E233
DCC Speed Tables
My plans to start installing decoders were somewhat upset when a large quantity of the ones I’d ordered turned out to be out-of-stock, and a box arrived containing only a couple of decoders and some wire. I actually have a number of decoders on hand, though not enough to do a full EMU the way I want, or all of the models I wanted to experiment with. So, while I could have made a start, instead I decided to spend some time working out my standard configuration settings for the Digitrax decoders. I’m going to have a number of these even if I don’t use the DZ125 wire-in decoders, since my Kato “DCC Friendly” models use Kato’s EM13, which is essentially a Digitrax FX3-Series decoder. And I have a few models with lightboard replacement Digitrax decoders.
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In Search of the Perfect Post
One of the hardest lessons in model-railroading, at least for me, has been that “good enough” really is good enough. I spent fifteen years on my HO layout doing very little, in large part because what I did do fell short of what I’d set out to do, and I’d get frustrated and go do something else for six months. With Sumida Crossing, I started with the premise that I wasn’t trying to do a picture-perfect layout of the kind featured in magazines. Neither my skills nor my available time were up to that. Read More...
New Train
16 September 2012 23:48 Filed in: Model Trains
I have a new train for the layout, the first since last December. This is an outer-commuter version of the E233, the Tōkaidō Line E233-3000. It’s actually two trains, as I bought both the 10-car (Kato 10-1114 & 10-1115) and 5-car (10-1116) sets, and the two both include motors. I haven’t had mine apart yet, but it supports DCC and the new “version 2” interior LED lighting according to the documentation. Or does it?
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Kato's "New" Coupler and Oct 2011 Status
When my Ginza 01 series train (Kato 10-864) arrived last month I put it on the track to break it in, then took it off and separated the cars as I usually do with commuter cars, levering them up until the couplers are nearly at a 90-degree angle, just as it says to in the brochure that comes with the train. This time, to my surprise, instead of uncoupling, one coupler assembly exploded into three parts (coupler, bracket, and spring). Attempting to re-install the spring led to it departing over the horizon (or at least into the depths of the basement), never to be seen again. A quick look at the brochure, and it was clear Kato had changed something. It showed the cars being separated by pulling apart rather than the levering up procedure I was used to from earlier commuter models.
This was a bit of a surprise, because the coupler looked just like the usual commuter coupler, with a square, pyramid-tipped spike and a matching socket, with a hook underneath, all designed to mimic the standard Japanese coupler used on many narrow-gauge trains, a type of multi-function close coupler known as a Shibata coupler after its developer, Mamoru Shibata, although often called more generically a “Scharfenberg” coupler, after the original European close-coupler it was modeled on. I decided it must be a new type of coupler developed for the new subway trains (which the Ginza is assumed to be the first of) and ordered a replacement. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption.
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This was a bit of a surprise, because the coupler looked just like the usual commuter coupler, with a square, pyramid-tipped spike and a matching socket, with a hook underneath, all designed to mimic the standard Japanese coupler used on many narrow-gauge trains, a type of multi-function close coupler known as a Shibata coupler after its developer, Mamoru Shibata, although often called more generically a “Scharfenberg” coupler, after the original European close-coupler it was modeled on. I decided it must be a new type of coupler developed for the new subway trains (which the Ginza is assumed to be the first of) and ordered a replacement. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption.
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E231 Commuter Train: JR East’s Flagship
25 March 2011 12:38 Filed in: Prototype
Commuter trains, and in particular urban commuter trains, are the workhorse of the Japanese narrow-gauge passenger lines. While there are plenty of suburban and regional passenger trains, the ones that move the most people, over 90,000 passengers per hour at peak time on some lines, are the urban commuters. These are heavy-rail electric multiple-unit trains, typically of 10 to 15 cars in length, running on headways of only a few minutes during rush hour, often sharing their tracks with suburban and regional trains, and in some cases freight. Typical speeds are low, often well under 100 kph (62 mph), with frequent stops, so power and efficient use of power, rather than raw speed, is most important.
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February 2010 Status - Upper Level Beginnings
The “village” section of the River Crossing scene has been painted, with cork and basic ground cover (plaster cloth) applied. Much remains to be done, including the stonework of the embankment against the river, before scenery is likely to progress beyond this. But the goal of hiding the pink foam here, and getting the track in place, is done. Read More...
Looking at Catenary
20 January 2010 01:05 Filed in: Design
Catenary, the wire hanging above the track, is a significant scenic element of an electric railroad line. There are many types of catenary wiring, and probably even more types of poles or other structures from which it hangs.
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December 2009 Status - Subway Track in Place
The subway level track is nearly complete, with the underlying foam and cork glued down, and the Unitrack in place. Read More...
Inaugural Train
The first train ran tonight. As you can see, the table is still a bit unfinished. I added the legs and framing for the end that won’t have scenery, and put down the plywood for the subway level return loop. Read More...
