dullsteamer Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Just a quick question,I would like to get an n gauge Japanese DMU but not the newer type the older ones it seems a bit confusing as there are lots of add on sets and non powered sets does anyone have a Cat No for a typical powered set and an address of a UK supplier got some kato track and a kato suburban station so just planning a small Japanese layout after watching you tube vids especially the Kominato railway superb stuff ! .... Ta Kato do a two-car Kiha20 set that you can still find. If you're up for a bit of simple kitbashing and painting you could make some Kominato Tetsudo Kiha200s out of them - they're based on the JNR cars. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10167010 All the best, Mark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervyn Posted August 24, 2018 Share Posted August 24, 2018 Kato do a two-car Kiha20 set that you can still find. If you're up for a bit of simple kitbashing and painting you could make some Kominato Tetsudo Kiha200s out of them - they're based on the JNR cars. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10167010 All the best, Mark. Thanks mark ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
E3109 Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Just had a look on that site and my, check this beauty out! If only we could have British stuff like that and especially in large scale. https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10554194/20/1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
multivac Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Ekiben (railway boxed meals) they look so beautiful. Come on LNER Next Gen and GWR let's have them over here and we can eat them on the Class 800s. Much healthier than the fried stuff and sandwiches served at our stations. One day I hope to eat one on the way to Kyoto by Shinkansen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 (edited) I'm taking advantage of a break in work to join No 2 Son on a busman's holiday (for him) to Japan for the Pool C and D quarterfinals of the RWC. He has the tickets from his employer and his original travelling partner has dropped out... I still have a lot of Avios which aren't worth a lot financially but are good for peripherals like car hire and upgrades. The trip includes a fair amount of train travel and so far, I'm quite impressed with the simplicity of the arrangements compared to the complex, dysfunctional mess I encountered last winter in my travels to Plymouth. Not least that the Railpass appears to include most Shinkansen services at no extra cost.... ECML please take note... and to get actual tickets, we go to the office which is located on all main centres (THERE'S one in the eye for XC ...) How it actually turns out remains to be seen, but it looks like a promising start. Edited September 7, 2019 by rockershovel 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sncf231e Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 59 minutes ago, rockershovel said: How it actually turns out remains to be seen, but it looks like a promising start. I only can say that I was very impressed by the railways travel in Japan. I have been there a couple of times and the Japanese Rail Pass is great (we had a Pass for the Green car (first class)). I was happily so stupid to leave a coat behind in the hotel in Kagoshima and did find out in Osaka; so instead of sightseeing the next day in Osaka (which I had done already previously) I spend a pleasant day without extra cost on a return trip to Kagoshima. Regards Fred 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 So, first impressions of Japan include THIS from Osaka airport to the city centre. It might be described as a Japanese equivalent of the Heathrow Express, I suppose. Most metro systems are much the same and Osaka appears to fit the pattern, although with the usual comments about highly organised boarding arrangements. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 (edited) On 07/09/2018 at 06:43, multivac said: Ekiben (railway boxed meals) they look so beautiful. Come on LNER Next Gen and GWR let's have them over here and we can eat them on the Class 800s. Much healthier than the fried stuff and sandwiches served at our stations. One day I hope to eat one on the way to Kyoto by Shinkansen. Doing exactly that today! Travelling from Osaka to Kitkyushu on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, picked up a ekiben at Osaka ... crab meat, rice and sashimi, very tasty, whatever No 2 Son thinks to the contrary. One thing I didn’t expect - the seats rotate in pairs, so that all seats face the direction of travel, in either direction. Edited October 18, 2019 by rockershovel 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Claude_Dreyfus Posted October 18, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 18, 2019 The Nankai Rapit sets (the blue airport train) is a really cool train. It was designed by the architect of Kansei Airport. 32 minutes ago, rockershovel said: Travelling from Osaka to Kitkyushu on the Hello Kitty Shinkansen, picked up a ekiben at Osaka ... crab meat, rice and sashimi, very tasty, whatever No 2 Son thinks to the contrary. Did you venture down to the end of the train? They have a shop and a 'kawaii' (lit. cute) area in carriages 1 and 2. I traveled on it last month, and it was fun... albeit a little slow (the Kodoma tends to sit around at intermediate stations for long periods). That food looks pretty good...there is a fantastic selection of bento boxes and the like; so much nicer than the stuff we get for sale at stations in the UK. 35 minutes ago, rockershovel said: One thing I didn’t expect - the seats rotate in pairs, so that all seats face the direction of travel, in either direction. Not just a Shinkansen thing, although on some local trains it is just the back of the seat which can be moved forward or backwards to change the seat direction What you can do is move one pair round to create a group of four seats. I think it is a great idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Claude_Dreyfus said: The Nankai Rapit sets (the blue airport train) is a really cool train. It was designed by the architect of Kansei Airport. Did you venture down to the end of the train? They have a shop and a 'kawaii' (lit. cute) area in carriages 1 and 2. I traveled on it last month, and it was fun... albeit a little slow (the Kodoma tends to sit around at intermediate stations for long periods). That food looks pretty good...there is a fantastic selection of bento boxes and the like; so much nicer than the stuff we get for sale at stations in the UK. Not just a Shinkansen thing, although on some local trains it is just the back of the seat which can be moved forward or backwards to change the seat direction What you can do is move one pair round to create a group of four seats. I think it is a great idea. I’d heard about the blue train thing. Looks as though it has escaped from the Lionel catalogue, circa 1956. There’s a statue or figure in the station concourse, like a ninja or Batman, with the name on his cape. I’ve seen it referred to on rugby forums as the “blue rapist”... Reservations of any sort are at a premium this weekend, what with two quarterfinals in Oita (Sat and Sun). It’s going to be quite a busy weekend on the trains.... No 2 Son went to the “gift shop” as he referred to it, I didn’t. we travelled on various local services to Kyoto yesterday, including a thing called the Thunderbird which seemed to be much like an HST. Local stopping trains are much the same wherever you go. I quite like Japanese food. I’ve spent much of my life travelling for work, and I’ve had some fairly ... challenging .... things put in front of me over the years. I like seafood, I like pickles, most of the ingredients are easily identifiable and it’s all very clean, you could do a great deal worse in my experience. Edited October 18, 2019 by rockershovel 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastglosmog Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Looks like Typhoon Hagibis did a bit more than washing out a rugby game: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20191017/p2a/00m/0na/020000c Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Claude_Dreyfus Posted October 18, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 18, 2019 Yes, it has inflicted significant damage to parts of the network. It has been suggested the damage may be terminal to some lesser used lines; for example parts of the Suigan line in Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures. It has also wrecked a number of pretty much brand new E7/W7 Shinkansen sets. Potentially writing them off. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dullsteamer Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 4 hours ago, Claude_Dreyfus said: It has been suggested the damage may be terminal to some lesser used lines; for example parts of the Suigan line in Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures. I hope not. The young bloke who recently stayed with us as part of a student exchange program lives in Hitachiomiya, and travels to school each day on that line. All the best, Mark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Claude_Dreyfus Posted October 18, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 18, 2019 http://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/photo/AS20191013001737.html If there is the appetite to repair, it will take a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Reverting to the RWC, I’ve just seen the timetable for train services between Kityakushi and Oita. There are a lot of people staying in Kityakushi, for various reasons. Six extra trains after the end of the evening games... compare to U.K. efforts at Cardiff and Murrayfield (I’m not even mentioning Twickenham...) one thing which did surprise me about the Shinkansen we travelled on, is that the a/c was marginal at best and it was quite stuffy at times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tetsudofan Posted October 19, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 19, 2019 Going back to my time in Japan when aircon on trains was being rolled out as quickly as possible a number of passengers started to complain that it was sometimes too cold on the airconditioned trains so they introduced some "warm" coaches on some of the trains.... Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Rode the Limited Express from Kitakyushu to Oita, and the “Sonic Express” back from Oita to Kitakyushu last night. VERY crowded both ways, particularly return when JR’s ingenuity was given a pretty severe test, not helped by the language issues which hindered passenger management of a large, exuberant and in fair measure, half-cut crowd. However producing (at least) six extra trains out of an already busy schedule (mainly by introducing additional stops to late-evening services, which probably serve primarily to position stock for the morning rush) whilst maintaining the schedule was an instructive contrast to the home operators... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dullsteamer Posted November 14, 2019 Share Posted November 14, 2019 My young friend in Hitachi-Omiya tells me that the Suigun line will be reopened between Hitachi-Daigo to Asaka-Nagamori from the 20th of November, and that work will then continue to reopen the rest of the line to Mito. Mark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMoonRabbit Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 I recently had 2 weeks out in Japan myself, 1 week in Tokyo, and 1 week in Kyoto. Absolutely loved it. The railways were one highlight for me, travelling on the various commuter trains to different parts of Tokyo, taking the N700 series Shinkansen to Kyoto. I had a near drivers eye viewer for the entire Nara - Osaka journey which has some beautiful scenery. And to top it off, I treated myself to a visit of the Kyoto Railway Museum, with resident C62 in steam as well. I need to sort my photos on G Photos, and then I might share a link. Admittedly, before the railway museum, I had already erronously bought a second hand C62 by MicroAce, very nice model. But, I had to buy some track and a Kato "Old Passenger Car" set before leaving to go back to the UK. And now I've ended up with a Kato D51, C11, and Kato's C62, along with the Tomix base oval, and passing loop add-on, and now I've bought an EF65 with blue Series 14 carriages, a mixed freight set from Kato, and a Kinki Nippon series 21000 set. Curse amazon.co.jp and ebay... I'm loving the Tomix system though. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 We didn’t get to the Kyoto Railway Museum, it was on the list but you can only do so much in the time. A bit of a digression, we did go on the funicular at Kobe 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Almost by accident I have started watching videos of railway journeys in Japan ,they are addictive the rolling stock so many different designs and all clean .No graffiti interesting scenery and when you see the cherry blossom and mountains you realise how diverse a country Japan is plus the very different companies its always a good view. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkent Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Japan building posters for Kato and Tomix buildings. http://Www.modelrailwaysigns.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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