Takadanobaba Station in Alameda

I'll catch you up, since my last post. I've been buried with a variety of issues.  I'm back from Japan. Most of those posts (and there are more to come) were published on an after-the-fact basis.  In December 2023 (just before Christmas), I developed a left inguinal hernia. Surgery fixed that on March 22, 2024. Just when it seemed that my health life should calm down, last week, I caught Covid. I'm still recovering from both. This spring, I sent myself back to college. I'm taking an architectural rendering class (using computers) and a Japanese tools and woodworking class. The architecture class is teaching me how to use Sketchup.  I'll use the skills from the rendering class to start designing custom structures for the B&OCT layout and Takadanobaba in Alameda.   I have historical pictures of four interlocking towers I want to represent on the B&OCT layout (Western Ave., Ash St. Jct., 49th St. and 75th St.)  Pictures of 75th St and Ash St....

The N-scale Japanese commuter trains I'm modeling are 1:150 scale.  U.S. prototype N scale is 1:160. The Japanese commuter trains are a slightly larger scale because, with the exception of the Shinkansen (bullet train), most heavy rail Japanese trains run on narrow gauge (1067 mm, or 3-foot, 6-inch) track.  In the miniature world of Japanese commuter trains, 9 mm N scale track is used. As I found out at the Pacific Coast Region convention this weekend, the track is not exact. Oh, well. (Sigh!) The Takadanobaba in Alameda is envisioned as a shelf layout with roughly six square feet of scenic area. There will be a high ratio of railroad to other scenic features.  For that reason, the raised right of way will be the layout's dominant feature. It needs to be properly represented.  When I first cooked up this layout concept, Atlas Code 55 flex track was considered. That's what I have on hand. But, the prototype track needed to be studied. In the selected era, the second ...

Train operations on the Takadanobaba will be automated. Unlike the B&OCT , which will feature a hands on operator action, this is a display layout. My primary goal is to turn it on and watch the trains go back and forth. Hopefully, I'll have a decent scenic facade to make this realistic. (More on this in the future.) Takadanobaba track diagram. The blue rectangle is an overhead pedestrian bridge connecting the two active stations on the layout. Here's the concept: The scenic portion of the layout will have six through tracks -- grouped as three pairs of parallel commuter lines. These are the Yamanote Line, the Yamanote Freight Line and the Seibu-Shinjuku line. On the Yamanote and Seibu-Shinjuku Lines trains will stop at platforms in the scenic portion. After stopping at the station, the trains will exit off the layout onto a sector plate in staging. There, they will stop, the sector plate will shift to the other line, the train will reverse direction, head out of staging, s...

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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 o...