Matt Chibbaro did a book for Model Railroader entitled, Model Railroading in Small Spaces which might give you some good ideas. I like the idea of the flippable table. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Model-Railroading-Small-Spaces-Railroader/dp/089024295X/ref=cm_cr-mr-title"]Amazon.com: Model Railroading in Small Spaces (Model Railroader) (9780890242957): Mat Chibbaro: Books[/ame] Here is a link for a website dedicated to micro and small model railroads which might be useful as well. http://carendt.com/index.html
The only bad thing about a layout that flips over is that you'd better remember to remove the trains before turning it over or you'll launch the unfortunate equipment into low orbit. Of course, my cat would just love that...
WPZephyrFan, Here is a layout I build when I lived in an apartment. It flipped up for easy storage. Never forgot to clear the rolling stock ( I am a forgetful person by nature). The layout has since been dismantled.
John, Yes, it had scenery. Most of it stayed in place after the first few times of turning it up. lol Unfortunately, I never took any picts of it after I built the frame work
Keio 7000 Series My Keio 7000 Series (MicroAce A-3751) arrived and I got a photo of it. From what I've been told, the Keio line is a private railroad owned by the Keio Corporation (Department Stores). The line is passenger only and the gauge is 4'6" gauge (1372mm). It runs through western Tokyo and because of the different gauge, does not interchange rolling stock with other lines. If I have any of that wrong, please let me know. One thing I noticed about the MicroAce set that Kato does not do is that the couplers between the cars are Rapidos. The other picture is a screenshot from Whisper of the Heart. I bought the set because of the train in the film.
MicroAce makes some nice trains and do prototypes the other manufactures don't make. That is also something I found with MicroAce that they use rapido couplers unlike Tomix and Kato which offer a variety. Here is my MicroAce E751:
Micro Ace make replacement couplers of knuckle and EMU Scharfenberg types, I've used them on some of my sets. Hobby Search has them listed. Parts Model Train Store
That E751 is awesome. Do you have any additional info on the prototype? BTW, props to Westfalen for the info on the MicroAce couplers. That is very good to know and I will have to look into it. I was thinking of using short shank Unimates but I'm sure the MA piece would be better.
Here are my offerings to the thread. Picture1 from front to back. EF66, EF65 and EF58. These are Japanese engines. They pull great and will be seeing a lot of action on my future layout. Picture2 Unfortunately, I don't know what model passenger train this is. I have two powered coaches in the 9 car set.
I'll have to look for Whisper Of The Heart. Is it an anime movie? I can't name all of the anime series that I've seen some kind of train in. I might have to go back and take some notes! I like the EF65, too. Is that a freight or passenger loco? Are they Kato? I think once I get my EF66, I'll try and find a Kiha 58 two car set. I like the reddish orange and yellow scheme the best. Once, when I was at Chuck's Feather River Trains, he had a Kato Japanese passenger car set. I doubt he has it anymore. I hope you guys don't mind me picking your brains in the future.
You see (or saw) EF65s pulling a lot of the Blue express trains but like the EF66, I'm sure they saw some dual purpose work. Pretty common Japanese prototype so I'm sure all the major offerors will have models of the different phases. (My ProZ set has a Z scale EF65) My Kato EF58s (4-C-C-4 like GG1s) have two traction tires and can pretty much pull straight up. They will take a tight radius turn as well. Whisper of the Heart is anime from Studio Ghibli and was released in the U.S. by Disney. It doesn't have much action but as a fan of SG and their fantastic artwork, I found I liked it, particularly for the details of Japanese life they always seem to capture, including trains. (Also, I am a sucker for coming-of-age films.) [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Heart-Youko-Honna/dp/B000CDGVOO/ref=cm_cr-mr-title"]Amazon.com: Whisper of the Heart: Youko Honna, Kazuo Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Keiju Kobayashi, Yorie Yama¤¤¤¤a, Maiko Kayama, Yoshimi Nakajima, Minami Takayama, Mayumi Iizuka, Mai Chiba, Yoshifumi Kondo, Hayao Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki, Ned Lott, Rick Dempsey, Aoi Hîragi, Cindy Davis Hewitt, Donald H. Hewitt: Movies & TV[/ame]
I will look the set up in the Kato catalog and get back with the info. Do you happen to know the Kato set number?
They come in individual carrying cases and the information is in Japanese. The only thing that's in English is N Gauge Scale model 411. The ones I have are numbered 405 - 412 if my memory serves me correctly. I only have out 4 cases at the moment.
I'll keep my eye out for it. I'm pretty sure I've seen it at Best Buy. I've found myself into a lot of romantic comedies in anime (Tora Dora, K-On! and School Rumble are a few of my favs). Another of my favorite anime is Genshiken, and they always seem to be on a train going somewhere!
Funny, I posted a link to a Kiha 82, but the Kiha 58 looks almost the same! Both come in the red and orange scheme I like. I wonder which was the one I originally liked...
I'm very sure it's the 181 series Toki. Kato makes it in a 7 car set while MicroAce sells it in an 8 car set and they offer a 4 car add on set w/an extra motor car. I have the Kato version, it's the first set I every bought while I was working in Japan.
I checked the Kato catalog and it is a 181 Series. The current Kato set is 10-351 with a two car add on (10-353). Depending on how old the models are, those three digit numbers are the old Kato model numbers. By the way, The 181 Series dates from around the mid 60s and ran between Tokyo and Osaka. I also found that the 181 series looks very much like the 481 Series.
