Sheffie's first layout

[Kamome]

Tomytec produce some interesting short rural platforms either in modern form or steam/early electric era. I’d say it’s worth having some sort of passenger offering, even if it’s for a single car, to add some running variety.

 

I’m currently making a little display with a modern rural station as I was inspired by the model. It is only a car length long, perfect for this infrequent Kiha 40 service. 

[Sheffie]

22 hours ago, Kiha66 said:

The kato rural station ... can be combined with the freight platform set (as well as the normal rural platform set) and looks quite nice doing so. 

 

When you say "rural platform set" which one are you talking about?

Do you mean the "one sided flag stop platform"?  https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10066267 or https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10066264 for example (other variations available, but some are sold out)

 

Now that I have a physical train, it's clear that I need about (248+124)mm platform space for the coaches.

Edited January 29, 2019 by Sheffie

[bill937ca]

Tomytec platforms:    https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/list/160/0/1?ItemSeries=Building+Collection

 

Tomytec items often sell out and then are reissued in different colors.  If you can't get the colors you want it is possible to repaint the irem.

Edited January 29, 2019 by bill937ca

[Kiha66]

Sorry, I meant the rural platforms.  The kato rural station only works with the rural platforms, as they use a much smaller and narrower spacing than the city platforms.  (this is actually based on JNR prototype, as the rural platforms were quite a few cm lower and narrower than those found in larger cities, although I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head)

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10003170

 

Based off your needs, probably getting a tomytec rural station would be a better bet and take up far less space, while also being much cheaper.  Sadly it wouldn't connect to the freight platform, but I think the freight platform looks quite good by itself on a siding.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10308195

[Sheffie]

I just couldn't get to like the look of the Tomix rural station models, especially their rural freight station. Between the wonky roof panels and the not really upright support beams, they just looked too much like something carved out of clay by a rather clumsy person. Looking at it now, Kamome's image above looks a lot nicer than the sales photos I saw, but for me it's mainly about the freight, not the rural passenger service.

 

So... I'm going to go with the Kato rural freight station, and I'm going to put it on the main line, next to the road crossing, so that it's pretty much "front and centre". It's going to function as a "halt", in British terminology, just a tiny little jewel of a stop where one or two cars can be unloaded. Behind it there will be a warehouse (which the road crossing will naturally lead to) and a freight switching yard, allowing me to take different freight wagons around the loops. There's a possibility of a future upgrade using either the rural platform set (currently unavailable) or the rural platform extension set (ditto) on either side of the main line, assuming there's space for that.

 

But all this shopping for buildings led me to the wooden engine shed (https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10003179) which I really liked the look of. So in a couple of months I will be buying a little bit more track, and ordering that. I've added a fourth siding to the switching yard to allow the engine house to be positioned facing towards the front of the display, and provide a nice focal point for the right-hand half, which was pretty bare up to now. I'm a little disappointed that the engines will be going into the shed forwards, but I didn't want the shed on the left had side as well as the road, station, warehouse, sidings, bridges, tunnel, and hill i.e. every other point of interest in the layout.

 

Honest feedback though. Are there too many points in this layout now? Is it trying too hard? Does it look too weird?

[Kiha66]

Looks good to me!  The great thing with unitrack is you can test the arrangement beforehand and see if you like how it operates before having to build the entire layout.

[Sheffie]

I decided on a redesign of the inner parts of my layout. The reversing lane is gone, and I’m no longer spending all that track on getting locomotives into the engine shed facing forward. 

In the snapshot, I’ve parked everything where it’s supposed to live. The EF510 is sitting where the engine shed will go, and the freight cars are on siding #2 of the new cleaner freight yard area. 

 

Siding #1 should be long enough for 4 Koki wagons, should I choose to go with that idea. 

 

Siding #3 is free for freight shunting operations. If I ever get my hands on a Hoki 2500 or 9500, it gets dibs. 

 

Siding #4 will be the parking spot for the E127 commuter train. 

 

There’s room between the engine shed and the banetsu monogatari for a steam locomotive support area, if I want to get one. 

 

That leaves the middle area free, for now. I expect there will be some trees, and maybe some slopes. 

[Sheffie]

Oh, I forgot. There will be a short platform for tourists to get on/off, which will be opposite the current freight yard. This is right on the edge of the layout, but it's also right in front of the controller, so it's a nice spot for trains to stop.

[Kiha66]

Looks great Tim!  I really dig the separate shed area with the parking for the tourist train.  Gives off the feeling of a smaller but busy line, like the engine facility on the Oigawa railway. 

[Sheffie]

Okay, revision time!

So much has changed.

• The tunnel is now on the outer line. This will just be so much simpler to build.
• The mineworking has moved from the northwest corner (back of this pic) to the southeast.
• There's a separate siding that runs parallel to the main freight yard. This is going to be reserved for parking the container train, and will have room for an impressive 5-or-very-possibly-6 Koki-107s.
• There will be a small passenger platform on the outer line, which will allow passengers to embark from the E127 2-car rural service, and a freight platform on the inner line, which will unload thoroughly anachronistic parcels and other goods from the 3-car local freight train. The platforms are all by the road crossing, on the left of this pic.
• The Banetsu Monogatari coaches will now be parked on a siding in the freight yard. The C57 Steam Locomotive will be parked just outside the engine shed. I'm still weighing the options for water/coal facilities here.
• The line beyond the C57 SL will be disused—and, indeed, quite unusable, because it ends in R117 curves. I plan on getting rust pens, grass tufts, bushes, or anything else I can think of, to make it thoroughly overgrown. It will end, of course, at the disused mine entrance, which a short piece of Z-gauge track will run into.
• The mine entrance will be at one end of a long, wooded hill that will divide the layout and encourage the viewer to see this is not just as one loop of track but a line winding through a mountain valley. (If I can possibly manage it, I would like to create the illusion that the tunnel entrances are actually at the opposite ends of the valley. A bit of a tall order perhaps.)

Edited March 8, 2019 by Sheffie

[Sheffie]

I’m redesigning this again. 

 

If you look at the rendering above, you’ll see four parallel sidings. That grew to six as I added points, in an effort to maximize the total length of rolling stock that could be stored. 

 

The problem with that approach is that it was quite soulless. It didn’t make me happy. And each train was assigned to a siding based on length rather than aesthetics. 

 

So the redesign is underway now. Goals:

- separate cargo loading from rolling stock storage

- allow some wiggle room so the track can meander through trees where possible 

- separate passenger and freight trains

- take advantage of the full layout size

 

I’ll post a picture when it’s taken shape more. 

[Sheffie]

So, here's what I'm thinking of right now.

 

This shot is from the east end, and shows the rolling stock and engine storage sidings

 

The engine shed is on the right, and passenger / EMU sidings are on the left. Between them is a tiny siding for the C57 SL. The wiggly siding will store the industrial freight train when not in use. And the wiggle, of course, goes around the end of the lake.

 

This is from the west end and shows the station area:

On the left are two long sidings for Kokis, which will be unloaded in the large triangular area. The short siding ending in the concrete buffer will be the local freight siding, and will be surrounded by the combined freight/passenger platform. The passenger platform will extend along the main line past the crossover. Also in this area, right in front of the camera, will be the old freight warehouse. Off screen to the left will be the hill. I still haven't decided whether to put both curves into tunnels or just the outer one. I also don't know where I might do the abandoned mine thing. That's been dismantled anyway. Considering how shoddy its construction was, it is probably best if I build another one customised to its new location.

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Sheffie

[valkyriepm]

Love to see the evolution of the design 🙂

 

Martin

[Sheffie]

Things that I like about this design:

- there is room for expansion in the rolling stock area, if I wanted to get another nice passenger train. 

- there is more than enough space for all my Koki wagons on the freight sidings, but they don’t encroach on the hill/tunnel area

- there is plenty of space for a combined container yard, freight loading area, and passenger pickup area

- the inner loop is no longer a simple flat oval. It has a wiggle before each turn, which makes it feel a little more natural

- I’m going to have a lot of opportunities for planting trees around the different areas

Edited April 16, 2019 by Sheffie

[gavino200]

12 hours ago, Sheffie said:

So, here's what I'm thinking of right now.

 

This shot is from the east end, and shows the rolling stock and engine storage sidings

 

 

 

 

Are you going to control those switches by hand? Or use electrical switches? 

 

If by hand, no problem. If you use switches you'll find that choosing the right combination of switches for each terminal branch line can be a PITA. At least that was my experience when I had a setup like this.

 

Otherwise it looks great.

[Sheffie]

2 hours ago, gavino200 said:

 

Are you going to control those switches by hand?

 

Yeah, I think it’s not worth the effort of wiring everything up and the expense of all the controls. The double crossover has a remote, and I’m happy about that, but I think that’s as far as I want to go. 

[DanielMackay]

Sheffie, I appreciate learning from your process. I don't have room for anything (semi-) permanent yet, so watch design evolutions with interest.