Going Japanese!!!

[gerryo]

I have used, and will use again, the single track viaducts in side by side position on my test tracks on my previous layout design.  The only problem was with the Kato Shinkansens on the 4% slopes. 

 

I have included the single track viaducts on my new design as the long coaches I have are in a 2 or 4 car consist.  The problems with the Kato Shinkansens are the weak motors, the lack if weight in the motor cars, and their lengths if you go beyond the three or four car basic sets.

 

Everything else I have work well, even the 11 car Odakyu sets.

 

gerryo

[Pauljag900]

Hi Gerryo,thanks,I can t see why they won't work,just a bad thought I had,I ve ordered a half circle of each radius and will try them before I order too many more.I wo nt be running shinkansens on them anyway,I ll be running those on the double viaduct track with the larger radius.I ll be running commuters or express trains on them,I already have the trains I ll be using so I ll order the track and see what happens!And due to the size of my layout I wo nt be running any trains longer than 6 cars

[Pauljag900]

Hi Gerryo,I purchased some single viaduct track in both 282 and 315 rad and connected them to the v14 set at ground level and track tested all my trains on them,they went around with no problem, panic over!

[gerryo]

Hi Paul.

 

Glad the experiment was a success.

 

gerryo

[Pauljag900]

Finally I ve recieved the last of the track I needed to test my layout and see if it all fits and works as per plan.I used anyrail to make the plan and have been buying bits for over a year,some new and some used.I wanted two double loops with a viaduct station and two passing loops for parked trains,all in an 8x4 layout,it was a bit of a challenge but finally it's done.

 

I ve used a few pieces that I will eventually replace in the near future but at least it gets it up and running.

The white polystyrene at the back is where the four track through viaduct station with two island platforms will be,and the long straight at the front is where I will have two passing loops with island platforms,this will give me four trains on the bottom loop,two running and two parked at the platforms,I will also incorporate a double crossover into it.

 

These are the five trains I have so far and my last one will be Kato 10-937.

Which will run on the double viaduct with the other Shinkansen and the 10-298 will run on the bottom with the other three.

Next step is to replace the track I need and get the station and extension plates as from there it will give me the correct spacing everywhere else.

I an considering a single tram and one moving bus in the middle but I m not sure yet so I m going to wait and see what space there is once all the track is complete and station done.

I will eventually increase all the train lengths to 6-8 cars depending on the size of the passing loops,I do nt want them too long because the layout is only small really,I want them to look in proportion.

[gerryo]

Marvelous, simply marvelous.

 

Well done Paul.

 

gerryo

[Pauljag900]

Thanks Gerryo

[Pauljag900]

I just wonder if anyone can offer an opinion or if they ve ever seen this done?

I ve been looking for ages for a backscene poster but I can t find one I m happy with for my layout.so,I was thinking if I want it to fit in with what's on my board could I just replicate that image to the back and sides? I ve come up with the idea of mirrors on the back and sides,I ve got the mirrors but not fitted them yet,also I ve a plan "B", if it looks crap I can always use them as a base for a poster and stick with the cloudy sky posters and fasten them to the mirrors with double sided tape.

Try hard not to laugh guys,I know it's a bit off the wall,but it s just an idea.

[kvp]

Mirrors have been used on many layouts in the past, most of the time to better show the trains running around the back. The biggest problem is that if you go down to eye level, then you would see yourself in the mirror instead of a sky or a terrain backdrop. This means that mirrors are only good for layouts that are viewed from an angle down that is at least 45 degrees. Personally i would go with a simple sky or a combined low relief terrain and flat sky backdrop. The hillyness of Japan and the coastal nature or many japanese cities helps this a lot, as simple hills and the flat sky of the sea are two very easy to achive backdrops and look completly prototypical.

[Pauljag900]

Cheers mate,appreciate the opinion.

[cteno4]

Paul,

 

Hey looking good! How do the trains take that outside grade on the far right? Looks very steep compared to the other end grade, or is that just a trick of the photo angle?

 

Yeah mirror are very tricky to use and usually require a very fixed pov to make them work well.

 

One trick for the backdrop to avoid picture use is to jsut use the blue backdrop (and clouds if you want to get artistic) and the so the short wall of scenery along the base of the wall. These can be foreshortened walls, hills, cliffs, tree and brush lines or even jsut building faces (cheat and get two out of each building!). Doesn't work for those big skylines though... One of our club members had a pro layout built for him by a custom model shop and they did this simply to great effect and it's great as I never find my eye drifting up to the backdrop, it does its job at keeping the eye focused on the layout but filling things in just enough for my mind's eye to accept it and fill in all the detail rather than having the ultra detail backdrop picture.

 

If you do want a big skyline, luckily there are a lot of photos out there these days to draw on and digital printing services are pretty cheap these days as well. Most services also have good software now days to also res up your image so it's clearer when blown up and also source shots are being taken on higher and higher resolution cameras. Plus at a few feet in the background the shot does not need to be ultra sharp.

 

My suggestion is to try a few different things out quickly in different chunks along the backdrop to see what takes your fancy!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

http://youtu.be/nudPqFfKJ0k

I think it may be the camera ang,e Jeff,admittedly it s probably the maximum I could get away with but I have used the Kato piers and the trains seemed to be fine on it to be honest,a compromise for the size of layout I m afraid. I m generally quite pleased with the layout,it seems to work well and looked good with all 4 trains running at the same time.Thinking ahead,now I ve removed the glacier express I m thinking I could extend it to an "L" or "u"shaped layout in the future,it would nt be difficult to place a few points in on the bends and continue it down,may just be slightly limited to the size of the radius,but that's for the future.

With regard to the mirrors,I was sitting in the shed last week havin a brew with my mate who s a glazier and we discussed mirrors as an option,next thing he arrived here two days later with the mirrors!! So as I ve got them Anyway I think I ll put them up and if they look rubbish I ll either take them down or just cover them with either sky or mountain scene.I have seen a "Rockies" scenic poster which looked ok,so I ll probs go for that one if I need to go that route.

Thanks for the info,advice and encouragement tho mate,much appreciated.

[cteno4]

That's great, experiment! Nice what a beer gets ya!

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

Ha ha,tell ya what Jeff,with this mirror idea I m guessing a few on here will be thinking we d had more than one!

[Pauljag900]

Guys,I ve just had the most humbling experience ever.the problem as to where the glacier express would end up has been solved.i sold it earlier today.i was sad to see it go to be honest,I was really pleased with the way it turned out and was pleased with myself.the guy who bought it was buying it for his son who was with him.He is 28 years old and has autism,the mental age of a six year old.

When they arrived I had it set up in the garden having cleaned the whole layout and track,his face when he saw it was like I remember my children on Christmas Day,unbelievable,he just turned to me,smiled and said thank you,kissed me and hugged me,I had tears in my eyes.i ended up knocking £100 off the price and giving him half the stuff I had bought for my new layout.He was so pleased with it.we have vowed to stay in touch as they only live 50 miles away and will be invited to see the new layout as it develops.

Just makes you realise how lucky we are.

Sorry guys,not really train stuff but just thought I d share it with anyone that's intrested.

[cteno4]

Paul, good on ya dude, you just made the world a better place! Thats so great and the perfect solution to what to do with it as he will really enjoy the layout. It will be a very very good thing for him as finding things autistics can focus and interact on is so crucial to their development! 

 

Brought a tear to my eye and made my day! you get good layout Karma for a long time here.

 

You deserve a very nice beer tonight!

 

thanks for posting this!

 

jeff

Edited September 10, 2015 by cteno4

[Pauljag900]

Thanks Jeff,I just felt I had to share it.

[cteno4]

Paul,

 

its a good lesson to us all! Nice when you see something like that happen and things just work out so right.

 

jeff

[Pauljag900]

It sure is mate,and it does nt happen enough.

[cteno4]

Well you made it happen by giving them a great deal and throwing in all the extras! That's the part that we especially need more of.

 

Jeff

[gerryo]

Another "WELL DONE", Paul.

 

Thanks for sharing, both ways.

 

gerryo 

[Pauljag900]

Cheers gerryo

[katoftw]

Someone will do you a nice favour one day.  Thank you for sharing your story.

[Pauljag900]

Thanks Katoftw,my philosophy is that if you can do somebody a favour then you should do it because you never know when you will need one yourself.

[cteno4]

Paul, something tells me you are a guys who just does the favor because they can do it, period.

 

Jeff