Custom Kato Viaduct Station

[katoftw]

Hi,

 

I thought I'd shame an idea that I am trying to impliment into a 4x8 layout.  Kato's viaduct station only allows for an island platform setup.  And I want to use one sided platforms.  Or if you have points added, you can have 2 plaforms and 4 tracks.  I don't have the space for extra length from the points, so this is what I'm up to.

 

I plan on using a wooden base, 140mm custom depth and in lengths of 248mm same as Kato's, and attaching the side walls from the normal kato viaduct station range.  The wall attach with 3 round poles into the bases, so holes can be drilled into the wood.

 

 

And the station front will be this Tomytec small office building.  Hopefully the colours match up nicely.  and I'll have to source some JR decals of some description to use.

 

 

If the colours dont match or the office build is not high enough.  Then Tomytec have the same building in charcol with 10 stories of awesomeness.  Will use that instead.

 

I'll probaly just hide the underneth of the station with closely aligned buildings.  And there should be space underneth for a 2-3 line hidden sidings yard.

 

Hopefully it all work out like is has in my mind.

Edited January 17, 2015 by katoftw

[cteno4]

Kato,

 

There are a few threads on the forum about rolling your own Shinkansen platforms. Biggest issue is making it thin and rigid so it does not warp with time. Just using a sheet of solid wood or ply without alot of reinforcing structure underneath will probably eventually warp. I tried a long time back to create sections like you are doing out of planed wood down to kato's platform thickness and getting things to keep flat on 3 successive 248 test hunks was tough (was thinking of classic doweling connections) and on a longer piece was not totally flat w/o some bracing underneath. so i went the other route below. also drilling the holes in the side to put the wall pegs into is tricky to get just right. i was able to do it by beefing up my drill press fence and some careful drilling, but took a couple attempts to get it just right. to slip all the way in you need to have the bottom lip of the wall go under the platform so the drilling of the holes needs to be spot on on all of the platforms to the edge (which the fence will get you if you are super careful.)

The best solution that I have found to stay flat is to laminate a top layer of Formica or 040 stryene sheet with 3/16" foamcore in the center and 1/8" Masonite on the bottom. This stays very flat and has been very resistant to warping despite dc going from dripping humidity to very dry winters. It's also the same thickness as the kato plates so can match up with them and the foam core is at the same position in the side as where the wall pegs poke into the platform so you can just push the walls in where you want them. Really requires access to a table saw to finish up though...

 

longer description of creating the platforms is here

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/2406-making-kato-viaduct-platforms/?p=27159

 

the platforms ive made this way have held up for over 10 years now with a lot of abuse with travel and temp and humidity changes. wood would not have im afraid (and i have done a lot of wood work over the years).

 

i made one thats about 1.3m long that is just like your idea with the one sided platforms on each side with just thru tracks (no passing sidings) for our smaller station on our first layout (small shinkansen station on one side and big one on the other with passing tracks and double sided platforms). i just used 1" thin alumiumn L stock to make low side walls glued onto the side of the above layered platform base materials. this gave some extra rigidity to the whole thing and a low wall along the edge. Then the back sides of the one sided platform backs made a taller wall in the sections in the center with the roof (and then just one open platform length on each end). This way you dont need the kato sidewalls for this kind of station (we had used all we had up on the big 16 car station!). that station is still doing great and in the basement here after 10 years!

 

doing sidings under a station like this is tough as you need to have a fair number of supports to hold the platform up and getting at the trains can be really really tough even if they are at the front edge of the layout. if there are derailments (and there will be) its a pain. we have had jogs of track going partway under our big station and once a show there is a derailment in there and thats a pain to get out a yard would be alot tougher and harder to see probably.

 

the larger form of the tomix building comes apart at every other floor so you can make them as high as you want. the one above is just the ground floor and one 2 story section top plate. taller building just has more center sections.

 

kato's station entrance is quite nice as well and you can cheat with it to make it larger by cutting it in half and putting both outsides facing the same way.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[katoftw]

Thanks Jeff.  Seems my project has been done before.  Give me confidence and now excellent reference material to work with.  Sidings was only a fleeting idea.  If it compremises the stucture, then it doesn't need to be.  Also used wood as a loose term.  I hadn't really though of materials to use, but you reference material shows the way.

[katoftw]

Oops I completely forgot a step/section.

 

This station itself will be 4x lines and 4x 1 sided platforms. 2 through commuter and 2 through shinkansen lines.

 

The front 2 lines and platforms are commuter lines and will be the normal viaduct height.  The back 2 lines are the shinkansen lines and will be about 20mm higher than normal viaduct height.  Or the height of the platform wall from the commuter platform in front if it.

 

The far shinkansen platform will be back up against the far edge of the layout to the back of it.  Hopefully being 70mm high and on the edge means I can put a hidden siding yard underneth.

 

The shinkansen lines will drop to the normal viaduct height near the front of the layout.  And the commuter lines will drop to ground height towards the front of the layout.