Shinkansen Integration: How Do You Do It?

[ATShinkansen]

I thought I’d open the floor for everyone to share their preferences on how you run your Shinkansen with your conventional trains.  Do you run them on separate, dedicated lines like the prototype, or does everything share the same tracks?  I personally fall into the second category, because to me the layout feels more like a single cohesive system.  It also saves space on trackage if a single two-track line is all you have room for.  In such a scenario, though, I’ll probably treat the Shinkansen trains as running conventional limited express services for obvious reasons.  If I have the option for a second line, incorporating the viaduct track sections, they might have the opportunity for higher speed running (only around 100-120mph), but yard and station trackage will still be shared.  This would allow for greater flexibility in operation, perhaps running the layout as a twice-around for certain trains.  I won’t even try to explain how they manage to operate on the same track despite the gauge difference. 😛 

[railsquid]

The "main line" on my layout consists (mainly) of an elevated double-track loop, which is nominally part of the Chuo Line, but it's just about plausible enough (with a bit of imagination) for a Shinkansen route when I'm in the mood for running those.

 

One day when I have the time and space, my Ultimate Dream Layout™ will most likely have a dedicated loop for Shinkansens, but probably just a scenic running section and not a station, so I can watch them running past at speed.

[Martijn Meerts]

I plan on a double track loop dedicated to shinkansen. They'll only really be visible at the station though, so they'll be running nice and slow. Still not sure of I want to go for 2 tracks or 4 tracks for the shinkansen station. 4 would be more interesting, but would also take up quite a bit of additional space which I might need for the non-shinkansen ones. I also plan to have a section of the shinkansen line be visible somewhere in the mountains. Just a short bit between 2 tunnels where it can go at a bit higher speed.

 

Since I want to be able to run 16 car shinkansen, it's a bit of a challenge...

 

[railsquid]

How about a Shinkansen station with 4 tracks, but with the two central tracks for passing services?

[VJM]

My layout has 3 or 4 tracks, with the two "centre" tracks appropriate for big Shinkansen running.  I suppose I can run something like an E6 on the outer track, where the prototype does appear to run as a Super Express of sorts and it wouldn't really look out of place.  My centre tracks don't pass through station or yard facilities normally, although they are reachable if I direct trains onto the outer track.

 

My layout started life designed as a large floor running layout, so it doesn't really follow prototypical separation or other real life requirements and features.

[chadbag]

Personally, for now, I just run what I want to run and don't worry about prototypical separation.

 

For my "  Ultimate Dream Layout™ " (props to @railsquid for that) I may pay more attention to it.  But even then, I don't know if it is worth the effort, for myself.  Heck, my Euro section will be connected to the Japan section and I expect a cross over of visitors to either side once that layout gets started in a few years (waiting for our move next year to even start contemplating).

[grumbeast]

I'd like to be able to run them separately, but the Japanese layout is only going to be a foot wide but modular (a bit t-trackish)

What I might do is make one side of the loop viaduct track for Shinkansens, and the other side for limited expresses.  Just have to make 

sure that you don't look too closely at the opposite side that your running.  The other thing I have thought about it having the deadicated Shinkansen loop up high and the conventional lines low.. but thats a lot of track and not much space to do it (though I might hide some of the lower level lines in embankments to create some visual separation.

[cteno4]

Yeah this gets to be a challenge to have have both likes and properly separated. We have struggled with this for the last like 14 years with the club layouts. Really needs space to do so, like a minimum of 4’x8’ (and that's super cramped). We have always been like 4’x12’-14’ or the newest layout 5.5’ x 11’-18’ to get in two viaduct shinkansen tracks and 2 ground regular/express tracks. Anything smaller and it’s really cramped and shinkansens are sort of chasing their tails. Shinkansen yards we have always hung off the layout as they just take up a huge amount of space on the main layout, especially with longer ones. We always likes having a big shinkansen station and having two passing tracks in it to store 2 more trains there.

 

we have tried a lot of ideas for sort of Ttrak with shinkansen lines on them as well with a rear viaduct and ground tracks in front, but those modules and layouts get large fast requiring a 6’ wide, two table wide setup and big ass corner modules and deep modules. And you get stuck with loops only

 

We also looked at a thin double viaduct Ttrak setup that just had a shallow module design with a thin strip of scenery in front of the viaducts. Then the ideas was to make two intersecting loops with a shinkansen loop and a regular Ttrak loop with special interface modules at the junctions of the loop. But it all gets big and complicated fast.

 

a very long time back I had designed a double n trak module to do a large shinkansen station on the main line and sunken module bed 3’ wide (instead of the regular 2’ depth, it’s an alternative) with 2 ground level loops there independent of the ntrak main line. Basically a 3’x8’ layout with a shinkansen line running thru it to the rest of the ntrak layout. Was just about to start construction on it when I met the other japan Modelers in the area and we started JRM.

 

ive done a scad of Ultimate Dream Layout™ designs over the years for the house here. Again they get big to have a proper shinkansen line in them. If found doing the British hiding half the shinkansen run in the back helped a lot to minimize dominance of the shinkansen line and let the trains disappear a lot to limit the visual running in a loop feel. I did one plan with a massive 8 track 16 car shinkansen station in the center and two loop back sections off each end. It was interesting as you sort of ended up with two distinct sixties/regions on either end but ended up 22’ Long which was a challenge to fit in the space. I think it was a phase where I really wanted a real sized station!

 

Proper shinkansen track also tends to dominate the scenery big time. When one of members had a professionally designed and built layout done for his home he decided not to do the classic shinkansen line. There is a single long loop track that goes thru a sort of small shinkansen type station but both the track and station can sort of be dual use with shinkansens and expresses. There is also a second shorter loop. He also kept the yards and sidings to a minimum so it’s mostly scenery dominating the layout, not track. To fit in shinkansens, regular, sidings and yards in even a good sized layout the track really dominates and scenery can get more isolated into islands. It’s always a trade off...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[ben_issacs]

Folk's,

I'm a member of a small Japanese model railway group here in Melbourne.

We run layouts at exhibitions, T-Trak, J-Trak, and a big scenic layout, Tanoden.

For the first two, there are basically two track tail chasers, and the shinkansens run on the same double tracks as do the normal n.g. trains.

On the Tanoden layout, there is an high-level double tail chaser just for Shinkansens (although we might sneak a Ltd. Exp. there sometimes), and then there are smaller layouts at either end, one for trams the other for the n.g. Japanese stock.

At exhibitions, we are basically an entertainment for the general public, who don't care whether a Shinkansen and a n.g freight are running on adjacent tracks, as long as something is moving!

If I had an N scale layout, I'd run anything and everything on the same tracks. 

Finally, it's all up to what you, as an individual, is happy with, and has the space to build your fantasy layout.

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

 

[Lina_Blue]

Mostly because I only do temporary table or floor layouts, I have the luxury to decide anew each time what I would like to run primarily.

 

But If after a commuter layout has been setup, and I have reasonable free space and track, I build an additional elevated double track loop, may even include a viaduct station, and then have a pair of Shinkansen running on it as background for the main event.