Tomytec 'Car-system'

[Guest ___]

From a show at the Yokohama Landmark. At least three buses in motion and one tram.

 

 

 

How thick is the roadbase? I couldn't help but notice in the video it appears that the road ran across one of the TT bridge?

[bill937ca]

 

 

How thick is the roadbase? I couldn't help but notice in the video it appears that the road ran across one of the TT bridge?

 

I understand it will be the same thickness as the Tomix Wide Tram track so a uniform paved surface will be formed.  

 

With reference to its only buses, Milan has some trolleybus lanes which are not BRT but were intended to be converted to center reservation streetcar operation.  Traffic is restricted to trolleybuses, taxis and illegal motor scooters.  These vehicles move!

 

 

 

[Hobby Dreamer]

Thanks for posting this Bill...

 

I'm showing my stupidity again but if it was not for the speed of the tram and bus, I could have been fooled that this was 1:1.

 

I'd be tempted to buy the bus road plates (sans bus) just to have great looking roads!

Ten years ago I committed to N scale, but was always uncertain because of the lack of structures, vehicles, figures etc. They are not just available but today look every bit as good as the best HO.

 

Rick

[disturbman]

Hum! It looks good, maybe even better than the faller system. I'd love to see how it's operated.

[westfalen]

We've seen videos of these working and speculation of how they are likely to work but we need an in depth, pull the thing apart review to see definitely how it works and what can be done with it.

[cteno4]

for me the issue is that it has to have the clear road way. if its a city then thats just odd unless you use a bus express lane, but then you end up having only the bus moving and not the rest of your cars. i guess you could put the car lanes into absolute gridlock so that only the express bus lanes are moving.

 

i still see this as something that will work better in a scene where its more of a lonely winding road and maybe disappears somewhere for the loopback.

 

multiple busses on the same path will require some sort of computerized control as they all run at their own speeds more or less.

 

it does look like they have taken the faller system a few steps forward! it will be interesting to rip in to them to see what they did. i really ripped into the faller thinking i might be able to build some myself. talked to a 3D plastics guy and the thought the steering mech might not be too hard to produce on those systems. but just too much trouble and tomytec prices are going to be more in line with a good price, faller were going for $75-150/vehicle if you could find them them...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Faller does have spare parts available (or used to anyway, haven't checked it out for a while), and 1 of those spare parts was the whole steering bit. Theoretically, it'd be possible to mount that on a TomyTec bus collection. A motor driving the rear wheels shouldn't be much of a problem either.

 

There is also a system that allows the Faller Car System to be divided into blocks, and have the entire thing computer controlled. Each car gets a decoder, and signals are transmitted using a magnetic field that's being generated by 2 wires running parallel to the guide wire. Having the decoder of course also allows for smooth acceleration and deceleration, as while as turning lights on and off, using signal lights when turning, brake lights, and more.

 

The problem is of course that the N-scale vehicles are difficult to fit a decoder in, and you're limited to trucks and busses. Also, the only program to support the automated system is only available in Dutch. Not sure if any other programs are even planning on supporting it..

 

I do have a Car System bus, but for me the main problem is running time. It takes a few hours to charge, and it'll drive for max 10 minutes. Just not worth it..

[Guest ___]

Great. Next thing you know we'll all be trying to DCC the road system. 

[Martijn Meerts]

In essence, the system I mentioned is DCC for the Faller Car System, just a different design ;)

 

Railz Miniworld in Rotterdam uses the system on their large layout, and it works rather well. Of course, their layout is H0.

[bill937ca]

 

The problem is of course that the N-scale vehicles are difficult to fit a decoder in, and you're limited to trucks and busses. Also, the only program to support the automated system is only available in Dutch. Not sure if any other programs are even planning on supporting it..

 

Is it possible to come with a van, even a Sprinter van?  Micro cars would be out of the question, of course.

[Martijn Meerts]

Van should work as well. In H0 they managed to fit motors into regular cars, so in N-scale trucks, busses, vans, minitrucks etc. should work. It's not very likely you'd be able to hide the motor in the cases of busses though, so you'd have to figure out a way to hide it (darkening the windows, or maybe print the inside of a bus and past it on the windows or something..)

[bill937ca]

Van should work as well. In H0 they managed to fit motors into regular cars, so in N-scale trucks, busses, vans, minitrucks etc. should work. It's not very likely you'd be able to hide the motor in the cases of busses though, so you'd have to figure out a way to hide it (darkening the windows, or maybe print the inside of a bus and past it on the windows or something..)

 

 

You could always do a full vehicle advertising wrap. They are pretty common these days.  We even have one in Belleville (pop. 37,000).

[bill937ca]

There are places that have bus only roads.  

[john_ibw]

Can some help me understand how 2 sets (TT Bus System) can be combined with a wide tram oval? Which sizes of wide tram tracks can be used in conjunction with bus plates? That is a bus road on either sides of a basic oval shape wide tram.

[bill937ca]

Latest video.

 

 

 

Right now its sold out at HS.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10130252

[bill937ca]

Can some help me understand how 2 sets (TT Bus System) can be combined with a wide tram oval? Which sizes of wide tram tracks can be used in conjunction with bus plates? That is a bus road on either sides of a basic oval shape wide tram.

 

The description on HS looks like 70mm straights, 103-30 degree curves and 140-30 degree curves which should allow parallel curves. But these curves are the same as the tram rail curves so the pieces for four lanes of buses and trams probably are in the future.  Otherwise we have to wait until somebody gets their order.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10130252a2/20/2

[cteno4]

it sounded like you got a 180 of one radius and 180 worth of the other, so you had to have two kits that would then give you a full 360 of both radiuses and thus two concentric loops...

 

jeff

[westfalen]

Latest video.

 

 

 

Right now its sold out at HS.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10130252

I'm getting one of these as soon as HS gets them back in stock.

[john_ibw]

But these curves are the same as the tram rail curves so the pieces for four lanes of buses and trams probably are in the future.

 

Going by the descriptions, I came to a similar conclusion. However, in this video the tram track is sandwiched between two concentric circle formed using the bus system plates. I do not have any experience with these components so I may be wrong. Can the straight section be extended by 70mm and start the outer circle to wrap around a 140 track? I have spent the most part of last evening and this morning trying to figure this out :)

[john_ibw]

Sorry. I forgot to include the video link.

 

[bill937ca]

The inner bus lane would be 103mm, the two tram tracks 140mm and 177mm all of which are available in some form now.  The outer bus lane would need to be 177mm + 37mm = 214mm (if it hugs the tram tracks) which has never been discussed.  That layout at the trade show is probably a prototype. Pieces shown might or might not go into production.

[Guest ___]

 

I'd like to see the road system pull this off ^_^

[ToniBabelony]

I'd like to see the road system pull this off ^_^

 

Toss a bucket of water violently over your layout and look what happens. Not sure if that would be a pleasant thing to do, recreating tsunamis...

[keiman]

Looking at those videos etc am thinking will have to investigate more. Will need to see exactly how the guidewire is fitted and what metal it is- custom made streets /levelcrossing is in the back of my head for some reason. 

[Tenorikuma]

It's already for sale in Japan. I stopped by the hobby store today, and they had a stack of starter kits by the register. I was sorely tempted, but it's designed to fit with Tomix's tram system, so I think I'm going to wait until I can afford to put together a small Tomix city layout using the car system.

 

(Instead, I bought the black Centram from Kato.)