My Japanese N Scale Diorama - NEW Dinning Table Layout

[JR 500系]

And the building re-commences!

 

The newer layout boosts a tighter fitting curves to accommodate a smaller space, which makes it shinkansen-unfriendly... it will still boast that huge steel bridge across the layout which lives up to its name, Takahashi (高橋)...

 

I'm still missing a few curves here and there to come in from HS before a full loop is rendered.... And then we can have our first maiden voyage in a VERY long time!

[Yavianice]

Looks very cool Sammy! The slopes look a bit steep though. And are those KATO platforms with factory installed lighting?

[Pauljag900]

And about time sammy!😂👍really looking forward to watching this develop mate.It really looks the part inside the glass buddy👍

[Kiha66]

Looking good Sammy, does the top still fit on with those buildings there?  The lit platforms will be really neat to see through the glass at night.

[Das Steinkopf]

I like the track layout as it gives a good mix between operation and storage, the only thing that bugs me is that you lose the view of the outside of the lines and the stations as well as the depot due to them being recessed, do you have enough headspace with the bridge if you were to elevate the layout so it is flush with the glass on the side. If you did elevate the layout you could still accommodate the high rises easily by having the section of terrain where they are sunken, that way you could incorporate some small hills or retaining walls into the landscape,. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by Das Steinkopf

[JR 500系]

19 hours ago, Yavianice said:

Looks very cool Sammy! The slopes look a bit steep though. And are those KATO platforms with factory installed lighting?

 

Thanks! Yes the slopes are really steep, cause they only have about a length of 700mm to raise up to overhead level due to space constraints... I hope this will not pose a challenge, esp for longer trains...

 

The platforms are installed using other brand LEDs as they are much cheaper than the Kato factory installed ones... They are a little too bright though, so some resistors are required...

 

13 hours ago, Pauljag900 said:

And about time sammy!😂👍really looking forward to watching this develop mate.It really looks the part inside the glass buddy👍

 

Thanks Paul buddy! Yes I love the glass too... tempered glass are really good and strong!

 

9 hours ago, Kiha66 said:

Looking good Sammy, does the top still fit on with those buildings there?  The lit platforms will be really neat to see through the glass at night.

 

Thanks Kiha66! Yes the buildings have a clear height limit of not more than 170mm, as when the top glass is fitted in the clear height in the centre minus the side beams are 170mm. Yes I am waiting to join up all the lights too! but it would be quite a hard process working the wires again...

 

4 hours ago, Das Steinkopf said:

I like the track layout as it gives a good mix between operation and storage, the only thing that bugs me is that you lose the view of the outside of the lines and the stations as well as the depot due to them being recessed, do you have enough headspace with the bridge if you were to elevate the layout so it is flush with the glass on the side. If you did elevate the layout you could still accommodate the high rises easily by having the section of terrain where they are sunken, that way you could incorporate some small hills or retaining walls into the landscape,. 

 

Thanks! I really wanted a big and long yard this time to park the trains, as the glass top isn't really 'easy' to open so having more trains parked inside means I can open the glass top lesser (I hope).

 

HHmmm yes you bring up the point I was thinking about for a long time, whether or not I should bring it up with a foam base... but I really didn't want to have foam base this time as it is really quite a hassle especially when digging up the foam and having to remove them from the table each time I have to bury the wires inside... It also makes the height lesser, and can mean some of the nicer buildings might not be able to fit in then... I guess it's like life, compromise compromise, compromise...

[serotta1972]

Looking good Sammy, glad you're getting your layout back together so your trains can get out of their boxes and spin their wheels.  Mini-Shinkansens will do just fine on your smaller radius layout. :)

[Das Steinkopf]

7 hours ago, JR 500系 said:

HHmmm yes you bring up the point I was thinking about for a long time, whether or not I should bring it up with a foam base... but I really didn't want to have foam base this time as it is really quite a hassle especially when digging up the foam and having to remove them from the table each time I have to bury the wires inside... It also makes the height lesser, and can mean some of the nicer buildings might not be able to fit in then... I guess it's like life, compromise compromise, compromise...

 

 

 As I said before if you have a sunken area around where you currently have the pagoda you could still fit in your high rises with ease, there are plenty of examples around Tokyo where you have short but rather steep hills such as around Shibuya, Ueno and Nippori. I would suggest having the high rises placed a bit of a distance from the girder bridge and have lower height buildings inbetween, it will give the impression of being them taller than the brige even if in reality they may not be that much taller or level,  you could have them close to the viaduct as well as it would create a bit of a scenic break. With road connection you could have some running down the hill from under where the girder bridge is and maybe a road tunnel entry that runs under where the curves and the viaduct is.

 

Edited October 20, 2017 by Das Steinkopf

[Pauljag900]

Hi Sammy,

hiding the wires is always an issue mate,more so when you can t just go down through the base,but there s always a way of hiding them,just need to work it out buddy,I m sure you will too.I ve had to lay on ground level before but always managed to conceal them with foliage,gravel etc,in rows of buildings I ve even drilled through the sides and wired them together so when you get to the end there s just one set to hide.But you re bang on mate,there s always a compromise no matter what it is😂😂

[JR 500系]

On ‎20‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 11:30 AM, serotta1972 said:

Looking good Sammy, glad you're getting your layout back together so your trains can get out of their boxes and spin their wheels.  Mini-Shinkansens will do just fine on your smaller radius layout. :)

 

Thanks Junior! Well, for now, they still cant spin their wheels cause I haven't gotten a complete loop just yet... but in a while... I do hope everyone gets a turn!  :)

 

On ‎20‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 12:52 PM, Das Steinkopf said:

 

 

 As I said before if you have a sunken area around where you currently have the pagoda you could still fit in your high rises with ease, there are plenty of examples around Tokyo where you have short but rather steep hills such as around Shibuya, Ueno and Nippori. I would suggest having the high rises placed a bit of a distance from the girder bridge and have lower height buildings inbetween, it will give the impression of being them taller than the brige even if in reality they may not be that much taller or level,  you could have them close to the viaduct as well as it would create a bit of a scenic break. With road connection you could have some running down the hill from under where the girder bridge is and maybe a road tunnel entry that runs under where the curves and the viaduct is.

 

 

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing them! I will look into how I could make the station area somewhat higher... The trains are like buried in the front now... or maybe  I can pass it off as a subway station ? Haha ~

 

I've tried the centre portion, they need to remain as they are as they require the clear height, especially around the bridge and the city core around it... I am also thinking of constructing a hill at the top left corner before the yard, and will try to make it look natural without too much gradients or sudden changes to the scenery...

 

Darn I wish I had more space really...

 

On ‎20‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 4:39 PM, Pauljag900 said:

Hi Sammy,

hiding the wires is always an issue mate,more so when you can t just go down through the base,but there s always a way of hiding them,just need to work it out buddy,I m sure you will too.I ve had to lay on ground level before but always managed to conceal them with foliage,gravel etc,in rows of buildings I ve even drilled through the sides and wired them together so when you get to the end there s just one set to hide.But you re bang on mate,there s always a compromise no matter what it is😂😂

 

Thanks Paul buddy! I think i'll go with ground level concealment this time round instead of foam base.... hopefully the wires wouldn't be too ugly to conceal!

 

And here's a video of the maiden voyage of the new layout, without its full loop:

 

 

[Pauljag900]

Nice one Sammy,coming together now buddy👍👍😀

[JR 500系]

With the recent acquisition of the required tracks, we can now run a full loop around the new Takahashi!

 

 

Looks great! But very tight indeed... R243 is indeed not easy to maneuver...

 

I have some problems which I hope some of our forum members who are more experienced and technically inclined would be able to help me... My other track is not moving along certain portions of the tracks... There seems to be no current passing though those sections which makes the train stop right on its tracks, literally. Please see the videos below for the track sections that the train will stop right on its tracks:

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty frustrating, as before, it used to be the other track that is getting stuck, not this track. Now I do not know why the other track is not moving as fine as the 1st track... I wonder if it is the double cross-over that is causing the issue? Or any other track issue? I've checked all turnouts and yes they are on the right alignment....

 

Any advice and assistance rendered is appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance!

[Pauljag900]

Sammy,

is the train stopping on one piece of track only? If you push it does it pick up again on the next piece of track? If that makes sense.I assume the other loop that has the yellow train on is ok? Have you tried a diferent train on it?

[nah00]

I don't use Finetrack so these are just guesses... 

 

For the first one I think it's just a bad rail joiner. I've had the same thing happen with Unitrack, sometimes for whatever reason it just won't pass current.

 

The second one is likely (and I'm assuming Tomix's double crossover and switches work the same as Kato's) somewhere along the the line there's likely a switch somewhere that is making a dead section of track and cutting off the live rail on the inside. The way I figure this out if it really stumps me is to start replacing switches with straights and then try to find the problem working backwards and replacing them.

Edited October 31, 2017 by nah00

[Pauljag900]

I agree Sammy,I would just change the joiners or try a diferent piece of track.For the crossover,I would remove it and put a piece of normal track in,if it works you know you have power there and it s a bad connection or faulty crossover.Try changing the joiners and if it still does nt work then I would get the crossover replaced.

hope this helps 

[JR 500系]

Thanks guys for the feedback!

 

I am happy to say the double cross over was indeed the issue, and after removing that piece, the trains are now able to travel easily on both directions and both tracks! I wonder why the double cross over caused so much problems though...

 

I made some changes to the yard too, as before drawn on SCARM, the yard works with 5 lines, but with actual building, the spacing is too narrow and the tracks hit onto each other... I changed the yard into 4 tracks instead, and got more space for placing in the engine house...

 

So now the final plan looks like this:

(White is ground level tracks, Green incline/ decline tracks, Red overhead tracks and blue are 'special' tracks like signal lights and auto crossing)

 

I'll be posted more pictures of the actual plan once I get the chance. ~

 

Very tight, and very steep layout... I tried using 6 cars Limited Express Haruka and doesn't seem to post any issues yet... I'll need to try longer carriages and longer train consists to see if it will pose an issue, especially for 10 cars and over.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2017 by JR 500系

[Pauljag900]

Great news Sammy,

Did you try just changing the connectors? It could be something that simple.For what it's worth I have a couple of Kato no 6 points that occaisionally need throwing a couple of times before the power switches direction and no amount of cleaning or filing has made any diference,I ve just accepted that's the way it is and one day I ll replace with new ones.

for what it's worth sammy,I use anyrail  and that s the same,not always 100% accurate espacially where space and the track laying is a bit complicated or tight.

lookimg good now tho sammy,the tight curves do nt look so bad from the video buddy👍😀in fact,I think once you get all the scenics on and it running good it wo not even be noticed mate.👍👍😀

i ve also used steep inclines on mine sammy,it s trial and error with the trains,some will handle them ok and some struggle a bit,I just alter the speeds to suit.One answer would be to buy another basic set with the extra motor car,bit of an expensive way to do it but sometimes we have to make these compromises to achieve what we want..

keep up the good work buddy👍👍

Edited November 1, 2017 by Pauljag900

[JR 500系]

Guys I need some help:

 

Please refer to my diagram... I feed the wire with current on the right track, but it seems whenever I switch the turnout on the left to try and enter the yard, the lights on the train go off and I don't get any current; i.e. which means the trains cant enter the yard nor exit the yard!

 

This may pose a huge problem trying to park or retrieve the trains in and out of the yard...

 

Could anyone suggest what could be the issue here?

 

*Added an additional picture whereby i removed the overhead piece to see the turnout clearer...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Edited November 7, 2017 by JR 500系

[kvp]

That's normal since you have a long loop of track 'blocking' the path of the power from your feed points to the tip of the turnout. The solution is to add feeders to the other half of the layout (looking from the station). In your case the feeders should go into the track right below the current feeders (the two straight pieces colored in white).

 

ps: It could still somewhat work with one feed point, but the feeder is so far that the voltage drop could make the yard unusable. Adding feeders to the point just south of your current feeders (using Y connectors) would supply enough power for the trains regardless where they are on the layout. Just watch the polarities!

Edited November 7, 2017 by kvp

[JR 500系]

I do agree... after many trials, I do believe adding an additional power feed might really solve the problem...

 

Here's what I tried with Paul's suggestion to remove the triple turnout to a single turnout switch. I then try again to switch the train into the yard. I made some videos below to show that whenever I try to switch the first turnout, the light on the locomotive goes off, which means there is not power. I tried running the train and it also do not move...

 

 

 

Goes the same for the turnout after the 'problematic' first turnout:

 

 

 

take note of the lights that go off whenever the switch is changed...

 

I'm having a huge headache trying to solve this issue... Might need to look into the option of having another feeder and see if it will solve the problem... I really need the yard as I will need to park trains in there so that I do not need to lift the heavy cover glass all the time to switch trains, and to solve de-railments or electrical issues...

[Pauljag900]

Hi Sammy,

sorry to hear it did nt work.I may be wrong but even with just one power feed you should still get power to the track in the direction the point/switch is set.

one other thing to try before you do anything else Sammy,remove all the points/switches and put normal track in like this,

Does the train run around all the track ok once all the points/switches are disconnected?

paul

Sammy,

have you removed the crossover track now? Are the inner and outer loops connected in any way at alll or are they completely seperate now.?

is there just one power feed to the loop that is causing problems?

paul

Edited November 14, 2017 by Pauljag900

[Kiha66]

Starting from the power feed, how far does the locomotive run on the rest of the track with the switch thrown?  I had a similar problem on my set up recently, where it turned out a section of track had a missing joiner.  Perhaps finding where the train stops will help.

[Pauljag900]

Hey kiha,

thats what I m thinking,it deffo seems like a connection problem rather than lack of power.I. E had some issues with my three way point which is why I thought it may be that,but if Sammy s still having isssues then it must be something else and at the moment it  looks like the points or a missing joiner could be the issue,if it runs all around the loop with the points taken out at least he ll know the problem lies with the point.Buut if he s got multiple power feeds or the two loops connected together with a crossover it could be the power is conflicting if the polarity is wrong

paul

 

[katoftw]

It is running a fair amount of distance from the feeder to the turnouts.  You should have a feeder for every 2-3m of track length.

 

Looking at your issue.  I note that between you yard and power feed, you also have another 2 turnouts for your island platform.  When you were testing your yard, you did have both these turnouts set correctly in direction to allow correct power routing past both?

[kvp]

47 minutes ago, katoftw said:

It is running a fair amount of distance from the feeder to the turnouts.  You should have a feeder for every 2-3m of track length.

 

Looking at your issue.  I note that between you yard and power feed, you also have another 2 turnouts for your island platform.  When you were testing your yard, you did have both these turnouts set correctly in direction to allow correct power routing past both?

The island platforms are in the other loop, which is the inner one at the top. Since Tomix turnouts are fully power routing, it's completly normal that they cut off power from one diverging direction when switched to another. Any other behaviour would be an error. The reason why the yard and the track left of it is not getting any power is that it has to go around the whole layout and either the voltage drops too much or there is a discontinuity in the track somewhere while going around. The 2nd feeder would solve the voltage drop issue, but any discontinuity will still have to be fixed.

 

ps: There is no crossover in the plan, so the two loops are completly separate with one having a yard only and the other having the island platform. A crossover would electrically split both loops in half.

Edited November 14, 2017 by kvp