Thanks to the additional foot extension on one end, I was able to fine room for yet one more operating line. This one runs around the full circumference of the track. It also required an additional X switch set. To help ensure that no trains accidentally hit the concrete floor, I installed some clear angle sections around the track. These are designed to protect the corners in houses from having the paint or wall paper scuffed by a lot of traffic, but work fine for N scale trains. They have been tested several times by derails (usually caused by bumping the layout too much). As a result of the additional line, I have had to find another dual control power pack. While these do not provide the same power as the singles, they take up a lot less space and are adequate for the speeds at which I run the trains.

Of course, I'm still picking up trains with the latest being part of the Joban Line. These are E 531s and relatively modern, having entered service in 2005. These are normally 10 car trains and can be augmented by an additional five. Having one 15 car train, I can tell you this is a bit much for my small layout. This line runs along the Pacific coast from Tokyo north and was affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami near its more northern end with large sections of the line closed for a goodly amount of time. This set is also made by Kato.

Another train picked up was from Tomix. This is the Keihin-Tohoko Line type 209 which was withdrawn from service in 2010. Normally these make up 10 car EMUs but Tomix markets these a bit differently from others. I bought the base three car set and an add-on four car set to make 7 cars. To complete the 10 car run, I'll need to purchase the other three cars separately as Tomix does not offer them in a set. Rather odd way to do things. A down side of Tomix trains is that they do not print car numbers and such on the train, providing the modeler with a set of stickers instead. This is one of the main reasons I generally get Kato products.

I have also started getting lighting kits for several of my trains. I started with the Tomix trains as I only have two of those. Each lighting kit runs about $40 on discount and includes six sets. That means for a ten car train, one needs two sets. These are very easy to install. There are two hefty springs on one end that fit into holes on one end of the car to draw power from the wheels/rails. The LED is on one end of a strip that runs the length of the car. This strip is designed to allow the light to pass along it, but the light in the car is stronger at the source end. For the 'front and rear' cars, the strip needs to be trimmed to fit. There are attachment areas in the car interior on which these fit so it is seriously just a drop fit.

As for what is in the future, well I'm trying to figure out how to add one more line, but it will be very tight and may limit what I can actually operate on it due to the rather narrow radius turns that will be required. Since it will run entirely inside the large elevated oval there will be no easy way to connect it to any of the outer lines and even just putting a train on it will be a bit of a challenge. However, that is all part of the enjoyment of the hobby. There is room also for more buildings and I need to straighten out a section of the bus section as well.

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