ) *1h 6. Chiba Division (千葉支社) - Makuhari Rolling Stock Center - MaRi (幕張車両センター - 千マリ) -> includes Kisarazu Branch Office, Narashino Branch Office, and Kamogawa Branch Office *1i - Keiyo Rolling Stock Center - KeYo (京葉車両センター - 千ケヨ) 7. Omiya Division (大宮支社) - Utsunomiya Depot - MiYa / U (宇都宮運転所 - 宮ミヤ/宇) - Oyama Rolling Stock Center - YaMa (小山車両センター - 宮ヤマ) - Saitama Rolling Stock Center - SaI (さいたま車両センター - 宮サイ) *1j - Kawagoe Rolling Stock Center - HaE (川越車両センター - 宮ハエ) - Omiya General Rolling Stock Center - OO (大宮総合車両センター - 宮オオ) -> includes Higashi-Omiya Center *1k - Oyama Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center (小山新幹線車両センター) -> does not have allocated rolling stock 8. Tokyo Division (東京支社) - Tokyo General Rolling Stock Center - ToU (東京総合車両センター - 東トウ) -> includes Tamachi Center *1l 9. Yokohama Division (横浜支社) 10. Hachioji Division (八王子支社) 11. Niigata Division (新潟支社) 12. Nagano Division (長野支社) C. JR Central (東海旅客鉄道) - written later - D. JR West (西日本旅客鉄道) - written later - E. JR Kyushu (九州旅客鉄道) - written later - F. JR Shikoku (四国旅客鉄道) - written later - G. JR Freight (日本貨物鉄道) - written later - Hope it enhances our knowledge ( ^_^)v Cheers, Arya N.B: this list is currently incomplete, additions would be done later ( ^_^)v Notes: #1 *1a -> Naebo Workshops are sometimes considered as part of Naebo Depot *1b -> Hirosaki Operation Center was previously coded as HiRo (秋ヒロ) before the abolishment of rolling stock allocation in this depot *1c -> Trains that overhauled or modified by Akita General Rolling Stock Center before April 1st, 2004 were labeled "TZ", as the workshops was previously named "Tsuchizaki Workshops" (土崎工場) *1d -> Miyagino Branch Office's task is managing all of Senseki Line's 205-3100 trainsets *1e -> Before April 2006, Shinjo Operation Center was coded as ShiU (仙シウ) *1f -> Koriyama Branch Office is located inside the station, while the main depot and workshops are located to the south of station area *1g -> The main depot of Takasaki Rolling Stock Center is actually not located near Takasaki station, but rather near Shin-Maebashi station, hence the depot's previous name was Shin-Maebashi EMU depot (新前橋電車区). It was combined with Takasaki #1 Locomotive Depot (高崎第一機関区) to become Takasaki Rolling Stock Center *1h -> This depot is located inside Hitachi-Daigo station *1i -> Kisarazu Branch Office bears MaRi code mark (and is considered as the main branch office of Makuhari Rolling Stock Center), but the others are not *1j -> Before March 13th, 2015 timetable revision that coincides with the opening of Ueno-Tokyo Line, this depot was known as "Urawa EMU Depot" (浦和電車区). Its old code mark was URa (宮ウラ) *1k -> Actually, East Omiya Center (東大宮センター) is the ones that holds all of rolling stocks being allocated to Omiya General Rolling Stock Center, but sometimes this is considered as the core part of Omiya General Rolling Stock Center itself *1l -> Tamachi Center was previously named as "Tamachi Rolling Stock Center", marked with code "ChiTa" (田町車両センター - 東チタ). After its closure and abolishment in 2013, the depot was subsequently merged with Tokyo General Rolling Stock Center. The former Tokyo Locomotive Depot (東京機関区 - 東) and Shinagawa Coach Depot (品川運転所 - 東シナ) were also located in this depot, but those depots were abolished after the complete abolishment of Kyushu-bound, Keihanshin-bound and San'in-bound Blue Train services #2

The preoder for the Tomix E7 Shinkansen has started @ 1999.co.jp http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10254818 3 car set http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10254824 12 car set Release is scheduled for March 2014 Order quickly unless your waiting for the Kato one like me ;-)