H0e forest railways with H0 branch line

[Martijn Meerts]

Yet more progress 🙂

 

 

Installed the grab bars on the sides, as well as the support bar for mounting the body to the frame. Also added the window sills on the driver doors.

 

 

 

Initial installation of the front of the cab. It's really just tacked into place. There are some gaps which I need to address on the left side, and there's also a gap between the top of the front and the roof. Should both be easy fixes. The problem here is that it's just really difficult to hold everything in place while soldering.

 

 

 

Plopped the body onto the frame for a quick test. The screw holes line up perfectly fine, and it's really quite sturdy once everything is together.

 

 

 

Bottom of the loco, showing some of the mounting screws.

 

Very few things left to do now, just need to add the detail to the rear cab and then solder that in place. Then make sure any gaps are fixed, clean up some soldered parts, glue in a few more detail bits on the roof, and then it should be all ready for painting (or at least, priming, since I need to figure out the colours, and then figure out how to mix paints to get those colours ...)

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Got a little more work done on the Kiwa 90 in recent days...

 

 

Pretty much all the details are added now, and the shell is temporarily put in place on the frame. While it does fit, I still need to do a little bit of cleaning up of solder and such. The vents and fan on the roof were glued in place using epoxy rather than soldered. The brass cast would've required quite a bit of time to heat up, making it really uncomfortable to hold. The vents (I think at least) are soft white metal with a very low melting point. And while I do have low temp solder, considering the location of the vents it was just easier to glue them on. The big rectangular hole is there on purpose, it'll be easier to install the parts that go there after painting is done.

 

 

 

Various details on the front. A bunch of steps and grab bars. And on the roof some more grab bars and some sort of antenna. Also added the little windscreen wiper, even though it has no windscreens just yet.

 

 

Next steps for this thing now are making sure all the parts are in place and clean up any solder, and then run it through the ultrasonic cleaner a couple of times. Then scuff it all up using a fiber brush, before another round of ultrasonic cleaner. Then brush on metal prep and then primer. Once the primer is on, I can check for any gaps I may need to fill using putty, which might need some sanding and possible another coat of primer.

 

For the paint, I'll need to do some mixing to get the correct JNR cream and grape colours, still trying to figure out the best way to go about that. Since it has no lights at all, I'll also need to come up with something for that, and then of course see about some sort of details in the cab.

[Martijn Meerts]

Been a while since my last update, life has been throwing a few curveballs which caused a lack of time and motivation to work on things.

 

Recently though, I've been slowly picking things up again. I've cleared some space for the little spray booth, and started getting ready for some painting. Before I do that, I want to finish up a couple of things though, so I can paint / prime various things in 1 go.

 

In the meantime, I've also started building my IMON C11. Compared to the C55, the manual is much better, and things are going together quite well. So far I've built the main structure of the frame and just started building the initial parts of the cab floor and some of the detailing below the cab. There are still quite a few unknowns, because the manual is still not 'great', so plenty of experimenting and dry fitting of parts.

 

Hopefully I can get a little more done the coming weeks, before it starts getting too hot up on the attic again 🙂

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Progress on the IMON C11 is progressing slow but steady. Lots of imagery incoming 😄

 

 

 

All the parts for step 1 of the manual. This is for the main part of the frame, as well as the suspension and the brake shoes and brake system.

 

 

 

Main structural parts of the frame in place.

 

 

 

Added some brake detail and underfloor suspension.

 

 

 

Frame with springs and some other detailing, as well as half of the brake shoes added.

 

 

 

Parts for step 2. This is the cab floor and underfloor detailing, as well as some initial cab interior detail.

 

 

 

Quick test fit of the cab floor and instrumentation.

 

 

 

Frame with suspension, brakes and cab floor test fit.

 

 

 

Most of the details underneath the cab floor installed.

 

 

 

Parts for step 3, which is the leading and trailing bogies, the cylinders and the main drivers and drive rods.

 

 

 

Quick test fit of the leading and trailing bogies as well as the main drivers. Starting to look like a locomotive now. It does look like the cab floor is leaning forwards a bit, I'll need to look into that.

 

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

I won an auction for 2 hand built Japanese semaphore signals. They are highly detailed, but a bit expensive to buy lots of them for a whole layout. So I'll be using these for measurements and such, and then 3D print the ones I need. Only the JNR branch line will likely need signals, don't think the forest line(s) really used them. Or at least, I've not seen any.

 

Meanwhile I've also been going through various videos and looking at a lot of pictures and posts about forest railways in Japan, and started sketching out some possibly interesting station layouts and various other features. I still only have a very general idea of what I want to try to build, and since I'm using hand laid track, it's rather difficult to use a track planning software. Once I have a bit more of an idea I can use flex track to come up with something, and then just use straights / curves layered on top of each other to simulate custom turnouts.

 

Also, I've ordered a new resin 3D printer. It's one of the newer 8k printers with a (much) bigger print surface than what my current printer can do. The new one is big enough to print entire H0 coach shells in 1 go. It was on sale last weekend and on top of that, it comes with a washing / curing station included for free as well.

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Motivation to work on things has been increasing a bit lately, so I decided this was a good moment to order a bunch of much needed materials to build a layout.

 

From Hot Wire Foam Factory I ordered their freehand router. This is a foam cutter with a stiffer wire that you can form into various shapes and you can use to do things like plunge cuts and the like. I already had their basic sculpting tool and a hot knife, and I've been very happy with those. The freehand router is a bit more expensive, but it should see quite a bit of use (also for the N layout)

 

Then, from Koemo I ordered 2 sampler packages for their ballast. They make some really nice looking ballast that doesn't discolour when glued down. They have various colour variants, and the sampler gives you a little bit of each colour. I ordered the sampled for both H0 and N.

 

From Fast Tracks, I ordered a #4 H0e turnout fixture and #4 point form tool. I also ordered a bunch of lengths or tail, wooden sleepers, pcboard sleepers, a rail bending tool and various small bits and pieces. All this is obviously to build various turnouts and track sections. The only thing missing is railroad spikes. Fast Tracks only has the small spikes, but they're still quite big. Micro-Mark also has the micro spikes, which look a bit better. I already have a pack of both the small and the micro spikes, so I can at least start putting down some track.

 

Finally, from RG-Rokko, I've ordered 2 Kiso Forest type B passenger coaches, as well as the new IMON 8620 kit. The first 8620 kit came with smoke deflectors whereas the second one did not. I do prefer the smoke deflectors, but since the first kit is no longer available, RG-Rokko is checking with IMON if the smoke deflectors can be ordered as a spare part. I definitely need to stop buying H0j locos for a bit now though, I already have way more than I initially wanted to get, and none of them are finished yet 😄

 

I have also started thinking about the layout design a bit, but since I don't really know the minimum radius of any of the trains yet, it's quite challenging. I also want (most of) the layout to be small sections / modules, so I'm also looking into some ideas there as well.

 

[Jaco3011]

Do you have space for proto:87 radii? If I were you I'd go for 550mm as the absolute minimum, a lot of #16 models have it as the minimum. NEM doesn't apply to japanese models.

[tossedman]

Looking forward to seeing where you go with your layout Martijn. Something like this has been simmering in the background for me as well. Have you seen Waldbahner's logging modules? Not Japanese but lots of great ideas I think. It's interesting how he makes his modules fit together in different ways. He's got a series of videos on this layout and its construction.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[Martijn Meerts]

On 6/10/2023 at 9:53 PM, Jaco3011 said:

Do you have space for proto:87 radii? If I were you I'd go for 550mm as the absolute minimum, a lot of #16 models have it as the minimum. NEM doesn't apply to japanese models.

 

I don't have space for prototypical radii, but I do have space for 550mm for the JNR branch line. I still need to do some experimenting with the minimum radius for the IMON locos. IMONs own track is wider than 550mm at least, I believe their smallest radius is around 730mm.

 

 

9 hours ago, tossedman said:

Looking forward to seeing where you go with your layout Martijn. Something like this has been simmering in the background for me as well. Have you seen Waldbahner's logging modules? Not Japanese but lots of great ideas I think. It's interesting how he makes his modules fit together in different ways. He's got a series of videos on this layout and its construction.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

 

I'm not sure yet where the layout is going, so it might take a while before something interesting is available 😄

 

I hadn't seen those modules yet no, I've been slowly gathering various videos for inspiration, including non-Japanese ones, so I'll definitely check these out.

 

[Martijn Meerts]

The Koemo ballast sample packs came in, so I gave it a quick try. The sampler comes with 6 colours of ballast, new ballast in 3 shades of grey and 3 mixtures with a varying degree of rust. The new ballast is definitely a no-go for the forest line project, so I tested the 3 older ballast variants on a little bit of H0e track.

 

 

Left starts with fairly new ballast and then on the right is ballast with a good coating of rust. I'm not a fan of the very rusty version, it's just a bit too brown for my taste, but the other 2 options are great. The forest railway track often doesn't have ballast looking like this, and seems to be half buried in sand, so I'm thinking of mixing some H0 ballast with N ballast to sort of simulate that. It's something I'll need to experiment with.

 

The hot wire foam cutter also arrived, so I can finish shaping the foam seen in this picture as well, and then maybe finally get a bit of work done on these dioramas 😄

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Experimented a little bit with a hinged turnout versus a solid one. The difference is that with a hinged turnout, the switch points are cut into 2 sections, and then held together with some rail joiners. Hinged turnouts usually switch a bit easier since they're not actually bending any metal, but they also take longer to make.

 

And while all the turnouts I've seen on pictures from Japanese railways from around the time I'm modelling are all hinged turnouts, I'm a bit undecided whether it's worth the extra effort building these. It's probably not really noticeable once built into a layout, unless you know what to look for. Then again, the same is the case with a lot of detail bits on rolling stock and scenery in general 🙂

 

 

(The switch rails aren't soldered to the throw bar yet, still working out a good way of doing this so the throw bar doesn't just look like a giant sleeper 😄 )

 

[tossedman]

Martjin, how hard is it to blend the PCB ties in with the wooden ones? Do you paint them? Looking good though.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[Martijn Meerts]

I'm still experimenting with the PCB ties. I did some quick testing on a turnout I built when I got the first Fast Tracks fixtures in. I painted the PCB ties with some gesso, and the brush strokes sort of leave a bit of wood-like pattern. Comparing that to the wooden ties though, the pattern was too rough. I do believe a first coat with gesso is the way to go though. The gesso should also be possible to paint using the same dye / stain used for the wooden ties.

 

I think that in the end, once everything is painted, ballasted and weathered, they'll blend in quite well. Although, they definitely need a little putty to fill the gap you need to cut in the ties to isolate both rails.

https://handlaidtrack.com/wp-content/uploads/slider/cache/b6d933b706f31e1391d82978fd51e0c6/On30-Curved-Turnout.webp

 

 

Looking at this image from Fast Tracks for example, the only way you can spot the PCB ties, is because they have a visible cut in the center. Other than that, they're just painting using the same paint as the rest of the ties.

[cteno4]

Martin,

 

might try diluting the gesso a bit, it’s usually pretty thick put of the bottle and might be why small brush strokes are not smoothing out. On a big surface it’s funny as it sort of shrinks a bit as it dries and brush strokes sort of go away. This is probably to make the canvas taught and even surface then to paint on (just my guess, I’ve never been an artist!). It is my my goto for scenery base coats tinted with acrylic paint or tempra powder as it has that rough appearance at n scale most flat paints don’t give.

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Yep, I'll have to try that. Some brush strokes are fine, but they were just too rough. Could also easily be fixed with some light sanding of course.

 

This turnout is part of a little diorama I'm building to test some materials and tools. Just need to cut the river to shape a little, and then work on the little bridge, add some simple logs for supports and then work on some plaster casts. Last time I did those, a lot of air bubbles managed to get trapped.

 

But should be fun getting some scenery work done and then seeing some more or less completed rolling stock on it 🙂

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

So, unsurprisingly, not much has happened since my last post. While things are progressing, they are progressing at a snail's pace 🙂

 

Quite a while ago I bought a new 3D resin printer, the Elegoo Saturn 2. The printer is quite a bit bigger than my old one, and prints in much higher detail (and much faster too). The past weeks I've finally had some time to test it, but the resin I had (PrimaCreator water washable) wasn't really optimal for 8k prints. I've now got some new resin on order (Siraya Tech water washable), which is getting good reviews, also on this printer. In the coming days I hope to experiment a bit with printing some detail parts such as fish plates and various details parts to improve the look of turnouts. I can then also look into printing things like a throw bar and manual switch lever.

 

I also have some of the Siraya Tech Tenacious resin, which remains flexible after printing. This stuff can also be mixed with other resin to make that resin a bit more resilient. For the really fragile parts like fish plates that would probably be a good thing, since the previous ones I test printed would snap in half when trying to remove the supports.

 

I've also been cleaning up my small bedroom which had been used mainly for general storage. It already had a desk, so I've moved the new 3D printer there for now, I'll also set it up for soldering work (and eventually for airbrushing), so I have a clean space to do all that stuff. It still needs some more cleaning, but the desk at least is usable. 

 

Finally, not directly related to this project, but I've been going through part of my N-scale collection to determine which items I want to keep, and which I'd be willing to sell. There's actually quite a lot that I would likely never run, so selling that will give me some additional funds for H0 stuff. Those funds will likely come in handy, considering IMON has been showing off some passenger coaches recently 😄

 

[Martijn Meerts]

With the decision made to put the big N-scale layout on hold until I've decided where I want to go with it, I'm hoping to get a bit more active on this project. In the coming days / weeks I will be tearing down 2 sections of the N layout I was working on, and then separate the yard into several sections. The yard will then be stored somewhere out of the way, which will allow me to create some temporary workspace for experimenting with a few things before then getting to work on a track plan.

 

Some of the things I'm planning on working on:

• Continue with the 2 photo planks I started a long time ago. These will also function as a test for hand laying track
• Look into printing some detail parts such as fish plates, throw bars and other detail parts for turnouts
• Prepare and prime the shell of the Hokutan #2 loco, as well as the Kiwa 90
• Check the progress / status of the C55, get it to the point where I can test run it, and then work on figuring out the minimum radius
• Work on the plastic IMON freight car kits, see how I can increase their weight, and how to paint and weather them
• Work on installing lights (marker lights, interior light) in the Wafu 22000, as well as getting a function decoder installed
• Look into some detailing for the Hokutan #2, Wafu 22000 and Kiwa 90. They will all need some interior detailing done using a combination of scale wood and printed parts
• Do a bit of research into various (newer) DCC systems. While I do already have an ECoS, I'm considering getting a system dedicated to the H0 layout and use RailCom for all blocks
• Slowly start working on various other kits I still have lying around

 

It's going to be a lot of work, and I have no idea how progress will be, but at least I only have 1 scale to focus on now 😄

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Got a little bit of work done. I dismantled the 2 station sections I had built, which was actually a rather weird feeling. I also disconnected 2 of the storage yard sections. I'll be removing the legs of those, and storing them somewhere on the attic, somewhat out of the way.

 

Once that's done I have some space to set up some temporary tables so I can go sort through all the stuff I have (rolling stock, structures, etc) and figure out what I definitely want to keep, and what I'm okay with getting rid off. I also have a lot of old scenery stuff, like ballast from 30 years ago and trees that look more like broccoli. I'll likely throw all that away because I'm not going to use any of it.

 

I've also been having a look at some digital systems. The ECoS would likely be fine for what I use it for, but I do intend to eventually build the N-scale layout as well, and I don't want to be switching the digital system between the 2 layouts. So, I'm mostly leaning towards getting a Z21 with a booster, and then use the main unit for the H0j part, and the booster with the H0e part. The H0e stuff uses motors normally used for N-scale, so it might benefit from lower track voltage compared to the H0j, and as far as I know, the Z21 and booster allow you to set track voltage separately.

 

Until the attic is cleaned up it might take a while before there's any real progress though. There's a bit too much junk on there, which doesn't really help with the motivation to even get started on cleaning it up, but I'll get there eventually 😄

 

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

Slowly but surely the attic is getting less cluttered. I've started gathering a lot of the things I don't really need anymore (structures, trains, vehicles, scenic materials), and bugger me there's a lot of it 😄

 

Over the past many years, I've acquired quite a lot of used stuff, either from strangers selling it for an okay price, or from friends who got rid of their collection. Most of these included various scenic materials. However, most of them are 20+ years old and in many cases already used at least once. So, I've decided to do a major cleanup and actually throw it all away. No real big loss, since it looks nowhere near as good as the new stuff from, for example, Woodland Scenics. There's also a lot of really old buildings that have long ago started falling apart and are about as yellow as can be, so those too will go.

 

I did somehow manage to misplace my IMON 8620 kit though, it's not among the rest of the kits. I'm sure I'll find it eventually...

 

The good thing at least is, with the attic starting to look slightly more organised, motivation is coming back. There's still a lot of cleaning to do, but slow and steady wins the race (or something 😄 )

 

 

Edit: Found the 8620 kit. It was hiding inside a drawer that had no train related things in it. Not sure how it got there o.O

 

 

[Martijn Meerts]

So, while going through stuff on the attic, which can at times be rather boring, I'm also looking around the room and trying to visualize what I want to build.

 

I've always built the bases of a layout using wood. It works fine for the most part, except that the quality of the wood that I can get my hands on locally is rather terrible. The large sheets of plywood are generally doable, but dimensional lumber is a nightmare. Going to the various local hardware stores that sell lumber (unfortunately there's nothing nearby specialised in wood), generally 1 in 20 pieces of lumber is usable, the rest is bent, twisted and / or warped.

 

I've looked at ordering it online (and I've done so with some old scaffolding wood that I've used for interior decorations), but shipping is rather crazy, plus you don't really know what you're going to get. I've read reviews of the various online stores that offer cutting lumber to size, and they're basically going both ways. Most of the stores sell the bad bits of wood they get rather than discarding them.

 

And then I started thinking, why not use aluminium T-slot profiles? They're not cheap, but I did find a place where I can order custom lengths and various useful accessories. Counting shipping and everything, and depending on the size of the profiles, they're not even all that much more expensive, but they're a lot more flexible, lighter and sturdier.

 

Has anyone ever worked with these, even if not for model trains? And if so, which dimensions were those? I've been looking at 3030 and 4040 mainly. 4040 is obviously stronger, but is also quite a bit more expensive. I wonder of 3030 would be strong enough to use as a frame. 

 

[tossedman]

While I have not used aluminium extrusions, there was a fella at Supertrain, our yearly model train show here in Calgary, that did. Pretty sure he used 20 X 20 extrusions.

 

There are a few pics in the link below. He made some T-Trak modules and a larger module as seen in the second image. It was a cool idea, worked great. Wasn't cheap but was a straight as.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

Edited November 9, 2023 by tossedman

[Martijn Meerts]

Thanks for the link (I guess I should've done a search on the forum first ;))

 

2020 seems plenty strong enough for smaller modules like this. For a bigger one I think 2020 might not quite work. Some of the accessories also seem to not be small enough for 2020.

 

Optimally I'd want to experiment with it, but just ordering some of various sizes is just a bit too expensive with these things. I'll have to go and look up things that other people made with these. Should be plenty around considering they're so commonly used for all sorts of things, from 3D printers to sim racing rigs to clamping tables to glue painted wooden panels back together...

 

[cteno4]

I’ve used various extruded track/frame systems in exhibit work where we needed highly adjustable setups that were very strong in a minimum of space. But they all come at a real premium on cost! What can really be expensive with some systems are the connectors. I’ve seen folks use track system for larger mobile train layout modules, I think there is even an example here on the forum a good while back.

 

if you can get the Baltic birch 7 ply like 12mm it makes excellent dimensional lumber for layout construction when ripped into strips. Only rub is you need a small table saw to rip up your strips. Once cut down they are very stable and currently on par with cost of regular dimensional lumber but you can use lighter strips so more light weight and more flexibility in your design. I’ve dumped totally using dimensional lumber for most all trains stuff a decade back and all Baltic birch strips instead. No knots as well.

 

there are smaller more portable table saws you could set up outside to rip up strips.

 

jeff

[Martijn Meerts]

Hmm.. I hadn't actually thought of that, even though I saw it done like that in several videos recently. At least, you mean something like this set up right?

 

 

 

 

I don't have a table saw, but I do have a track for the circular saw, so I can use that to make very nice cuts even though it takes a little more time than a table saw. I don't really have the space to store a table saw, the garage is already overflowing with things that I need to get rid off at some point 🙂

 

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Yep, side frames like 12mm ply strips 20-40mm wide depending on how big you want your modules. The 7ply Baltic birch is super stable and takes Brad nails and screws into the edges as well where regular 5plys tend to split easily,
 

It’s pretty hard to do good strips with a circular saw, but possible. There are really fancy table/fence setups to use a circular saw like a table saw.. Really a small table saw (a table top or portable one) is one of the most universal tools for layout woodworking like this. Really can give you tons of flexibility in doing things and using alternate materials than dimensional lumber, even great for good crosscuts, duplicating cuts precisely, cutting dados, lap, and rabit joints. Also doing more complex cuts using the table saw can be a lot safer than trying to do them with a circular saw as long as you keep your focus on the blade. 
 

you can make a circular saw jig for cutting strips. If you take like a 3’x4’ piece of ply and add a small strip along one edge to hold the ply against. You then need a perpendicular strip you put on top of your cut ply along one edge of the base of track the saw. You can then put a stop to advance your ply a set distance to get identical cuts. This can come to about as good of strip cuts as using a table saw, but requires building and adjusting the jig. You can do cross cuts on it as well

 

 

jeff