And so it begins...

[railsquid]

Showa calling...

 

showa-backstreets by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Just working out how I can fit in a stretch of "railway line through the backstreet buildings" :D

Edited July 12, 2016 by railsquid

[railsquid]

Another view.

old-town-overview by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

The plan is to have a townscape petering out into open countryside (a very miniscule amount of open countryside at that), and a hill/mountain at the far end. And lots of level crossings. Trying to get that local line feel.

[railsquid]

The plan is to have a townscape petering out into open countryside (a very miniscule amount of open countryside at that), and a hill/mountain at the far end. And lots of level crossings. Trying to get that local line feel.

 

So kind of like this:

 

countryside-transition-1 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

The line behind the buildings is the one pictured in the posts above, more of a tram line with on-street running; in the foreground is the "proper local line" with its own right-of-way. It will rise up on a low embankment because I think it looks nice. However both lines are on the same single-track loop - it's all an illusion. I have come up with a nifty idea for an additional stretch of on-street tram track making use of very small radius curvers which I'll describe later if it's actually feasible.

 

I am planning to cut open the baseboard a bit past the convenience store carpark to add a small river. The 100-yen store wooden boxes are being replaced with custom-builtbodged supports, and will disappear under a removable hill.

 

Gratuitous ground-level shot:

 

countryside-transition-2 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

Edited July 13, 2016 by railsquid

[railsquid]

And a bit further along we hit open countryside (well about as open as you get near a built-up area) with a getaden reflecting in the rice paddy:

getaden-ricefield by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

(Please ignore the modern track, I had run out of wooden-sleepered stuff at that point)

[JR 500系]

I like the reflection that the green surface is forming... What is that material by the way? Works really well as a water surface ~~

[railsquid]

It's decorative cellophane from the 100 yen shop, which I acquired for non-railway purposes. I just put it there for some temporary green, but it does look like it could come in handy for modelling water-related stuff.

[marknewton]

The cellophane looks quite effective. It's given me an idea or two...

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[marknewton]

Its not just the cellophane giving me ideas, either. The way you're using actual track and structures to plan your layout is the way to go, I think. I've never had much success trying to design layouts by drawing them neatly to scale. I've usually just had a rough sketch that I use as a basis for arranging track and structures on the bench work once it's built.

 

So later on tonight I'm going to get some track and buildings out and see if I can produce a recognisable version of Hokoku on a spare layout base I've got sitting in the shed.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

Edited July 14, 2016 by marknewton

[Staffy]

Its not just the cellophane giving me ideas, either. The way you're using actual track and structures to plan your layout is the way to go, I think. I've never had much success trying to design layouts by drawing them neatly to scale. I've usually just had a rough sketch that I use as a basis for arranging track and structures on the bench work once it's built.

 

So later on tonight I'm going to get some track and buildings out and see if I can produce a recognisable version of Hokoku on a spare layout base I've got sitting in the shed.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

 

Pictures please!

 

That cellophane looks surprisingly good - the reflection in particular is unusual and effective.

[railsquid]

Its not just the cellophane giving me ideas, either. The way you're using actual track and structures to plan your layout is the way to go, I think. I've never had much success trying to design layouts by drawing them neatly to scale. I've usually just had a rough sketch that I use as a basis for arranging track and structures on the bench work once it's built.

 

So later on tonight I'm going to get some track and buildings out and see if I can produce a recognisable version of Hokoku on a spare layout base I've got sitting in the shed.

 

It's only taken me about 2 years to get to this point ;). A lot of that was working out how I want the "core" running lines to be, and how to use them effectively in the space available to do what I want, so I've ended up with an elevated double-track loop (I was originally planning a folded dogbone with an addtional outer oval, but that proved a bit too complex). The front section of the elevated loop will be occupied by a German and British station respectively, which leaves a lot of space on the lower level for the Japanese part. I was originally planning something slightly different - working with SCARM et al, or even on paper, I find makes you concentrate too much on the railway side of things and I was kind of envisaging filling the space with sidings, but just laying out tracks and buildings gives a much better feel for what can be done and what works in the space available, and it's nice to get at least a bit of railway through the scenery, rather than scenery squeezed in between the running lines.

 

The good thing about Japanese modelling of course is the large amount of robust ready-to-plonk structures which can be acquired cheaply (especially in Japan) which make this trial-and-error approach practical.

Edited July 14, 2016 by railsquid

[railsquid]

Another crossing shot

 

crossing-scene by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

And yesterday's idea, part-implemented today thanks to a prompt delivery from Yodobashi Camera:

 

tram-crossing by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Yes, a bus on an iceberg. Aaah, nope, just propping it up to tram level. For it occurred to me with the help of some 103mm curves and a crossing or two I can run a tramline down what is emerging as a main thoroughfare, and have it "short cut" the lower-level ground loop, which makes a much nicer roundy-roundy for small trams and more operational interest without occupying any significant amount of space:

 

tram-crossing-overview by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

PS I blame Tony for the idea about running short-radius curves around the base of an elevated section ;)

[marknewton]

...working with SCARM et al, or even on paper, I find makes you concentrate too much on the railway side of things and I was kind of envisaging filling the space with sidings, but just laying out tracks and buildings gives a much better feel for what can be done and what works in the space available, and it's nice to get at least a bit of railway through the scenery, rather than scenery squeezed in between the running lines.

That's been my experience too, but it wasn't until you posted your photos that I remembered why I'd given up drawing detailed layout plans.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

Pictures please!

I don't think there'll be much worth taking photos of. :)

 

All I want to do is establish whether the layout base I have is wide enough for the task. I don't want to hijack Railsquid's thread, so I'll start one of my own.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[ToniBabelony]

PS I blame Tony for the idea about running short-radius curves around the base of an elevated section ;)

 

Yeah, I'm the type who likes things visually tight xD

[railsquid]

[railsquid]

A bit more mocking up with the aid of a Kato building which was a bit more expensive than the Diocolle ones but fits nicely into the space.

showa-backstreet-3 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

And a quick test of the 103mm radius tram loop:

 

 

Surprisingly a Tomytec TM-10 chassis will run through there as well.

[railsquid]

And another video... Not particularly interesting, but the outer upper loop is partially in place for further testing of trains.

 

[railsquid]

Meanwhile, this cardboard mockup:

road-incline-2 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

is being transformed into a winter wonderland of styrene:

slope-scenery-construction by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[velotrain]

Do you really want the road superelevated so much? 

 

Could be tricky for the drivers in winter . . . .

[railsquid]

It's not in its final position yet :D

[railsquid]

Another view of the "main" station (I keep taking these photos to check how the scenery etc. "works" from ground level). Rather than try and make it the centrepiece, it's somewhat hidden away at the rear of the layout, the ends (especially the far end) hidden behind taller buildings to make the length (or lack thereof - basically 4 Shinkansen cars) less obvious.

main-station by Rail Squid, on Flickr

I could easily make the station 50% longer, but it would end up dominating the rear of the layout, this way there's a reasonable section of straight-running track.

 

In the centre we have the tramline running along a main road. In an ideal world it would be double-track, but as I'm not actually running a real tram service, a single track is much easier to implement in the space available. And I really really want a section of on-street running :) The branch leading off under the station was originally intended to be a dead-end tram stop, but happily I realised those nice tight 103mm curves would be just right to have it do a 180deg curve behind the elevated line then zip off across the board at right-angles down what has emerged as another main road, crossing the other lines on the level (see previous video). This makes for a nice short-ish urban-ish tram loop, rather than have trams trundling all the way around the lower level.

 

To the left we have the "traditional local line" running at ground level with traditional ground level station (not the building pictured, it's just there as a placeholder) but on a separate right-of-way. Again, it would be nice to have at least a passing loop here, but the additional pointwork would eat into scenic space.

 

As an aside, I've noticed I prefer creating scenes and ajusting the track to fit, rather than fixing on a track plan then trying to squeeze scenery around that. Operationally the layout won't make much sense - it's more a series of scenes linked by track - but that's fine, I just like watching trains trundling round.

 

The pedestrian footbridge is one of the newer Tomytec Diocolle ones with enough height for trams/trains to pass under. I was originally planning to put it somewhere else but noticed it makes a very nice link between the ground level local line and the main station (there'll still be ground-level pedestrian crossings of course, but Japan has traditionally never been shy when it comes to putting footbridges across roads.

 

BTW the area visible in this shot is about 90cm x 45cm. On the "right" of this scene is the previously pictured "olde Showa-era-esque town with elevated tracks in the background". This isn't based on any particular prototype, just Generic Japan Inspired by Tomy ;)  It could be a small-ish town with a Shinkansen station, or part of a larger city with an elevated commuter line meeting legacy tram/very local line.

 

Now, I really must get a backscene sorted out...

Edited July 24, 2016 by railsquid

[cteno4]

Squid,

 

looking great! I like your approach of getting the scene you want and linking it with track! i think you can come up with a reasonable layout to link them with a little fiddling that way! So many times we get trapped by the track plan and the scenery ends up being lack luster and then it can take the delight of the scene out of the mix. hey its your rr design it your way! it has been fun watching its evolution!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[railsquid]

Meanwhile, this cardboard mockup:

road-incline-2 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

is being transformed into a winter wonderland of styrene:

slope-scenery-construction by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

 

Do you really want the road superelevated so much? 

 

Could be tricky for the drivers in winter . . . .

 

 

It's not in its final position yet :D

 

This is more like it:

slope-scenery-construction-2 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

There's a reason why I keep a box full of shavings and offcuts from earlier styrene hacking sessions :D

 

Next step: some scenic clay.