New Tomix Web Site
There is a Japanese language new web site for Tomix which places the Tomytec name more prominently on the franchise. Tomix, Tomytec, Tomica and other product lines are all presented in one place. Of course, the Tomy in Tomytec was the parent company name prior to the Takara-Tomy merger.
Japanese language web sites can be translated with machine translators like Google Translate.
Kodansha Subscription Series and Tomytec
Marketing channels in Japan are often vastly different than North America. An example of this is Tomytec items that are offered on a subscription basis by a Japanese company called Kodansha.
During August 2009 reports circulated on varous N Gauge discussion boards of “off-brand Tomytec” items on eBay. I believe these were actually left over pieces from a previous Kodansha subscription series
Late August is JAM show time in Japan, I imagine Kodansha has an exhibit at the show and it is a good time to launch a railway subscription offer in Japan. This is a subscription series where you pay by lump sum or automatic debit and every week you get a Japanese train case size box with an piece for 50 or 75 weeks.
This is the new Kodansha subscription series for 75 weeks.
This is the previous Kodansha subscrition series for 50 weeks.
It is only 60cm x 45cm or 24″ x 18″. Its probably as much aimed at the
non-railfan as the railfan. Or maybe more people attracted by the diorama itself, with the lights and railway providing a bit of automation.
I first became aware of these through this Shin’s blog which covers his Kodansha subscription.
The photos in the blog show the sets have brown ballast the same as the track bbicn is selling on eBay. This hasn’t been in the Tomix line for a few years.
All the buildings in the back row in this photo are available on the bbicn eBay page. I bought several that are exactly like these from bbicn. They appealed to me because they would good stores for a micro streetcar layout I am building.
The buildings come in plastic bags without the usual Tomytec packaging since they are packaged in Kodansha subscription series packaging. Most of the items bbicn had been selling on eBay could easily be found in one of these sets. Sellers in Hong Kong would probably view these sets as more valuable as individual pieces than as a set.
The more I look at that blog, the more I believe left over Kodansha sets were the source of some of the “gray market” Tomytec items that appeared on eBay during the summer. The KT markings may simply be for Kodansha train or similar.
To me it looks like these are Tomytec/Tomix bulk sets broken up by dealers in Hong Kong. Kodansha may not have sold all units and decided to sell most of the others to jobbers. (I think the previous subscription can still be ordered, but its a Japanese language page so I’m not sure.) Sellers in Hong Kong would probably view these sets as more valuable as individual pieces than as a set. The small differences may be deliberate by Tomytec, Tomix and Kodansha to protect their normal marketing channels.
Here’s the previous Kodansha subscription promotional video. I see many “gray market” items in this video and the music is catchy.
Portram and Toyama District Railway trams
Here are a couple of new videos which show the differences between the two Toyama tram lines.
Portram uses Super Low Floor tram cars. This is a former JR branch line which opened as LRT in 2006.
Toyama District Railway operates one tram line and several interurban lines. The trams are were built in the 1960s and some Nippon Sharyo low floor cars were added in the 1990s.
The Tomytec Portram Low Floor Streetcar
My Tomytec Portram Low Floor Streetcar arrived late last week just as I had to go on several trips. It wasn’t until Tuesday night that I got to really look into this item.
The Low Floor Streetcar comes in two boxes, one for the Tomytec TLR0604 streetcar model and one for the Tomytec TM-LRT01 drive.
Assembly into an N gauge operating model is easy. The articulated body lifts off the static chassis in two sections and then fits onto the power chassis and snaps into place. On inserting the drive you do loose the interior. This could be over come by modeling window shades which many Japanese trams have.
I have created a base for a small tram layout still in the planning stages. The base is a 2 inch thick piece of Woodland Scenics Styrofoam, 12 inches wide by 24 inches long.
On that base I have an oval of Tomix Mini Fine Track and Super Mini Fine Track set up with most curves being C103 (103mm) curves. There is a short siding, just long enough for one streetcar.
Test layout with Tomytec Railway Collection controller.
To run the Portram, I decided to use the Tomytec Railway Collection battery powered controller as there wouldn’t be any wires across the living room. The Tomytec Railway Collection controller uses four AA batteries so the car will be running on 6 volts instead of the typical 12 volts.
Portram Tram Background
This streetcar is based on cars built for the Toyama Light Rail Company in Toyama, Japan. Like most Japanese railways it has a nickname, Portram, which is a contraction of “Port” and “tram”. The Portram line serves the port area of Toyama unlike the existing Toyama District Railway tram line which connects the JR station with South Toyama. Portram which opened in the spring of 2006, runs both on city streets and on a former JR branch line railway right of way. The street portion is licensed under the Tram Act and the railway line under the Railway Business Act. Legally LRT does not exist in Japan.
The seven Portram cars were built in 2005 and 2006 by Niigata Transportation under license from Bombardier. Low floor cars are generally known in Japan as a “super low floor” cars.
Tomytec Model
Tomytec Portram Super Low Floor car.
The Portram car is essentially two single truck cars linked by an articulated section. The trucks are closer to normal double truck car truck length than other single truck trams like Kato’s 14-070 Hiroshima single trucker. Okayama Electric Tramway 12 m 7400s have truck center of 1600 mm and the Portram 18.4 m super low floor car has a truck center of 1850 mm.
Electrical gear found underneath all previous generations of streetcars is now found on the roof of low floor streetcars. This explains why there are so many details on the roof.
The body has all the typical Japanese tram markings including center entrance and front exit, Portram logo and car number (TLR0604).
Portram has typical Japanese tram body markings including front exit.
I tested the Portram model on a small 12 x 24″ layout. The track was built out of the spare track box and most of the curves are C103. There also is a small siding. Power comes from a Tomytec Railway Collection battery powered controller.
At full power (6V) the car runs like a bat out of hell. Imagine what it will do on 12V! It has no trouble navigating the C103 curves. There is a bit of overhang on curves, but that is a characteristic of prototype too.
Overhang on a curve.
At reduced speed it ran quite nicely and eventually I settled on running the car on third notch of five notches on Tomytec controller. It runs around the oval and through the siding without stalling. There is a bit of humming noise, but it is not too noisy.
Overall it is an authentic Japanese super low floor car with good running characteristics on 6V. I purchased through Hobby World Japan and with SAL shipping this a very nice car at an affordable price.
Further Info
For more information on Portram and maps see this web site.
New Airport Trains
Travellers to Narita Airport will soon be able to travel on new trains on both the Keisei Railway and JR East.
Keisei will open a new high speed line to Narita in 2010 with a new generation of Skyliners.
JR East is currently testing new E259 train sets for its NEX service to Narita. These trains will enter regular service shortly.
So far none of the Japanese model train manufacturers has announced a model of either of these trains.
Matsuya Ginza Train Show
The Matsuya Ginza train show is held in Tokyo each July just as the Japanese summer school break begins. Exhibits are limited to Japanese manufacturers of model railway equipment. This year the show ran from Wednesday July 22 to Monday July 27 and was open 10-12 hours a day.
This video gives you a good idea of the exhibit layouts that various manufacturers set up to display and run their latest new products.
Tomix C57-135
I haven’t really got any details on the C57-135, but in the meantime have a look.
Tomix 4002 Wooden Station
This is a classic little Japanese train station offering numerous details (phone booth, mail box, news vendor’s stand, ticket chopper’s gate) at a very affordable price.
Included is a raised base which can form part of a passenger car floor level platform. It’s usually shown by Tomix in combination with the Tomix 4001 One Sided Platform and Tomix 4004 the Wooden Flyover.
The station as it comes right out of the box with the raised base.
Or the station can be set up without the base and connected to the Tomix 4057 Local Island Platform which allows you to have a track level passenger crossing in the station like many Japanese railways.
Without the raised base.
Japanese train stations come in a tremendous range of colors, and there are many outside the big cities that are similar in appearance. This station is in Okayama and shows an older style of station. Many of the older stations now are white or cream with a red metal roof.
This station is often kit-bashed by Japanese railway modelers to resemble a JNR-era station. The unpainted details inside the station are painted a dark brown, as is the news vendors hut outside the front entrance and the ticket chopper’s station at the platform end. The red mail box and glass telephone booth are left as they come in the box. The outside walls are painted a reddish brown and the roof is painted a dark gray. Not only does this remove the plastic shine from the wooden station, but it also gives the station a more unique appearance.
Although the days of the ticket chopper are generally gone in Japan, photographic evidence indicates the gates remain in many of the smaller stations. Why? Its probably not worth the expense and effort to remove them until stations are completely done over or replaced.
The trackside of the station showing the ticket chopper's station.
The Tomix 4002 is easy to disassemble. I pried the station off its small base with a small file. All the windows can then be easily removed and the shell made ready for painting. The window pieces themselves are held in place by small pegs inside the shell. This effect is very well done. Even the ticket office looking out on the waiting room has window panes.
The station base with interior details and the mail box, phone booth and news stand.
The station shell with all but one window removed.
One common detail this station does lack is a vending machine or vending machines, usually right outside the entrance although vending machines are often found on platforms too.
Overall I am very impressed with this small, inexpensive (900 Yen) structure that I often hear scorned as “too plastic”. There is an incredible amount of detail in this little structure. In the coming weeks I have plans to work on the structure and I will post the results of my modeling.
More from JAM 2009
A birds-eye view of the show.
One of the Tomix displays.
More displays.
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