I came across several web sites of modelers who use Kato exclusively. One of the primary reason was the reliability of the Unitrack. I have never encountered any derailments or connectivity issues and the turnouts operate flawlessly. My initial reason for purchasing Unitrack was the ease of setting up and taking apart the track. I only wish the ballast was darker in tone. Aside from that, I'm pretty happy with Kato. There were two sites, Quinntopia and JRM who gave me inspiration to rework my Kato layout. It had never occurred to me to have two different levels of track independent of each other. The higher level would be represented by the elevated viaducts and single ground tracks placed at the lower level. I've been mulling over my original Kato layout for the past couple of weeks now. I still want to have long sections for running my high speed ICEs, but run slower passenger service trains like the LINT for rural service. I placed an order for two LINTs from Hobbytech. I think the track layout for the viaduct level is finalized, but the ground level tracks still need work. I want them to loop continuously without manual intervention as I am still far from being DCC ready.
With this particular layout, I plan to create modular tables 744mm x 302mm. The length conforms perfectly to three straight 248mm tracks. By going with this unusual dimension, I can extend the track simply by adding a table on each side. You can see this in the plan as it shows the right side of the track extended by adding three more 248mm straight viaducts. In the photograph, I didn't have enough straight viaducts to extend the right side of the track. I'm planning to go to Windsor Plywood and get a sheet of 5' x 5' x 3/8" birch plywood. Cut into one foot widths, I'll have enough to cover the straight sections of the layout. Since I don't have a table saw, I'll have to get them to cut it for me. For the S-curves, I'll cut those table tops with my jigsaw.
What does this mean for my railway station layout? I still plan to complete it, but its construction is on hold right now. The idea is to be able to connect the railway station layout to this Kato layout. There is a possibility of linking one of the lines from the railway station to the Kato lower level track. The only question is how to get the train up onto the higher level tracks.
With this particular layout, I plan to create modular tables 744mm x 302mm. The length conforms perfectly to three straight 248mm tracks. By going with this unusual dimension, I can extend the track simply by adding a table on each side. You can see this in the plan as it shows the right side of the track extended by adding three more 248mm straight viaducts. In the photograph, I didn't have enough straight viaducts to extend the right side of the track. I'm planning to go to Windsor Plywood and get a sheet of 5' x 5' x 3/8" birch plywood. Cut into one foot widths, I'll have enough to cover the straight sections of the layout. Since I don't have a table saw, I'll have to get them to cut it for me. For the S-curves, I'll cut those table tops with my jigsaw.What does this mean for my railway station layout? I still plan to complete it, but its construction is on hold right now. The idea is to be able to connect the railway station layout to this Kato layout. There is a possibility of linking one of the lines from the railway station to the Kato lower level track. The only question is how to get the train up onto the higher level tracks.
