My shinkansen layout project

[macdon]

I tried something new and ventured beyond the basic oval shape to imitate the V11,14 and 16 track pattern but using viaduct tracks. I then added a single track ground level that goes around the table using my spare tracks and a V15 to possibly add a platform for a commuter route. The time that a train vanishes at the back of the station gives you the feeling of going somewhere and coming back - reappearing on the left side of the layout. Cardboard buildings were added for effect.

 

Mardon

 

[bnicolas1987]

Hi Mardon,

That looks fine, are youbgoing to do a single track commuter or two tracks?

 

And the shinkansen depot shiwn on first pictures, are you planning to do a new one or not?

 

N scalenis very good, we can all make in a small place.

 

See you.

 

Nicolas

[macdon]

Hi Mardon, That looks fine, are youbgoing to do a single track commuter or two tracks? And the shinkansen depot shiwn on first pictures, are you planning to do a new one or not? N scalenis very good, we can all make in a small place. See you. Nicolas

Thanks Nicolas.

 

Using the V15 does suggest a two track line but may be a bit difficult to go around the table again due to dodging piers. I could probably use the other line to make a tram line serving the city blocks.

The first and 6th picture above does show the elevated shinkansen yard to park the trains - not really that noticeable since the top is also plywood like the table. I should be able to paint that by next week.

 

Im also thinking of adding a small harbour in front or maybe a container dock? But it might be a tight squeeze and im still looking at n scale components that will support my plans. Another option is probably a water bus too. I did held back on getting the futuristic looking Fujimi Himiko Water Bus as I dont think I could do justice on painting the frames correctly.

 

Mardon

Edited October 29, 2013 by macdon

[Vato]

Thanks Nicolas.

 

Using the V15 does suggest a two track line but may be a bit difficult to go around the table again due to dodging piers. I could probably use the other line to make a tram line serving the city blocks.

The first and 6th picture above does show the elevated shinkansen yard to park the trains - not really that noticeable since the top is also plywood like the table. I should be able to paint that by next week.

 

Im also thinking of adding a small harbour in front or maybe a container dock? But it might be a tight squeeze and im still looking at n scale components that will support my plans. Another option is probably a water bus too. I did held back on getting the futuristic looking Fujimi Himiko Water Bus as I dont think I could do justice on painting the frames correctly.

 

Mardon

Container dock should be better

[cteno4]

mardon,

 

Nice, gets you out of ringing the outside of the layout with the big viaduct loop and getting a lot of your scenery on the outside and maybe some of the bigger buildings will hide the viaduct for a little bit as well. good you eliminated the S curves, many of the shinkansens hate those. if you do the extension maybe you can jog the viaduct down there some and have a tunnel.

 

I have faith in your abilities from you other work you can do the water bus window painting. its mainly just cutting masks from good tamia mask sheeting (they give you one chunk in the box). so its mainly sitting there with some sharp xactos and tedious trimming in place.

 

water taxi would take up very little space. lots of other smaller stuff could get crammed in with it like a little marina and some fishing boats. curt's marina is really fun. boats are just little hunks of wood cut out and painted.

 

http://japanrailmodelers.org/photos/kurtslayout/pages/page_39.html

http://japanrailmodelers.org/photos/kurtslayout/pages/page_58.html

http://japanrailmodelers.org/photos/kurtslayout/pages/page_59.html

http://japanrailmodelers.org/photos/kurtslayout/pages/page_60.html

 

you see this sort of little marina or even boats just tied up along the walls (parallel or perpendicular) on the smaller waterways in cities or tucked back in the odd corners of larger harbors in japan.

 

container docks take up a big chunk of space even for a small container freighter. curt's small to medium one takes up about a 3'x2' space

 

http://japanrailmodelers.org/photos/kurtslayout/pages/page_38.html

 

you can try to make a very small freighter and condense things in. also have a double with a rail container yard with a long think warehouse down the middle where the stuff from the 40' containers gets repacked into smaller ones for the rail. but will still take up space even if you have the container ship right on the edge. try some quick cardboard cutouts to see what it feels like in the space!

 

btw the container ships are pretty easy to build, especially with your skills and resources. just need a few nautical details that are easily found as model ship parts elsewhere. even the container cranes are pretty straight forward to build out of stock H and I beam styrene.

 

another idea if you have a chunk of space for scenery like this and cant decide between a few different things is to just cut out a hunk of think plywood the shape of the area and make a few copies. then make different scenes so you can swap them out now and then to keep things fresh and you working on new scene ideas in a limited space!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[cteno4]

have this as a changeable port scene! shinkansen unloading and a parade of shinkansen cars down your main streets

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30RH0X0scH4

 

cheers

 

jeff

[macdon]

Yeah, Im going for the container dock. I already ordered some stuff from Scalescenes - dock edge, gantry, containers and even the small cargo ship. At first, I thought of having an international dock - but I dont really have the space. Those huge dockside container cranes are really huge even in n-scale possibly reaching 15-18" high. It'll be the tallest structure in the layout and with the dock situated in front really got me thinking. Even at 1:200 scale, they will still be huge.

Looking into a local/domestic dock with a smaller container ship with an onboard crane perhaps?

 

Im currently doing the scalescenes cargo ship - its just about a foot long till I find something better.

 

I also added a new structure to the layout. It took me a day to make it.

 

Mardon

[cteno4]

Mardon,

 

yes they can get big fast! thats the problem with container ports, even little ones are big on a layout!

 

yep smaller container ships that call on ports w/o dock cranes usually have some sort of cranes on board, but usually these are not tiny as they serve more remote places so have to take enough on a circuit to make money

 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Container_ship_crane.jpg

http://www.kambara-kisen.co.jp/teiki/data/31a.jpg

 

i think in japan if they do containers w/in any coastal shipping they are so port oriented i expect they have dock cranes anywhere they would be shipping containers by ship, else wise just truck them from a larger port area.

 

ive seen some smaller barges with boom or A frame cranes for containers, but dont think ive ever seen them in japan.

 

papercraft is a great way to do ships like this. not a lot of models out there at near 1/160 for freighters. 

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[macdon]

have this as a changeable port scene! shinkansen unloading and a parade of shinkansen cars down your main streets

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30RH0X0scH4

 

cheers

 

jeff

Interesting video Jeff - thanks for sharing.

 

Maybe those cranes would be more viable for my smallish port? Does Tomytec make those?

Will these do:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10131855

 

Mardon

[cteno4]

yeah but i dont think they really unload container ships like that in japan even in the tiny ports. more for the specialized stuff like this.

 

thats the set thats on cheap right now at plazajapan (guess clearing a few out of stock)

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Construction-Vehicle-Collection-No-2-Tomytec-1-150-N-scale-/360778740138?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item540016b1aa

 

cheers

 

jeff

[macdon]

I made a dockside crane mock-up just to see how well it sits on the layout - its tight. Its not even in n-scale and already the footprint ate a lot. Its probably closer to 1:280 or thereabouts as I was shooting for a not so big but not too small structure.

It doesnt look that bad thou, however a smaller conventional cargo crane (not container crane) might fit well too.

Nonetheless, will still play around with the mock-up crane and position it in other places - maybe on one side just for representation.

The cargo ship in the last pic is a small 150' footer ship from scalescenes.

 

Feel free to chime in your ideas, recommendations or violent reactions (Lol!) :D

 

Mardon

 

[cteno4]

Mardon,

 

Great mockup! Great way to see how this will work. For a crane like that you'll need a ship like 2-3x larger though.

 

130' ship will only hold like 8-12 containers max. Just never seen mini container ships in Picts of Japanese ports, but Japan is such a coastal shipping country there is probably everything! Always amazed what I find when I google satellite view around Japanese ports.

 

Other idea would be a small oil/fuel tanker. Could have a small refinery or small tank farm and then a tank car loading facility. Might allow a smaller dock and ship as well as more organic shaped scenery than a container facility. Lots of small tankers are used to bring fuel to smaller ports.

 

Good on ya again for mocking this up like this, well done!

 

Jeff

Edited November 6, 2013 by cteno4

[macdon]

I kitbashed this greenmax station building into an overhead station that could serve a commuter line. 

Still, a lot more things to add but I thought I'd share with you some pics of the development. 

 

Mardon

 

 

 

[cteno4]

great job mardon! will be great with other buildings up against it as well.

 

jeff

[macdon]

Thanks Jeff.

 

Being left with the 2 greenmax building bases, I decided to give each a structure to carry.

 

Mardon

 

[cteno4]

very nice job of cutting those windows! did you draw the lines on matte board then cut the windows or are those printed sheets on chipboard then cut the windows? what do you use to cut your windows so square and clean?

 

jeff

[macdon]

Upon closer inspection they're not really that clean cut as it was just freehand with an xacto knife. Files were done in photoshop, laser printed on matt photo paper then mounted on 1mm card using elmers white glue. When dry, windows were cut out. The interior overlay was then cut, folded (to allow depth) and glued from the inside. When all 5 sides were complete, they were glued together using ca glue.

 

Files came from here:

http://paperstructure.web.fc2.com/Download/Data_Police/Data_Police.html

 

I just used photoshop's hue/saturation to change the color of the building.

 

Mardon

[macdon]

With the arrival of the kato straight tracks, turnouts and bumpers, I got to lay down the yard and got to test it out as well. 

 

Mardon

 

[cteno4]

Nice Mardon.

 

Now when you get too many Shinkansens you can make a copies of the yard section and then put them on shelf brackets on the wall and pop in the yard of choice!

 

There will be more trains!

 

Jeff

Edited November 16, 2013 by cteno4

[macdon]

.......or how about 12" wide shelves all around the attic perimeter walls for the shinkansens to run on?  :love10:

 

Mardon

[cteno4]

Sounds good!

 

I have seriously been working on the idea of hacking 4' of track on a slim board like 2" wide that could be put next to the layout for trains to run onto from a siding then pop it up on the wall on some small brackets to display/store them. Also a thought for our club to be able to easily have more trains on display and pop onto our ground level tracks.

 

At home a plex box can go over the little train shelves to protect them.

 

Jeff

Edited November 16, 2013 by cteno4

[macdon]

Is this what SAL (ships always late) means? :D

 

 

Mardon

 

 

 

[cteno4]

Mardon

 

Nice job on the papercraft ship!

 

Did your sal box for hobbysearch show up? I've had a couple go out to three weeks to the us, but that was pretty rare, most all are right on two weeks spot on to here.

 

Jeff

Edited November 16, 2013 by cteno4

[macdon]

Mardon

 

Nice job on the papercraft ship!

 

Did your sal box for hobbysearch show up? I've had a couple go out to three weeks to the us, but that was pretty rare, most all are right on two weeks spot on to here.

 

Jeff

 

Not yet im afraid. It'll be a month in 2 days (18th) since it was shipped, so dont know. HS seems to take 10days to 2 weeks to arrive here, so cant really say why the delay via SAL these days.

 

I do use epacket via FModels and Modeltrainplus - it arrives within 1 week. As fast as ems but lower cost, so no complains with that service.

 

Mardon

[cteno4]

hmm i wonder if its stuck in customs? things seem pretty good getting out of japan sal, they seen ti process a couple of days then a few days waiting for space on planes. ive had a dozen or so that have had the tracking service added and followed them. most variation on delay seemed to be when it hit stateside here then about 2-3 days to ship w/in the us. larger package also took longer to get out of japan im guessing big packages get lowest priority. ive had a few loco packages (small) come in less than a week.

 

Hope it turns up, bummer to hear.

 

jeff