Kato City – Japanese Freelance Layout

[Concept Model Trains]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pmlnAdZBuso" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/pmlnAdZBuso</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/mntE-Fm-Z4A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/mntE-Fm-Z4A</a>

I am pleased to introduce my latest layout – Kato City. These two short videos will give you a look around. It has taken me a couple of months to put together but it is worthy replacement for my “Inaka” layout.  As the name suggests, all the trains, buildings and track are Kato.  During the last 12 months I have mainly used Tomix Finetrack, Modemo and Tomytec trams.  For this layout I decided to return to Unitrack which I had used on several Japanese layouts in the past (Metro and Little Tokyo).  Several Shinkansen and Commuter trains were also used on this layout for the first time in over a year.

The layout is 62” x 30” and uses 11 remote turnouts.  Like my other layouts, this is a temporary setup.  The base is three sheets of 30” x 20” artboard which attached to a table using masking tape.  Two hidden channels of 1” width are used to run all the wires to the turnouts.  You may notice the patches I used on the grass mat to hide the channels. With so many turnouts, the wiring looks like “spaghetti” but it is hidden by a special “mini” table that I use for the controllers.  The whole layout will be “decommissioned” in a few months once I have had plenty of time to use it.

Usually I have nine trains on the layout although you can have ten if needed.  There are plenty of combinations to choose from and I find it takes me a few hours to exhaust the possibilities.  I find that my Kato trains are the pride of my collection.  They look great and run very smoothly.  Don’t get me wrong, I like all my trains (Tomix, Micro Ace and Modemo), but the Kato trains are definitely my favorite.

The four new Kato buildings were perfect for the layout.  Fortunately they were delivered the week I finished the layout.  They really finished off the whole thing and were just the look I was after.  I really like layouts that look like an architect’s model and have tried to combine this approach with some model trains.  I have included a track diagram so you can examine my layout.  There are also two photos that provide an overall view of the setup.

Even though it is a small layout, it offers a lot of entertainment.  I have always had success with this approach and it shows that size isn’t necessarily important to make a fun and entertaining layout.  The main thing in model railroading is to have FUN!  I would be interested to know what everyone thinks.  Is there is anything I can improve or add to the layout?

[KenS]

That's a very nice example of what I'll call the "minimalist" approach  to layout design (my first Japanese layout was even more minimal, as I only had the grass mat and buildings). It's surprising how good something like that can look.

Perhaps I missed it, but I didn't see a station anywhere. Even just a simple pair of platforms would look good.

[Concept Model Trains]

Thanks for the comments Ken.  The track plan didn't allow the space for a station platform.  Too many turnouts to place one in to a convenient spot.  I agree it would be a good addition to the layout.  I had a previous layout with a similar design that was built to suit platforms.  The photo is included.

[dickturpin]

An excellent layout and you dead right about the buildings making the whole thing come together. You have encouraged me to think more about taller buildings on my own layout which at the moment is bare track.

Richard Adams
Birmingham
England