Takadanobaba Station in Alameda: a new blog about modeling Tokyo commuter trains

I taking a break. I'm building a multi-deck layout in N scale based on Chicago belt line railroad operations (The B&OCT in N Scale - read that blog here). I still need to come up with a better name. It's a big project and has gotten overwhelming. On top of that, I had shoulder surgery in November. It has curbed my agility. 

I'm looking to take on a small project -- something that could be achievable in a reasonable length of time and will stretch my modeling skills. I'm getting the idea that those skills will be really tested. This blog is about that project. The writing below was my first post on this topic -- on my other blog. It gives an introduction. 

Come along for the ride. I think it will be an interesting journey.

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I’ve been watching a lot of TV lately. That’s because I’m recovering from rotator cuff surgery on my left shoulder. That has limited a lot of my activities. One of the programs I found recently is “Midnight Diner”.

Netflix Screen shot

It’s a slice-of-life show set at a Tokyo izakaya in the Shinjuku Prefecture. An izakaya is a bar that serves drinks and snacks. The one in the Netflix show is open from Midnight to 7 am. Hence, the name. The show is like a more somber version of Cheers. There’s no laugh track. It’s also a foodie show in that the featured character or characters orders a dish of the episode. It's more than just ramen or sushi. 

What does this have to do with trains?

 

The railroad connection occurs during the opening credits. A camera is mounted in a car driving through Tokyo at night. Early in the shot, the car approaches and passes under the railroad tracks just north of the Shinjuku railroad station. Later, an overhead shot shows more trains.

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories screen capture

Seeing those trains got me thinking about Japanese railroads. I didn’t know much about them aside from the Bullet Train or “Shinkansen”. When I was 6-years old, my parents took a trip to Japan. They brought back a pamphlet about the bullet train. I wore it out, paging through it and poring over the pictures. I don’t know what happened to it. 

JR East Yamanote Line commuter trains Photo by Wikimedia

The show exposed me to a less-glamorous aspect of Japanese railroads: the commuter train. Tokyo is teeming with them, as I found out. 

On reflection, it makes sense that I’m attracted to these trains. My American model railroad interest is in  Chicago terminal railroading. It’s gritty railroading. It is industrial switching, yard ops and transfer runs. My prototype, the B&OCT, hosted some B&O and C&O long-distance passenger trains. The B&O’s Capitol Limited was the most glamorous. No commuter trains, however. 

Back to Japanese trains and “Midnight Diner. In a five-second shot in the opening credits, I saw several trains pass on the bridge over the road. That was typical rail traffic, I learned. Shinjuku Station is the busiest railroad station in the world. This led me to start checking out YouTube videos and plunged down a rabbit hole. There’s a whole world of Tokyo train videos. I have yet to watch them all. I do have a life. I also started looking at web pages about modeling Japanese trains. So far, I have found a lot less material. I think there’s a lot written in Japanese that’s not showing in my browser. 

Ultimately, I started researching whether Japanese model trains are available in the U.S. Not really. 

There’s a lot available in N scale from Kato and Tomix in Japan. N scale is very popular in Japan given the lack of living space and accompanying hobby space. On this side of the Pacific Ocean, most retailers don’t carry Japanese prototype models. The access hatch to the Japanese model train market is eBay. I found all kinds of stuff available for international shipping. My itchy trigger finger went to work and I bought a model commuter train. 

Now, I need a layout for it. It won’t run on the B&OCT. 

JR East Yamanote Line map Map by Wikimedia

My idea is to build a small display layout. It would feature a single station serving two train lines. The operational feature will be the arrival and departure of trains from this station. There’s no switching or changing tracks. 

I’m thinking of modeling the Takadanobaba station. It’s a stop and transfer point on both the JR East’s busy Yamanote Line and the Seibu-Shinjuku Railway. The Yamanote Line serves an island-platform station. The Seibu line serves a two-platform station with the platforms on the east side of each track. There’s a connection between the two stations via a pedestrian bridge. That overhead passageway also crosses another two JR East tracks that carry trains on the Saikyo Line and Shonan-Shinjuku Line. The Siebu-Shinjuku Railway is run by an independent company and offers suburban service. 

The JR East's Yamanote Line is a circular 21.4 mile double-tracked line serving 30 stations. (see map) There are 50 trains constantly circling on this line, which during rush hour has 2-minute headways. The only comparable prototype in the U.S. might be the Chicago Transit Authority’s loop trackage in downtown Chicago. It serves eight stations over 1.79 miles. But, there is no longer a dedicated local train circulating. 

A small display layout could be a valuable learning experience for me. It will give me a chance to try scenery on a limited scale. Since we’re in Tokyo, the emphasis will be urban scenery (structures . . . and lots of them). I’m thinking of adding sound, semi- or fully automatic operations. Lots of lights and details. 

My goal is not faithfully replicating the prototype. I don’t have the space. I want a reasonable representation. All the important elements will be captured. I’m going for the effect. I’d like the viewer to think they’re looking at a miniature slice of Tokyo. Can I accurately represent Japanese architecture? Can I replicate the density? Google Earth and Google Maps street view are invaluable resources in my research. 

One interesting fact about the Tokyo commuter train system: it runs on narrow gauge track. I will not be modeling Nn3, but rather the trains are made to run on standard gauge N scale track. The models are closer to 1:150 scale, rather than the standard gauge 1:160 N scale.

Kato Seibu Line 40000 Series commuter train

I'm eager to get started, because a Seibu Line train that I ordered, arrived on Wednesday. I have a few details to add to my concept document, which I'll share soon. Rough track planning has started. I  discovered that I may have less scenic space available than I thought. 

Enough talk. It's time to roll up my sleeves and get started.