tomy rail crossing

with lights and sound...

tomy layout with extra track..

added to the last layout... another layer on the bridge

tomy train layout

my big layout last month

takaratomy latest station set

from their website

tomy sodor quarry loader

working on the auto setting

my latest tomy train layout

a few clips to show it working

more....

this one takes about 3min.20sec. from the upper level station and round to the same point. Although the other layout took longer, it was actually shorter because with the auto 3-way point it used the same bit of track more than once. This 'joiner' is not as neat as the last, they get a bit difficult to construct in photoshop when they are so big, and using a fairly wide angle lens and low viewpoint gives perspective problems...
I could add more in the spaces, but then my kids would have nowhere to sit, and it is hard enough to move around it as it is.
Using three or four levels might not be too unrealistic in Tokyo, but for the rest of the world gets a bit far from reality.
(need a bigger house....) actually I have a huge unused loft..... but it is so hot up there it is unuseable.

shots of my new layout...

based on the big one at the start of my blog.... but without road

my notation system for track plans

part of the big layout at the start of my blog
the notation system I use on my plans

the latest layout as in the 'joiner' ... before the added level












Whenever I have completed a complex layout I make a plan of it. I devised my own notation system to describe the different rail types. I can understand my own plans, but if for another person to understand perhaps it would be better to make a seperate one for each level, or maybe use different coloured inks for each level (of track height).

a 'joiner' of my layout..

...before I added the extra layer.... don't forget the pix can be enlarged and saved...

an extra layer on the cake...

another level on the Bridge...

Japanese TakaraTomy site

http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/plarail/lineup/rail/index.htm

don't worry about not being able to read the Japanese....... just follow the links wherever they go.... some good stuff.

and new items out this year.... which usually take some time before reaching the west.... if ever!

http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/fan/tomipla/entame_t/06_07_t/index.htm

a look at the sets in japan...
http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/plarail/lineup/set/index.htm

and a nice little video clip of their latest station.... (quicktime.... just right click and 'save target as..' then watch at home)
http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/fan/tomipla/tettei_p/06_07_pte/mov/plarail0703qt.mov

many of their web pages have little sound files you can click and hear..... if you want to save the sounds but don't know how or where they are stored on your computer..... then ask me and I'll tell you.

rail repair...

the long sloping tracks seem to be made of a more brittle plastic than the other rails. The female connectors are often broken by little hands so I repair mine by adding a couple of self-tapping screws with countersunk heads