Yūrakuchō

[Kiha66]

The 215 might not be the most conventionally attractive, but they sure are fun looking!  Pitty kato or tomix never made them.

[JR 500系]

Yeah i missed the one opportunity that was a micro small window to grab a 215s off the 2nd hand market when there were news of the model being released... The sets were going for reasonable prices due to the re-release news, and only to see a hike when the news that they wouldnt be reproduced anymore... 

 

I can only see the horror on the faces of the owners that had sold them off and to hear news of the ceasation of the re-production.... 

 

Great project by the way! Keep at it and thanks for sharing!

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Pretty sure they did 1 re-release of the 215, considering there's a version with the standard grey box, and a version with a pink box. And I don't mean the cardboard sleeve, but the actual hard plastic box.

 

[Kamome442]

14 hours ago, railsquid said:

Keep up the good work with Yurakucho

 

Thanks railsquid, there is plenty more to come! I should have my first attempt at track expansion joints to share soon. I am practicing custom street lights and spring tensioners for catenary with some aluminium tubing too.

 

14 hours ago, railsquid said:

sadly my routine no longer involves weekly passes through the station so won't be able to help with the precise location of rivets etc. 😉

 

Ahh that's ok, I couldn't do that to you anyway! I have more than enough rivets to play with already 😬

 

I should have the elevation done this week and then I can share making the plan view.

[Kamome442]

14 hours ago, Kiha66 said:

The 215 might not be the most conventionally attractive, but they sure are fun looking!  Pitty kato or tomix never made them.

 

It is certainly quirky Kiha hopefully it will be seen in model form again one day.

 

7 hours ago, Martijn Meerts said:

Pretty sure they did 1 re-release of the 215, considering there's a version with the standard grey box, and a version with a pink box.

 

I got really lucky with that one! I managed to grab a ten car set on the second run with a grey box. I did however miss the new colour 251 series 😬 I hope there will be another run of those in the future. At least my Saphir Odoriko has been shipped and a reservation for a E257 has been placed.

 

12 hours ago, JR 500系 said:

Yeah i missed the one opportunity that was a micro small window to grab a 215s off the 2nd hand market

 

There have been a couple of times I have been to slow to grab a bargain, a full 11 car Suica 10th Aniversary E231 would have been lovely but not at the prices they turn up for these days. An E351 series Super Azuza would have been nice too, I have no need for one but it was a stunner. 

 

12 hours ago, JR 500系 said:

Great project by the way! Keep at it and thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks JR, it's great to share my work and get some inspiration from other threads along the way.

[Martijn Meerts]

5 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

I got really lucky with that one! I managed to grab a ten car set on the second run with a grey box. I did however miss the new colour 251 series 😬 I hope there will be another run of those in the future. At least my Saphir Odoriko has been shipped and a reservation for a E257 has been placed.

 

I got one as well in the grey box, but I don't think I've ever ran it, not even to test it 😄

 

[Kamome442]

On 3/26/2021 at 9:09 PM, Martijn Meerts said:

I don't think I've ever ran it, not even to test it 😄

 

I have to be honest to take that picture was only the second time I have taken mine out of it's box. Hopefully there is not an abuse hotline for the 215 series or we could both be in trouble. 🙃

[Kamome442]

I quite like this one: "Since no one is perfect, it follows that all great deeds have been accomplished out of imperfection". – Lois McMaster Bujold

 

I decided a while back I would try and share progress each week, a slight challenge this week as I have very little progress to actually share! Oh well, here goes anyway 🤭

 

I did get around to finishing drawing up the bridge elevation. I say I have finished the side elevation but that isn't 100% true, it would be better to say I have finished a side elevation. 

 

It would seem each side wall is slightly different to its neighbour, this can be seen in the picture below.

Source: Apple Maps

 

On 3/13/2021 at 12:01 AM, cteno4 said:

You know if you miss one rivet now we will be all over you! 😜

 

I did plan to leave one rivet off just for you Jeff, but it looks like JNR beat me to it!

Source: Google Streetview

 

I have started trying to work out the plan view, this is the process so far. I will do a proper write up of how I created once it's finished but for now I thought I would share a sneak peek. I have colour coded the sidewalls, on the left so I don't accidentally mix them up while moving things around. 

 

This is by no means the final dimensions for the bridge, I started with a screen shot scaled to the correct size work out the width. This was where I first noticed not everything was that simple. The bridge is on a curve and it looked like the side walls are staggered.

Source or original image: Apple Maps

 

Seen above, the black lines indicate the walls. When I lined it up at the bottom it was out at the top. However at the other end of the bridge it lines up a little better. If you look at the second image of this post the ribs on the side wall behind the forth track appear to evenly spaced. However the spacing on the left most rib at front is much closer together. As seen below. My current feeling is that each span is a little longer than the last until you get even spacing by the last rib.

Source: Google Streetview

 

I double checked by looking at the underside of the bridge, the ribs appear line up from one side to the other. I assume if the sides were just staggered you would see a stepped pattern for each track as the position of the rib moves over for each span?! I will adjust my drawings this week to see if changing the length of the spans fits a little better.

Source: Google Streetview

 

I have also continued gluing the etches I already have, things are slowly taking shape. I don't think I have ever shared and image of the parts under construction before. As there are so many variations for each design it wasn't really worth wasting time trying to make lots of jigs that would only be used once. I did consider trying to make a jig that was adjustable but in the end I just used magnets. The simplest solutions are often the best! In the foreground supports are being added to the lower section that sits under the track bed. At the rear an identical section now upside-down being glued to its track bed.

 

I use a two part epoxy applied with a cocktail stick or pin to bond most parts together. Initially I thought I was loosing my mind when I kept finding nothing on the end of the pin I was sure I had just dipped it in the resin. I eventually remembered the resin was reinforced with steel powder, it was around that time I started noticing lots of little grey dots on all the magnets. Oops.

 

Joe

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Kamome442

[Kamome442]

I am about to start writing up the second part on how I design a bridge ready to post in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile I thought I would share a quick pic of a Yamanote line bridge getting its first test fit. It still needs side walls but that is all as this particular span will be open to the road beneath.

 

Slightly closer shot of the details.

[gavino200]

58 minutes ago, Kamome442 said:

I am about to start writing up the second part on how I design a bridge ready to post in the next couple of days.

 

That would be very much appreciated!!

 

Beautiful work as usual!

[Sheffie]

This is hugely impressive

[Kamome442]

Thank you gavino, thank you Sheffie, your kind words are much appreciated.

It took a day longer to compile than expected but here we go. Oh and I apologise in advance this is a long one.

 

How I design an Etched Bridge Part 2 - Creating a plan view and and working out the cross-section 

 

I would like to begin by saying this bridge has driven me slightly insane. When I started this I thought I've drawn up a few bridges now, I have a pretty good idea of how it all works, it will be nice to share what I am doing and show how easy it is! It has been far from simple I can however show a couple of the problems I encountered and the way I went about working out what was going on. The first image is the completed side elevation for each of the side walls, the one at the top of the image being the furthest away from the front of the layout and the bottom being the closest. 

 

The design for these has been revised several times and may still get a few last last minute alterations. I like to leave the finished design for several weeks then come back and look at it with fresh eyes. A lot of the changes were made after drawing up the bridge from other perspectives so let's take a look at one of those.

 

The plan view

 

In the absence of any blueprints for the design, an aerial photograph is the next best thing. I started out with an image from Google Maps however the due to the time of day the picture was taken a lot of the detail was in shadow. You can scroll back through a timeline on Google and look at all previous shots that have been taken, a very useful resource. The picture I finally settled on was actually from Apple Maps as it showed up a lot fine details. I started by scaling the the image, the outline of the baseboard is just about visible in yellow. 

Source of image: Apple Maps

 

I marked out the position of the side walls (shown in red) to get an idea of the spacing between them. Once seen from this angle the lowered ends of the side walls begins to make a little more sense, the tracks run across this bridge on a curve lowering the ends helps with clearances. You may have noticed in the first picture that the height change on the right side of the bridge is staggered. The change in height happens above the legs supporting the southern end however the road doesn't run at a 90 degree angle to the bridge. I marked the line of the road with the blue line, from this I was able to create the basic shape I wanted.

 

To get the position for the ribs I simply aligned this with the elevation and copied the lines across onto this drawing. At this point I roughly mark out where any additional bracing is positioned by looking at the underside of the bridge in Streetview. At this point I finalised the location for each of the legs, I went a back and adjusted each of the elevation drawings to match. Looking at the left end of the bridge I also altered the length of each of the side walls to be 1.5mm longer than the one beneath it. I then checked this against the photograph to make sure it all lines up. 

 

Looking at the bottom right of the image above you might notice a slight kink in the outer wall. I noticed this while spacing the side walls. The image below shows the bend in the bridge at join above the legs. This only on the outer wall and helps it line it up with the arches as it heads towards Shimbashi. 

Source: Google Streetview

 

The next step was to start working on detailing. This is just a case of working my way along the underside of the bridge in Streetview picking out the details I want to include (so rivets then? Sadly yes and a lot of them too!). Normally it is just a case of drawing up a couple and then hitting it with cut and paste, this time however nobody seemed to have an understanding of even spacing. 

Source: Google Streetview

 

I did the best I could, I am pretty happy with the results.

 

As you look across the underside you can see there are several plates layered to add strength. It is at this point I am starting to think more carefully about how I am going to construct the final model. I give each layer its own colour so that I separate them out easily and etch them separately. Below is completed work for one of the bridges I am currently making showing the layers separated along with their position against the sides. This gives me a reference to go back to when I make each bridge usually several months after designing it.

 

Below is an image of the plan view as it nears completion, with each layer/unique part assigned its own colour, the finished result frankly resembles unicorn vomit.

 

There is still some work to do, I noticed that the cross bracing on the left was not even. I am playing around with putting the last rib at an angle of around 3 degrees.

Originally I had the ribs stepped but one detail is missing when looking at reference photos. For that we will move on to the last perspective drawing. 

 

The Cross-section

 

I will try to keep this one brief as this is becoming more like an essay than a blog post. Below is an image of one of the ribs, a couple of details, there are three braces running along the underside (one centre and one on either side of the track bed). Between these there are two rows of guttering. 

Source: Google Streetview

 

This is the process I have made so far:

 

I am still working on the overall shape and proportions as in its current form it is a little off. The three slots will allow the bracing strips to run under the track bed and the two holes will allow guttering to run from one end to the other. I did say there was a detail missing that made me think the last rib wasn't stepped and that is to do with the height of the track bed. If you look at these images there are a set of rivets that do not run all the way up the side.

     

 

These appear on the opposite side to where the track bed is mounted. on the other side is an L shapes bracket that bolts the ribs to the side wall. As seen from above it would look like this:

 

Where the rivets stop gives me the height of the track bed on the other side. If the last set of ribs were stepped I would expect to see rows of rivets on the other side but they are not present.

 

There is also bracing coming out from the sides of the track bed, I include these as little spikes that stick out of the side of the track bed. This helps to align the ribs and make sure they are held vertically. Seen below on what I am making at the moment.

 

Final Revisions

 

One thing I always do is look at the bridge from cab ride videos it gives a perspective that is difficult to get with being a maintenance worker. It is funny what extra details you can pick up. If you look at the very first image did you notice the lower sections are not the same height? I didn't at least not until I watched a few videos. The one on the Tokyo end (left) is slightly higher. 

 

Heading towards Tokyo, lower section cut almost to height of the Ballast (tricky to see with a thick coating of grime):

Source: 電車の動画 -Train Movies- Youtube Channel 

 

Heading towards Shimbashi, lower section sitting above the Ballast:

Source: 電車の動画 -Train Movies- Youtube Channel 

 

If you have made it this far well done. I feel I should offer you a cup of tea, maybe something stronger. Or at least post a picture of a kitten or something, sadly I do not own a kitten so let me leave you with this progress shot:

 

Are you serious? After a post about bridges my reward is a picture of another bridge! 😡

 

Till next time.

Joe

Edited April 12, 2021 by Kamome442

[Kamome]

I think the train manufacturers need to up their game now as the trains won’t be up to scratch for this layout once finished. 

 

Those bridges look awesome and i admire your patience and perseverance for what will be an awe inspiring layout.

[Kamome442]

Kamome, Thank you ever so much. I am really looking forward to the day I can get the layout on the road, I am still aiming to have it running by the end of the year. There will still be plenty of scenic work to do but I think the amount of trains running will keep people entertained.

 

I noticed .pdf is one of the accepted file types so I figured I would add this as a bit of a test:

Arch Test.pdf

 

If it works and people can download and print this I have a lots of artwork that I have built up making this project. I know not everyone will need arches but I am sure some bits could be useful. 

Joe

[cteno4]

Joe that’s great! Now you need to be creating all of Yūrakuchō in papercraft so we can be humbly be following in your path.

 

seriously, when Yūrakuchō goes on display this would be wonderful to offer up for visitors (like to a pile of these PDFs) so kids could have a fun paper craft project!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[inobu]

On 4/10/2021 at 10:28 AM, Kamome442 said:

I am about to start writing up the second part on how I design a bridge ready to post in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile I thought I would share a quick pic of a Yamanote line bridge getting its first test fit. It still needs side walls but that is all as this particular span will be open to the road beneath.

 

Slightly closer shot of the details.

That is phenomenal. Brings the true meaning to Rivet counting.....

[cteno4]

Joe’s work puts all the rivet counter’s I know to shame! But in a nice way (not usual with rivet counters at times). It’s fantastic to see what can be done and great resource to look for little bits I can use to step up my game here and there. Really helpful and just fun to watch.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Kamome442]

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

Joe that’s great! Now you need to be creating all of Yūrakuchō in papercraft so we can be humbly be following in your path.

 

I will run it like an Eaglemoss kit and send out a piece of the layout each week, the sad fact is you would probably all finish it before me 😂

Seriously though it is only a couple of months until the 111th anniversary of the station opening and more importantly 1 year of having a threat on the JRS!

I will make up something special to download and create ready for then.

 

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

seriously, when Yūrakuchō goes on display this would be wonderful to offer up for visitors (like to a pile of these PDFs) so kids could have a fun paper craft project!

 

I was planning just to have some colouring pictures of Shinkansen for children to take away, I really like the idea full on paper crafts I could make a couple of trains to cut out and stick on the top of the arch.

 

45 minutes ago, inobu said:

That is phenomenal. Brings the true meaning to Rivet counting.....

 

Thank you so much inobu, I do get a little obsessed with detailing. I tried to deny I was a rivet counter for many years, in the UK model rail scene it is usually associated with a certain level of stuffiness. After that post it is probably easier to deny I breath air! 

 

34 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Joe’s work puts all the rivet counter’s I know to shame! But in a nice way (not usual with rivet counters at times). It’s fantastic to see what can be done and great resource to look for little bits I can use to step up my game here and there. Really helpful and just fun to watch.

 

Always pleasing to hear what I post is useful to others, thanks Jeff. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Kamome442

[Martijn Meerts]

You really should do a bit where a bridge is still under construction, so you can actually see all the effort you put into the frame of the thing 🙂

 

[inobu]

3 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

Thank you so much inobu, I do get a little obsessed with detailing. I tried to deny I was a rivet counter for many years, in the UK model rail scene it is usually associated with a certain level of stuffiness. After that post it is probably easier to deny I breath air! 

 

There are two facets of Rivet Counting......... Those who count the Rivets and those who make the Rivets for them to count. Ones existence is reliant on the other.

So you don't have anything to worry about. Keep creating the things you see.

 

Inobu

[JR East]

I've discovered this topic. 

 

Congrats for such an incredible work so close to the reality. You're really doing a great job with an incredible degree of precision

[Kamome442]

19 hours ago, Martijn Meerts said:

You really should do a bit where a bridge is still under construction, so you can actually see all the effort you put into the frame of the thing 🙂

 

Don't worry Martijn, I was thinking the same thing. Luckily one span had been stripped back to just it's frame and that is how I am going to model it.

 

While it isn't the largest bridge it is one of the more complex designs and it is at the front of the layout so everyone can inspect all the little details. I also has a street light below it so I am hoping to get some interesting lighting effects once it is all finished. I am jet to work out how to do the netting!

 

17 hours ago, inobu said:

There are two facets of Rivet Counting......... Those who count the Rivets and those who make the Rivets for them to count. Ones existence is reliant on the other.

So you don't have anything to worry about. Keep creating the things you see.

 

Oh I like that! Thats my new come back sorted 🙂

 

10 hours ago, JR East said:

Congrats for such an incredible work so close to the reality. You're really doing a great job with an incredible degree of precision

 

Hi JR East, Welcome and thank you for the compliment. Not the quick project when building everything from scratch but I am having a lot of fun and it should be a pretty unique layout when it is done.

 

[Martijn Meerts]

5 hours ago, Kamome442 said:

Don't worry Martijn, I was thinking the same thing. Luckily one span had been stripped back to just it's frame and that is how I am going to model it.

 

Nice.. Also add a figure that with a notepad, someone counting all the rivets 😉

 

[Kamome442]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:03 PM, Martijn Meerts said:

Nice.. Also add a figure that with a notepad, someone counting all the rivets 😉

 

Maybe I could have a couple figures in Hi Vis jackets under the bridge. One holding some blueprints and another looking up (or looking down at a single rivet on pavement!)

 

On 4/15/2021 at 5:41 PM, Kamome442 said:

I also has a street light below it so I am hoping to get some interesting lighting effects once it is all finished.

 

Well it got the better of me I had to set up a light to see how looks! The bridge parts are very clumsily balanced and not perfectly aligned. 

 

Also, my dad pointed out it would make a lot more sense to have a separate thread for the Throwback Thursday ideas. Makes perfect sense they do get lost in amongst the other posts. I will add a thread in layout planning and post a link here. There won't be one next week, I want to make them a little more presentable and include things like a pdf track plan where possible. 

[disturbman]

1 hour ago, Kamome442 said:

Also, my dad pointed out it would make a lot more sense to have a separate thread for the Throwback Thursday ideas. Makes perfect sense they do get lost in amongst the other posts. I will add a thread in layout planning and post a link here. There won't be one next week, I want to make them a little more presentable and include things like a pdf track plan where possible. 

I had been thinking about it for a while. Was just lazy about it.

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