Kusakaru Hoe Layout Construction

[MangakaRailfan]

A while ago, I had an idea for a Kusakaru Electric Railway HOe Layout. I have finally got to building it as of late. A photo is below, and I will continue to send pictures as the layout is built. The white sheets are a product called Shaper Sheet, used for building terrain. It is manufactured by woodland scenics.

[MangakaRailfan]

I’m modelling Joshu Mihara station, which, if it still existed, would be across the Agatsuma river from the present day Manga Onsenguchi Station in Gunma Prefecture on the Agatsuma line.

[MangakaRailfan]

Comments Appreciated, this is my first Lay-out after all!

[cteno4]

So plaster cloth areas are scenery and dark areas where building are? Going to be some taller trees to hid the loop for a bit?
 

How many buildings will you have and what kinds? Roads anywhere?

 

need to know a bit more about what you are thinking to make any comments.

 

jeff

[MangakaRailfan]

The white areas are not nescessarily scenery, they are just what is covered by the ShaperSheet, including the wires. I’ll have a station complex and platforms where all the switches are, and it will have a goods shed too. There is gonna be around 5-7 buildings in the station complex, and 3-5 houses nearby as well, likely made from paper to reduce cost. There will be trees to hide the loop, and a road from the platforms leading out of the station. The composition of the station complex, including the buildings is below.

Edited April 2, 2023 by MangakaRailfan

[MangakaRailfan]

As for the types of buildings, I will have 1 goods shed, a lumber mill, 2 platforms, and 1-2 station buildings, as well as 3-5 houses.

[MangakaRailfan]

The track is Kato Unitrack. HOe combines ho scale buildings, accessories, train shells, etc. with N scale track and train motors.

Edited April 2, 2023 by MangakaRailfan

[MangakaRailfan]

I forgot to post this, but I put the plaster cloth over recently.

[Beaver]

Very Japanese in terms of design style as well as setting. Online you can see many keiben micro layouts with this sort of arrangement. Was this deliberate?

 

What are you going to run on it? Models of actual Kusakaru stock seem to consist entirely of expensive limited run World Kogei brass. The very small size of much of the equipment would make scratchbuilding it challenging. Of course the freelance Tomytec stuff would work as it's all made for a minimum radius of R140 so can get round those curves just fine. Same for most of the not so expensive freelance kits from Narrow Garage et al.

[Kamome]

The Tomytec HO “Naro” models are not bad, but require some detailing as they’re a bit basic. Coaches have no interior details whatsoever nor do the rail cars. This wouldn’t be an issue in a smaller scale but I’m very aware of it at 1:80 so I’d suggest scratch-building some benches and/or populating them . Tomytec produce some nice 1:80 Showa period figures although vehicles seem very difficult to come by these days.

 

The Tomytec short wheel base motor units used for some of the diesel locos can be a little temperamental on point work as they’re very lightweight.

 

The big plus is how cheap they are but obviously have no other features to them and you’d need to also purchase the relevant motor units, weights and wheel sets. I’m also sure some brass wire and photo etch mesh on grills could make them look more realistic and I have seen some great examples of modellers customised stock in RM Models over the years. The biggest aesthetic issue with these, IMO is the replica Forest line style couplers. Firstly they’re very long and don’t come with any connecting bar. They are designed as a display so not sure if these couplers can be used effectively. You could change them out for some micro-scale knuckles. If you get the nice brass kits these come with more prototypical looking couplers which are body mounted. Tomytec offerings are bogie mounted and I decided to switch mine out for the Kato short knuckles in the short term, more for reducing the gap between each car. 

Tomytec also sell weight and wheel kits for their non powered units but the wheels are shiny silver so would need painting. Alternatively, get some blackened versions at further cost.  

 

I did see a chap model some narrow gauge line using Unitrack although he used clay and scatter between the rails to hide the undersized sleepers and sleeper spacing. 

[MangakaRailfan]

On 4/18/2023 at 2:56 AM, Beaver said:

Very Japanese in terms of design style as well as setting. Online you can see many keiben micro layouts with this sort of arrangement. Was this deliberate?

 

What are you going to run on it? Models of actual Kusakaru stock seem to consist entirely of expensive limited run World Kogei brass. The very small size of much of the equipment would make scratchbuilding it challenging. Of course the freelance Tomytec stuff would work as it's all made for a minimum radius of R140 so can get round those curves just fine. Same for most of the not so expensive freelance kits from Narrow Garage et al.

Sorry for the long wait. I did not intend the layout to be so authentic, but I take it as a compliment. I have already bought a MinitrainS brand narrow gauge diesel (Example here: https://www.memoba.at/produkt/Minitrains_mi2021_H0e_Diesellok_Ns2f%2C_grün.html/ME/FE/DeepLink/display?page=produkt%2FMinitrains_mi2021_H0e_Diesellok_Ns2f%2C_grün&sessiontest=ffe4c8fa366bcd5a3f1b01fadecea2b5) and am planning to paint it black and add a phantograph to make it look like a Deki12. I also bought 2 freelance Tomytec narrow gauge passenger cars. (Photo taken by me below) The roofs on them are red, so I will be painting them black. I bought a motor to turn one into a DMU like the ones that operated on the railway. I haven’t seen Narrow Gauge Er Al before. Where could you purchase it? 

[MangakaRailfan]

Sorry for the Long Period of Inactivity, I’ve been procrastinating a wee bit but have managed to get some of the scenery finished .

[MangakaRailfan]

On 4/18/2023 at 8:31 AM, Kamome said:

The Tomytec HO “Naro” models are not bad, but require some detailing as they’re a bit basic. Coaches have no interior details whatsoever nor do the rail cars. This wouldn’t be an issue in a smaller scale but I’m very aware of it at 1:80 so I’d suggest scratch-building some benches and/or populating them . Tomytec produce some nice 1:80 Showa period figures although vehicles seem very difficult to come by these days.

 

The Tomytec short wheel base motor units used for some of the diesel locos can be a little temperamental on point work as they’re very lightweight.

 

The big plus is how cheap they are but obviously have no other features to them and you’d need to also purchase the relevant motor units, weights and wheel sets. I’m also sure some brass wire and photo etch mesh on grills could make them look more realistic and I have seen some great examples of modellers customised stock in RM Models over the years. The biggest aesthetic issue with these, IMO is the replica Forest line style couplers. Firstly they’re very long and don’t come with any connecting bar. They are designed as a display so not sure if these couplers can be used effectively. You could change them out for some micro-scale knuckles. If you get the nice brass kits these come with more prototypical looking couplers which are body mounted. Tomytec offerings are bogie mounted and I decided to switch mine out for the Kato short knuckles in the short term, more for reducing the gap between each car. 

Tomytec also sell weight and wheel kits for their non powered units but the wheels are shiny silver so would need painting. Alternatively, get some blackened versions at further cost.  

 

I did see a chap model some narrow gauge line using Unitrack although he used clay and scatter between the rails to hide the undersized sleepers and sleeper spacing. 

 

On 4/18/2023 at 5:56 AM, Beaver said:

Very Japanese in terms of design style as well as setting. Online you can see many keiben micro layouts with this sort of arrangement. Was this deliberate?

 

What are you going to run on it? Models of actual Kusakaru stock seem to consist entirely of expensive limited run World Kogei brass. The very small size of much of the equipment would make scratchbuilding it challenging. Of course the freelance Tomytec stuff would work as it's all made for a minimum radius of R140 so can get round those curves just fine. Same for most of the not so expensive freelance kits from Narrow Garage et al.

I’ll be detailing the interiors of the coaches, painting over, and adding stickers to match the real cars. I’ll be putting new couplers on, and it would be a good idea to blacken the wheels somehow… I’ll Probably put clay and scatter between the rails like someone else said.

[Jaco3011]

On 4/2/2023 at 8:09 PM, MangakaRailfan said:

 

This is going to be problematic when doing run-around. The siding is too short.

[MangakaRailfan]

Most photos of the line show trains made up of 1 locomotive and 2 cars. The equipment is small, so this shan’t be a problem. 

16 hours ago, Jaco3011 said:

 

This is going to be problematic when doing run-around. The siding is too short.

 

[SL58654号]

Fascinating! You can't have too many narrow gauge layouts, especially considering how relatively obscure Japanese narrow gauge (less than 3 ft 6 inch gauge) railways tend to be outside of Japan. Considering you have the track down and basic landscape made, looks like you're well ahead. It'll help motivate me to get going! 

[MangakaRailfan]

 

On 9/18/2023 at 10:42 PM, SL58654号 said:

Fascinating! You can't have too many narrow gauge layouts, especially considering how relatively obscure Japanese narrow gauge (less than 3 ft 6 inch gauge) railways tend to be outside of Japan. Considering you have the track down and basic landscape made, looks like you're well ahead. It'll help motivate me to get going! 

Thank you! It really brightened my week hearing that some days ago, and it’s inspired me to get going, too. This is the layout as it looks now. (Yes, It’s cluttered, but it’ll all be cleaned up soon.) I’ve been taking this project real slow, the reason for the sparse updates, and it’s been comforting to hear your compliment, to say the least. I’ve heard some people take 7 years to finish layouts of a similar size, so now I know I’m not alone!

[MangakaRailfan]

I’ve been ill lately so I thought I’d do a bit of work. Here is a close-up of some stuff I’ve been doing. (Yes, the camera isn’t the best, but I hope it still looks good nevertheless)

[MangakaRailfan]

Some more photos, taken with a better camera.