Station update

In addition to picking up my Shinkansen, I took the opportunity while at Hobbytech to get a few more unitrack pieces. I decided to replace my Minitrix tracks with Kato unitrack for my railway station layout. The reason behind this decision was the smoother operation of the Kato turnouts. My trains were derailing over the Minitrix turnouts and they often stopped at the unpolarized frog. The other reason was that the solenoids are fitted inside the Kato turnout whereas Minitrix have their solenoids sticking out on the side of the turnout. It's somewhat of an eyesore. Some people have mounted the solenoids upside down and covered them with ballast to hide them. The architectural style of the railway station layout does not permit the use of ballast. If you look closely at the photograph, you can see the wiring that connects the turnouts to the Kato switches. The wires will be strung through a hole in the table top directly under the unitrack so they will not be visible. As you may have surmised, the operation will be entirely DC. I still haven't converted to DCC yet. Speaking of which, only the #4 Kato turnouts are DCC friendly. The #6 turnout and the double cross-over require some re-wiring to get them DCC compliant.

Shinkansen Series 700 "Nozomi"

I rode the Tōkaidō Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo after graduating in 2000. I was visiting my friend in Kobe. The model of this particular Shinkansen is the Series 700 easily identified by its duck bill shaped nose. It was later replaced by the N700 in 2007. Johnny also brought the newer model in as part of Hobbytech's product line, but I showed restraint and just bought the Series 700 because it was the one I actually rode on. I can still remember standing on the platform and feeling the rush of air as the bullet train raced through the station. I thought people standing on the edge of the platform would be swept away, but there was no worry. The stations are designed to accommodate the increase in air pressure caused by the bullet trains. I believe the majority of the Shinkansen stations are elevated as well as the tracks in major urban centres. The other thing I remember was that interior of the Shinkansen had small cabin windows like large passenger aircraft. ICEs on the other hand have spacious windows.

This N-scale model train is built by Kato. Same manufacturer as the E4 Max I purchased earlier this year. The detailing is very good though this particular Shinkansen isn't as stylish as other Shinkansens. The only criticism I have is the material used for the couplers, which is made of hard plastic. I only wish Kato would consider using metal instead. I have a big fear that the plastic coupler might break off. I cringe whenever connecting and disconnecting the cars.

Argh!

I was reviewing the ceiling arches I made last year and discovered the joints where the solvent was applied has made the styrene less flexible. In fact, it has become brittle so I can't bend them without breaking. I wasn't aware of this characteristic when styrene combines with solvent. Now I have to design a new ceiling structure for the platforms. A set back to my grandiose plans.

Platform update

A quick update on my platforms. I finished adhering the last rib to the sixth and final platform tonight. As stated, I managed to work on one platform each night this week. It went fairly quick. I forgot to mention in my previous entry the use of a cross action curved tweezer. A must have in any tool box. As you can see in the photograph, the ribs do not extend all the way to the bottom. I left a gap for the cork underlay.

Design of the railway station starts tomorrow. I'm leaning towards a modern looking building with a front facade composed entirely of glass like the Köln Hauptbahnhof. Fortunately, Evergreen manufactures transparent styrene plastic sheets. I'll use these for the windows, however, I'm not altogether sure how it'll work out as the sheets are very thin. Because of this, they are very flexible and will need to be made rigid. If only I could find a kit that suited my architectural requirements. A pre-manufactured kit would save me months of work. I estimate that it will take me at least that long to design and construct my own custom station. The curved roof structure will be the trickiest to pull off, but it'll provide more visual stimulation to the layout.

Platform revisited

I was motivated to work on my custom railway platform after having seen some of the displays at the train show. One of the exhibitors had used a small miter box to cut multiple strips of balsa wood to equal lengths, I decided to try it with plastic. I always thought my platforms were a little plain looking and needed some additional architectural detail. So I decided to add ribs to the sides of the platforms. However, I was not keen on cutting strips of plastic. I couldn't imagine myself measuring and cutting 1020 ribs. However, the miter box was a real time saver. I secured a metal barrier on one edge of the miter box so I could press the strip of plastic against it to ensure each cut would create the same length without having to measure each time. You can see how I set it up in the photograph. Originally I used a saw to cut the plastic. This created a ragged edge, which I had to sand down. I found using an Exacto knife created a very clean edge. However, the slots on the miter box was a little too wide so I used two pieces of cardboard to keep the blade firmly in place and at right angles. It worked like a charm. I simply pressed down to score the plastic strip and then simply snapped the rib off. I figure can finish one platform per night. Hopefully I'll be done by the week-end.