Shintahara - A Branchline layout in T - *Update* Dec 22 /2011

[DanMacK]

Hello all,

 

**Updated Dec 22/2011**

Once again, changes.  Looking at Sir Madog's thread and the website of his inspiration, I've decised to try a small modular setup to develop my scenery techniques in T Gauge and to get something running using mostly what I have.  The modular idea is far from dead, just domand for awhile while I play around with a loop of micromodules.

 

Also, the Shintahara Line's location has been firmy cemented as being in Hokkaido, just not sure which line to connect it to.  I'm a fan of underdogs, and it would theoretically be the only existing 3rd sector line in Hokkaido.

 

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The Shintahara Railway company was chartered in 1893 to connect the villages of Shintahara and Baiji. The line passed through the village of Atakami with a branch line to the village of Kintubo.  The original portion of the line began construction in 1895 and was completed by late 1896. The Japanese Government Railway line passed through Baiji and in 1899, they constructed a line through Shintahara.

 

The village of Echindo several miles into the mountains northeast of Shintahara had a small coal mine operation.  The short line saw this as an opportunity and constructed a line to tap this resource.  The line passed through the small village of Itohara on the way to Echindo.  A total of three tunnels and one long trestle were needed to reaching Echindo.  

 

In 1906, the line extended further into the mountains to the villages of Katangi and Ryabuko.  There was another coal mine at Ryabuko, so the four tunnels and one trestle used to get there were warranted.  In 1907, the Shintahara Railway was completely absorbed into the new Japanese National Railway.  

 

A Hot Springs bath house was opened in 1914 in Shiku and became a source of much traffic on the line.  

 

Due to the secondary nature of the Shintahara Line, it was never electrified.   Steam lasted on the line until 1970, after which passenger duties were taken over by a number of KiHa 30 diesel railcars.  Freight service was taken over by diesels.  The Ryabuko coal mine closed in 1970, and after that, very little freight travelled between Shiku and Ryabuko.  

 

A tunnel collapse in 1974 on the line just north of Shiku sealed the fate of the line to Ryabuko. Passengers still continued to travel by rail to the Onsen in Shiku, but improved roads through the mountains diminished this traffic.  

 

The closure of the Echindo coal mine in 1984 had a negative impact on the line as well.  Freight service was reduced to a trickle, and only a couple of years after the mine closed, all freight operations on the line were discontinued.

 

JNR was looking at various options to purge itself of the line, and when the company was dissolved, JR East took control of the Shintahara.  Wishing to divest itself of the line as well, JR East sold the Shintahara line to a group of local investors.  The new Third Sector Company, Shintahara Railways Group took control of the Baiji to Shiku section on May 1, 1988.

 

The line operates with a pair of KiHa 40 railcars with a pair of 30's on reserve at the Baiji shops.  Also on roster is a single KiHa 47/48 set.

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[KenS]

That's a nice history, and I like the concept.

 

The idea of having both a loop for "JR" and a point-to-point branch line is interesting.  Are you going to have two power packs so you can have a train loop on the main while the KiHa is operating on the branch, or will you just move one power pack around for show/home use?

 

Are you going to model the "abandoned" mine branch at all (even a switch with rails into some brush)?  One thing you might consider for the future is setting that up in such a way that you could "re-open" it, and run a freight from hidden staging onto the branch, and down to the JR main.  This would add some operational complexity for the KiHa (you'd need a station siding for them to pass).  Of course I don't know if there are appropriate freight cars and diesels available for T-Gauge.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing a track plan.

[cteno4]

Dan,

 

interesting ideas! tgauge is well suited for branch line point to point with both the current trains and the reversing sensors/circuit that comes with them as well. great think about t scale is that you can fit so much scenery into a relatively small area you can have much more dramatic and changing scenes than you would ever think of having in larger scales unless you were very wealthy! if you have the room you might think bigger or an expansion section to add later as scenery is really cheap and 3' x 6' layout in tscale is like a 9' x 18' layout in n scale! having a lot less track also makes for a more prototypical layout than many n scale layouts have (even in japan with very dense rail!) Might think sectional and have each section a different scene with proper transitions on each end to connect with the next scene.

 

if you decide you want stops in your branch line or loops you can also use the minatronics RU21 reversing/pausing system with the tgauge. it gives you two reversing circuits and up to 10 pause/stop points using small photo-resistor sensors you mount in the track. you can also just use the pause circuits in a continuous loop as well. only problem i have found is that t scale voltage range is lower so you may need to use a couple of scrs to drop the voltage of the ru21 a bit to give you better range of speed control.

 

no word on freight for a long time i think as well as other locos. the problem with tgauge has been the need to magnetize the wheels to the tracks to keep them from toppling from the slightest jar or breeze and this then sets up a lot of resistance to rolling, therefore more power cars are needed. even though the power cars are actually pretty powerful their light weight decreases their traction. few chaps have been kitbashing larger us diesels for us passenger cars and making new shells for us passenger cars.

 

there is talk of a shinkansen and steam engine coming to t gauge. he has a working steam engine prototype, cant wait to see that! Eishindo is a small company and trying not to get spread too thin. also now that they are based in Hong Kong, its messed up the distribution in japan so they are having to redo that into direct sales to customers there. its also taking them a while to figure out where their markets are and just how best to serve them. just a lot on their plate and most of the main stuff is done by Mr Hirai himself so again there is only so much they can do even though the guy sounds like he has a million great ideas!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[DanMacK]

The eventual plan is to extend the layout with an optional-use 12"X24" curving tunnel portion on the high branch end that will extend along a wall in 9" X 24" shelves.  Where the design shows the Kintubo branch, that will be an alternate connection for the main branchline for home use, again extending on 9"X24" shelves to Baiji.

 

I've got a total of about 48" X 90" in a storage closet, so not all modules may be used at once.

 

I do plan on powering the branch separate from the main line, and my next purchase will be a Pulse conrtoller from a Talking T-Gauge member in Australia.  Alot of people have had good luck with his controllers.

 

In regards to motive power and freight, there are plans for non-magnetized cars, and there's a video of a pair of the new Hankyu 9000 chassis pulling 17 non-magnetic trailers between them.  These are to be available in 19m and 20m lengths and will hopefully be available soon.

 

Once I get my mainline up and running, I'm planning to get a 19m Hankyu chassis and build an EF81.  It'll be slightly long, but not noticable.  Following that will be 3-4 blue cars initially, possibly with a MaNi baggage car bashed onto another 19m powered chassis.

 

Once the free-rolling chassis come out, I'm probably going to assemble a freight train consisting of several container cars and a couple of Waki10000 boxcars.  I hope to build an EF66 for that service.  The third train I'm planning is a 4-6 car 581/583 set.

[CaptOblivious]

What a fun idea, making up a fantasy prototype. I don't think anyone here had tried to do that before, even though it's common practice in north american modeling. Look forward to seeing this develop!

[DanMacK]

Thanks for the comments guys!

 

The initial layout plan is below.  First stage is the inner mainline loop, probably followed by the branch.  The station at Shintahara is quite possibly going to serve as the subject for my Project Party entry as well :D  The layout plan is below.  The double track main will be electrified, and plans are underway for the mainline roster as well.  I want to have the layout running with at least 2 trains for mid September for a local train show.  I hope to get some progress made by the weekend (mainly benchwork).

 

As always, comments are welcomed.

[stevenh]

DanMack, love it... I can only suggest that you might want a siding for Itohara Station, so that you can run something back instead of just a to-and-fro single car service?

 

Also you have no points or sidings or storage or anything of the sort on your main line?

 

I've done something quite similar (click for my layout planning album), but mine was more about fitting as much in to a small space as possible to test out layout automation, rather than anything prototypical :)

 

I've just realised that I have not updated that album with the final layout... will do that shortly.

[KenS]

Another thing to consider, if the branch is to be the focal point of the layout and the JR route just an accent, is to have the JR line enter tunnels on the right before curving to the back, and to bring Itohara down to the right, front, corner, on the upper level, putting it closer to the operator.

 

And a passing siding, at Itohara or elsewhere on the branch is a good idea (with a pair of power packs and two simple A/B switches, you could split the branch into a left half and a right half, and have trains pass at a siding in the middle; actually, if T-gauge switches are "power routing" you could do it with a pair of power packs and no A/B switches, you'd just have to be sure to have the throttles zero'd before throwing both ends of the siding to the same line).

[rankodd]

Wait - I thought the T-gauge switches hadn't come out yet?

[DanMacK]

Excellent suggestions :D 

 

The plan for this layout is just a section in a larger scheme.  It's not the "final" layout :)  My total layout space is a 48" X 90" Storage closet that has to share computer space.  The eventual design for the home layout is a 'U' shaped layout based on the branch.  The next step is going to be a 1'X2' extension out of Itohara that curves through a 90 degree tunnel and over the Shiku River bridge, so I want the space for that.  Eichindo will be the next station built and will have a passing siding.  Also in Eichindo will be the abandoned mine branch (not sure if it will be expandable or not).  Atakami will also have a passing siding. 

 

Shintahara 'may' get a passing track for the branch as well, depends on space. 

 

For home use, the branch modules will extend from the Kintubo branch stub and for shows, I'll likely extend it straight, same with the line out of Itohara. 

 

re: The switches - Left-hand turnouts are available, and Right-Hand ones are comign soon.

[DanMacK]

Trains are rolling!  I recieved my 145mm radius curves in the mail yesterday, so the inner JNR Main line was put in.  I've got a temporary base of foamcore in place until I finalize some other track and scenery placements, after which I'll complete cutting the blue foam for the branch roadbed and glue it to the baseboard.  The track will then follow.  The straight track along the back will be hidden by mountain, so the foamcore it's on is where it will be. 

 

One picture shows the layout before the foamcore, second shows the temporary placement of the track with the base foamcore (and my KiHa 40 on the diagonal section) and the third shows the KiHa40 itself, currently my only powered piece of T-gauge equipment.  Note the Drywall screw.

 

More to come as work progresses.

[KenS]

Considering the size, there's an amazing level of detail on that model.

[David]

I wish they'ed go back to pad printing though - they where able to make 4 car sets for $50 (including 2 motor cars) with pad printing (the 103 series). Even with the increased cost of the improved mechanism, I don't think it would add more then $20 to the 4 car set, which in my mind is still reasonable if you get the high quality results of the first series. N scale is normally the cheapest scale and a 4 car powered set is just over $100 - I don't think we'd hate T gauge for having an $80 or $90 price point for a finely detailed Hankyu set, or $40 for a single powered Kiha.

[DanMacK]

Some layout progress can be seen in my Project Party thread.  Not much else to report recently.  I've still only got one main line, the other will hopefully be completed in a couple months.  The landscape is starting to take shape as well, and the branchline ramp up to Itohara is in place.  The next project is to rough in the mountain.  The mountain will be built in removable sections for ease of access and construction.

 

I've also been using some time to design some paper buildings.  Most of these are still being tweaked (a lack of ink ATM precludes much physical testing).  Some you may recognize as being inspired by Tomytec Town Collection buildings.  I take no shame in this.

 

All buildings currently have all views, and if anyone's interested, I can show more.

 

Also on the image is the planned station halt for Itohara.  I want to have a Kanji sign, but I'm not sure how to actually write the name.  The last symbol I found actually means "Mountain Shrine", but I just used the 'Ito' and 'Hara' characters.  Could somebody versed in Kanji advise on the correct format?

 

Suggestions welcomed.

[DanMacK]

Seeing as how my progress on physical construction has been reduced to a crawl, I've been plotting out various parts of the layout and working on building designs for the town of Shintahara.

 

My latest research has led me to design the layout for the Itohara Shrine. I decided it would be an Inari shrine and would need to be large enough to warrant its own train station, albeit a small one.  The image here is roughly full size, and shows the portion of the layout where the shrine will be.  I may actually build the shrine area at the workbench as a diorama and install it on the layout seperately. 

 

In the meantime, work continues on redesigning the station model for Shintahara. 

 

Suggestions welcomed.

[scott]

Can you find tiny N-scale kitsune? 

[DanMacK]

N Scale?  I'm working in T :P  They'll probably be wire and putty :) 

[DanMacK]

Update!

 

Updated the first post with a bit of new info. 

 

More than ever I want to recreate the feeling of a rural branch line.  Main line and Shinkansen are cool, but a run down branch line seemingly on its last legs for some reason appeals to me.

 

Inspired by the Kominato Line, and the want to show a bit of history on the line, I've developed a plan that has alot of abandoned track.

 

Below is the first set of planned modules, running from Baiji station to Atakami.  Baiji park will be against the backdrop, but some rides will be modeled.  (Animation is optional :P)

 

The next set will be Shintahara, and so on down the line. 

[Mudkip Orange]

In what universe is 2' x 3' too big?

[DanMacK]

One where you're living in a basement room with a wife, a dog and a cat :P  I need something that'll easily fit on my computer desk or the kitchen table that doesn't overwhelm.  Modules are just more managable is all :)

[scott]

One where you're living in a basement room with a wife, a dog and a cat :P 

 

Wow--I'd say you are precisely the person T-gauge was invented for! :-)

[DanMacK]

Slight change of plans (not a huge one :P)  Thinking about it, I've decided two things.  To Start building from Shiku back towards Baiji, and to widen my modules to 12 inches to allow for more scenery.

 

Below is a basic layout of the scenery for Shiku and the companion module.  Inspired by a number of the existing and defunct mountainous lines.