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The Introduction Thread...


Darren Jeffries

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CaptOblivious

Massimo, glad to see you here! Already you've post a lot that's helpful. I look forward to more!

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Massimo - Welcome to the forum and you are at the right place because everybody here loves the Japanese RR and I for one find Bullet trains amazing. I look forward to you posts and do you have any photos that you would like to share with members at the forum?

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Hi Bernard!

I have a lot of photos downloaded from web but I'm not sure I can share it (copyright problems) I verify before...

I can post photo of my personal train collection if you want.

I think I have all the Shinkansen models released from Kato, Tomix, Microace, Endo and Gakken until now and now I've start to build myself the prototype that are not yet produced (honestly I need 2-3 items to complete my collection, I looking for..maybe someone can help me)

 

ciao

Massimo

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Massimo - posting your own photos of your trains is best, no copyright problems. I just saw your roster....all I can says is WOW!

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Hi All,

 

I'm John, here in Austin, TX.  I'm 31 and I work as a technician at a local manufacturing company.  I am fairly good fan of Japan.  I think it may have started when I saw the Lost In Translation in 2004. I loved the cinemetography, sounds, and soundtrack.  I also really liked Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, and... actually, almost everything about that movie. 

 

Coincidentally, in 2005, about a year or so after I saw that flick, I was requested to go to Japan to help support two customer sites.  How lucky I was to have that opportunity!  The first customer site was in the city of Yokkaichi - Mie prefecture, which is west of Nagoya (central Japan).  I was in Japan for a total of about 5 1/2 weeks, but I was only in the central area for the first half of that.  My home base for that first half was the Yokkaichi Miyyako hotel, which was right across from the Kintetsu Yokkaichi train station.  The first chance I got (the first weekend), I hopped on a train and started exploring - that pretty much set the stage for the trip.  I went to Kyoto and Tokyo a couple of times, and one of the biggest highlights was the 2005 expo that was occurring just east of Nagoya. 

 

The 2005 Expo was absolutely incredible!  It was huge and there was so much to explore.  Practically every country in the world (except maybe the very smallest ones) had an elaborate exhibit with people from that country.  I have attached a few photos, but it's hard to convey how cool it was.  (Actually the temperature was like 90 degrees that day - so not so cool, but it didn't matter!) 

 

I was very lucky to be surrounded with great people who I met from other parts of my company during this part of the trip.  For example, while inside the Austrailian exhibit at the expo, my co-worker dared me to climb on the top of a giant Platypus for a photo in the midst of some little kids who were playing at the base.  I did it, and I got a little talking to from the Aussie lady supervising the exhibit, but it was worth it!  It was nice to have someone that could come up with great ideas like that, just for fun. 

 

The second half of the trip I was based in the Hotel Granvia at Hiroshima station.  I took one of the older shinkansens (maybe "0"?) to work everyday in east Hiroshima.  I explored Hiroshima on the weekends of course, going to the A-bomb dome (150 meters from ground zero), the peace memorial museum, and Miyajima island where they have that famous red gate.  For a few reasons Hiroshima wasn't quite as fun as the first half, but overall Japan was a stellar experience.  I did take the trains pretty much everywhere, including the Shinkansen Nozomi between Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kyoto, and Hiroshima.  Amazingly I have hardly any pictures of the trains from the outside... except the one of the special maglev train that was built for the expo.  I wish I had more :angry3:.

 

Anyway, how did I get to this forum?  Well, last weekend I happened to be surfing and checking some videos of shinkansen on youtube, and then I started noticing the model train versions, and... well... my 16 car Kato 700 from ebay just came in the mail today!  Yeah, just like that!  I have a Kato M1 unitrack set coming tomorrow so I can try out the operation.  I still working on a permanant layout in my mind... I'm not sure exactly what I want in terms of track, bridges, etc.  My unconventional plan is actually to put up a small shelf (sticking out only a few inches) around the circumference of my room, just above the door frames (about 7 1/2 feet from the floor), and have the train go around that.  That way I don't have to worry about the train taking up space that I don't really have.  I'm honestly not sure how far I will go with that plan, or when it will get accomplished, but it's a plan anyway.

 

OK, now that I have the Japan story out of the way, here is just a little more about me.  I was born in White Plains, New York - my dad being from there and my mother being Honolulu.  I had some experience with trains growing up in New York... my family took Amtrak quite a few times taking trips into NYC, to Washington DC, and to Boston.  It was a lot of fun, I loved it.  I moved from New York when I was eleven years old, and have lived in Kailua HI, Phoenix AZ, Mayport FL, and Hampton VA, before coming here to Austin in 2000.  The last two places were a result of four years in the Navy, where I was an electrician's mate. 

 

Unfortunately, the few Amtrak trips I took in New York are about the only (memorable) experience I've had with trains here in the States.  For some reason, the limited rail that we have here just isn't like Japan.

 

Lastly, I'm currently going to the local community college and University of Texas part time working on a BSEE.  Actually I just took Japanese I this summer, and I'm hoping to take a special Japanese II "in Japan" course next summer.

 

There you go, a brief introduction.  Actually that's the longest intro I've ever done on the internet period!  But I really have been enjoying reading this forum (and it's been helpful), so I felt it appropriate to do so for some reason.  I normally don't write a lot, so this is an exception to be sure.

 

John

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Nice introduction John and quite interesting too. I might say I did too think a lot about doing the very same type of layout that you're envisioning but didn't dare to try it out. I'm too interested in "terraforming" too jump on it.

 

Anyway, welcome aboard.

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CaptOblivious

John, welcome to the forum! I personally really enjoy the long intros. You mention how you found the model trains, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you find the forum?

 

I too am planning—eventually!—a roundy-round shelf layout. Likely, to accommodate everything I want it to, it will have to be 36" deep…hrm…but if you weren't trying to cram 8–10 parallel tracks into a tiny space (like me), I'm quite certain that even 12" would be enough for an amazing layout. With 16-car shinkansen, length is more important than depth, ne?

 

Anyway, welcome again, and glad to have you here!

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John,

Welcome to the forum and I love these introduction. It tells alot about you and I'm glad you posted the photos of what you were talking about in your intro. Do you still keep in touch with the people you worked with and met in Japan?

If you are planning a layout, why not start a thread in the "Personal Projects" platorm and feel free to add photos to the gallery.

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Welcome John!

 

  I'm new to this group too, but its all great so far! and thanks for the pics, I'm about as far from Japan as I can get so I devour all the pictures I can!

 

Graham

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Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.  Glad you liked the post.

 

Cap'tO - I googled 'Japan model train forum' (not exact but something like that), which brought me to the faq page of the "Japan Rail Modelers of Washington DC" http://www.japanrailmodelers.org/pages/faqs.html, which has a link to JNSForum.

 

Bernard - No, I haven't really kept in touch with the people I was in Japan - at least not for a while... that was in 2005, and I'm generally terrible at keeping in touch with people.  Some of the people from Japan actually did visit Austin in 2005 / 2006, so I showed them around a little bit.  I also traded some e-mails afterwards, but in general no I don't take the time to keep in touch :sad:, although I doubt it would be too hard to get in touch with most people if I needed to.

 

Regarding the wall train layout.... I was thinking less than a foot (except for the corners).  Probably just enough width for two tracks side by side.... hmmm actually maybe it will be different widths on different parts of the wall, depending on where I have the space, or where it will be visible.  If it's too wide, I'm thinking that just means most of it won't be visible at 7 1/2 feet from the floor.  I dunno... it'll be a bit of work so I'll just keep thinking about it.  I will post in the appropriate subforum when I have some more ideas about it.

 

John

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Howdy John! (half my family is from texas so i can get away with that!)

 

Glad you found your way here via jrm!

 

I just posted an article about some guys up in the fort worth/dallas area doing a big tokyo modeling project soon. there are also some ttrakers out in west texas doing some japanese trains here and there, so you are not alone down there!

 

cheers

 

jeff

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Jeff,

 

  I don't really know anyone that uses howdy here, but thank you!

 

  Anyway, I haven't really looked around jrm until now (I only really used the links on the faq page); however, now that I spent some time there I see there is a lot of excellent content!  I will be definitely be doing more browsing on jrm in the future.

 

  And thanks for the tip about the DFW guys... now if only there was rail that doesn't suck that I could take to go to Dallas!  (It's not necessary here, I know.)

 

John

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youre right few do anymore! i got it imbedded when i was a kid (total n. ca. boy) and spent my summers on my grandma's farm with my more country cousins. that and a bad texas drawl that shows up as soon as i start talking to someone with one, totally subconscious and can be embarrassing! i still use howdy all the time and gets good looks from folks.

 

hope you can get up for a visit with the northerners there.

 

cheers

 

jeff

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John P Boogerd

Hey guys - my name is John Boogerd and I live in Calgary, western Canada - I have been collecting Japanese trains for about a year and now have a Class 110 diesel rail car set, a Hokkaido commuter train, a two-piece freight engine, and the Sayonara Ginga limited edition set.  I prefer to buy my models from Japanese dealers rather than paying double the price outside of Japan.  I have some Diotown road plates and I hope to build a small layout starting next month.  If there are other collectors in the Calgary area, I would love to hear from you.

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alpineaustralia

Welcome John.

what got you into Japanese trains?

PS:  The North Americans need some extra numbers to balance out the number of Aussies in the forum.

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Hello everyone and greetings from Switzerland

 

I'm a model train fan from Zurich, Switzerland who is mainly interested in the global high speed train business. From my hometown I can use German ICE's, French TGV's and Italian Pendolinis but what I really admire are Japanese Shinkansen Trains.

 

I started the hobby just a few months and hope that I will find infos and fun in the forum. As a frequent traveler to japan I might be helpful for some of you.

 

By now you must have realised that English is a foreign language for me. Sorry for strange spellings and grammar.

 

Cheers

NOZOMI

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CaptOblivious

Nozomi, welcome! Your English is fine. Still, don't worry about being embarrassed about it not being your first language: you are in good company here.

 

Glad to have you with us!

 

Hello everyone and greetings from Switzerland

 

I'm a model train fan from Zurich, Switzerland who is mainly interested in the global high speed train business. From my hometown I can use German ICE's, French TGV's and Italian Pendolinis but what I really admire are Japanese Shinkansen Trains.

 

I started the hobby just a few months and hope that I will find infos and fun in the forum. As a frequent traveler to japan I might be helpful for some of you.

 

By now you must have realised that English is a foreign language for me. Sorry for strange spellings and grammar.

 

Cheers

NOZOMI

 

 

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Hoi Nozomi,

 

I live near Zürich too. I started Modelling Japanese Models just a year ago. Mainly i want to model the Tokaido Main Line the Tokaido Shinkansen as well the Odakyu line. It would be great to meet somebody with the same interest  :grin. Unfortunately i have never been to Japan.  Also check out http://forum.ig-nippon.org/ for a German Forum, they are great guys, i attended their spring meeting but its to far for regular meetings.

 

Greetings,

Railzilla 

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alpineaustralia

Hi Nozomi

 

Welcome to the forum. I have travelled extensively on Swiss trains and I can tell you that you Swiss can be equally proud of them aswell.

Dont worry about your English -I am a english speaker but my typing is so bad it looks like a foreign language most of the time.

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Welcome Nozumi!

 

great you found the forum and have found the hobby of modeling japanese rail! i think you will find that it provides a really wide range of things you can do in the hobby and perfect if you love shinkansens! traveling to japan frequently will also be great for your hobby as well!

 

no worries on the language at all here! sharing the questions, answers and ideas is the purpose here, not correcting english! im partially dyslexic and english is pretty much my only language and i can do some whoppers of bad spelling and grammer at times!

 

cheers

 

jeff

 

Hello everyone and greetings from Switzerland

 

I'm a model train fan from Zurich, Switzerland who is mainly interested in the global high speed train business. From my hometown I can use German ICE's, French TGV's and Italian Pendolinis but what I really admire are Japanese Shinkansen Trains.

 

I started the hobby just a few months and hope that I will find infos and fun in the forum. As a frequent traveler to japan I might be helpful for some of you.

 

By now you must have realised that English is a foreign language for me. Sorry for strange spellings and grammar.

 

Cheers

NOZOMI

 

 

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Well that’s what I call a friendly welcome! Maybe I should spend my next holiday in the forum! Certainly more relaxing than in airports! At the moment I’m in the reading mode…  there’s so much info in the forum… I will start to contribute very soon!

 

you can see some of my trains on youtube:

 

 

be warned: my camera is not made by KATO

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Wow I should check out this thread more often.

 

Hey Nozomi,

I think I have the exact same interest as you!  I too collect high speed trains of the world.

I too have the T700, E3 TSUBASA, 500 and countless TGVs and ICEs.

 

BTW, did you purchase the Arnold Renfe ICE?  If you do, how do you uncouple them?

 

Leo

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