Help with JR High Speed - type switches/turnouts

[Captain_Mumbles]

Gday all!

 

Firstly, I hope this is placed in the correct thread. If it is not, I wont take offense to it being deleted or moved.

I hand build my switches (or turnouts, whichever we might call them here). And, I want to build some modules to run my KATO stuff. For some reason I find building turnouts immensely satisfying.

I please need help finding a good site for references on JR track work, especially the high speed stuff. Its a completely different animal to the norm. Google search shows some distant shots but I need some nice pictures of track work to get started.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

CM.

 

 

Edited February 3 by Captain_Mumbles
Typos

[Captain_Mumbles]

I think I am looking for a situation where the track is laid on concrete slabs. Just outside a station or terminal it looks to me like the turnout is built on sleepers, and then once out of the turnout we are back on concrete slabs again.

[Beaver]

Slab track is the norm on the newer high speed routes. The old Tokaido Shinkansen is 80% cross sleepered though.

 

Unfortunately I think you will have some difficulty finding reference material. While there are finescale modellers and others who scratchbuild track and other layout elements, most of this is for conventional railways in usually historic settings, the JNR in the Showa era being a particular favourite, as well as local and narrow gauge railways in the same era. It is rare to see modern or high speed prototypes modelled to such standards. Modern image or Shinkansen usually means lots of box opening and a focus on the stock. Partially of course because few have enough space for a permanent layout large enough.

 

The basic principle of Shinkansen points, according to the displays JR put in their museums, is that there should be no joints or breaks at all in the wheel to rail interface . So the blades are unjointed single piece parts that are moved by flexing with no joints. And the frogs have a moving centre piece that is interlocked with the blades.

 

 

Explanatory display at the Nagoya museum.

 

Are you modelling in N or HO? I think wheel standards might be a problem in N if you intend to use scale section rail. There are still a lot of steamroller wheels even in recently produced models because of the assumption that buyers will be using set track with code 80 rails.

[Madsing]

Hello CM,

 

I am also very much interested in JR infrastructure / equipment and particularly track works. Unfortunately I don't have a good reference, there is a big variety of track types and I often spend hours googling in order to find reference pictures.

A few ideas:

- I have purchased a few interesting books from this booth shop: https://kumoha12.booth.pm. There is a lot about signals, but I don't see any book about track works.

- Try googling terms such as JR線路工事 or JR線分岐器 and you will find plenty of reference photos.

- A good source is the web site of JR subcontractors, such as https://www.nikkenren.com/sougou/kenjin/file_15.html or https://www.sumihatsu.com/business-railway.html

- You are right, turnouts are never built using PC sleepers or concrete slabs. They are always built using wooden or synthetic sleepers. A good example is the new Matsuyama station. Watch that video:

I hope this helps.

Marc

 

[Junech]

I found this site a while ago:

 

https://kikakurui.com/e/index.html

 

It has the JISE Standards as HTML files available. They are Japanese but there are some about switches (JISE 1301 to JISE 1305). There are drawings of different sleepers as well. But you will need to fight through the Japanese. I didn't have the time to really look into it myself but maybe it helps.

[Captain_Mumbles]

10 hours ago, Madsing said:

Hello CM,

 

I am also very much interested in JR infrastructure / equipment and particularly track works. Unfortunately I don't have a good reference, there is a big variety of track types and I often spend hours googling in order to find reference pictures.

A few ideas:

- I have purchased a few interesting books from this booth shop: https://kumoha12.booth.pm. There is a lot about signals, but I don't see any book about track works.

- Try googling terms such as JR線路工事 or JR線分岐器 and you will find plenty of reference photos.

- A good source is the web site of JR subcontractors, such as https://www.nikkenren.com/sougou/kenjin/file_15.html or https://www.sumihatsu.com/business-railway.html

- You are right, turnouts are never built using PC sleepers or concrete slabs. They are always built using wooden or synthetic sleepers. A good example is the new Matsuyama station. Watch that video:

I hope this helps.

Marc

 

Marc, I think that is all that I need. I just wanted to make a few nice turnouts, not many just so that the long Shinkansen rolling stock can seamlessly glide through just like my OO scale stuff does. It doesnt have to be perfect, being N scale it is quite small but Just enough for me to create the impression of scale. In that vid I can clearly see geometry, the browinsh coloured sleepers and how the check rails are configured.

 

Thanks to all for your time and replies!!!

 

 

Edited February 7 by Captain_Mumbles
Typos

[Captain_Mumbles]

11 hours ago, Beaver said:

Slab track is the norm on the newer high speed routes. The old Tokaido Shinkansen is 80% cross sleepered though.

 

Unfortunately I think you will have some difficulty finding reference material. While there are finescale modellers and others who scratchbuild track and other layout elements, most of this is for conventional railways in usually historic settings, the JNR in the Showa era being a particular favourite, as well as local and narrow gauge railways in the same era. It is rare to see modern or high speed prototypes modelled to such standards. Modern image or Shinkansen usually means lots of box opening and a focus on the stock. Partially of course because few have enough space for a permanent layout large enough.

 

The basic principle of Shinkansen points, according to the displays JR put in their museums, is that there should be no joints or breaks at all in the wheel to rail interface . So the blades are unjointed single piece parts that are moved by flexing with no joints. And the frogs have a moving centre piece that is interlocked with the blades.

 

 

Explanatory display at the Nagoya museum.

 

Are you modelling in N or HO? I think wheel standards might be a problem in N if you intend to use scale section rail. There are still a lot of steamroller wheels even in recently produced models because of the assumption that buyers will be using set track with code 80 rails.

I did notice some large flanges on some of my small kato collection.  On the OO scale layout I had a lot of success taking apart flex track and using that stock as the basis for my hand laid turnouts. Ill be using Peco Code 80 as the basis and hopefully some 3d printing so my work can interface with the Unitrack.

Cheers!

[Carbon]

I probably can't give anymore information than what has already been given, but Shinkansen track is standard gauge on either concrete tie or concrete slab.

 

Turnouts are swing nose turnouts. Here is a video of a scratch built HO scale swing nose turnout

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpStCPKKPAI

 

Since you mentioned 3d printing... it's outside of the scope of what you are talking about, but here is a playlist to a guy who is currently 3d printing his entire Shinkansen layout. Maybe it might inspire you

 

Hopefully any of this helps and best of luck on your new layout!

Edited February 8 by Carbon
Removed irrelevant information

[Madsing]

On 2/7/2025 at 8:32 PM, Junech said:

I found this site a while ago:

 

https://kikakurui.com/e/index.html

 

It has the JISE Standards as HTML files available. They are Japanese but there are some about switches (JISE 1301 to JISE 1305). There are drawings of different sleepers as well. But you will need to fight through the Japanese. I didn't have the time to really look into it myself but maybe it helps.

These documents are really interesting. Thanks for sharing!

Marc

 

[Captain_Mumbles]

On 2/8/2025 at 11:52 PM, Carbon said:

I probably can't give anymore information than what has already been given, but Shinkansen track is standard gauge on either concrete tie or concrete slab.

 

Turnouts are swing nose turnouts. Here is a video of a scratch built HO scale swing nose turnout

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpStCPKKPAI

 

Since you mentioned 3d printing... it's outside of the scope of what you are talking about, but here is a playlist to a guy who is currently 3d printing his entire Shinkansen layout. Maybe it might inspire you

 

Hopefully any of this helps and best of luck on your new layout!

 

That really takes it up a few notches doesn't it!

I had planned to cut up the Kato slab track straights into individual slabs to make transition curves!