Shintahara Reborn...or...Yet Another Trackplan!

It all started innocently enough with a doodle. I sketched out a small 9"X72" branchline layout split into 3 modules. Then came the doubts on the loop layout design... and so began the unraveling of yet another seemingly firm layout plan! I finally think I've hit pay dirt though.

So... I sat down and I wrote out my preferences for a layout. A continuous run, surprising to me, was pretty low on the list when I prioritized. I do have the track if I want an oval loop and want to run trains round and round, but overall, that's not my ultimate goal. The initial plan was to focus on a branchline, with the mainline loop serving as a public display. That said, running trains back and forth on a branch can be pretty interesting too. Rural railways used to be all over Japan, now there are a handful left. I've always been partial to shortlines, especially those that have a run-down character all their own. The simplicity of the Ryugasaki line outlined in my previous post is fine, but I wanted something a bit more complex. That brought me back to Shintahara. Drawing inspiration from the Kominato Line, and the fact that several of the stations have abandoned tracks, I redesigned Shintahara slightly. Gone is the loop from the original layout design, and a more gradual (and realistic) climb into the mountains is planned.

After deciding this, it was back to Anyrail. Those 3 modules I initially doodled became Baiji Station and Atakami Station on the Shintahara Line. They were separated by a single track rural length that I imagined running through rice padies on an embankment. I added a double track JNR main at Baiji Station, and switches may be an option there in the future. When I added the JNR line, it initially curved off the edge over a bridge, but I thought "Why not make an 'L' shaped layout" and I quickly drew a 9" square curve module. Not only does it break up the straight line of the branch, but it also gives me a possibility of eventually building a larger modular setup to do some mainline running. These four modules will form the basis of the Shintahara Line. The mainline in Baiji will be elevated from the Shintahara line, with no interchanges. I may add a future module in front that has the interchange track to the JNR line.



The era is still planned to be the late 70's/early 80's. A time when rural freight service has been phased out, but the main lines are still pre-nationalization.


Rolling stock will be simple in keeping with the nature of the line. I had initially planned to purchase a new 103 set, but with the change in plans, I think I'll be adding a KiHa47/48 combo instead. Dual tracks and a passing siding ensure I can run 2 cars on the layout. Passing sidings are located at all stations except Baiji Park and Itohara. Eishido's passing siding will be intact but abandoned.

More as things progress...

Hopefully I don't change things again...

The Perfect Shelf Layout?

I've mentioned the Kanto Railway's Ryugasaki Line in these pages before, but I've been thinking about it more and more lately. While I still plan to build the layout shown below, I would also like to build a scale model of Ryugasaki Station.

At 4.5 kilometres long, the Ryugasaki Line is the perfect size for the modeler with very little space. While the entire line could be modeled inch for inch in T-Gauge, it could be compressed in almost any scale. Ryugasaki station today has 4 tracks, but looking at images from 30-40 years ago, it was an entirely different story. There were double the number of tracks at the station, and it was host to both passenger and freight service. Today, the line is passenger only.


Ryugasaki Terminal -
Image from Wikimedia Commons

The line from Ryugasaki to Sanuki is single track with no passing sidings. There also used to be an interchange track with the Joban line at Sanuki, that has long been removed.

In T-Gauge, the Ryugasaki terminal and surrounding area would be just under 30 inches long. I want to do this as a diorama and I plan to handlay the track to get the track geometry right (handlaid T-Gauge turnouts... Yay!) I do plan for them to work as well.

On the layout plan in the previous post, I may extend the branchline off to the side to allow me to place the terminal section next to it. More locations may be added in the form of additional dioramas. Ireji station would be simple, but Sanuki Terminus would require a lot more planning.

In theory, Sanuki could be part of a modular layout with the Ryugasaki running off of it. That said, that's a far in the future thing.

If you're looking to model a Japanese prototype but want something easy to manage, I'd definitely recommend the Ryugasaki line. A lot of information is available out there on both the modern and historical operations on this tiny line. Just be sure to have Google Translator handy ;)