This thing looks cool as heck! Anyone have any plans on modifying those goofy modern buses with the shell of an Athearn or similar 1940's/1950's bus? Are the wheelbases all too different? I saw one of you guys post a vid of this system on a winding mountain layout, and it was pure genius!
The buses are 1:150, so they're a bit oversize for North American N scale. Plus, you'll have to heavily modify the bodies, or use someone else's, to get the doors on the correct side. (The Japanese drive on the left.)
Around here a lot of folks seem to drive on whatever portion of road they want to. But enough humor. Does Tomix make any other vehicle types that run on this system? And I would guess that the road is expandable by length.
So far all they make is one drive mechanism on which you place the Tomix bus shell of your choice. The road is expandable--they offer a variety of different road sections--but I think you can probably embed a steel wire in your own road (as is the case for the Noch system) for more natural curves and such.
Actually it is Faller not Noch who have the bus system. Last I heard the Faller system was generally regarded as the better of the two. It was flexible as you could configure it any way you wanted and it came with different vehicles such as trucks as well as buses. Most of the vehicles look like some of the Wiking models. Being European it also is also 1:160 N scale. Unfortunately neither one has U.S. vehicle models, at least not yet. There is, or was, a video of the Faller system showing quite an elaborate operation to include semi's.
If you think the bus system is neat then take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=gn1qMYfFrro&feature=related
I've experimented with laying a thin steel wire and laying the road surface over it, I was even able to do a return loop, so you're not limited to the Tomix roadway. The Tomix roadway is fairly prototypical for the narrow single lane streets that are common in most of Japan. I'm working on a three double module set of T-TRAK modules with a Japanese surburban theme with the buses doing a lap around the town.
Yes, of course, it's Faller. Brain fart. And the Faller system will indeed have 1:160 models--not to mention a greater variety of them, many of which can more easily be Americanized. The shortcoming of the Faller system is availability; I've found it quite a challenge to locate all of their products.
The Tomytec system offers 5 nesting curve radii, straights, and a pull-over bus stop. It also offers two chassis lengths. The street pieces are compatible and fully integrated with the Tomix "Wide Tram" streetcar track system, so you could have (for example) a double track in-street trolley system with a traffic/bus lane added on each side. I would not characterize the Faller system as better than the Tomytec -- they aim to do two different things. The Tomytec system is ready-to-run, while the Faller is build-your-own-streets. The Tomytec system can be snapped together, taken apart and modified, while the Faller system becomes a permanent, fixed setup. As pointed out, you can build your own streets for the Tomytec buses with ferrous wire, if you want to. There are Youtube videos of modelers who have created four-way and "T" intersections with operable route selection. By the way, the Tomytec system uses under-street magnets to permit two-speed (fast/slow) operation, as well as automatic stopping (either a fixed time or until manually released). If you look carefully into the rear window on the bus as it is running, you will see a yellow LED blink quickly when a magnet is detected, and a red LED come on when the bus is stopped. With regard to adapting a U.S. bus body to the chassis, one factor would be the long chassis overhang behind the rear wheels. I think the GM "New Look" bus won't work for that reason. Rich K.
I think I'll be looking into the Faller system. I'd rather dink around with custom streets than those plastic tomytec ones! I'd be curious to know what kind of grade these will climb, as I'm a big fan of slopes and grades. Which is why my trains are like 1:1 locos/cars LOL......
Another shortcoming of the Faller system is one it shares with any model railroad product with a German brand name, price.
