[Claude_Dreyfus]

For those of you who have been following our club blog on here, you will be well aware of our conversion project of our old UK N Gauge layout to Japanese. It seems to have taken over the club blog a little, and perhaps it is more appropriate for the layout to have its own thread, freeing up the blog more more general club activities...

Firstly a brief sense of place for the layout, because although there will be times when it is run as a broadly Japanese layout, as with all things it is more interesting to at least have the option to give it a more defined location. For me, this enables a 'slightly' more disciplined approach to buying the stock, as well as opening lots of interesting avenues for research. Because of this Yamanouchi Oshika is situated on the Chuo main line, on the main Japanese island of Honshu.

The Chuo (Central) main line links Toyko and Nagoya, a slower inland route to the more direct Tokaido main line and it's accompanying Shinkansen. Few passenger trains traverse the entire length, however traffic at both extremeties is heavy - especially at the Tokyo end where the tracks share the route of the Chuo/Sobu line, one of the busiest suburban routes in the world.

Much of the central section traverses the Japanese Alps, and trains have to tackle some very steep gradients and sharp curves - progress, especially for a heavy oil train, can be slow along the Chuo main line.


To combat this the Japanese have followed their tradition of designing locomotives specifially for the route on which they are employed. For many years the mainstay of the line was, and still is, the EF64 DC electric locomotive. More often than not these powerful locomotives would double-head the heaviest of trains, however by 2000 these 35 year old machines were showing their age.

Aware of the need for a powerful, yet practical locomotive to traverse this sinuous line, JRF pursued the idea of the articulated locomotive, already successfully demonstrated by the iconic EH10 and successful EH500. The Chuo version is the impressive EH200.


Passenger services are handled by a number of interesting units - loco-hauled passenger is now quite unusual in everyday operations (excepting sleepers). Units on this route include the E351 Super Asuza

and the E257 Asuza Kaiji


From a modellers points of view, we are quite spoiled here. All of these are available in N gauge, although the EF64 is now a swine to get hold of. A decent Chuo line service can be achieved with readily available stock.

In terms of the layout, we have the track and most of the scenery already in place. The layout is 16' x 3' in size and boasts a double-track circuit, branch line and terminating roads, as well as a goods yard, loco sidings and carriages stabling. The following pictures show how the layout looks more or less at the present time...




There is plenty to be done between now and when the layout reappears on the exhibition circuit in about 7 weeks time - Alton Febex in the first weekend of February in an interim guise, and Midhurst (28th Feb) in full Japanese splendour!


Prototype pictures on here are from Wikipedia Commons...

We also have a new poster for the layout, courtesy of Tony B.

 L&DMRC Yamanouchi Oshika.doc (45.5K)
Number of downloads: 29

[dmustu]

Its great to see a Japanese layout for a change, I will look foward to seeing how this one develops. Its a good idea to have a firm 'location' for the layout in helping to decide what stock to buy, as there is so many good quality models to choose from, it will certainly help the wallet!

Will you be brave enough to have a go at converting the stock to dcc, or stick with dc? It has always surprised me at how dcc has not taken off in Japan, given that Japan is known producing cutting edge electronics.

[JohnDMJ]

dmustu, on 17 December 2009 - 17:04 , said:

IWill you be brave enough to have a go at converting the stock to dcc, or stick with dc? It has always surprised me at how dcc has not taken off in Japan, given that Japan is known producing cutting edge electronics.

The conversion of Kato DCC friendly stock is straightforward; Kato produce 3 chips - 1 for the motor, one for interior lighting control and one for head / tail lights. All are simple push-fit, requiring no NEM sockets and no cutting of wires, soldering, etc. A typical Bullet, for example, with 8 cars, would require 11 chips - 8 lighting, 2 head / tail and one motor. Because of the limited functionality of each chip, cost for one bullet approx. equals one Lenz Gold chip!

I suggest that the Japanese are ahead of us in this respect!

[JohnDMJ]

A quick search on eBay (Plazzajapan's shop) has found these images which illustrate my point:

The three chips


fitting the motor controller, EM-13


fitting the haed / tail light controller FL-12


fitting the interior lighting controller, FR-11

[Bedders]

I love the look of the E351 Super Asuza, very distinctive shape

[agentskj]

looks gr8 cant wait to see it

A bit off topic but is it possible to get a bullet train in n, 00 or 0 do you know

Sam

[ste234]

Looks nice mate, will be very nice having some of them japanese passenger trains tearing through

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Thanks for the comments...

Almost all of my stock is non-DCC, so essentially this will be a DC layout. That said, it has been run in DCC mode with very little effort, although the Japanese stock does not have the extra functionality that some of the European models have; sound etc.

In terms of DCC, yes in general Japan is not a well up on DCC as say the Europeans. In general, the later Kato models are DCC friendly, with a straight forward plug-in process for the chips. It is perhpas worth noting that Kato are the most 'international' of the Japanese manufacturers. Companies such as Tomix and Micro Ace are not compatible, so much so that Tomix has a bit of a reputation amongst modellers as being positively DCC-unfriendly. That said, the latter two tend to centre solely on the Japanese market.

I am extremely fond of the E351, and do have a model of this set. It is a Kato model, and sports a tilting mechanism, just like the real thing. It works, and looks very effective; especially on our banked curve.

In general, Bullets are available in N Gauge. For what they are, the are fairly reasonably prices; you can get a full 16-car set for under ??200.00 (depending on the exchange rate). They are available in H0, but are very hard to get hold of and extremely expensive - Japanese H0 in general is very pricey as it is a minority scale.

In terms of supply, for the Tokaido southwards set, I understand the 700 & N700 sets are available, with the 100, 300 and 500 sets coming out in the new year. Also available are the 400, E2, E3, E4 Max and 800, which are usually shorter and do not carry tat iconic white and blue livery.

[JohnDMJ]

agentskj, on 18 December 2009 - 21:14 , said:

A bit off topic but is it possible to get a bullet train in n, 00 or 0 do you know

The second from last photo in Claudes original post shows a Series 0 Bullet in N Scale!

[Claude_Dreyfus]

More has been more progress on the scenics for Yamanouchi Oshika over the last couple of weeks... Which is a good thing, as it's due at a show - Alton - tomorrow

The town section is due for fitting later today, however the yard end is more or less complete.

In this picture a Minobu line class 115 heads down-grade toward journey's end at Yamanouchi Oshika station. The attractive livery of this set is meant to represent the red wine production of the area; the white stripe symbolises snow.

From a similar vantage point can be seen an E351 Super Azusa, one of the iconic trains to run on the Chuo line. This model is fitted with a tilting mechanism, and looks extremely effective at speed.

In the background, an EF64 can be seen resting on shed.

Finally, a close up of the yard. The DD16 is a Micro Ace model.

[JohnDMJ]

Claude_Dreyfus, on 05 February 2010 - 09:04 , said:

Which is a good thing, as it's due at a show - Alton - tomorrow

Where, it is being shewn as Cote le Stone a Continental layout! (just that nobody specified which continent!)

[spacehopper100]

wow! nice to see a japanese layout on here... looks excellent!

had a fantastic time last year eating sushi on the Nozomi Shinkansen
whilst being whisked from Tokyo to Kyoto for a few days sightseeing!

[Claude_Dreyfus]

spacehopper100, on 05 February 2010 - 09:44 , said:

wow! nice to see a japanese layout on here... looks excellent!

had a fantastic time last year eating sushi on the Nozomi Shinkansen
whilst being whisked from Tokyo to Kyoto for a few days sightseeing!

Sushi (or a bento box), Shinkansen and, if you're lucky, Mount Fuji. There is no better way to spend a few hours. That is unless you also add Sake to the equation

[spacehopper100]

oo actually.. i think it was a bento box i had!

and had a stunning view of Mt fuji on the way back to Tokyo

was *almost* as good a train journey as Munich to Innsbruck!

[Claude_Dreyfus]

A couple of pictures of the layout from the Alton show. Still some work to do before it is complete (or as complete as a model railway can be!)...

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[ste234]

That little lad in the first photo looks a bit dissapointed
Some nice pictures there, any chance of a video?

[Claude_Dreyfus]

ste234, on 08 February 2010 - 20:38 , said:

That little lad in the first photo looks a bit dissapointed
Some nice pictures there, any chance of a video?

Yeah, he's probably grumpy because he can't see any trains. In that picture the cream and red unit (Class 183 Chuo Liner) is leaving the fiddle yard, whilst the container train is arriving. As both the DMUs were in the branch fiddle yard (left hand side of the picture), it was a little quiet on the viewing side!

No video from this show, however something may be put togther from the next show at Midhurst on the last Sunday of this month.

[max]

Finally, a close up of the yard. The DD16 is a Micro Ace model.
[/quote]


'DE10'

Max

[Bloodnok]

max, on 09 February 2010 - 12:04 , said:

'DE10'

Doesn't look like a DE10 to me - a DE10 has 5 driven axles (that's what the 'E' means) across two bogies - it's a Co-Bo - making one bogie significantly different (and longer) than the other. That looks to have two identical 2 axle bogies...

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Bloodnok, on 09 February 2010 - 03:40 , said:

Doesn't look like a DE10 to me - a DE10 has 5 driven axles (that's what the 'E' means) across two bogies - it's a Co-Bo - making one bogie significantly different (and longer) than the other. That looks to have two identical 2 axle bogies...

You are correct. Basically Japanese loco classes are designated by their wheel arrangements, as well as whether they are diesel or electric. In the case of the DD16, it is a diesel and has a B-B wheel arrangement (classified 'D'). The 16 is just a class serial number. The classification only covers powered axles, so although the DD51 looks to have a B-B-B arrangement, the middle set are merely trailer wheels for weight distribution.

If you see the last picture in my post dated 07/02/2010, you will see three different classes of Japanese diesel locomotive. From left to right; the DD51, DD16 and DE10.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

More work has taken place on Yamanouchi Oshika, this time on the town section.

The roadways really needed some more attention, so these received a coat of Woodland Scenics tarmac. Personally, I think this is pretty good stuff, however maybe a little too thick for N gauge. In addition the pavements received a coat of Woodland Scenics concrete paint, which is perhaps a little too light in colour. Minor gripes as chances are it will look a little better under exhibition lighting.

Extra street furniture was added, although a few more bits are still to be constructed, and the final lift was given by the road markings. The town area is now looking far better, although now we need to add all the little details, especially around the back of buildings etc.

Next we will be looking at the station area…that large bald expanse of car park needs some sorting out. A couple more buildings will also be needed in and around the station, as well as the tram shed area – no trams will be operating during the show…ran out of time to get the tram line wired… Next time I make an order from Japan I will see about a couple of yard-type buildings to give the tram shed a little more interest.

Plenty of time...the next show is not until Sunday...

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[max]

Sorry Claude, I should have put a question mark.I've mostly seen the DD16 sandwiched between snowplows.I guess I also need new glasses,not spotting that the fwd bogie is a B-type and not an C-type as on DE10

Max

Claude_Dreyfus, on 09 February 2010 - 19:11 , said:

You are correct. Basically Japanese loco classes are designated by their wheel arrangements, as well as whether they are diesel or electric. In the case of the DD16, it is a diesel and has a B-B wheel arrangement (classified 'D'). The 16 is just a class serial number. The classification only covers powered axles, so although the DD51 looks to have a B-B-B arrangement, the middle set are merely trailer wheels for weight distribution.

If you see the last picture in my post dated 07/02/2010, you will see three different classes of Japanese diesel locomotive. From left to right; the DD51, DD16 and DE10.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

max, on 24 February 2010 - 01:30 , said:

Sorry Claude, I should have put a question mark.I've mostly seen the DD16 sandwiched between snowplows.I guess I also need new glasses,not spotting that the fwd bogie is a B-type and not an C-type as on DE10

Max

No problems... many of those smaller Japanese diesels seem to be used on snow plough duties - high power to weight ratio I guess - so they can be confused. That said the DD16 looks very similar to the DE10 in terms of appearance; especially the bonnet-ends and lights.

[Claude_Dreyfus]

So, Midhurst has come and gone for another year.

The layout behaved well, and had any number of positive comments. So all in all we left the show feeling all warm and fuzzy! The anticipated mad panic was not a bad as previous years, and the Saturday afternoon was positively orderly...

So here we have a couple of pictures...

The carriage sidings have now been taken over by the engineering department...


The station building has been completed to a very high standard by Tony G. It is a Green Max kit....note the still incomplete tram line in the background.


Japanese trains proved to be a great source of interest to the good people of West Sussex.


A class 313 Central Liner passes the yard. This is the only 'main line' set produced by Modemo...the rest of their range are trams.

In terms of the future, there is a plan to add an overbridge crossing the tracks at a right-angle more or less where teh signal box is located. As well as adding more visual interest, it will also provide a little more purpose to the long road running along the back, which has been somewhat demoted since it was truncated at the station.