rosskin92 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hello, My name is Ross. I just joined the forum a little while ago I have had some experience with N-Scale model trains before-> mostly American models tho. Its been a little while since I have had a layout and I am interested in creating a new one. I do not own any Japanese model trains at the moment. I stumbled upon Japanese model trains lately and they have captivated me. I want to plan a Japanese style layout but I don't know what to model at all... I kinda want the model to be small in size. I'm not too sure if I want it to be a loop or point to point plan yet... I also want some freight operation... preferably local freight (no container trains)... I really don't want to have super long trains on the layout, as I really don't like how they look (I honestly don't know why). Going off of what I said above, I started looking at Japanese branch lines to get some inspiration... but I got overwhelmed. . A rural or seaside line would be cool in my opinion... with a small city or something on it... Can anybody give me ideas as to what prototypes or modeling ideas to look at? Link to comment
marknewton Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Welcome to the forum Ross. Based on your criteria, you have a lot of railways to choose from. But perhaps you could define your preferences a little more? Are you looking at an electric railway, or diesel? Modern day, or an earlier era? Maybe even steam? Cheers, mark. Link to comment
rosskin92 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Welcome to the forum Ross. Based on your criteria, you have a lot of railways to choose from. But perhaps you could define your preferences a little more? Are you looking at an electric railway, or diesel? Modern day, or an earlier era? Maybe even steam? Cheers, mark. Haha sorry about being vauge. I am mostly looking into the electric or diesel model era. Maybe something that is more like early 90's to the Present... I hope this helps Link to comment
Mudkip Orange Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Urban or rural? For urban, you might try something loosely based off the area between Fujisawa and Enoshima. In that corridor, you have - Seaside - Through trains on the Tokaido Main Line (basically an excuse to run anything you want) - The Enoden tram system - The Odakyu Electric Railway and its terminus at Katase-Enoshima - The tail end of the Shonan monorail For rural, well, something like half of Honshu's entire coastline is within a stone's throw of a rail line, so there's literally hundreds of locations to choose/draw inspiration from. Link to comment
rosskin92 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hmmm intErsing options.... Are there any coastal or local branch lines that have a good amount of information available? Link to comment
KenS Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I wouldn't say there's a lot of information available, but you might consider the Kanagawa Rinkai (waterfront) Railway, which serves port areas on Tokyo bay south of Tokyo with diesels. It basically exists to move cars from port areas to JR Freight. They operate four lines; three I believe are mostly petroleum tank trains, and the fourth containers from the Port of Yokohama. Most Japanese freight today is container or other unit trains (mostly tank cars of one kind or another). The biggest problem is that I don't think anyone's made a model of the DD55 diesels they use. But with a bit of artistic license you could use some other kind (a DE10 or DD51) and either pretend they switched or that it's a similar port railway rather than that specific one (JR Freight also serves some similar port areas a bit closer to Tokyo, in the Kawasaki area, and you could model those instead). Japanese Wikipedia about the Kanagawa Rinkai Railway (read with a URL translator, like Google Translate) And a few photos. But perhaps others know of more. There's a bit of info on Japanese freight here. Link to comment
Tenorikuma Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 There's a very popular line among Japanese modellers called the Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden for short). It's a small urban line in a coastal city that runs as a tram line in some sections and along the seawall in others. It uses a variety short tram-style trains, most of which are available in N gauge from Modemo. The combination of interesting seaside and urban scenery with the practicality of trams for small home layouts contributes to its popularity. Link to comment
Kabutoni Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 There's a very popular line among Japanese modellers called the Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden for short). It's a small urban line in a coastal city that runs as a tram line in some sections and along the seawall in others. It uses a variety short tram-style trains, most of which are available in N gauge from Modemo. The combination of interesting seaside and urban scenery with the practicality of trams for small home layouts contributes to its popularity. Not only Japanese modellers. I have this feeling there is also quite some support here on the forums Link to comment
The_Ghan Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hey Rosskin, Welcome to the forum. You find plenty of railways that might interest you and those already suggested here are a good start. For me, I plan to build a small representation of the Hakone Tozan Railway. I suggest you use Google to view images. It's particularly appropriate if you appreciate small trains and dramatic landscapes. It just might fit your bill. This Wiki link might also be of interest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakone_Tozan_Line. The railway is easily spotted using Google Earth too. Also, the model is readily available through Hobby Search (and other retailers) from a number of manufacturers: - Tomix: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10020010 - Modemo: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10126222 - Greenmax: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10120082 for example. While you're hunting around at Hobby Search, have a look throught some of the private railways models. There's plenty of great stuff here: - Kato: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/list/164/0/1 - Tomix: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/list/604/0/1 - great Nagoya Railways Series 7000 Panorama coming out soon - Micro Ace: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/list/861/0/1 - the Kintetsu series 18400 on page 2 for example. Have a good look around. You don't need to buy from HS, although their prices are quite good, but their website is well laid out and they stock a good range of product. Best of luck The_Ghan Link to comment
Tenorikuma Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 There's a very popular line among Japanese modellers called the Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden for short). It's a small urban line in a coastal city that runs as a tram line in some sections and along the seawall in others. It uses a variety short tram-style trains, most of which are available in N gauge from Modemo. The combination of interesting seaside and urban scenery with the practicality of trams for small home layouts contributes to its popularity. Not only Japanese modellers. I have this feeling there is also quite some support here on the forums Notices Toni's avatar image for the first time. Link to comment
scott Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hi, Ross--welcome to the forum! You're definitely in the right place--as you can see, there are lots of people here who know a lot about what you're looking for. I'm fairly new to all this, too, and the forum has been very friendly and tremendously helpful. Link to comment
marknewton Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Haha sorry about being vauge. I am mostly looking into the electric or diesel model era. Maybe something that is more like early 90's to the Present... I wouldn't say you were vague, you just don't know what you want - yet! Ken beat me to the punch in suggesting one of the coastal railways - rinkai tetsudo - of which there a number you might find interesting. In addition to the Kanagawa Rinkai, you might look at the Kashima Rinkai Railway, the Hachinohe Rinkai Railway, and the Mizushima Rinkai Railway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashima_Rinkai_Railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachinohe_Rinkai_Railway_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizushima_Rinkai_Railway The other suggestions are all equally good, and reflect the great variety of Japanese railways. There's two semi-rural lines that I think are worth a look as well, the Chichibu Railway and the Gakunen Railway. Both are freight haulers as well as having passenger service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichibu_Railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gakunan_Railway_Line As I'm more interested in private railways than the JR companies, I can't suggest a JR line that might interest you, but I'm sure one of the other members here will be able to. All the best, Mark. Link to comment
scott Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I'm just a newbie, but if you're interested in rural JR lines, you might look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iida_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oito_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gono_Line (rural *and* seaside!) Overwhelmed yet? ;-) No need to decide right away. Or to start buying right away--I bought a few trains I ended up not needing once I finally settled on an area (long story). Link to comment
Nick_Burman Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I wouldn't say there's a lot of information available, but you might consider the Kanagawa Rinkai (waterfront) Railway, which serves port areas on Tokyo bay south of Tokyo with diesels. It basically exists to move cars from port areas to JR Freight. They operate four lines; three I believe are mostly petroleum tank trains, and the fourth containers from the Port of Yokohama. Most Japanese freight today is container or other unit trains (mostly tank cars of one kind or another). However don't forget that you can route container cars into private sidings. Also that there are other types of containers apart from the box ones - judging from a film taken on the Nagoya Rinkai I believe that there are flat containers for steel coils for instance. And Kosaka Copper used to run trains of gondola containers. The biggest problem is that I don't think anyone's made a model of the DD55 diesels they use. But with a bit of artistic license you could use some other kind (a DE10 or DD51) and either pretend they switched or that it's a similar port railway rather than that specific one (JR Freight also serves some similar port areas a bit closer to Tokyo, in the Kawasaki area, and you could model those instead). Japanese Wikipedia about the Kanagawa Rinkai Railway (read with a URL translator, like Google Translate) And a few photos. But perhaps others know of more. There's a bit of info on Japanese freight here. Arumodel to the rescue - http://homepage3.nifty.com/arumo/rn006.htm - not quite but close enough. Failing that, one can always invent one's own Rinkai Tetsudo... Cheers NB 1 Link to comment
Guest JRF-1935 Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Rosskin92 Welcome to the forum. I'm also still a newbie but as you can see the members are friendly and the information is outstanding! From my friend Hiroshi-san: in Japan - Good ole Enoden cars!! Please follow this URL: http://www.n-burarisanpo.com/enoden00.html A small railroad running between Fujisawa and Kamakura going from the city to the small town sides, then along the coast line then to city of Kamakura! Ten kilo-meter in length and only an half hour ride connecting 15 stations along the route! Enoden operates five 4-car consists and one 2-car consist for week days and seven 4-car consists for weekend services. All of their cars are hand-washed! No machine wash! So many places that just for you to model small modules to represent Enoden operation! It was established in 1902. More than 100 years of service in that area! Rich C Link to comment
westfalen Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 I don't think anyone's mentioned the Oigawa Railway yet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oigawa_Railway_Oigawa_Main_Line It runs a variety of second hand electrics with the added attraction of regular steam tourist trains. If it's hard to make a choice you could always take the things you like from different lines and make up your own railway. A little bit of modelers license goes a long way when you're modeling something on the other side of the world. 1 Link to comment
Samurai_Chris Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 To save me money and my mind. I am simply just doing Fukuoka.. It allows me to have some Commuters, Shinkansens, locals, and tilt trains.. It also allows me to have scenery of my local area, as well as other areas around where I live. I also get to build two sets of tracks in regards to my commuter and local lines, as well as my Shinkansen line... Currently I have two of the Micro Ace 813 100-500's for my commuters, the Tomix N700-8000 Sakura and Kato Series 800 Tsubame for my Shinkansens. And eventually I will get a Kato 885 tilt train as well to round it all off for me.. As for locals, I have to do some more research on our Kiha's that we run locally here.. Link to comment
Nick_Burman Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 Another suggestion for a good rinkai tetsudo - Fukushima Rinkai. It was one of the first rinkai tetsudo to be built, it ran steam (!) and had passenger services (diesel railcars). Cheers NB 1 Link to comment
marknewton Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Or as it was known when described in Rails to the Rising Sun, the Onahama Rinkai. That would be a good choice, Nick. Does anyone do the B6 0-6-2s in N scale that you know of? Cheers, Mark. Link to comment
marknewton Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 If it's hard to make a choice you could always take the things you like from different lines and make up your own railway... Funny you should say that Alvin, I'm going in that direction myself now. As much as I like the Chitetsu and Hokutetsu, I find I keep thinking about the Oigawa steam operations, and how "modelgenic" they are. I suppose I've spent too long around steam locos not to have some representation of them on my layout. That being the case, I'm reworking my layout design to accomodate my change in interest and focus. I intend to combine elements of all three of these lines mentioned into a credible freelance railway. Watch this space... Cheers, Mark. 1 Link to comment
westfalen Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Or as it was known when described in Rails to the Rising Sun, the Onahama Rinkai. That would be a good choice, Nick. Does anyone do the B6 0-6-2s in N scale that you know of? Cheers, Mark. I am looking at Rainbow Ten's website at the moment, prompted by another post on them, and they list the Micro Ace B6-2120 on sale for 12600Y. might be trying to get rid of old stock. http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/english/index.html Picture from HS http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10014271a/20/1 Link to comment
rosskin92 Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Wow you guys are extremely helpful! I have been going through all of the ideas that you guys have pointed out and right now I'm looking at a layout based off of the Enoden with some local freight service (using a DD16 or a DD10). I'm still in the planning phases- the layout is evolving every day. 1 Link to comment
marknewton Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Wow you guys are extremely helpful! We try to be! Seriously, though, of all the forums I've seen, this is by far the best in terms of the people involved, and their willingness to assist others. I have been going through all of the ideas that you guys have pointed out and right now I'm looking at a layout based off of the Enoden with some local freight service (using a DD16 or a DD10). Sounds like a good plan, keep us posted. Cheers, MArk. 3 Link to comment
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