Toni's Model Train Adventures

[ToniBabelony]

Seems like I have found a good compilation of all rolling stock from Keisei and Toei that can be used on the Shibayama Railway. There are also the occasional Hokusō and Keikyū trains running on the Keisei Main line, but because these are mostly empty runs (回送), these probably never touch the Shibayama line in reality (that can be changed however with a bit of imagination). However, it looks like the AE1 type 2nd series also should be in my collection now! I didn't know these were also used for services outside of the Skyliner runs on the Narita Sky Access route. You learn something new every day. :)

 

 

And yes... At some point I need to buy an N3000 type and learn to love them. It's going to be a tough love.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Toni Babelony

[ToniBabelony]

Not entirely correct on the underbody electronics, bogies and pantograph, but hey, it's a fictional train anyway!

 

There is still some adjusting work to be done on the motorised car, getting the body on the correct height, but the project is pretty much ready for painting... Well, I still want to add the destination sign on the front doors and maybe add doors in the corridors of the middle of the train.

 

Originally, Keisei Akaden trains (3000~3300 types) consisted of basic 2-car formations (A class) with control cabs at both ends. In the 1980s, these were all rebuilt to form single cab 2-car units (A1 and A2 class) to be combined and form standard 4-car formations. Double door types (3200 and 3300 type) were later fused to form 4-car formations (B1 and B2 class) to easily form 6-car and 8-car formations.

 

 

If the painting turns out fine, I might buy another Hanshin Commuter train set go for a more correct 3050 type in Fire Orange.

[ToniBabelony]

Bah. I thought my first completed kit model would be a Keisei 3100 or something like that. I guess I was wrong...

 

 

All that is needed are fitting bogies and pantographs and the windows. The correct power unit is there already, so it's practically finished. Dang. A Keisei 3500 in its first livery (1972 to 1992~1994)

 

I feel now more confident to make the next Keisei 3500 type (1992~1993 test livery), a Keisei 3100 type (Fire Orange and modernised), a Chiba Express 1000 type (not entirely sure about that one), and finally a brass Hokusō 9000 type (talley-ho super glue and primer paint).

 

Also, disregard the projects previously posted in this thread. They have been cancelled.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Toni Babelony

[Densha]

Also, disregard the projects previously posted in this thread. They have been cancelled.

But that makes us curious as for what the new plans are... ;)

[ToniBabelony]

But that makes us curious as for what the new plans are... ;)

 

For now, I'm concentrating on recreating and collecting rolling stock from the early 1990s. Especially from around 1992~1994 where test liveries were rampant, old trains and new trains ran together, as well as Chiba Express with their 1000 and 3050 types in dark blue liveries. A very interesting and colourful time.

 

I think these videos display well what was going on back then:

 

 

Maybe -very maybe. I'll repaint one train in a fictional Shibayama livery or make a completely new model with a design extraordinaire. Just for the hell of it.

 

Anyway, my roster so far is like this:

 

Keisei

- 3100 Fire Orange, 4-cars (Greenmax, kit; will run on a spare Keisei 3290 cassis);

- 3200 Blue Test Livery, 4-cars (MicroAce, finished model);

- 3200 New Livery (MicroAce, finished model; will be sold or used as a basis for a new project);

- 3290 Fire Orange, 4-cars (MicroAce, finished model; 2x);

- 3500 1st livery, 4-cars (Greenmax, done; needs bogies and pantographs);

- 3500 test livery, 4-cars (Greenmax, unfinished; needs running parts and pantographs);

 

Chiba Express

- 1000, 4-cars (Greenmax, kit; needs running parts and pantographs);

 

Hokusō Kaihatsu

- 7000, 8-cars (MicroAce, finished model);

 

Housing and Urban Development Corporation

- 9000, 8-cars (Yellow Train, kit; needs running parts from a 2nd Hokusō 7000 type);

 

Keikyū

- 1000, 8-cars (MicroAce, finished model).

[ToniBabelony]

I really should get back to work... A quite modified project of a GreenMax Keikyū 1000 type with Keisei 3300 type fronts I bought off Rakuten, I finally managed to make a model I wanted to have for a looooong time.

 

 

Keisei 3100 Type (1988 - 1994 version)

 

It just needs windows and decals. After that it's practically done. Not entirely prototypical, but I'm happy with the result. The chassis was harvested from a MicroAce Keisei 3290 Type I had as a doupe clause. With hardly any cutting, it fits perfectly!

 

I have the parts for a second model, but I'm not all too keen on having a second 3100 type. At least, not in a Fire Orange livery... Maybe I'll go for one in the new livery or a 3050 type in revival livery or a 3000 type with old cooling units. Or just decide on making a Chiba Express 1000 type. I don't know yet...

Edited May 28, 2014 by Toni Babelony

[ToniBabelony]

Added a few decals and immediately it gains that good old 'Akaden' spirit:

 

 

Onwards to another Keisei 3100 type? A 3050? Something else?

[ToniBabelony]

I need to build this thing... It will take a lot of time, patience and two-component glue (it dries within 10 minutes! What the hell!). The train will run on the chassis of a spare 2nd hand MicroAce Hokusō Kaihatsu 7000 type I have bought for this occasion.

 

 

No, I'm not using a solder, and yes, it will probably not look professional and bodgy, but I will have a very rare 2000 type to play with! :D

 

The livery will be from the Jūtaku Toshi Seibi Kōdan that ran from 1991 until 1994, until it was moved to the 9000 numbering.

[Densha]

Will that be that green-red livery on the photo in the picture?

[ToniBabelony]

Will that be that green-red livery on the photo in the picture?

 

The livery during time has hardly changed, except the markings and the tone of the grey band over the windows.

 

Old livery: http://js3vxw.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/chiba_newtown_r/jyu_to_koudan_01f1_2101.jpg

New livery: http://www35.tok2.com/home/snet3700/photo/keisei/hokuso/9000&N800takasago4.JPG

 

The older livery has a slightly lighter gray than nowadays. I like the darker grey, but it doesn't fit in the era I'm modeling.

[Martijn Meerts]

Epoxy isn't really nice to work with.. It initially dries really fast so that after a few minutes you can't really use it anymore, but at the same time, it can take a long time for it to fully dry to the point where it's safe to touch the glued on bits with fear of them coming off again... 

Edited October 30, 2014 by Martijn Meerts

[ToniBabelony]

Epoxy isn't really nice to work with.. It initially dries really fast so that after a few minutes you can't really use it anymore, but at the same time, it can take a long time for it to fully dry to the point where it's safe to touch the glued on bits with fear of them coming off again... 

 

Epoxy really is a b•tch to work with. You mix a small amount and it almost immediately starts to dry. It requires some preparation of all the parts that you want to glue down and you have to work relatively fast. Is there no alternative to epoxy glue? I don't want to invest in an expensive soldering set just yet, but I might have no alternative I'm afraid...

[Martijn Meerts]

There's not really any alternatives other than soldering, and soldering kits is going to be quite frustrating at first, until you get the hang of it. I pretty much ruined the first 2 kits I tried ;)

 

You could also try to see if you can find any slow drying epoxy (which usually also ends up taking longer to fully cure), and also, using epoxy in a place where it's cool seems to increase the amount of time you can work with the stuff.

 

In the end though, both epoxy and soldering just requires some practice. I use soldering for the main/large parts, epoxy for detail parts, and sometimes CA glue for really small detail parts, although I try to use epoxy for that as well.

[bikkuri bahn]

Toni, I saw this book at my local bookstore, which may be of interest to a Keisei fan like you:

http://www.neko.co.jp/?p=64971

 

It's v.1 of a profile of the Daiei Rolling Stock Company, located in Tsudanuma, which built rolling stock for Keisei in the post-war period.  Many pictures of early post-war Keisei stock, naturally a good number of 1372mm gauge ones.

[ToniBabelony]

Toni, I saw this book at my local bookstore, which may be of interest to a Keisei fan like you:

http://www.neko.co.jp/?p=64971

 

It's v.1 of a profile of the Daiei Rolling Stock Company, located in Tsudanuma, which built rolling stock for Keisei in the post-war period.  Many pictures of early post-war Keisei stock, naturally a good number of 1372mm gauge ones.

 

Thank you for the reminder! I also saw it at TamTam and several other places, but never thought of actually buying it. My personal interests lean more to the 3000 types and beyond (this series also has two books particularly about the red (1,435mm gauge) and blue (1,372mm gauge) trains from Keisei). These books are okay for the pictures, but they have an awful lack of basic data on the trains themselves.

 

Still, I will probably buy it when I see it next time. xD

[bikkuri bahn]

do you have http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E4%BA%AC%E6%88%90%E9%9B%BB%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E6%96%B0%E4%BA%AC%E6%88%90%E9%9B%BB%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E5%8C%97%E7%B7%8F%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BA%E9%89%84%E9%81%93%E3%83%BB%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E3%83%BB%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E6%95%B4%E5%82%99%E5%85%AC%E5%9B%A3-%E7%A7%81%E9%89%84%E3%81%AE%E8%BB%8A%E4%B8%A112-%E9%A3%AF%E5%B3%B6-%E5%B7%8C/dp/4873662958/ref=cm_lmf_tit_12/377-9855585-3980236'>this?

 

It's out of print, but you can sometimes find a neglected dusty copy at one of the bigger bookstores.  Cheap ones used too.

 

Crappy IE, doesn't embed.  here is the long link:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E4%BA%AC%E6%88%90%E9%9B%BB%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E6%96%B0%E4%BA%AC%E6%88%90%E9%9B%BB%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E5%8C%97%E7%B7%8F%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BA%E9%89%84%E9%81%93%E3%83%BB%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E3%83%BB%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E6%95%B4%E5%82%99%E5%85%AC%E5%9B%A3-%E7%A7%81%E9%89%84%E3%81%AE%E8%BB%8A%E4%B8%A112-%E9%A3%AF%E5%B3%B6-%E5%B7%8C/dp/4873662958/ref=cm_lmf_tit_12/377-9855585-3980236

Edited December 10, 2014 by bikkuri bahn

[ToniBabelony]

do you have this?

 

It's out of print, but you can sometimes find a neglected dusty copy at one of the bigger bookstores.  Cheap ones used too.

 

Crappy IE, doesn't embed.  here is the long link:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E4%BA%AC%E6%88%90%E9%9B%BB%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E6%96%B0%E4%BA%AC%E6%88%90%E9%9B%BB%E9%89%84%E3%83%BB%E5%8C%97%E7%B7%8F%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BA%E9%89%84%E9%81%93%E3%83%BB%E4%BD%8F%E5%AE%85%E3%83%BB%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E6%95%B4%E5%82%99%E5%85%AC%E5%9B%A3-%E7%A7%81%E9%89%84%E3%81%AE%E8%BB%8A%E4%B8%A112-%E9%A3%AF%E5%B3%B6-%E5%B7%8C/dp/4873662958/ref=cm_lmf_tit_12/377-9855585-3980236

 

To be honest, I have two copies. One here in Japan and one in the Netherlands at my parents'. xD

 

Actually, here is my book collection on Keisei (and Shin-Keisei) so far:

 

 

At the moment, my interest for Keisei is slowly fading, since there are no real new developments and the rolling stock is getting more boring every year. It's making place for the new hype that is unfolding on a network a little bit closer to home: Sotetsu. If I want to foam over it, I don't have to travel across the whole of Tokyo (literally) to see them run. ;)

[ToniBabelony]

Because of financial and time constraints, I've decided to put the big projects (Keisei 90s collection and Fictional Sōtetsu project) on ice and roll with a much smaller thing. It is mainly based on this layout found on the youtubes, but in a smaller version (downgraded to 2~3 cars) with some extra tracks added for storage.

 

For this project I need to invest in a double-crossing and a left-hand mini point and the track layout is basically completed. Of course, I want more sidings to store some MOW equipment and older (museum) cars, since it brings that little bit of realism to every layout, so I might go for more than one mini point in this case. Six points will be electrically operated (excluding the double crossing), so most sidings are manual.

 

 

You might wonder why there are little unnecessary pieces of 17mm track in between, but that's not to derail the Romance Car. It just can't handle the R140 to R245 bends.

 

There is a lot of room for expansion and detailed scenery as well, as all curved tracks will have a grade to overcome the branchline-mainline levels. I'm kind-of considering the branch line as an elevated track for easy construction and even having it continue beyond the layout for a possible connection to other (T-Trak?) modules.

 

These mock-up pictures already give the kind of atmosphere you'd expect of a small company:

 

 

It'll be a long time until I can actually start building this layout as a permanent thing, because of various reasons (space, kid, wife, etc.), but this track plan is pretty much perfect and tightly fits in a 1200 x 600 space (Japanese house friendly). All I can do now is invest in track, scenery and the odd-random rolling stock (max. 18m 2-cars, preferably 16m) here and there.

[cteno4]

Toni,

 

Looks like a fun little layout, will be fun to watch it take shape! Keep us posted!

 

Jeff

[katoftw]

Can the Romance car handle a C140 when a platform is next to a C140?

[JR 500系]

Looks good Toni! Nice! Love that large bottle of rail cleaner on standby!  :)

 

There's some points whereby it seems to lead to dead-ends, one just in front of the repair shed and the other at the turning. Are these to prevent the Yukumuri from de-railing?

[ToniBabelony]

Toni,

 

Looks like a fun little layout, will be fun to watch it take shape! Keep us posted!

 

Jeff

 

Thank you! I hope I can keep this one alive a little bit. Maybe I need to make it modular and storable, so that I don't have a 'hobby slab' at home. It can be made to fit in storage boxes I think...

 

Can the Romance car handle a C140 when a platform is next to a C140?

 

Yes, the Romance car doesn't clip at all, since it has almost no overhang. The Tomix platforms have been designed so that they can handle quite long cars as well over C140s and not let them clip the platforms. I haven't tested it with 20m cars yet, but they do 18m (my Keisei, Keikyū and Gakunan trains) just fine.

 

Looks good Toni! Nice! Love that large bottle of rail cleaner on standby!  :)

 

There's some points whereby it seems to lead to dead-ends, one just in front of the repair shed and the other at the turning. Are these to prevent the Yukumuri from de-railing?

 

Thanks! That cleaner was well needed after not using my tracks for a loooong time.

 

That crossing in front of the shed is just a temporary retrofit for the future point that will be placed there. If you look at the track plan and photograph carefully, the tracks at the curve are on top of each other. Of the lower tracks, the inner track ends, hence the stub. There will be a semi-through station that can also simulate a terminus if you don't let the trains pass on the loop. Also, the Yukemuri is one of the less prone to derail as it's quite heavy compared with the Tetsudo Collection trains (which haven't got any extra weights yet).

Edited February 9, 2015 by Toni Babelony

[kvp]

You got a nice layout plan. I could count 3 stations, a mainline, a branchline and a storage shed. I'm trying to find various service patterns for your rolling stock. What routes are usable with the romancecar? I guess it can't take the diverging route on most R140 turnouts.

[railsquid]

You might wonder why there are little unnecessary pieces of 17mm track in between, but that's not to derail the Romance Car. It just can't handle the R140 to R245 bends.

 

I found out the hard way that points directly after a curve (in this case Kato #4 after a 315mm curve) are a recipe for problems. Not with everything, but some units just don't like that combination, which is unfortunate as it's one of the most important set of points. Luckily it's not (yet) permanent.

[cteno4]

Toni,

 

You can always make some custom foamcore boxes to pack modules in to make it as compact as possible, or a bank of wall shelves (the kind tha have rails bolted to the wall) that the modules can live on for display when not running! Go back and look at what Ulrich did with his modules. You could sort of so a hybrid modular and sectional to get some interesting bits and just standard module scenery and longer running bits. Couple of folding tables or on the floor. Maybe the custom boxes could be like 10" high to allow for scenery and then you sit the modules on top of the boxes to raise them off the floor.

 

I agree that having the hobby slab in tight quarters can cause issues. Plus breaking the layout up into sections you can work on one section on the bench easily in a smaller space than doing it on the whole slab all the time.

 

http://japanrailmodelers.org/pages/modelingjapan/minimodules.html

 

Jeff