Something which has been bugging me for a long time on the layout are the platforms. They are too British, and to me broadcast this fact at the top of their voices. Whilst all around the station is looking more and more Japanese (I hope!) the plaforms resolutely remain forever England!

This however is about to change .

On today's trip down to the local emporium, I returned with one of the Kato Unitrack island platforms to see if this could be readily adapted to fit our station.

One of the biggest problems with converting a layout between countries is that you do have to work around a lot of what is already there...unless you get really drastic and start ripping up loads of track, which to me somewhat defeats the object.

Immediately there are two issues. Firstly the old platforms were constructed from Kestrel wide platforms....indeed the track spacing in the terminus roads were specifically measured with these platforms in mind. The Kato platforms are just a little bit narrower, so either we have a huge gap between train and platform edge or the track needs to be moved. The second issue is a little more fundamental...

I should have remembered from my own layout that the unitrack platforms are quite a bit higher to accomodate the much higher track pieces...they of course have the moulded ballast. This picture is perhaps a little extreme, as the unit would be sitting on track, but we use PECO code 55 through the station, so there would still be a considerable height difference...enough to look silly.

So, what to do? Annoyingly nobody provides suitable Japanese canopies without the platforms, and really it is the canopies that make the station look Japanese...the platforms themselves can be repainted and marked up with lining etc.

Then, whilst playing around...oh joy of joys! The canopy detached very easily...

The current thinking is to obtain a few more of these platform kits and simly remove the canopies and associated accessories from the platform...a use can be found for these at a later date. These platform units are not too expensive, and we don't need canopies for the entire platform length, so fingers crossed we have a solution to this long-term knotty problem.