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Carlos Filipe

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Carlos Filipe

Hi:

I've been a little too hasty in buying some Japanese rolling before researching, now I'm in trouble.

I intend to build a micro-layout, shelf style. Thought  to use a common theme, the shunting at a cluster of industries. I chose food processing to use boxcars. But cannot find anything Japanese to support the concept.

I attach a photo of a British layout entitled Little End that triggered my inspiration.

Could you fellow modellers help me in this situation?

Thank you for your time in advance.

 

post-1540-0-88300000-1431184849_thumb.jpg

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You have to move the era of your layout back to the good old JNR times, around the 60-ies, because that was the time many plants still used boxcars. The conept of intermodal container transport was developed after that and slowly replaced direct rail links.

 

For a non JNR reference, i would suggest the Choshi Electric Railway, which had a nice soy sauce operation mixed with passenger transport and still has mixed scrapheap of equipment of all eras and sources. Tomytec released most of their rolling stock and even their small freight loco was made by a company, so many small layouts depict this line.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chōshi_Electric_Railway_Line

  • Like 1
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Carlos Filipe

Yes that is my idea, to depict early 60s 

A DD13, 2 ED50something

1 caboose

some box cars: Re12000, resa5000, Wamu21000 and others.

Now I'm in deep trouble as I cannot find any photo reference to support the idea. It is odd as if there are refrigerated boxcars there must have been use for them.

When I mention Showa period railways it is even more scarce. 

I feel so silly as I only had 2 boxcars and without any research I just spent money on a locomotive and most of this stuff.... 

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Edited by Carlos Filipe
  • Like 3
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Carlos - a few thoughts.

 

It is your project, but I think British layouts like Little End are silly and would become boring to operate in a very short time.  I like micro layouts, but being ultra small is not always a benefit.

 

Just because you cannot find any images of Japanese industrial operations in the 1960's, do not give up hope.

Are you using kanji text?  I find that makes a big difference.  Actually, any search will work better using the language of the country you wish to search for / in.

 

Also, the images you want will often not come up in the Google results, and you might need to drill down in Japanese language pages.  One frustration I have is that these will often have long lists of the linked pages, but there is no obvious way to know which will be fruitful.  Something I will sometimes do is use the site URL for another Google search - especially if I got there indirectly, and then use that result to ask it to translate.

 

Here are some search terms that Nariichi (Model Train Plus) gave me:

 

For searching those JNR era freight thing, try below phrases.  It should give you something you might like.

国鉄時代の貨物列車

国鉄貨車

国鉄貨物列車編成

ローカル貨物列車

 

Please try below for shunting or something

入換専用線

専用側線

国鉄貨物操車場

 

Possibly - someone on the forum can give you links / search terms for layouts of the era you wish to model, which is also of interest to me.

 

Part of the problem is that is seems a far greater proportion of rail enthusiasts (not to mention modelers  ;-) in Japan (vs. other countries) are only interested in contemporary operations, and there are relatively few older photos on the web, and they are usually B&W - not a problem.  However, someone must be buying all the steam engines that are produced, so there should  be some Showa-era layouts hiding somewhere, and perhaps even industrial - shunting oriented.

 

However, in any event, as is often repeated, model railroading is a hobby, and you are free to do whatever you want with it, so you can create your own scene - just as you did with the mountain loop micro.

 

Since you are in an apartment, space is obviously a concern, but based on what you have purchased, I would suggest something like this.

 

A small diesel served freight yard, but with a connection from a main electric line, that disappears in the sky-board.  You can just place the poles on the tracks that are used by the electric engines.  A run-around track would be handy for shunting, but you may not have space for it.  In that case, the electric engine pushes in the cars to be transferred, then uncouples, picks up any to be taken away (from a different track), and departs.  Perhaps the diesel engine goes to the industries and picks up the outbound cars, setting them on a yard siding before the electric engine arrives.

 

There are also a few small industries around the yard, that the inbound cars are transferred to, and later picked up from.  If no run-around track, you will need to design this carefully.  Since you have little space, you can make the industries shallow, but my own opinion is that you can much better suggest an industry with say 1-3" of depth, which gives room for a loading dock, some relief to the building, external stairs (ubiquitous in Japan), venting or other pipes sticking out, etc. 

 

I don't see how the zero depth of photo/drawing structures in minimal layouts like Little End provide any sort of believable satisfaction to the person operating the layout, or a viewer if you wish to bring it to a show.  I think this could minimally be done in something like 300 mm X 1200 mm, but would be much better at perhaps 400 mm X 1800 mm - which might allow a run-around track, making operations more complex and fun.  You might need to make a compromise and use Tomix R140 or Kato R150 (trimmed) turnouts, which could restrict the equipment you operate.  Or, perhaps Peco SetTrack short.

 

I don't know your coupler preferences for shunting, but most Tomix engines are equipped for electronic uncoupling, but require a device in the track, just as Kadee requires the magnet.  However, you would need to manually uncouple cars not connected to an engine.

 

Don't think this:  "I've been a little too hasty in buying some Japanese rolling before researching, now I'm in trouble."

 

Instead - you've created an opportunity for yourself to do the research now, and come up with an imaginative design solution.

 

 

  • Like 3
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Carlos - a few thoughts.

 

It is your project, but I think British layouts like Little End are silly and would become boring to operate in a very short time.  I like micro layouts, but being ultra small is not always a benefit.

 

Just because you cannot find any images of Japanese industrial operations in the 1960's, do not give up hope.

Are you using kanji text?  I find that makes a big difference.  Actually, any search will work better using the language of the country you wish to search for / in.

 

Also, the images you want will often not come up in the Google results, and you might need to drill down in Japanese language pages.  One frustration I have is that these will often have long lists of the linked pages, but there is no obvious way to know which will be fruitful.  Something I will sometimes do is use the site URL for another Google search - especially if I got there indirectly, and then use that result to ask it to translate.

 

Here are some search terms that Nariichi (Model Train Plus) gave me:

 

For searching those JNR era freight thing, try below phrases.  It should give you something you might like.

国鉄時代の貨物列車

国鉄貨車

国鉄貨物列車編成

ローカル貨物列車

 

Please try below for shunting or something

入換専用線

専用側線

国鉄貨物操車場

 

Possibly - someone on the forum can give you links / search terms for layouts of the era you wish to model, which is also of interest to me.

 

Part of the problem is that is seems a far greater proportion of rail enthusiasts (not to mention modelers  ;-) in Japan (vs. other countries) are only interested in contemporary operations, and there are relatively few older photos on the web, and they are usually B&W - not a problem.  However, someone must be buying all the steam engines that are produced, so there should  be some Showa-era layouts hiding somewhere, and perhaps even industrial - shunting oriented.

 

However, in any event, as is often repeated, model railroading is a hobby, and you are free to do whatever you want with it, so you can create your own scene - just as you did with the mountain loop micro.

 

Since you are in an apartment, space is obviously a concern, but based on what you have purchased, I would suggest something like this.

 

A small diesel served freight yard, but with a connection from a main electric line, that disappears in the sky-board.  You can just place the poles on the tracks that are used by the electric engines.  A run-around track would be handy for shunting, but you may not have space for it.  In that case, the electric engine pushes in the cars to be transferred, then uncouples, picks up any to be taken away (from a different track), and departs.  Perhaps the diesel engine goes to the industries and picks up the outbound cars, setting them on a yard siding before the electric engine arrives.

 

There are also a few small industries around the yard, that the inbound cars are transferred to, and later picked up from.  If no run-around track, you will need to design this carefully.  Since you have little space, you can make the industries shallow, but my own opinion is that you can much better suggest an industry with say 1-3" of depth, which gives room for a loading dock, some relief to the building, external stairs (ubiquitous in Japan), venting or other pipes sticking out, etc. 

 

I don't see how the zero depth of photo/drawing structures in minimal layouts like Little End provide any sort of believable satisfaction to the person operating the layout, or a viewer if you wish to bring it to a show.  I think this could minimally be done in something like 300 mm X 1200 mm, but would be much better at perhaps 400 mm X 1800 mm - which might allow a run-around track, making operations more complex and fun.  You might need to make a compromise and use Tomix R140 or Kato R150 (trimmed) turnouts, which could restrict the equipment you operate.  Or, perhaps Peco SetTrack short.

 

I don't know your coupler preferences for shunting, but most Tomix engines are equipped for electronic uncoupling, but require a device in the track, just as Kadee requires the magnet.  However, you would need to manually uncouple cars not connected to an engine.

 

Don't think this:  "I've been a little too hasty in buying some Japanese rolling before researching, now I'm in trouble."

 

Instead - you've created an opportunity for yourself to do the research now, and come up with an imaginative design solution.

 

 

  • Like 1
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I don't know your coupler preferences for shunting, but most Tomix engines are equipped for electronic uncoupling, but require a device in the track, just as Kadee requires the magnet. However, you would need to manually uncouple cars not connected to an engine.

 

As i mentioned in another thread, normal rapido ones can be remote uncoupled with a mechanical uncoupler plate. This works everywhere and on any kind of rolling stock with a standard rapido, so you can place uncouplers at every straight piece of track.

 

Don't think this: "I've been a little too hasty in buying some Japanese rolling before researching, now I'm in trouble."

Your locomotives all belonged (or still belong) to private companies, so you can model a JNR/private exchange yard or a fully private line. The caboose on the picture is imho used for passenger rolling stock movement and also belongs to a private operator (and it's matching the 2 small electrics).

 

For the refrigerated cars, they are 50-ies to 60-ies and got replaced with containers around the start of the 70-ies. Most of them carried fish, either live or in ice, so the route is from a dock to a market or from a dock to a fish processing plant. Modelling an exchange yard could save you the rouble of finding the industries and allows you to operate from both ends (JNR and private), especially if one side is diesel only, while the other line is electrified. This allows a small passenger station too, with one platform belonging to the JNR and the other to the private operator. Juggling freight cars while running around passenger dmu/emu sets is even harder.

 

ps: For buildings, i think half relief is the best for tiny layouts, so you just build the front of the buildings and glue them to the back wall.

  • Like 1
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The caboose on the picture is imho used for passenger rolling stock movement and also belongs to a private operator (and it's matching the 2 small electrics).

It was used for full sized freight trains by Tobu. Cement, tanker cars and mixed freight. Tobu used to have pretty impressive freight operations, even street running in Nikko.

  • Like 1
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Das Steinkopf

Yes that is my idea, to depict early 60s

A DD13, 2 ED50something

1 caboose

some box cars: Re12000, resa5000, Wamu21000 and others.

Now I'm in deep trouble as I cannot find any photo reference to support the idea. It is odd as if there are refrigerated boxcars there must have been use for them.

When I mention Showa period railways it is even more scarce.

I feel so silly as I only had 2 boxcars and without any research I just spent money on a locomotive and most of this stuff....

 

Have you ever thought of freelancing, creating a fictitious railway is a great way of being able to run a wide variety of stock that would not normally be seen together, given that a lot of smaller private railways tend to buy second hand pieces of rolling stock this gives you the opportunity to run a rather eclectic collection. Looking at the rolling stock that you have purchased so far you could create a rather convincing fictional line, this also gives you some freedom when it comes to layout design with building and the type of operation that you would like within reason, rather than strictly adhering to an actual prototype. Edited by Das Steinkopf
  • Like 1
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Nick_Burman

Yes that is my idea, to depict early 60s 

A DD13, 2 ED50something

1 caboose

some box cars: Re12000, resa5000, Wamu21000 and others.

Now I'm in deep trouble as I cannot find any photo reference to support the idea. It is odd as if there are refrigerated boxcars there must have been use for them.

When I mention Showa period railways it is even more scarce. 

I feel so silly as I only had 2 boxcars and without any research I just spent money on a locomotive and most of this stuff.... 

 

For Tobu operations, I suggest researching Noda (where Tobu once served a HUGE Kikkoman shoyu factory) or Kuzuu (where there were a couple of short freight-only branches to limestone quarries and cement plants). Tobu's Nikko tram would also make an interesting subject (Tomytec did a model of one of the cars), especially the area around the Furukawa copper smelter, but it would require a different, smaller boxcab locomotive (Arumodel's loco would make a good stand-in).

 

On the JNR from, I would look no farther than the Tsurumi Line and its branches - lots of inspiration there.

 

 

Cheers NB

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Carlos Filipe

Thank you all for your insights, they are a valuable help. 

1. I'm tempted to try a compact layout like Little Ends for several reasons:

- Space - It starts to be problematic for me.

- Low budget (this has already blow up as I had this idea upon looking at 3 American diesel locomotives and 2 wagons... Not enough, I looked for Japanese, they're even shorter, I thought...

- Portability

- Originality.

Never before I started a project by purchasing what I think I need. It can and it did happened that I just bought a mix of "things"...

For the scenery I thought to represent the rear of a port fish market where fish would be loaded. Or a food processing plant. I have a feeling that even in the 60s probably the products would arrive to the station by truck and transferred to rail...

To avoid building a caricature I was hoping to concentrate on a particular spot. Either the imaginary  food processing or the station yard for loading this kind of goods.

Technically, I intend for low-tec. Analogical and if too complicated to install Kadees, I'll settle for manual uncoupling with a bamboo stick.

Japanese language unfortunately I tried, but couldn't progress. I speak 5 languages, but seems that age is unforgiving. But I'll copy/paste the suggested keywords in Kanji. I already asked the help of a Japanese friend that gave me some links but all I see are huge structures.

The idea of a fictional private line is rather tempting. I think it is the way to get around inaccuracies.  Another cliché coming up....

As a last solution I might build a series of micro layouts 320X150mm or 350X 150mm depending of using Kato or Tomix track.

Here is a link to a site with a very interesting modular system: http://space.geocities.jp/popoya2008/menu.html

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To avoid building a caricature I was hoping to concentrate on a particular spot. Either the imaginary food processing or the station yard for loading this kind of goods.

Technically, I intend for low-tec. Analogical and if too complicated to install Kadees, I'll settle for manual uncoupling with a bamboo stick.

 

I have some good news for you. In Japan it was and still is very common to have rails out to the docks, often operated by private companies (the type is called seaside railway, or 'rinkai tetsudo'). This allows direct loading between ships and railcars. Most of what is now the central Tokyo seaside was used as a giant port in the past, but nowdays only the Yokohama erea remains. So you can add a dock to the list of possible places where freight cars could go. In the country however, the freight and passenger stations were combined and loading was usually done on small stub tracks surrounded by high platforms next to the main station building. Small private lines are a common occurence in Japan and it was even more so in the past.

 

 

Analogical and if too complicated to install Kadees, I'll settle for manual uncoupling with a bamboo stick.

Japanese turnouts are power routing, so they are perfect for you. Tomix even has paved tracks, so you can install concrete covered rails without scrachbuilding them. Uncoupling can be done with the standard rapidos by installing remote uncouplers. The small pins on the underside of the couplers can be pushed up by a movable plate, which uncouples them. You can also glue small flat magnets on the underside next to the pins and use the Tomix uncoupling magnets. Some Tomix locos come preinstalled with the magnets, just watch the polarity when installing to match what's in the uncoupler track. The shortest turnouts are R140 for Tomix and R150 for Kato, but these might be too sharp for your 2 axle cars, so they must be tested first. The next ones are slightly larger and there are really large ones too. To save space, you can use 3 way and Y turnouts too.

 

The two most popular small modular systems are the t-track for Kato and the easy trolley for Tomix. (both have excellent english descriptions) For ideas about small layouts and structures, you might want to look at the Tomytec diorama collection as it has lots of small and old industrial buildings and they are one of the cheapest buildings you can get.

 

ps: I think getting a track planner software (like scarm or anyrail) or anything that works for you might help testing out ideas before you start to get the track pieces.

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Carlos Filipe

Thank you so much to those that took their time to helped. I have progressed a lot thanks to you.

"Rinkai Tetsudou!" there's a good pointer, bull's eye. 

That is exactly what I'm looking for, a small particular area, not the huge freight yards seen in most countries all over the world.

I must say that when I "found" the Japanese theme, what grabbed me was the chance of representing tiny portions of reality such as their trams (kidou). They have this differentiation between "normal rail -tetsudou - and kidou what we would call tram or light rail.

yesterday I "flew over" Japan with Google Earth, the modeller's best friend. One can get great info with bird's eye view and street view if knowing where to look at. I missed the detail of Yokohama, found Tobu-Tojo line, where the heavy electric locos I have worked, but is inland. Searched West above Fukushima, been down in Nagasaki and inland Sea, very nice scenery, but couldn't get much info.

Enough said about my "adventures".

Following your suggestions, I doodled some sketches of a short piece of rail serving a fish market in the harbour, a neighbouring shipyard (great for some general purpose boxcars, opens and flats and a food processing plant.

I place the viewer inland in that yard, looking at the building of the fish market able to have a glimpse of the sea and the moored boats.

I'm hoping to create a sense of wide space. That will depend on my ability to create a catchy backdrop. On the right, "casually" the second building of the shipyard will close the view, easing the transition from the 3D and the 2D backdrop.

On the right a "nasty" elevated track erupting abruptly form a tunnel will block the view to the access to the staging yard and will also help to make the transition between 3D and 2D. I anticipate some issues with cast shades, something I have to watch.

The yard not being long, allows for the diesel shunter to bring a couple of cars per time and deliver them or pick them in 3 locations.

I have a flaw in the design, I'm too short of track for the kickback operation when serving the food processing plant. When I star with test in a mock-up I'll try to solve that, eventually stretching the layout...

I think that the sketches will be more interesting as a way to explain my concept, than a long text.

post-1540-0-50637700-1431415324_thumb.jpg

post-1540-0-40276200-1431415337_thumb.jpg

post-1540-0-04407800-1431415349_thumb.jpg

  • Like 6
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Carlos Filipe

Forgot to add some details.

I'm going to use Peco code 80 and probably manually operated.

the conectiosn to the cassettes are done with a Kato short piece of track designed for transition to Atlas track. Read somewhere that Atlas and Peco track have the same profile, hope it will work. The purpose of these Kato pieces of track is to make the conection between the layout and the cassettes.

It is still a sketchy thought as I would prefer to gently remove the cassettes and replace them by others, in the event of having more ready to enter stage rolling stock. Or then I just attach the cassettes in the beginning of session and let thjem stay there, handling the rolling stock instead.

This time I'll install interior lighting to the buildings, they're a great scenic stunt. 

The base will be made with 2 layers of 30mm insulation foam sandwiched between two sheets of 3mm plywood. The cassettes will be built in the same manner.

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bikkuri bahn

This website focuses more on the modern age (late JNR to present), but breaks down freight rail facilties by type of material transported, with pictures of the rail-industry interface:

http://butsuryu.web.fc2.com/index.html

 

If you're interested in fish trains, there was a small operation in steam days from Onagawa Port in Miyagi, on a line going straight to the quay.  Website with a few pictures:

http://www5.plala.or.jp/stmlo9600/sl/sl114.html

http://www5.plala.or.jp/stmlo9600/sl/sl091.html

Edited by bikkuri bahn
  • Like 1
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Carlos Filipe

Thank you billuti bahn for the links.

Just browsed and there are very good photos helping me to visualise how it looks a fishing harbour and rail connections.

Somewhere in the texts I could read that after 1985 there was no commercial advantage to have tracks serving the fish markets of the fishing ports. That was my initial impression that trucks replaced the rail and from a certain period it was more economical to take the fish to the main freight yard.

That is why I'm trying to depict an earlier period, before cars took over. Besides the dimensions of infra structures and even of the rolling stock were smaller.

I'm posting some photos I particularly liked for its character

post-1540-0-89675200-1431508555_thumb.jpg

post-1540-0-23621100-1431508569_thumb.jpg

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  • Like 1
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Nick_Burman

Thank you so much to those that took their time to helped. I have progressed a lot thanks to you.

"Rinkai Tetsudou!" there's a good pointer, bull's eye. 

That is exactly what I'm looking for, a small particular area, not the huge freight yards seen in most countries all over the world.

I must say that when I "found" the Japanese theme, what grabbed me was the chance of representing tiny portions of reality such as their trams (kidou). They have this differentiation between "normal rail -tetsudou - and kidou what we would call tram or light rail.

yesterday I "flew over" Japan with Google Earth, the modeller's best friend. One can get great info with bird's eye view and street view if knowing where to look at. I missed the detail of Yokohama, found Tobu-Tojo line, where the heavy electric locos I have worked, but is inland. Searched West above Fukushima, been down in Nagasaki and inland Sea, very nice scenery, but couldn't get much info.

Enough said about my "adventures".

Following your suggestions, I doodled some sketches of a short piece of rail serving a fish market in the harbour, a neighbouring shipyard (great for some general purpose boxcars, opens and flats and a food processing plant.

I place the viewer inland in that yard, looking at the building of the fish market able to have a glimpse of the sea and the moored boats.

I'm hoping to create a sense of wide space. That will depend on my ability to create a catchy backdrop. On the right, "casually" the second building of the shipyard will close the view, easing the transition from the 3D and the 2D backdrop.

On the right a "nasty" elevated track erupting abruptly form a tunnel will block the view to the access to the staging yard and will also help to make the transition between 3D and 2D. I anticipate some issues with cast shades, something I have to watch.

The yard not being long, allows for the diesel shunter to bring a couple of cars per time and deliver them or pick them in 3 locations.

I have a flaw in the design, I'm too short of track for the kickback operation when serving the food processing plant. When I star with test in a mock-up I'll try to solve that, eventually stretching the layout...

I think that the sketches will be more interesting as a way to explain my concept, than a long text.

 

Nice!

 

 

Another possibilty which might fit your wants would be the Kishu Tetsudo, when it still ran all the way to Gobo - http://tsushima-keibendo.a.la9.jp/kisyuu/gobou.html. No fishe there though, as the customer at Gobo Port was a sawmill.

 

Although inland the Arita Railway (http://tsushima-keibendo.a.la9.jp/kisyuu/arita.html) also had a terminal at Arita which would fit your space. You might even want to model it in steam days - Tsugawa makes a model of the O&K loco used there.

 

 

Cheers NB

  • Like 1
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Carlos Filipe

Thank you Nick Burman for the suggestion. Great site, wonderful photos. But somehow I'm already "there" with another layout project in H0e. Something I designed already based on photo references of this type and even have been gathering some kits.
A little peep on that project.
sadly, I take too long time with my projects, I can't help it to constantly dream and sketch new ideas, but most probably many of them (if not the majority) will never be more than sketches.
For the one I'm researching now, I really look for something refreshing. I'm not interested on track "spaghetti" and complex yards.

post-1540-0-60113300-1431984053_thumb.jpg

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Edited by Carlos Filipe
  • Like 7
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Carlos,

 

Great sketches! Wonderful you take pen to paper like that, some so rarely these days and you have quite a talent there! Kudos!

 

Jeff

  • Like 1
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Carlos Filipe

Thank you cteno4.

I need to "feel" the layout I'm planning and for me works much better hand drawing rather than vector drawing. Actually I dismissed so much the use of 3D drawing that now I can no longer work with AutoCAD in 3D. Forgot the whole thing and now that I'd like to produce some for 3D printing, I cannot...

But I sketch a lot, try to see the layout form different angles and imagine the scene as a stage for a play, where trains are the actors.

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bikkuri bahn

Carlos, looking at your excellent sketches (they remind me of Iain Rice's work), you may find inspiration in Japan's narrow gauge (762mm) railways.  Photographic evidence tends to be more extant than 1067mm gauge stuff wrt to facilities, industries, and terminals, perhaps because it attracted more railfan interest.  The Oogoya Railway in Ishikawa Pref. has lots of atmosphere, and looks a bit like what you sketched in that last group of drawings.  Even if you stick with 1067mm prototype, you can get ideas for the "feel" or "railroady" atmosphere of the scene by looking at the pics.

http://homepage3.nifty.com/m_horikoshi/3_7NarrowGauge/_Rn_16_00_Ogoya_2.htm

http://homepage3.nifty.com/m_horikoshi/3_7NarrowGauge/_Rn_17_00_Ogoya_3.htm

http://homepage3.nifty.com/m_horikoshi/3_7NarrowGauge/_Rn_18_00_Ogoya_4.htm

*this website has many more excellent pics of other railways in the JNR era.

  • Like 2
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Carlos Filipe

Beuatiful phots in these last links.

Thank you again, bikkuri bahn.

I have been collecting some kits in H0e that look more for 760mm gauge than metric.

Edited by Carlos Filipe
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Carlos,

 

I do not know what space limitations you are working with.  However, if go to "https://www.google.com/#q=lgb+ceiling+shelf+layout" you might find a solution.  About a decade ago, "Model Railroad" magazine had a short article on an N or HO scale layout built on an elevated (6' / 2m) shelf inside a small closet.  If I remember correctly, he used a mounted video camera to watch the action.

 

Also, in the US, some manufacturers move their product straight from their processors into covered hopper cars and keep them warehoused"in their own rail storage yard.  When an order comes in, the hopper cars are sent to the next processor who uses his siding as the feeder for their plant.  This is used for "solids that flow" which can be vacuumed from the covered hopper cars.

 

The above is also done for non-flammable liquids.  I've seen pictures where the tanker cars have hoses (and pumps) that are serially linked so product moves directly from the siding to the plant.  I believe that the hoses are permanently attached to minimize impurities.

 

Mark

Edited by toc36
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