tentative planning on new layout

[worldrailboy]

so after the talk about short trains in the N Gauge train on Platform 2 I had been thinking about a few rough ideas of track diagrams for the layout and hmm yeah I got three short questions for now that would help with it

for steamers, would coal [and water too?] loading had been only within the engineshed yard or could it had been located at a station or two as well on longer routes too?

even although I know that KIHA's can just simply come upon a trackside platform with no further tracks going past it on their long single line I'll like some simple ideas on how to let a mixed freight train be able to come toward the end of the non-electrified line without going into building a yard yet?  it'll be visited by a C11, DE10, etc

noone would nitpick 'prototypically' if I just decided to use a single large turntable trainshed to house all locomotives except for the few emu sets? it'll be a perfect way to fill in one of the 90 degree corner of the layout rather than yet more scenery and maybe I'll even make the roof removeable too

[cteno4]

worldboy,

you just gave me a duh/doh moment there! i have always thought i needed no stinkin water or coaling features as the only steam i would ever have on the eventual big layout would be a few i have as more "restored" tourist trains, but they gotta be fed somehow. im wondering in the more modern day settings do they no longer have coal shoots and water towers, but now just front loaders and hoses in most spots in japan where it would be needed?

cheers

jeff

[worldrailboy]

jeff did you actually think these trains ran on hot air fume? you know what I'm joking about I'm sure hehe

anyway I think I'm certain about going with a point-to-oval layout since the small but generious sized oval would be a lot of farmed areas with one or two good sized towns (although signs of small village population elsewhere could be plausible too)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wamu8/6563821581/in/pool-67571894@N00/
that gives you an idea of the immediate fields-to-buildings transition in a very short distance which of course works out nicely on a model layout no?

the point-end part would probably be a bit long but it'll be a good place to model the runs out in open terrain like these two photos below are a good example of
http://yoshiokasyd.web.fc2.com/Annexes/Retro_Photos/Honsyuu/tadami/tadami2.files/p3.jpg
http://www.ab.auone-net.jp/~azm01/img114.jpg

I decided to go with this kind of layout since it'll fit both unattended flat running and attended mountain romping especially when the latter has to come to the end of track and eventually be turning around from there :-)

[cteno4]

LOL yes i was not thinking making the steam era layout so of course no coal towers or water towers needed, but when those lines that do run the old stock they must do something for the coal and water, but could be like i said the front loader and hose like many here in the states use for the restoration lines!

after watching this video

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,6072.0.html

i really started to think about the long thin point to point bookshelf layout. the transitions in this line are remarkable on the variation that happens in very short order and the mixes even one side of the track to the other along with the details in the right next to trackside scenes. japan in rich in this sort of detail and being able to have these very odd juxtapositions and at times fast transitions occur, but this video was just so rich it sparked my imagination more than its been sparked in a long time actually on layout planning. i had never really thought of a single line thin modular setup of being that interesting before, but this could be really fun with some passing sidings at stations to park other trains on and using a reversing/pause circuit it could be automated well. everything from farm to small town to light industry to city in that line there that could be compressed well.

ulrich actually got me started thinking of the little 1 line modular bookshelf with his mini modules, but this is just super-sizing that idea.

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,4682.0.html

in my home office i could go to about 45' of linear wall space along three walls with a layout like this. might be a great step before the basement shinkansen layout...

cheers

jeff

[Sir Madog]

Even in the glorious days of steam only, not every station had a facility for coaling and water, so you can do quite well without. I plan to run a few steam railfan specials on my line as well, and I won´t add a water tower or any such thing. Looks a little odd on an other wise electric line.

[worldrailboy]

guess I'll try plan on just having a major coal+water supplying in the engineyard area then at the far point end of layout I can just leave a simple small trackside water tower and just enough coal to fill a few wheelbarrows

that does bring another question, for lines that only had occasional small steam locomotive loads would there had still been any sort of standard crane fitted with rope scoop or it rather would had been loaded onboard by manual labour pails?

I might have fun trying to decide how to make the terrain on the long single line, there wouldn't be much of any flat spots anywhere except where it comes to the water surface itself just like most of the old photos shows hehe

that does bring another question tho, for the trains like these in the two direct photo links I gave earlier on...did they ever have tunnels on these sort of routes or it was only about swinging around the mountains in frequent curves and cuts alone instead?  if theres tunnels I'll have to look up what kind of portals to build :)

[marknewton]

Steam locos use water much faster than they use coal, so if you're going to have any sort of steam infrastructure, go for a water column. These may be fed from a water tank, or simply fed from the town/domestic supply, so you don't even need a tank. The most basic coaling facility I've seen is a simple platform at about the same height as the floor of an open wagon. The crew, or laborers, shovel the coal from the open wagon onto the platform, then shovel the coal into the loco's bunker. Hard bloody work, but easy to model.

Cheers,

Mark.

[worldrailboy]

thanks marknewton, so I just have to find a photo of a water column in japan then I think I'm set

I can imagine about the coal part! at least that would be a good excuse to have to spot a TORA car by the platform from time to time

been thinking about two revisions of the rough track plan, might post it later on today for comments

[bill937ca]

Tomytec offers a water tower and coal yard in N gauge.  Hard to say how long it will be before these items sell out. 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10149723

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10149724

[marknewton]

This is a fairly typical water column:



Cheers,

Mark.

[worldrailboy]

bill hmm thanks I'll see if I want buy the tomytec kit or just scratchbuild my own slight simplier version from the leftover styrene sheets I'll have.

mark funny timing for you to post THAT. I had actually saved that very photo from a blog photo gallery iso8 pointed me to :p

I was actually thinking of building the yard engine service track more or less loosely like that and use the concrete block underneath the water tank to house a small lever-geared motor that would raise or lower the little styrene rod with elbow end up and down.  the moving pipe would be attached directly by rubber or some small flexable mount to the vertical pipe [which has the lever rod inside] because in the small N scale i don't think anyone would actually notice the S curve is missing :)

anyhow was a bit busy yesterday, will post a quick idea of the layout plan soon

[worldrailboy]

starting with tohoku region especially the aomori prefecture, modelled during early winter or at least not with too much total snowfall yet.  probably single track operation the whole distance to the yard mentioned below

then continue southwest to look a bit like toyama and ishikawa prefectures with slight less snowfalls being noticeable in short

and after that hmm nothing particular in mind when I model the relatively dry (ok not clear of any snow but just at least not looking like everyone would need to get the big brooms out yet ) yard and engine servicing section

a bit past that yard or so would be the junction which heads to a pair of tracks in both directions as to form the oval part of the layout for the short emu and loco-hauled passenger trains to show off on.  not sure what kind of prefecture(s) this one would be modelled after but at least something more flatter scenary-wise for sure as to be able to lay down farming fields :)

still working on that rough drawing of the layout so this'll have to do for a bit longer now sorry? :p