Re-Thinking Our Entire Collection of Trains
There was a time that my Grandson and I thought that the longer we could make our trains (non-Thomas) the better but at that time didn't know how to go about doing it. Several years ago when we first noticed a Bullet Train set on Amazon that came with six units, http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10146990 we were all over that and loved the length of it running on our very modest, at the time, layout. Then, of course, we discovered the Japan Auctions and we set out to make our trains longer and longer.
Recently I have re-thought the lengths and have come to the conclusion that longer is not all that better for this scale and the look of running in the Layouts. Of course we don't think that the normal 3 unit Plarail offers are long enough, we no longer think that really long trains look that good. So, in an effort to trim the amount of our collection, of which the rolling stock is enormous, our thinking has changed to the following...
Shinkansen & Bullet type trains look and run very nicely with 2 middle vehicles thus making a 4 unit train.
Specialty Diesel Trains and Commuters have the same thinking with 2 middle vehicles thus making a 4 unit train.
Passenger Trains with Express Coaches pulled either by individual Diesels or Steam engines will be limited to 4 Express coaches with an optional baggage and/or caboose being added.
Of course there will always be exceptions such as any train that was originally packaged with more units like the 800 Series Kyushu above, the 6 unit Series 0 Shinkansen Fresh Green http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10080043 and personally our lengthened 5 unit Skyliner which was my Grandsons favorite.
Now, all this being said, none of this pertains to Freight Trains as they can be as long or short and with a variety of different units as one wants. So the thinning of the extra vehicles has started and extra, middle vehicles and like Express Coaches over 4 will be offered up on Ebay.
Which just goes to show you...
Size doesn't always matter![[Image: content-and-happy-smiley-emoticon.gif]](http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/happy/content-and-happy-smiley-emoticon.gif)
There was a time that my Grandson and I thought that the longer we could make our trains (non-Thomas) the better but at that time didn't know how to go about doing it. Several years ago when we first noticed a Bullet Train set on Amazon that came with six units, http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10146990 we were all over that and loved the length of it running on our very modest, at the time, layout. Then, of course, we discovered the Japan Auctions and we set out to make our trains longer and longer.
Recently I have re-thought the lengths and have come to the conclusion that longer is not all that better for this scale and the look of running in the Layouts. Of course we don't think that the normal 3 unit Plarail offers are long enough, we no longer think that really long trains look that good. So, in an effort to trim the amount of our collection, of which the rolling stock is enormous, our thinking has changed to the following...
Shinkansen & Bullet type trains look and run very nicely with 2 middle vehicles thus making a 4 unit train.
Specialty Diesel Trains and Commuters have the same thinking with 2 middle vehicles thus making a 4 unit train.
Passenger Trains with Express Coaches pulled either by individual Diesels or Steam engines will be limited to 4 Express coaches with an optional baggage and/or caboose being added.
Of course there will always be exceptions such as any train that was originally packaged with more units like the 800 Series Kyushu above, the 6 unit Series 0 Shinkansen Fresh Green http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10080043 and personally our lengthened 5 unit Skyliner which was my Grandsons favorite.
Now, all this being said, none of this pertains to Freight Trains as they can be as long or short and with a variety of different units as one wants. So the thinning of the extra vehicles has started and extra, middle vehicles and like Express Coaches over 4 will be offered up on Ebay.
Which just goes to show you...
Size doesn't always matter
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