It is neat when one makes a layout larger as then one can experiment with the routing of the tracks and add more structures. I was able to take the additional track and a turnout or two and make a slightly longer and different route for a small portion of the next to outer line. It works so well that I'm planning on doing that to another. Not that I can run more trains, though if I went with digital command control (DCC) I could. However, I am not as I've no intention of going that route. Perhaps I just prefer the 'old way', a reason I did not go digital with my slot car track.

In addition to some more track to fine tune the layout, I also purchased some additional buildings. Some of them will go in the older section of the layout and some, like the sake brewery, will be in the newer section. Putting up buildings is not so straight-forward in the newer area as one really cannot just plunk any old thing down, but has to think things through and organize a 'reason' for the buildings to be there. I'm sure I'll come up with something as there are a lot of choices.

Moving a bit to trains, I managed to snag a very nice Saikyo Line Series E233-7000 set from Kato. These are the currently the newest trains on the line and the line itself is a relatively long one running north out of Tokyo. As far as I can tell, several lines run these trains, most of them looking nearly identical. It seems that each line gets a different dash number for its trains. Most of these are currently available from either Kato or Tomix, though some sell out very quickly and one just has to wait on restocks, which can easily take months.  

I also decided to add another small section about a foot wide. This decision was made due to a number of issues with trains bumping into each other and derailing due to the rather tight confines. By opening this section up, it should eliminate that issue. It also makes those routes a tad shorter as it removes some S turns that were previously there. You can see the green area where the two lines used to run. Due to my using bits and pieces, there are some gaps to take care of, and I'll probably saw down the fore area of unneeded wood. One of the benefits of using screws to hold things in place is that sections can be easily removed if modification is needed.

Since it seems that trains will have but a 15 year life span before being scrapped, train manufacurers have been producing the latest and greatest. It also gives us a chance to locate the entire series that has been made so I've added another couple that are the same base model as the one above. One is a Series E233-8000, the most recent variant and still being delivered to the Nambu Line. These are all six car sets and this particular train is by Tomix.

The other is from the Keiyo Line and is made by Kato. These are Series E233-5000 EMUs and have replaced the earlier Series 201/205/209 trains. Unusual when compared to other lines, there are not only 10 car trains, but also 4+6 car trains. To explain the latter, consider a 6 car train with an additional 4 car train hooked up to it. That means instead of just two driver's cabs (one at each end), there would be four of them. This particular train is one of those 4+6 trains though in the model train, there is only one motor with the additional four cars being unpowered except for the lights. I believe that Tomix makes a set that is a standard ten car train.

As you can see from the latter photos, I've been adding some more trees and while they are perhaps not all that realistic, they do add to the look of things. In addition, I've been working on a few alternate routes for a few of the lines that I have running, and that will continue as I only get track as I see a need. Same goes with adding a few more buildings. Like all train layouts, it is a work in progress.

Here is a recent Train Video.

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