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First Commuter train - advice wanted


bc6

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I cant believe I still dont have any commuter trains in my collection they are all Shinkasens. Im looking for some advice on getting my for commuter train. Ive been looking at the Yamanote line but wanted to know are there any other lines I should be looking at. I have shinkasens from the east and west so I guess something in either region would work for me. I like the modern stuff, thanks in advance.

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You could also go for private rail commuter trains. MicroAce has tons of them and has recently started to release Tokyo subway rolling stock. Some of them very modern looking. Also, the new Toubu 50000 series has such a great design and modern slick detailing. If it wasn't for my modelling interest in local diesel, I'd definitely buy this set!

post-224-13569923408663_thumb.jpg

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Very hard question to answer.

 

- JR: 103 Series, 113 Series, 201 Series (the three are the iconic ones), 209 Series, 223 Series, E233, 311 Series (for a more modern look)

- Private Company: any hankyu, Tobu 1700 Series (pigy style), Hanshin, Keyhan, Keihin, Keikyu (love the red livery), Meitetsu. Just look at Microace's or Greemax's complet model. Tons of very neat stuff.

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Claude_Dreyfus

For the modern Yamanote line, look no further than the E231 EMU... If you want something iconic, if not neccessarily modern, then I would suggest the class 103, or if venturing Chuo-ways, then the 201.

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From my own personal preference the Yamanote E231 (that line runs the 500 variant), specifically the Kato version, would be my choice.

 

The Yamanote Line's E231-500 has 6 door (standing room only) rush hour cars, which add variety to the train. The full configuration has 11 cars, 3 with pantographs and 2 being rush hour cars. Kato's model is very recent, giving you flywheel drive, drop in DCC installation, and trouble free installation of lighting kits and close couplers. It's also a good runner (Kato has been making a whole lot based on the same design with just variation to the shell, i.e. E531, E231, E233)

 

As either a positive or negative point, the Kato version comes in 3 parts, which means you can get as short or as long a train as you want

 

4 car basic set

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10074237

4 car add on (with case for basic set)

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10074238

3 car add on

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10074239

 

If you like double decker green cars there are also several JR East lines with the same advantages as above, except that they run in 10 car formations with 2 double decker cars (E231 Tokaido, E531 Joban). The only downsides to these sets are that the basic set gives you 4 cars of which one is the green car (non-prototypical formation; it would have been better to have a 5 car basic set and put the double decker cars in a 5 car add on), and the double decker car has custom routing for the lighting kits (I've found it's difficult to get solid contact to prevent flickering).

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:wav: E231 Yamanote  :wav:

 

Really nice train and is with Shinansen the most known train outside japan. You can't go wrong with it.

 

Do you have a range of date for collection shinkansen? So you can looking for the trains that fit.

All modern types are listed in the postings above

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Guys thank you very much for your responses, I got lots of great suggestions for adding a commuter line. Im really looking at the Yamanote set & the JR East E233 series. Hopefully I'll pick something soon and let you all know what I chose.

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Did you pick yet?

 

Yup I sure did pick a commuter train. Although I'll always be a Series E231 Yamanote fan I had to go with something that wasn't such a hassle to put together set wise. So I decided to go with the Series E531 Joban line set, from what Ive read its a much more versatile line than the Yamanote or maybe that's my noobish thoughts lol. And there is a tie in with the Super Hitachi which is on my wish list for some day. Theres some interesting reading over at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dban_Line check it out.

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Mudkip Orange

Did you pick yet?

 

Yup I sure did pick a commuter train. Although I'll always be a Series E231 Yamanote fan I had to go with something that wasn't such a hassle to put together set wise. So I decided to go with the Series E531 Joban line set, from what Ive read its a much more versatile line than the Yamanote or maybe that's my noobish thoughts lol. And there is a tie in with the Super Hitachi which is on my wish list for some day. Theres some interesting reading over at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dban_Line check it out.

Good choice. I have the E531 Joban and it's a smooth capable runner.

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CaptOblivious

Did you pick yet?

 

Yup I sure did pick a commuter train. Although I'll always be a Series E231 Yamanote fan I had to go with something that wasn't such a hassle to put together set wise. So I decided to go with the Series E531 Joban line set, from what Ive read its a much more versatile line than the Yamanote or maybe that's my noobish thoughts lol. And there is a tie in with the Super Hitachi which is on my wish list for some day. Theres some interesting reading over at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C5%8Dban_Line check it out.

 

Just FYI, but Kato is re-releasing the Super Hitachi in February!

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