Help on trying to fit a Shinkansen Size Station...

[VentureForth]

I'm trying to layout a station for my nice, new Kato 8-car 0-2000 Shinkansen.  It's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

 

Because my layout plan is for a 4x8 sheet of plywood (1219 mm x 2438 mm), I'm having trouble trying to get a station long enough to keep the shinkansen from stickout out either end of the platform.

 

My desire is to use Tomix Finetrax.

 

Here's the math - I have a 317mm outer loop and a 280mm inner loop.  The longest stretch of straight track I can get is 5xS280's which is 1400mm.  The train is 1266mm per the spec sheet.  That in and of itself is fine, except, I want to have an island platform.  The longest I can get with the tapered ends is 1260mm - 6mm shy!  :icon_scratch:

 

I could go with side platforms, but I'm already too close to the edge of the board (30mm).

 

Station modules don't seem to help much, adding lengths not compatible with the 140mm format.  But I need a station house. 

 

Maybe if I change all the couplers to knuckles, I'll get that 6mm back and will just have to lose some performance on the 280mm radius track.

 

Any thoughts?

Edited June 1, 2017 by VentureForth

[bill937ca]

It can be done if you use the Tomix 1248/1249 or 1278/1279 curved turnouts before entering the station.  The turnout will be on the curve at end of the layout rather than on the straight. By doing this I can place 5 280mm track sections on a 8 foot board.  A 280mm track section should allow 2 20mm cars per section.

 

Diagram: This is a half table diagram (24 x 96 inches or  2 x 8 feet) Squares are at 6 inch intervals.  

 

The 317/280 turnout track employees a combination of 280-15, 541-15, 280-15 to create the 55mm platform track center.

 

Above the R317/280 it is a R280 curve into the station and I think this still allows you enough space for an eight car Shinkansen.

 

 

Track pieces in diagram

 

1021, N Tomix Fine Track, (S140). Straight 140mm. 6

1022, N Tomix Fine Track, (S280). Straight 280mm. 15

1099A, N Tomix Fine Track, (S33). Straight 33mm. 1

1099B, N Tomix Fine Track, (S18.5). Straight 18.5mm. 1

1121, N Tomix Fine Track, (C280-45). Curve radius 280mm, angle 45º 6

1123, N Tomix Fine Track, (C541-15). Curve radius 541mm, angle 15º 2

1124, N Tomix Fine Track, (C280-15). Curve radius 280mm, angle 15º 4

1248, N Tomix Fine Track, (CPR317/280-45). Right curved turnout 45º (remote) 1

1249, N Tomix Fine Track, (CPR317/280-45). Left curved turnout 45º (remote) 1

1522, N Tomix Fine Track, Straight extendable 70mm-90mm. 1

Edited June 1, 2017 by bill937ca

[VentureForth]

That's a good plan, but it won't allow for counter running trains simultaneously.  The placement of the inner loop isn't parallel to the outer loop, requiring adjusting somewhere in the back - which isn't a problem, and may be how I have to handle this.

 

This is my current concept:

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by VentureForth

[velotrain]

>That's a good plan, but it won't allow for counter running trains simultaneously. 

 

I see an outer loop and an inner loop, so don't understand this.

 

With the station siding, you could even alternate trains on the outer loop.

 

 

>The placement of the inner loop isn't parallel to the outer loop

 

They sure look parallel in Bill's plan.

 

 

 

[katoftw]

Check whether the 6mm matters.  The end cars tend to be a little longer due to the nose in front of the cab.  The nose overhang matters little to n scale customers trying to get on using the doors.

[railsquid]

How about running the train with say 6 cars?

[VentureForth]

 

>That's a good plan, but it won't allow for counter running trains simultaneously. 

 

I see an outer loop and an inner loop, so don't understand this.

 

With the station siding, you could even alternate trains on the outer loop.

 

 

>The placement of the inner loop isn't parallel to the outer loop

 

They sure look parallel in Bill's plan.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your comments.  I may have worded it poorly.  The curved turnouts allow for only an island platform station on one loop, so I can't have simultaneous contra-loop operations at the same station.  Using the inner loop as proposed would require a side platform (or bypass the station all together) which defeats the purpose I'm looking for.  As for the "parallel" comment, the nice thing about FT and UT is that they line up well after a curve, keeping all the track joints for an outer loop and inner loop across from each other.

 

Maybe the 6mm won't matter - especially with the knuckle couplers.  We'll just have to see.

 

Meanwhile, I bought 8 cars, and I'm a gonna run with 8 cars, dang it.  :D  ;)

[Azamiryou]

Slightly lengthen the outer loop straights and/or shorten the inner loop straights at the top and bottom of the posted plan. Then you can get rid of the little s-curves at both ends of the inner loop straight on the left side of your plan, and extend the station platforms much farther in each direction.

 

Or, rather than changing the lengths of the straights, you could change the radii of the curves for the same effect.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Azamiryou

[bill937ca]

Slightly lengthen the outer loop straights and/or shorten the inner loop straights at the top and bottom of the posted plan. Then you can get rid of the little s-curves at both ends of the inner loop straight on the left side of your plan, and extend the station platforms much farther in each direction.

 

 

Good point. With Tomix track the island platform spacing can be created with an extra 18.5mm track piece on the outer track.  That will save having to curve at the station.

 

Edited June 5, 2017 by bill937ca

[VentureForth]

Beautiful!  That's cool!  That 18.5mm piece isn't on Traxeditor.com.  That would certainly work.

Edited June 5, 2017 by VentureForth

[velotrain]

Thanks for your comments.  I may have worded it poorly.  The curved turnouts allow for only an island platform station on one loop, so I can't have simultaneous contra-loop operations at the same station.  Using the inner loop as proposed would require a side platform (or bypass the station all together) which defeats the purpose I'm looking for.  As for the "parallel" comment, the nice thing about FT and UT is that they line up well after a curve, keeping all the track joints for an outer loop and inner loop across from each other.

 

 

Thanks for explaining this - it is indeed less than intuitive ;-)

 

Your design only shows one track for each line at the station, so eliminating the curved turnouts will allow the island platform, although it seems more recent suggestions may have solved your problem.  I suspect Bill was just trying to allow for alternate trains on one of the lines.

[bill937ca]

Beautiful!  That's cool!  That 18.5mm piece isn't on Traxeditor.com.  That would certainly work.

 

Some of the smaller pieces like this are sold by Tomix in sets. This is 1099, with 2 pieces of the 18.5 and a 33mm.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10037831

Edited June 5, 2017 by bill937ca

[VentureForth]

On 6/5/2017 at 4:15 PM, bill937ca said:

 

Some of the smaller pieces like this are sold by Tomix in sets. This is 1099, with 2 pieces of the 18.5 and a 33mm.

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10037831

 

HobbySearch is certainly better than TomyTec on Amazon in the US:

https://www.amazon.com/TOMIX-gauge-1099-fraction-S18-5/dp/B01KBXANIY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542216533&sr=8-1&keywords=Tomix+1099

 

But, then there is Ebay.  One seller gets it!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOMIX-N-gauge-fraction-rail-S18-5-F-S33-F-two-each-set-1099-model-railroad-suppl/192702611664?hash=item2cddf880d0:g:NDYAAOSwg65b0zly

 

Me wonders if the seller misplaced a decimal point...

Edited November 19, 2018 by VentureForth
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