I'll start this edition with trains. Not a lot has been purchased as my shelf space for train boxes is getting pretty full. I did buy a two car train that runs on a section of track called the Oito Line. This line runs from the north central coast of Japan and goes basically south towards Tokyo. Basically Niigata and Nagano prefectures. It has portions that are operated by both JR West and JR East. This is not a highly travelled line and so the train does not have the usual four door cars, but ones with three doors. The area of the route is quite mountainous and the track has been blocked several times in its history by avalanches and rock falls.  The train types are Series 127 EMUs and this train was produced by Kato.

The other Kato train I bought is this 211-3000 series EMU. It is a three car set and is from another low capacity line. The set is only called 'Nagano color' and doesn't provide information on what line uses it. After a bit of sleuthing, it seems it is part of the Shin'etsu Main Line line that is part of JR East and runs from Niigata to Nagano. As much as I like the larger 10 and 11 car trains, these smaller ones seem to be more appropriate for a small layout.

I did get in the additional track mentioned last time so was able to finally get all the track sections properly done to eliminate a few oddball kinks and get the interior siding complete. This seems to pretty much take care of any track requirements as I've pretty well crammed as much as I can into the space provided. I know it is not prototypical, but it is properly busy when I have all the trains going.

This provides for seven trains to be running at the same time, along with the trolley and two busses. There are sidings to hold an additional two trains. The inner one runs around the outside of the trolley line while there are two more inner lines that go outside the raised section for about half of their running length. Then there are the two full outer loops and the raised section. A full look at the layout is at the bottom of the article.

For the bus line, I purchased an intersection set. This really requires more room than I have as one is supposed to do a figure 8 with the lines. By adjusting magnets, you can have the bus go left, right or straight at the intersection. There are other magnets that have the bus stop at the intersection. I was hoping this would be like the bus stops where the bus would stop for a few seconds and then continue on, but it is not the case. The bus either stops or goes through the intersection. The stop mechanism has to be manually activated or deactivated through a throw switch. I have also noticed that the busses do not run smoothly through this section. They tend to get hung up for a while or in some cases, do not go in the direction wished. I'm sure there is something in the instructions that I've missed so I'll keep playing with it.

Another thing I've been doing is adding lights to the interior. Both Tomix (image below) and Kato (image to right) offer light sets with the Tomix ones being more expensive though they are literally drop fit. The Kato ones seem to work a bit better, but require assembly. As you'd expect, Tomix sets only work on Tomix trains and Kato sets only work on Kato trains. Both of them have contacts that run from the light bar that fits to the roof down onto metal contacts in the chassis that also rub on the wheels. Power is then directed from the wheels to the contacts in the chassis to the contacts in the light set to the light. Since the wheels do not make 100% contact all the time, the lights tend to flicker on the straights, though they generally work perfectly on turns where the wheels are pressed up against the rails by centrifugal force. These are not inexpensive and come in sets of 6 so having everything lit will take time. One thing about the Tomix set is that the contacts are springs. Both train shells have either clips or posts where these items fit.

These are all LEDs that have light bars on the roof to direct the light. The Kato ones are a better design and offer more uniform light while the Tomix ones have 'hot spots' on one end. One nice thing about the Kato lights is that they come with an amber filter so you can simulate the incandescent lights on older trains.

More next time.

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