So you want to try Tomix FineTrack?

[NX:]

Almost two years of just checking magazines and watching online videos (I have to say that I did check some websites like http://www.trainweb.org to overtake the language barrier but no forum websites).

 

So, I stayed away from forums, no making questions (in person or online), no clubs, no visits to hobby shops… but I do not recommend this approach for other people as I mentioned in my post.

 

p.s. from time to time you find a video of someone complaining about something, it is almost unavoidable even for railway modeling…

[railsquid]

You don't need the book.  All that info is online for free.  The entire tomytec structures for example is available for download as a pdf from the tomytec website.  And what you cannot find, google will find it.

 

The book is for those that like buying the books after the internet was invented.  There is still a market for it, so they still produce it.

 

Not saying. "dont buy it."  But you can get the same info by not buying it.  More money for trains.

 

It costs about the same as a small pack of wagons and is nice to have around to browse through serendipitiously. I wouldn't buy one every year mind.

[kvp]

The nice thing about paper is that everything is in one place. The nicer thing about the Tomix online catalog on their site is that it can be auto translated while browsing. The data ia the same, even the layout. The site has more info though.

[MitchGDRMCo]

Would like to know, with the double track straight and curved pieces can the side walls be removed? Would like to make use of the larger radius curves available with these sections but if the walls can't be easily removed I might have to stick with the wide track pieces.

[railsquid]

"No" is the short answer.

[MitchGDRMCo]

"Dang" being the short response.

 

Thanks for the answer, much appreciated.

[Rod.H]

Is there an addon pack to make fine track match wide track for track other than the island platforms set(http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10205556), double crossover & R541? Also, how does one run wiring under wide track while still keeping it flat on a surface?  

[bill937ca]

I think there is only one ground level station configuration.  But there is an Attachable Ballast Kit so you could build your own station.

[kvp]

Also, how does one run wiring under wide track while still keeping it flat on a surface?  

The conventional method is to tape the wires pairs down with their flat side. This will create a small bump, which is also present with normal fine tracks. If one wants to avoid this, Tomix suggest using 5mm high foamcore paper boards, that you can sunk the wires in with a hobby knife. The same 5mm foamcore could also be used to raise the street level to track height. This in the end would create a 10 mm high foam sandwitch under each road, with the surrounding countryside at 5 mm height and ditches/water/rice fields going down to 0 mm table level. Also everything is nicely tucked away and if you cut the channels on the underside of the board, you can lift up the sceniced countryside and pack everything away. Prepainted boards are avilable from Tomix, while unpainted white ones in large sheets can be bought from many craft stores.

[Rod.H]

So something similar to how I ran the wires with the unitrack on the XPS board. Though on that I made more of a quick & dirty trench, than a channel. The only Tomix platform set (with wide track) that I've found is the Island type. That comes, depending on the set, with the curve set I linked or a combo consisting of a part of that set and a sprue from the attachable ballast kit.

 

I'm liking what wide track I've acquired. However, I'm starting to see the drawbacks - limitations on complex trackwork, fixed track spacing, need to use half ballasted or fine track at points/crossings, that most curves are canted requiring approach curves.

 

I do like watching my DMUs tilting as they go through a single-track wide track curve, something not possible with N gauge unitrack.

[kvp]

There are ballast plate kits for normal finetrack and most wide track parts have removable ballast on one side to allow normal platform kits to fit. Also, single, one and a half and half track distances are possible. (more with the ballast plate kit) It's much more free than using the roadway tram tracks.

[MitchGDRMCo]

Another noob question from someone who doesn't speak Japanese....

 

The signal fitted sections, can the signals be modified to allow independent use? (the signals seem to operate on a timer as standard)

[kvp]

Only for the manual signals. These include all of the form signals.

 

Of course you could hack the automatic ones. One modification is to allow keeping them in red, by triggering the reverse direction sensor by hand with a switch.

[MitchGDRMCo]

Ah so there's 2 types, manual and automatic? I'll have to find the manual ones, thanks.

[railsquid]

Anyone use Tomix double-slips? I've acquired one as it could be useful in a particular location, and though it looks kind of scary when turning away from the straight, I've tested a whole variety of stock and haven't found any particular problems.

[Kabutoni]

I had one left handed double slip back in the Netherlands from Tomix. Never encountered any problems with it :)

[kvp]

It should be R280, so not much more scary than the Tomix Y turnout. It mght cause some problems with trains that tend to bind or derail on 280mm curves.

[railsquid]

I was sceptical looking at them in the shop because if you look at the area highlighted:

Tomix left-hand double-slip by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

it's hard to imagine how wheels could move smoothly through that rather wide "frog" section, and I read some reports (no link) of derailments.

 

But anyway it works much better than I imagined, so far everything I've thrown at it (including a rather finicky British steam loco) has gone through fine.

[railsquid]

I've been running various trains over these for months now with absolutely no problems.

[Nornicle]

Hi all - what is the best way to use the HC set as an outside loop when I already own an A set?

 

 

[kvp]

11 minutes ago, Nornicle said:

Hi all - what is the best way to use the HC set as an outside loop when I already own an A set?

Afaik, the HC curves are not canted, so you can mix them freely. My idea for the two sets is this:

(a distorted double track loop, very similar to what some Tomix tram and bus track sets use)

[Nornicle]

25 minutes ago, kvp said:

Afaik, the HC curves are not canted, so you can mix them freely. My idea for the two sets is this:

(a distorted double track loop, very similar to what some Tomix tram and bus track sets use)

 

Thanks yes - my thinking was to connect the inner loop to the outer loop with a double crossover and run three controllers (one for each loop?) 

And then add sidings to the middle to store trains?

 

 

[Nornicle]

This was drawn for me on my layout design thread - so my understanding is I could do this and the outer loop would be double tracked instead.

 

 

[kvp]

25 minutes ago, Nornicle said:

Thanks yes - my thinking was to connect the inner loop to the outer loop with a double crossover and run three controllers (one for each loop?) 

And then add sidings to the middle to store trains?

It's possible, but considering only the bottom middle one is ground level, you can only put a crossover there. This would leave the outer loop unreachable. Adding two single crossovers however could work. I set them up have the standard running direction from the tail end and crossing over by reversing, Gray tracks are elevated, white ones are ground level. You could extend the inner loop by 7 cm on the left and 7+14=21 cm on the left, so you could have longer storage sidings. The loop isolations are between the crossover turnouts. If you use Tomix controllers, please use two crossover controller selection circuits to select between the 3 controllers. (switching the outer/middle loops to crossover should select the middle controller, while switching the middle/inner loops to crossover should also select the middle controller as this avoids any shorts between any of the 3 controllers)

[bill937ca]

Tomix now has product search pages which act as an online catalog of current items.

 

Nine Gauge

 

Track (sets and individual pieces)

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/rail/

 

Other

Includes trees, publications, rail cleaning car, bridges, containers, catenary poles and piers.

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/other/index.html

 

Trains

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/train/

 

Buildings

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/building/

 

Control equipment

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/control/

 

Parts

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/parts/

 

1/80 scale 16.5 mm gauge

 

All

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/products/ho/