Ibaraki Shorty Planning (Trackplans)

[Cat]

Initial planning is under way for our modular layout which will combine a T-Trak mainline connecting to two extended loops specifically for running B-Train Shorties.

The mainline, using Kato track, running along the long back edge of the modules is JR East, Joban Line from Mito Station to Katsuta Station, and continuing off-board in both directions for standard T-Trak connections for use in bigger T-Trak set-ups .  The mainline modules will be T-Trak triples, 36" long and 17" wide.  The loops will stack 2 more modules vertically — each loop section, including the connecting mainline module, being 36" x 51".  I'll post a sketch later when I have time to make a somewhat cleaner one than what we've done up in pencil for the very initial drafts.

The B-Train loop coming off the Mito Station area is the Kashima Rinkai Tetsudo, and the loop coming off Katsuta Station is the Hitachinaka Kaihin Tetsudo.  These loops will use Tomix track to take advantage of the Mini and Super Mini curves and turnouts for running B-Trains.

 

My first questions are on power unit choices for the Shorties.  We have collected a few Shorties and power units over the years, and are gathering more now to meet our specific plans.  I understand that the Bandai powered bogie chassis are all-wheel drive and work better than the Kato ones; and that the upcoming Kato 4 wheel units will have better motors than the Bandai.  All our track will be level to make module connections easy, and we won't have to worry about small motors trying to climb grades.

 

We already have some Bandai 4-wheel Power Unit 1.  Will these work well enough if used in a pair of locomotives working together?  Or should we be thinking of upgrading to new Kato ones?  While not native to Ibaraki usage, we do have a pair of ED75 locomotives that came with a Koki set that could run as a pair.

 

We already have some Bandai bogie Power Unit 3.  We will need more, and I've set up various searches for them.  But since the Bandai power units are scarce these days, I'm pondering filling in with some Kato ones.  I would reserve our Bandai units for pulling longer strings of cars — Joban Line motor + 4 coaches, DD51 + 4 wagons, Cassiopeia + 8 coaches (and a 2nd power unit in the luggage car if needed).  Wondering if Kato ones might work well enough with smaller passenger trains on the Kashima Rinkai (motor + 2 coaches) and Hitachinaka Kaihin (motor + 1 coach)?  Or do they have trouble making it through turnouts without all-wheel drive?

 

[cteno4]

Cat,

 

one question on the 17” deep. Does the club you run with do larger corners? Usual setup use the 14 3/8” corner modules for running on single width 30” banquet so usually don’t want to do a deeper module than 14” (so as to have a space for cables down the center) unless you have matching modules that are skinnier to give the extra depth room for the other side.

 

also FYI triples do start to get bulky to transport.

[Cat]

The deeper module should be able to work with the New England group.  They had somewhat of a flexible layout at the Springfield show, and we got to chat a fair amount with the main organiser there.  Will probably see them again at another local Greenberg show in March.  He was OK with the description of our plans.
 
The Joban mainline will actually be set-up in reverse from standard T-Trak with the Kato track running along the back of the 17" modules instead of the front.  With the extra depth of the triple-deep 17" modules for the Shorty loops, our special table needs would be to create a small peninsula to hold it.  The reason for 17" is the T-Junction depth can be used to connect the Shorty loop by placing the turnouts in the center and fanning out: http://www.masterpiecemodules.com/T-trak_N_Scale__Specialty_Modules_Branchline.php#3

Yes, I'm aware of the bulky transport aspect.  The good news is these would be a lot less bulky than some custom miniatures gaming modular tables I've built and hauled around.  Now, the model of the Greater Boston Area for playing kaiju battles, that's a bulky one (also took a lot of help from a number of friends, we do more work on it each time we can get a large enough crew togehter to haul it to a show and get it up and running)!

 

Planning on attaching buildings and some scenic elements to the modules with magnets so they can pop off for better storage and transport.

[cteno4]

Cool

 

jeff

[Cat]

An assortment of Tomix track has arrived and proper analog layout planning has just begun.  Using actual track with actual B-Train chassis works very nicely.  Here is the test layout for a siding track at Oarai station which will hold a 3-unit train and should be able to fit the smallest Tomix double-sided platform at 37mm wide between the tracks.  The tiny 35mm long straight section breaking up the reverse curve is ample for the Shorties to slide through with no visible problems.

Next shopping step is to acquire one of the aforementioned platforms for a physical confirmation.  It will be needing some chopping down to Shorty length.
 
We are fans of buying actual catalogs every so many years because it is very pleasant to sit down with a glass of whisky and everything right there to look at.  This year, we splurged and got both the Tomix Guide 2019-2020, and the new Kato 2020 catalogues.  Being able to easily browse through everything and see the dimension notations is most helpful.
 

[Cat]

Getting a good start on kitbashing the signature buildings of the layout, especially the stations, is a key part of our track planning.  The first kit up for its bashing is Ôarai Station.

When we bought this Green Max station kit, the intitial thought was that the ground floor would provide the basis for the ground floor of Mito Station, and the upper floors would provide the fodder to dice and splice to make Ôarai.  However, once we had the kit in hand and could inspect all the parts, it was instantly clear that the ground floor walls of the kit would be perfect for the ground floor of Ôarai as well as using the upper floors for the upper level. 

 

After the wall pieces are cut to size and fitted, the next step will be to carve a brick texture into them.  That's a pretty straight forward process using a cork-backed ruler, XActo knive, and tiny dabs of putty.  So this  five storey kit will get drastically shrunk down to two stories.  We're not going for an exact scale model, just a good visual representation for use with the Shorty trains. 

Exactly how we build out the back of the building will be decided after we have a much more solid grasp of the track plan.  In the meanwhile, I can fully cut and carve the front and sides, with the back to be decided once the track and available space is settled on.  The back end of the model will definitely be a lot more shallow than the actual building.
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.315168,140.563241,3a,75y,270.68h,88.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swlXCZ55gLKct5YVWXhQ11w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
 

From these kit bits will come our station:

Edited February 10, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

Last night's project was a first rough draft of track placement layout for the Mito Yard Module.

The original idea was that we would use a transfer table in the middle of the module servicing yard tracks on both sides to get maximum yard capacity in a compact space.  In a 3' long module, this would have worked out for us with an asymmetrical design of shorter tracks on one side of the traverser and longer tracks on the other side with a matching longer bridge.  Three equal tracks would have been too short for 5 unit passenger trains.  Alas, we came up an inch short on being able to get an access track from the mainline to the traverser on the short side.

 

So on to Plan B then.  A more traditional ladder yard can fit in a 3' long space for Shorties, and we are happy to have the newly opened up triangle of space for scenicking.  The NTT Docomo building (the tallest building in Mito) will fit nicely by the side edge, and we can have a little crew area and parking lot for our JR East road vehicles.

 

Using the few turnouts we have on hand right now as measuring units, we laid out the rough track work.  Once all the actual turnouts for the ladder are in hand, I'll also look at shortening up the straight track segment on each of them.  It looks like I can safely shorten each straight section by 6-12mm.  The good math willing, we can match the turnouts to the narrow track spacing of the lovely Tomix yard set.

 

The Kato single crossover is the mainline tracks that will run across the full length of the module.  The actual piece there will be a left-hand crossover, not the right as shown.

 

On the prototype, there is a freight terminal just down from Mito Station, and a passenger yard just up from Katsuta Station.  For our operations, we're just combining that into one general storage yard for all the equipment.

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

Bit of a frustration the last few days trying to hunt down a clearance gauge for modern American equipment so that we can play T-Trak with others.  Autoracks and double-stacked container cars are popular on the show circuit.  We've always worked with tiny early steam equipment, and now Shorties for our foray into the 21st century, so big size clearances haven't been an issue before.

[rant on] Apparently the NMRA can't imagine anyone needing a gauge for any equipment after the 1970s, and NTrak can't imagine anyone needing a gauge with platform notches. [rant off]

 

I have seen photos of a plastic extender for the metal NMRA gauge, but my google-fu failed me in attempting to acquire one.  A helpful person on the T-Trak group was providing me with measurements, although in scale feet.  Luckily I made my saving throw and realised that he was presuming American scale feet of 1:160, not proper Japanese 1:150!
: 3
 

Applied math, rounded up to the nearest millimeter, and cut out my own widget.  If I did not fail my math quiz, 18' x 23' in 1:160 scale feet rounds up to 35mm x 44mm.  Now this evening we can begin planning for station layout. May well add a little extra clearance, but it will be most helpful being able to check for the minimum requirement.  Whee.

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

The last two days, we've done a first draft mock-up of the Mito Station module.  Very happily the track math worked out amazingly well for what we wanted to fit onto a 17" wide  T-Trak 3' long triple module.  In a pinch, we could have gone to 20" wide, but were aiming for 17".

 

Thanks to the branchlines being tight Tomix curves for the Shorties, we could fit in both the start of the branchline for the Ôarai Kashima Line off the deep side of the module, and a hint of the JR East Suigun Line off the short side.

 

We're not planning on extending the Suigun Line, but really wanted that curved track to the edge of the board for scenic interest.  It passes through a ravine that was originally part of the moat of Mito Castle.  The castle hill will go in that corner and the original castle gate that still stands on it.  The Suigun Line track that passes through Mito Station will serve as a holding track and continue beyond to Mito Yard.  We'll adjust Mito Yard accordingly for one of the tracks to flip the other way and connect to the station.  Looking closer at google views of the yard, we did spot Suigun's Kiha E130 cars parked there!  Now if we can get hold of an affordable E130 to cut down to Shorty size, that would be sweet.

Using our handy modern American clearance gauge, we see that the height of the platform roofs and overhead station parts will need to be raised to make allowances for playing T-Trak with others.
 

Edited March 29, 2020 by Cat

[cteno4]

Nice mock up!

 

yep I’ve seen others that were running with them full size trains on Ttrak raise up the roofs on kato platforms. They just stuck some like 1/2” sections of like 3mm plastic tube on the legs of the platform over the pins in the bottom. Then a little like 1mm piece in the bottom of the tube to pin into the platform. Just looks like tall concrete footer poles you see all the time under light poles and other structural uprights.

I don’t get running huge trains on Ttrak but it’s a thing here!

 

jeff

 

[Cat]

The best I can figure is that a lot of folks came over from NTrak for the more portable and easier to build T-Trak modules, but still basically wanted to play NTrak trains.

Mocking up physically with track bits and buildings has been really helpful for getting a good visualisation and has helped us quickly spot some initial ideas that would not work so well in reality.

[cteno4]

Yep spot on, just always looks out of scale with a 50 car train on small modules, causes the eye to draw back too much all the time and ruin the mini scene effect if ttrak. At least the green plank days are going away. Folks wanted ntrak lengths early on In Ttrak and would just do double or triples at times just painted green or brown as a temp solution. I tired for a while with big Ttrak setups to get folks thinking about doing multiple smaller themed layouts so there would be variety, more trains running and not give visitors mega fatigue that happens when you present anything in really large size, they zone out quickly. Also greatly reduces all the setup and electrical issues! Go few takers, everyone just wanted to see how big they could make each setup. I gave up, sigh.

 

im always preaching MOCK IT UP, MOCK IT UP, MOCK IT UP! We do it in design all the time and these are professionals with training and talent in visualizing things in their head! New and better ideas always erupt and you find the stupid gotchas in the best ideas your mind does not want to see -x it’s in love with the idea — but when mocked up its hard to ignore it!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Cat]

At the Springfield Mass show, I was very pleased to see that the New England T-Trak group wasn't running bare modules as filler, except for yard tracks that were well inside the outer ring.  Videos from recent shows in other parts of the country show that isn't the case everywhere. Bleah.

 

Over on the NTrak layout, there was a fun pair of modules in active progress.  The owner was actively reaching over from behind to work on building and sculpting long rock faces, so it was a fun interactive tutorial with anyone who wanted to watch and chat.

[cteno4]

That’s great and been the trend luckily! 
 

cool, having a module in progress is always a great demo!

 

when we did the layout at grand central terminal for japan week way back we were there 5 days like 10 hrs a day I started building some Tomytec buildings at the table as well as adding scenery bits, figures etc and folks had a great time watching and got them asking good questions and really getting interested in building stuff! Luckily Tomytec are so easy and it made everyone start to see “hey I could do that!”, then see how adding a few extra touches and figures and wow that became a little scene! Really was enjoyable.

 

at other shows I’ve fixed trains at the table and some folks were interested in what things were and how it worked but it was a little intimidating for some.

 

jeff

[Cat]

Working out the Mito Station module was the tricksier part of the mainline planning.  Having established the mainline track location on that module, the Katsuta Station module was much easier to do a quick mock-up.  There will be no cross-over track on the mainline in this module, that track piece is just very handy for nailing the 33m track spacing.

 

The front of the Kato Elevated Station Front is a perfect image for the front of the actual Katsuta Station, I'll just need to scratch-build a fancy swoopy roof to go on top.  The three tall buildings are place holders for the mock-up to show the skyline-defining tall buildings of Katsuta.  We have a trio of Outland buildings en route that are pretty close proxies of the actual buildings.

 

The Shorty branchline on this module is the Minato Line of the Hitachinaka Kaihin Tetsudo.  We've been following the Minato Line Supporters group on Facebook, it's a delightful source of daily photos, often featuring Mini, the Nakaminato Station's cat.  I've done some chatting with their moderator who likes the idea of approaching Bandai to see if they might make new Shorties for the colourful Kihas of the Minato Line!
: 3

[Cat]

After working out a solid draft mock-up of the Mito Station module, the Mito Yard Module plan needed re-working.  Having decided to add the Suigun Line track in the station, that track needed to be extended out into the yard.  The solution was simple — just flip the direction of the top track of the yard ladder back towards the station and adjust the track spacing from the mainline to match the island spacing in the station.  

We have no plans in the foreseeable future to extend the Suigun Line into its own operational modules, but the track itself helps add to the visual impact of the big Mito Station and it will also act as a storage track from the yard.  We can hold Joban or Ueno-Tokyo trains there and they won't look out of place sitting in the station.

 

Flipping that track around also opened up great modelling possibilities in the main yard.  In the space vacated by flipping the track, there is now room to do a small Koki Terminal.  In Shorty world, the trucks will have to be loaded at either end of the track, but there is room for a stack of containers and for a forklift to maneuver.

 

At the tail end of the ladder, we could have added one more 2-car track which would have looked nice for giving more depth to the yard.  But we have much better modelling need for that space.  The Mitodaikagura Shrine actually sits under a roadway overpass right near the yard.  The delightful things one learns through many reconnaissance studies of google maps!  We'll just move it to the other side of the road.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mito+Station/@36.3720558,140.4680087,169m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x60222500c0bf6ce1:0xbf1c6445ffbd8bd1!8m2!3d36.3707551!4d140.476308

 

Doing a physical mock-up certainly helped with this module.  Laying out the overhead road led to the "Aha!" moment of we need that space to put the shrine underneath.

 

On the mainline tracks, the single-crossover will cross the other way.  In front of the mainline tracks will be a roadway, then an embankment down to the walking path around the edge of Lake Senba and the boathouse there.  As we are setting our scene in mid-November for the fall foliage, we might have the only model scene of swan boats under bare cherry trees.

For our own full layout operations, this is the Mito Yard.  If we bring this module to join T-Trak layouts at shows, it will flip around to be placed up from the Katsuta Station module so that the lake side will be on the same mainline front edge as the two station modules.  There is a yard up from Katsuta, and they will gain a bonus lake in the bargain during shows.

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

Flipping the top yard track the other way for the Suigun Line also presented a great design benefit: it gave connecting track space so we could add the runaround track in the yard.  This way we don't have to take freight trains out on the mainline to do runarounds, which is nice.  And as a super benefit because this is a Shorty Yard with very limited size yard tracks, we will be able to set up just this module and create our own Time Saver type puzzles to play on it.

[Cat]

First draft mockup of the full Kashima Rinkai branchline is done.  The branchlines are pure B-Train Shorty land without the track constraints of the T-Trak JR East mainline.  

 

The Ôarai branch is designed for passenger trains of up to 3 cars long.  The KRT platform track at Mito Station can hold 3 cars, as can both tracks at Oarai station in the foreground here.  Two cars can board at each of the two small flagstop platforms in the middle of the greater Mito City area (or one full car and one end of two others if a full 3-car set stops).

 

The outer edge of the Oarai module itself is right at the ocean.  We've added a koki terminal facility in the front left of the photo at the Oarai Port that can hold 4 kokis, plus an extra inch of straight track to make un/coupling from the engine easier.  The track extending off the front of the front right side is a fictional rail expansion over the Kaimon Bridge for the vital Kashima Rinkai — Hitachinaka Kaihin rail link!  After the main modules are done, we will add a narrow 12" wide set of modules of the Naka River and farmland that will go between the two branchlines.  The Kaimon Bridge stretches over the mouth of the Naka River.  With that rail link, we will be able to run a large loop around the perimeter of the layout when we're not connected to a bigger T-Trak set up (the other side of the big loop connection uses crossovers to the Joban mainline).

The long cork rulers along the back mark the western edge of the 17" wide module.  The track on the left hand side completes a fictional loop back through the Mito City area.  Where that track curves very close to the side edge, we'll put a concrete wall to catch and retain any derailments so they don't hit the floor.  The track exiting on the right is the actual track heading up the farmland of the Naka flood plain.

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

Having worked out the Ôarai module track placement, we then went on to fill in the tracks crossing the middle module of Mito City, and then made some adjustments to the connecting tracks on the Mito Station board.

 

The fictional angled track on the left side has a flagstop platform that we are designating as Motoyoshidacho, which is the home of one of the Pizza-La locations we are modelling.  Across the tracks from the platform is the model base for what will be The Drunken Duck, Mito.  The grey Tomix generic office building is in fact a pretty good proxy for the new Mito City Hall which was built after 2011 when the old one was rendered structurally unsound.  The current Google Street view shows the new building.  Interestingly, the current Google satellite view is older and shows the old building being demolished.

On the right side, the flagstop platform represents the actual Higashi Mito stop.  Further beyond, the Steak House model does look a lot like the Steak Gusto on the outer edge of Mito; we've moved it to the inner edge of the track because it fits better there.  In the very first try at laying this track, there were a few 15º turns to add some squiggles.  But taking a second look at the satellite view, it shoots dead straight down the floodplain with nary a bend.  The Minato Line, which will be across the river, does have some slight wiggles along the valley, so that will make a nice contrast.

 

The blue blocky bits off to the side show the location of the Katsuta Bridge which will eventually cross the Naka River.  The river will be in two modules, a short 14" one (indented a bit from the other 17" wide modules) that can be used with our T-Trak only set-ups, and then a longer one to reach out to the coast.  The bridge is placed so that it will cover the crack in the river!

 

The pens and pencil stretched across the cardboard mark the edge of the 17" wide module, and the track beyond is the [re-adjusted] connecting track to the mainline and into Mito Station.

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

For a handy visual reference, this satellite view covers the layout area being modelled.  Some scene-compression being applied!
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mito+Station/@36.3431776,140.5586485,17662a,35y,7.61h,1.25t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x60222500c0bf6ce1:0xbf1c6445ffbd8bd1!8m2!3d36.3707551!4d140.476308

Edited April 12, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

The last several days, we finished up the first draft mock-up of the Hitachinaka Kaihin Railroad branchline, aka the Minato Line, running from Katsuta Station up the Naka River valley and out to the Hitachi Seaside park, plus a fictional extension to complete a loop back to Katsuta.

Mock-up starts at the Hitachi Seashore and getting the station planning in place.  On the front edge of the module in the right hand corner will be a portion of the big hillside flower garden of the Hitachi Seaside Park with a small corner of the parking lot behind it starting from where the bus is sitting.  Just to the left is Ajigaura Station, the current terminus for the actual  line.  There is a planned extension in the works which will add another station right at the park; so our scrunched scene compression covers both of those locations.  This is a small line, platforms and operations are only planned for up to two-car trains.

 

On the front center edge will be a portion of the beach at Ajigaura, and on the left front corner is the small port of Ozasaki.  Mock-up instantly showed that we will need to Shorty-up that Tomytec fishing boat!  It will be a relatively easy cut and splice to remove about 3/4" to 7/8" of hull length, and then it will look like it can get in and out of the harbour without needing a tug boat to assist.  The track exiting the side of the module behind the port is the fictional rail link over the Kaimon bridge at the mouth of the Naka RIver over to the Kashima Oarai line.

The bridge and river will appear much later when we add the Naka modules.  Next over from the port at the top of the Naka will be the Nakaminito Fish Market.

 

The turnout leading off the back corner is the lead tracks into Nakaminato Station and yard.

 

This line does have a lot of bends in the track as it follows the somewhat higher ground running along the coast.  To fit those bends into our plan, we had to use minimal straight easements between the reverse curves.  The Tomix 35mm track sections allow one truck and coupler to be fully straight before the curve reverses.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

With the Hitachi Seashore module done, we could then plan the track across the Hitachinaka City module connecting down to Katsuta Station.

 

On the front left is Nakaminito Station and yard.  Adding another exit out of the yard would make the overall footprint too long for our 17" wide module.  We are happy that this layout captures the feel of the real location.  Any turnouts further down the line would also be out of reach during operations, and good to avoid just for that reason.  The track along the Naka River bends slightly as it follows the natural contours of the higher ground up from the river, although not quite as bendy as the stretch along the seashore.  It exits the far side of the module to connect with the big curve approaching Katsuta Station.

 

On the right side is the fictional track completing the operational loop, and full of fictional goodies.

 

In the foreground at the location of an actual very large driver safety training course will be our Senshadou Federation office and tankery driving course.  Saunders University High School is out practicing with their Sherman tanks during this mock-up session.

 

Beyond the tankery course is a fuel depot that can hold 3 Shorty Takis, plus enough extra straight track to hold half an engine for smoother un/coupling with one truck and coupler straightened out.

 

On the other side of that track is an actual Daily Yamaziki, slightly shifted from it's real-world location to fit on board.  Across from it is the platform for our fictional stop at Higashiishikawa.  For this stop, we'll pick up the little Shorty platform post-house station by Cosmic: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10135617
Which looks like a very beefed-up version of an actual Minato Line stop, the tiny Kaneage Station house which sits right on the platform:
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3827044,140.5336805,3a,75y,165.61h,97.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAMoj-yOsS-BMJ41FSgSG_w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

Along the far edge of the module are other real-world models with locations shifted so they fit on board.  Behind the Daily Yamazaki parking lot is the Hitachinka City Pizza-La, and beside that is the Katsuta Drunken Duck.  Across from the Duck is a generic Tomytec corner office building which is fairly representative of buildings around the Katsuta station area.

 

The long cork ruler marks the back edge of this module.  A few building templates have been placed just beyond where they will be right in front of Katsuta Station, to make sure in the mock-up that we have sufficient room for the bus loop at the station with road access in and out.  In real life, the wide Showa Dori avenue extends from the bus loop all the way out to Hitachi Seaside Park in a very nearly straight line travelling about 6km.  In Ibaraki Shorty, the Showa Dori will have to be bent into a C-shape to make the journey, and reduced from two lanes to one wide lane in each direction; we will keep narrow dividing strips planted with flowers.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

A couple of days ago, we did the mock ups of the final two modules for the Naka River.  These will be for show use only; when we set up the modules to play trains at home, we don't quite have the space to include the river and the be able to get around the layout when is set up on folding tables in our parlour and with the Mito Yard extending out through the wide doorway to the dining room.

The big modules on either side need to match up with each other when the Naka is not in place, so the road approaches have to mirror each other.

 

After completing these, then I launched into a couple of days of tallying the total track needs, track on hand, and ordered the remainder today through HLJ along with some other goodies.

 

The Naka River isn't marked out on these mock-ups.  It will be about 5"–6" wide, running down the middle of the modules with slight bends along the way.  Even though the track on these is very minimalistic, it was quite helpful to do the mock-ups to get a good visualisation of road approaches and relative space available for scenic details.  The big modules on either side need to match up with each other when the Naka is not in place, so the road approaches have to mirror each other at the side edges.

 

First up is the mainline module.  This is a T-Trak single, 17" deep.  In the foreground is the Katsuta road bridge.  There will be a notch going 1" (half-way) under the bridge for the river connection between the modules.  The longer river module will have a matching dovetail protrusion made of U-channel carrying the river under the bridge.  This way, the modules' crack in the river will be hidden under the bridge.  For T-Trak set-ups at shows, the Katsuta bridge will be the back-side of the module with the river notch hidden (or if we're inspired, we can make a short U-channel plug with 1" of river to fill it in when the rest of the river isn't attached).

 

The right side of the river is the Katsuta side.  In the middle land area will be a small baseball diamond.  Beyond the Joban Line railroad bridge will be the Katsukara Shrine.

 

On the left Mito side, in the middle will be a cemetery, and beyond the railroad bridge will be a landing with rowboats pulled up on shore.

 

Here is the satellite view of the area; due to scene-compression, the Sakura River will not be appearing in this model performance (turned sideways to fit on screen):

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3738553,140.5118777,1649a,35y,39.5h/data=!3m1!1e3

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Cat

[Cat]

Finally is the 34" long stretch of the Naka River out to the ocean.  Doing this as one long skinny module will avoid other cracks in the water. 

 

The Kaimon Bridge crosses near the mouth of the Naka.  

On the front right corner will be the Nakaminato Fish Market.  Over the water on the front left corner will be their archrival, Ôarai Aqua World (a shorty version).

Beyond the Kaimon Bridge on the right side will be the urban area of Nakaminato with the outer edges of the town marked with some building bases, and on the left will be the small Nakaminato Marina.  Beyond both of those will be farmland.

As basic as this is, doing the mock-up was a big help.  Originally, we had been thinking the highway portion of the Kaimon Bridge would be in front of the tracks.  Reality check of the mock-up instantly revealed that the road, and its approaches from the other modules, had to be on the back side to make room for the Fish Market.  With the Fish Market base marked out, it then became clear that Aqua World would balance the scene very nicely.  Previously, we weren't sure if we wanted to do a shorty Aqua World or not.

Satellite view, also note that the Hinuma River will not be appearing, nor other bridges between here and the Katsuta Bridge:

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3355777,140.6002964,2605a,35y,280.27h,21.71t/data=!3m1!1e3

 

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Cat

[bill937ca]

This website of townphotos may be of interest to you.

 

https://townphoto.net/ibaraki.html

 

https://townphoto.net/rosen-ibaraki.html

Edited April 30, 2020 by bill937ca