J.R. Series 500 Type Eva - video and layout work

Well, I got my birthday present! :) 

It's an eight car set, but I think I'm only going to run seven cars because...IT'S SO LONG!!!!

Sadly, I had to make a repair before doing anything. One of the wheels were off. Must have happened when they boxed it up. :(   Relatively easy fix.

Before I got it rolling without a derailment or a crash into the station, I had to do some work. There were three trouble spots on the layout.

Spot one was the area in front of the temple that I made a banked curve by clipping the Kato unitrack plastic on one side. It worked really well, but I believe that I banked the area a bit TOO much. The train runs through in one direction, but not the other.

Which brings to mind a Henry Youngman joke.

Man "Doctor, it hurts when I lift my arm up."
Doctor "So...don't lift your arm up then."

heh.

The second spot was another banked curve further along. Same situation. The train would derail every time.

This one seemed easier to address right away, so I got Soyokaze and Kiwamura's teams in action and started them working on tearing the banked track out.  :)

While they were working on that problem, I moved to the last area that needed to be addressed. Sadly, I found out the train would hit the station in Kiwamura when heading out or in around a curved area. BOOM! The whole thing derailed!  I just removed the station platform at that end and marked it for "augmentation" at a later date. I'm going to end up chopping it up a bit and adding a guardrail.

I'm very happy with the train overall. I actually need to give it a closer look - I realized that I tossed it onto the layout without REALLY looking it over. I'll have to take some detail photos.

I was really excited when this finally arrived. My wife watched as I opened the package and even asked if I wanted her to take video of me opening it because she knew how much it meant for me. :)

The packaging is really lovely. They knocked it out of the park, I believe. 

I'd love to hear from someone who has both the Kato and Tomix versions to see what they thought of them both. Which one is better, I wonder. Either way, I'm VERY happy with mine! :)

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[Limited Edition] J.R. Series 500-7000 Sanyo SHINKANSEN (500 Type Eva) (8-Car Set)

Well, I hope I didn't screw this up.

I had placed an order through HOBBY SEARCH months ago - six, I believe - to get this train. They finally sent me the link to the sale a few days ago, but I had to wait till payday and/or praying I got some birthday cash in the mail LOL before sending my PayPal payment.

Oops...the link lasted three days, not four. I had more items I wanted to get and did as Hobby Search said, making a comment to include the new stuff in with the train order. I just hope they didn't forfeit my train to another customer in that 24 hour period! I guess I'll find out sometime this weekend or on Monday.



I already waited six months, so I guess a few days won't hurt.   Grrrrr.....

Fingers crossed. It's so cool!

A fix for my freight line?

A fix for my freight line? I'm not sure what it is, but I know I'd be happier with a loop instead of this odd, point-to-point setup.

Hotel Belvédère du Rayon Vert

I love love love his hotel in France.

From the WiKi:
The Belvédère du Rayon Vert was a hotel in Cerbère, France, designed in the art deco style by the Perpignan architect, Léon Baille, and built between 1928 and 1932. It has the overall appearance of a ship. It had its own cinema and a tennis court on the roof. It closed in 1983.[1]

In 1987, the building was protected under the list of historic monuments (inscription).[1] Part of the building has been brought back into use as apartments, with some original features. The building is open to visitors most afternoons.

So cool!!!!!!

Trains running N•RAIL video - January 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ok...that's the last time I'm going to say that this year.

It's over. Let's move on! :)

I broke out the REAL camera and shot some footage of my trains running the other night after work. Not that the iPhone camera is bad - not at all. It's a great camera, but doesn't compare to the big and beautiful footage I get from the Sony. :)

I made an effort to have a little narrative going this round we well. Not quick, music video cuts, but longer cinematic cuts so the view can take in the scene a bit more. It also shows the trains moving along the routes a bit more this way. Let me know if it's working for you folks!




I'm still amazed when I see these videos, to be honest. When I look at the start of my hobby time and see where I am now, I'm happy and thankful for what I have here.

Cheers!

Fantastic Gift from my Boss

I was pleasantly surprised when a box from my boss arrived this vacation. I opened it and found a wrapped gift. Within that, a....cigar box.



"Did he buy me cigars?"

Then I saw the cord. I opened it up and found a little treasure within. This fun little Christmas train!



 It turns out that my boss knows someone that creates the inner workings for these. (Luis - correct me if I'm wrong in the comments!) Luis - my boss - worked up this piece for me. I watched it go round with a huge smile on my face. I wasn't sure what it was about it besides the obvious - it being a great gift. But, then it dawned on me. I reminded me of the old Lionel rain I had as a kid.

It was grand. It had a chuff that was a wheel found in the tender. The little train here reminded me of it for some reason.

It's a wonderful gift that I'll keep out all year and will highlight at Christmas time. I love it! :)

The simple look of it is grand. A sparkling paper, the candy canes, and a small tree in the center of it all. So grand.

The train itself runs with magnets. I still need to pry it up and take a look at the internal workings.

Thanks again, Luis! :)