Hello from Chicago's southern suburbs

[enodenlover]

  After almost a dozen years away from the Japanese N scale hobby, I was once again bitten by the bug a few months ago. Since I sold off almost all my trains and buildings years ago I've had to start from scratch but thanks to money earned from recent eBay sales I've been able to put together a decent little collection in a short time. My interests are rather different than most of the posters on here as I'm not a fan of the futuristic looking Japanese trains of the last couple of decades. Being a bit of a traditionalist my interest is in electric commuter and rapid transit trains, as well as trams, built before 1985, especially equipment from the 50s and 60s. The available models from that period are somewhat limited but there's still enough stuff of that type out there to keep me happy.

[Ken Ford]

Welcome, neighbor! My interests are similar - I model the Kyoto Randen trams (but current day), but some of my main modeling interests are the CA&E, AE&FR, CSL and other Midwestern traction in O. I'm in Aurora.

[bikkuri bahn]

Welcome to the forum.  When it comes to models, I am of a similar bent- I prefer models from the "Showa" era- basically before the 1980's, but most commonly referring to the post war era- especially the late 1950's through the sixties, much like the "golden era" of US railways.

[enodenlover]

Thanks, Ken and Bikkuri, for the words of welcome. I'm really glad that I found this website. Like you Ken, I'm also interested in Chicago area traction operations, especially the long gone lines. I spent the first several years of my life living just a few blocks from where the Jackson Park 'L' used to cross over the Illinois Central tracks on Chicago's south side; this triggered my interest in electric railroads at a rather early age. My love for Japanese electrics comes from a lifelong passion for movies featuring Godzilla and his friends and foes, along with the TV shows starring the various members of the Ultraman family. In fact, my favorite of the few Japanese trains that I have so far is a first generation subway train from Tokyo's Maranouchi line; this is the train that Toho's version of King Kong destroyed in "King Kong Vs. Godzilla" back in '63. Goji destroyed a Kodama express train in the same film.

[katoftw]

Hello and welcome.

 

Good thing about Japanese railways and tramways, is it they haven't thrown away all their Showa Era trains.  So you can have a modern layout with 50s/60s/70s train set in it.

 

One of the highlights of my Japan trip was riding the old wooden Randen tram.

[Ken Ford]

?.. One of the highlights of my Japan trip was riding the old wooden Randen tram.

Was that the 21 and 22?

[katoftw]

After looking at the pictures again, I was mistaken.  Metal train, but still old vintage.  No.27.

[marknewton]

That makes at least five of us here that like the older stuff. Welcome to the forum.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

Edited February 28, 2015 by marknewton

[Ken Ford]

After looking at the pictures again, I was mistaken.  Metal train, but still old vintage.  No.27.

That's what I was thinking - 21 class (26 and 27, not 21 and 22.). Retro styled Mobo621s.

[SantaFe1970]

Welcome to a fellow Midwesterner -- I'm in Muncie, IN. I've no great experience or interest in Chicago rail, but on my first adult trip to Chicago I made sure to ride the El in the Loop full circle. (My wife stayed back in the hotel for that one.)