Kanjiyama - An N gauge Japanese Terminus Layout

[Claude_Dreyfus]

The word Kanjiyama is used on the NHK World program – Kanjiyama Mime (see Avatar!) – so cannot be too offensive! I quite liked the name, but also liked the significance of have Kanji in the title; which I thought would be a nice throwback based on the layout subject.

 

Yama is ideal as the layout is based in the Akaishi mountains, so assists in giving it a sense of place. Now you say that it makes sense, as Mount Fuji is often described as Fujiyama.

 

A final nice to have would be for the characters to be relatively simple. So far my initial findings make a word which is probably as complicated as any word in the Japanese language!

[Densha]

Googling Kanjiyama Mime results in it being written in katakana (カンジヤマ・マイム) .

Are you referring to the kanji characters in your post? In kanji (lol), kanji is written as 漢字. That would result in 漢字山 meaning something like "Chinese character mountain" 

[Claude_Dreyfus]

The joys of literal translation! 

 

Yes, I would like the station name - as well as pelmet board (it is to be an exhibition layout) - to have the Kanji script. I think it looks more 'Japanese' despite its Chinese origins. It may seem a bit of a faceceous comment, but the aesthetics of the appearence will give it that little bit extra.

 

I did first consult the translation of Kanjiyama Mime; but like you came up with a great long title that would not look too comfortable on the station nameboards. For the reasons above I don't really want to use the Katakana script.

 

Your solution looks to be more or less what I am after - despite the Japanese name being 'Chinese Character Mountain' - as it sort of makes sense as a name; is not naughty, crass or stupid; is not too long, or uses too many characters; and sounds pretty good - to me - in its Japanese form.

[Densha]

I understand that you prefer kanji characters on the sign as I've never seen katakana before on those, I've seen some pictures of signs with hiragana, but that wouldn't shorten it.

As I said before I don't know what the meaning of "Kanji" in Kanjiyama was meant to be, but since 漢字 means is the way of writing a Japanese word, it could be a choice indeed. Maybe there's someone out here who could confirm my reasoning.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

As I said before I don't know what the meaning of "Kanji" in Kanjiyama was meant to be, but since 漢字 means is the way of writing a Japanese word, it could be a choice indeed. Maybe there's someone out here who could confirm my reasoning.

 

To be honest, I assumed - rightly or wrongly - that the Kanji in Kanjiyama made some reference to the character set as the whole basis of the 'show' is around the learning of Japanese words.

 

Thanks for your time in helping me get my head around this!

[Densha]

Ah, right. That would make sense. Then the name of the show would mean something like "A mountain of kanji characters", sounds stupid but makes sense if it's that kind of show.

 

No problem, I'm glad to be of help! (and surprised that I could help someone with something like this)

[marknewton]

More work has been taking place on Kanjiyama...this time on the Sankei buildings I received last week. I have three; two apartment blocks and a factory. They are really nice models, and quite enjoyable to build. They also make up really good models, which do not look like card buildings when you view them, even closely.

 

Very nice indeed. I particularly like the factory, I'd love to see this done by Sankei in HO.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Yes, the factory in H0 would be most acceptable...I do have plans to build something for my H0 collection to run!

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Time for some more questions... This time it is in relation to the yard.

 

I would like some sort of fuelling facility in the yard, preferably very simple. I am envisaging a tank, some sort of support building, plus some pipes to attach to the locos and units. Thing is, I cannot locate any pictures of Japanese fuelling points, and am working on the assumption that as the technique is pretty much the same the world over, a very simple refuelling point would be much of a muchness wherever you are in the world.

 

Would I be right in this assumption, or is there something specific I am missing; for example they don't use this sort of set up for refuelling?

 

I am also assuming that fuel in this low volume would not arrive by rail, but via road...similar to many parts of the UK. If this is also the case, does JR have a contract with any particular fuel producer; for example would it be likely we saw an Eneos or Jomo tanker parked by a small fuelling point?

[KenS]

I've never seen a picture of a fueling point, and given how small the diesel fleets are in most places they could easily refuel from a trackside oil truck (a method used in the U.S. by smaller railroads and some commuter agencies).

 

However, looking at the engine facility at Tabata in northern Tokyo (via Google Earth) I turned up the photo which might show a fuel pump (it could be something else):

 

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/52448161

 

You can also see it from Streetview in Google Maps:

 

http://maps.google.com/?ll=35.743695,139.756117&spn=0.002114,0.002961&t=m&z=19&lci=com.panoramio.all

[cteno4]

what about sand?

 

jeff

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Thanks for that.

 

It looks like it could more than likely be fuelled direct from a road tanker. This is quite a common occurrence in the UK now as rail deliveries to depots, indeed depots themselves, become few and far between. I wanted to be a fairly sure, as it is easy for me to just default to UK practice to fill in any gaps I am not certain about.

 

I also wanted to mindful not to fall into the trap of having major depot facilities – or at least heavily used stabling point facilities – in a location that would see few movements. I have lost count of how many layouts, especially modern, I have seen that have a stabling point armed with pretty much everything you need to run a modern loco fleet…including locos with their power units exposed undergoing a major overhaul!

 

My yard would need to carry out very basic maintenance, such as fuelling, changing oil and water, really basic repairs such as replacing a bulb and topping up sand. This, in practice, means barely any facilities…really the yard is meant to put things awaiting their next duty – particularly the loco following the transfer of the freight. Buildings will consist of a small crew hut, a portacabin or two and a couple of old containers. There will also be a few barrels (oil and water) boxes/crates/pallets and bags of sand knocking around.

 

Having the refuelling coming straight from a road tanker would eliminate the need to dedicate a siding to fuelling, cut down on the structures and remove the need for pipes. It also adds a splash of colour to the yard by having one of the Tomytec six-wheeler tankers positioned there…if there is no particular company, I may go for the Eneos version.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

what about sand?

 

 

As in filling up loco/unit sandboxes for grip?

 

If so, yes I will be looking at adding some reference to this in the yard.

[cteno4]

yep for sandboxes. ive never noticed sanding towers, but expect they must have something as when i have seen sandboxes on japanese locos they are pretty high so you could not shovel it in. suppose you could haft bags up and split them, but may be messy and i figure a japanese yard would have some nifty clean way of doing it.

 

im interested in any yard shots like this as well. i love maintenance yards and want to do a big one eventually.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Claude_Dreyfus]

More scenic progress to report...this time at the other end of the layout where I felt progress was clearly lacking.

 

Before this, however, I had one more Sankei structure to complete. This was the most complicated of the three, but made up a really nice model.

 

 

 

Perhaps the pictures don't show it in the best possible light...and yes, I still need to line out the roof edging to get shot of the white from the tile paper.

 

Now the three Sankei buildings are complete, I was able to roughly position them on the layout in more or less where they will be living. The landscape still has to be properly formed, but I hope you get the idea. There will be a tree lined bank between the right-hand Sankei building and the much larger Kato structure beside it.

 

 

A drawback with these very fine kits is that they are perhaps too fine compared with the altogether more 'rural' Tomytec offerings. This does look odd, so I have had to separate them to an extent...trees will come in very useful here!

 

The previously mentioned Kato apartment is the final town building to be added...save for a few small outbuildings etc. It was purchased to fill a large gap which I had not accounted for. It is still a bit bright, however will be toned down in due course.

 

This rather indifferent picture shows the overall townscape, awaiting the finer landscaping features before the first layer of paint and plaster is applied.

 

 

At the other end, the fiddle yard has now been obscured by a new hillside.

 

 

Just visible in the foreground is the start of the form work for the front hillside, which will be relatively high. I liked this idea as it would loose the trains in the landscape to a certain extent...and try to disguise the fact the layout is only 1'6'' wide. The area I have to play with in terms of the third-sector companies yard is now a little more apparent.

 

 

This final image shows the front edging more clearly. This is to protect the scenery from the front, and at the board join. The pink foam will form the main basis of the hillside. The woodwork will be painted black to blend in with the framework at the front of the layout.

[KenS]

It's looking very good.  I like the idea of the obscuring front hillside. Breaking up a long run of track is a good idea, and this is a very natural-looking way to do that.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Hopefully the approach of the higher scenery at the front to hide some of the track work will work...fingers crossed!

 

Progress has been really good this weekend...by virtue of the Easter break and my usual reluctance to go away over this period; really busy roads, still unpredictable weather etc. The scenic structure is more of less complete now, just some finer details to complete before starting on the colour. This is the state of play yesterday...

 

 

The hill has been completed on the left, whilst the road now heads into the background. Its sudden stop will be where the backscene cuts across from the back of the layout to run behind the half-hill hiding the fiddle yard.

 

Today was about completing (more or less) the hillside and start adding the plaster and mod-roc.

 

 

There are still a few gaps around the tunnel mouths. This will be concrete retaining walls, which may be added tomorrow depending on the weather. The new road section can be seen on the right with the blue car marking its course. There needs to be another layer of plaster over the hillside to hide the bandages of the mod-roc.

 

Now that the hill is in place, access will be a little restrictive to the track accessing the yard. When complete most of this area will be covered with trees.

 

Talking of which...

 

 

I have a number of trees for Kanjiyama. First up is a box of cheepo Chinese trees, which will form the background of the woodland. Mixed in with these will be some of the Woodland Scenics 00 branches from their tree kits. Ideal for smaller N gauge trees. Finally are the trees in this picture.

 

They are produced by a company called 4D. Their shop is in London, more or less outside of Fenchurch Street station, and about 15 minutes walk from my work. They are mainly aimed at architectural modelling, and do a wide range of scales. These just happen to be 1/150!

 

Amongst this lot are beech trees, silver birch, pine and a more general deciduous...one of which is bare. There is also a tree in blossom, which will take over form the Tomytec blossom trees for the orchard at the front of the layout.

 

The next picture was taken this afternoon, now having had the first of the plaster surface added.

 

 

The white strips are intended for tow purposes. First to mark around the buildings, adding a little extra road height and therefore disguising the bases. Secondly was to mark out distinctive areas. The area around the station will have a very different road surface.

 

The roadway continues through the village...

 

 

I need to get that retaining wall behind the tracks completed as a next task, before getting the sand paper out to smooth those road surfaces...

[Densha]

It's really getting to look like something now!

[marknewton]

I turned up the photo which might show a fuel pump (it could be something else...

 

Ken, it's a fuel pump. We have very similar equipment here.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

A mixed bag of an update this time around.

 

Since the last update more work has gone ahead on the scenic base, with a layer of modroc being put down, followed by a layer of scultamould. The sculptamould has been used before, but not quite to this extent. It is quite rough, and does not take being attacked with various grades of sandpaper too well.

 

It will help with the rock faces, where the texture is rough, but I will see with the grassed areas...there may need to be something like a layer of plater to smooth it out.

 

In addition, the first road surface has been added. This is a fine plater-like substance obtained form my new favourite shop - 4D Modelshop in London. I slightly dilute it, making it very easy to spread. It is also quite messy, as the best tool I could find for giving an even covering was my finger!

 

This week, and the modroc is in place, along with the second layer of road surface. This will be painted in the very near future.

 

Apologies for the poor pictures here...the weather has been rotten here of the last week or two. My area has just had an official drought warning put in place - with the time-honoured hosepipe ban. The day the order came into force, the heavens opened!

 

 

The road still needs sanding...but I am happy with the texture.

 

 

The various grey blotches are were there will be patches of exposed rock. Most of them will be covered, but it is good to get the very bottom coat on now...looks like progress!

 

 

The tunnels are in place...although there is still work to improve just inside...needs more black! I am quite happy with the way the have turned out, and how they fit into the scenery. That said, I not 100% convinced by the high wall running along side the right-hand tunnel. It seems too high, and crying out for some sort of grading. This may be easier said than done...but now is the time. I am a little restricted by space here, so there may have to be a compromise.

 

The white behind the left-hand tunnel mouth is actually a piece of card that is to form the base of the factory unit! I have also noted the ragged edged by the same tunnel mouth; a little surgery need there.

[scott]

Looks like you're making some good progress there--it's fun seeing this one come along. (Distracts me from *our* lack of progress, too... :-) ).

[ia909]

Looks fantastic.

 

Regarding your high retaining wall thoughts, not sure what your plans are for the terrain covering the tunnels, but would lots of foilage trailing down from the top of the wall roughly to the height of the tunnel portal work and blend in with your scheme?

 

Ian

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Hi Scott,

 

Progress has been slow and steady here lately, but it has not been fantastic bearing in mind I've been at it for over two years! I marvel at the progress other on here make, but then again, is it not the 'doing' that is the most fun...even if progress ain't great...

 

Ian,

 

I have been thinking about disguises, but I want to go a little easy on the greenery as the layout is set in springtime. As I said, the space I have means I am a little limited in what I can do. I like throwing in some curveballs - like the season meaning I cannot have too much vegatation, or the track layout limiting operations, but the space around the tunnels was not one I had planned for!

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Today I was able to take a couple of hours adding the first layers of colour to the layout. The base colour is a mixture of brown and green poster and powder paints, which dry quickly, and will be absorbed by the scuptamould, hopefully disguising any of the inevitable chips and knocks that are bound to take place.

 

The tunnels are starting to look more in place now, although there is still some work to do inside to hide the white foamboard used for the superstructure. Some additional scattering has been added to the trackbed since this picture was taken...

 

That picture, and the next, show the first of the buildings to be fitted in place. This is a small farm building beside the orchard, which I have needed to build into the landscape as it has quite a prominent base. The white around and leading to it will be a farm track. In the distance, some further work has taken place in the yard...

 

...which is seen a little clearer here.

 

This is the basis for a hard standing area around the yard, which is formed from mountboard, with the joins filled in by the same fine plaster used for the road surfaces. Where the board ends is filled with a little balsa filler, and will lead on to a gravelled/dirt area. There may well be another small building towards the front of this area as well.

 

Another view of the orchard area and entrance to the yard.

 

The other building to be attached is the second farm shed. This will be beside the farm house, and again is slightly built into the landscape. Both of these structures are Tomytec.

 

This picture shows an overall view of the country end of the layout, with the farm, farm buildings and workers cottages visible. You can see in the very foreground the base for the factory unit in place and given an undercoat of grey paint.

 

The retaining wall behind the station needs to be completed - I cut the plasticard for this today - as well as the road surface, before the niceties of scatter and attaching the buildings is looked at...

[keitaro]

nice. I really like your work so far.

 

particularily how you have done the tunnels.