About Me or What I Like Most About T-Trak
I'm originally from Australia, lived in the Washington DC area from 2001-2016 and 2018-2021, and I'm currently in Taiwan.
I've been modelling in N scale since I was 14. Like many Australian N scalers, I started out modelling American railroads, mainly Union Pacific since there was plenty of ready-to-run equipment available. I began modelling Japanese railways in 1995 after my first visit there, and this has since become my main modelling interest. I've also started to do some Australian modelling in the last few years.
My first encounter with T-Trak was through an article in the Japanese magazine RM Models, describing the first publicly shown T-Trak layout at the 2001 JAM Convention. I thought it looked like a great idea, but would probably never take off outside Japan. Happily, that proved not to be the case.
I joined Northern Virginia N-Trak not long after I moved to Washington, and the club hosted the Capitol Convention in 2004. A delegation from Japan was at the convention, and they brought a loop of T-Trak modules to show as a demonstration. Japan Rail Modellers of Washington DC was formed about the same time, and the first club outing was to attend the convention.
I started building T-Trak modules in 2008, and in Washington, I had enough Japanese-themed modules to make a stand-alone layout that included a loop and two branches with terminal stations.
What I most like about T-Trak is that the modules are highly portable and easy to work on, can be completed in a short amount of time, and the flexibility of layout designs resulting from the use of modules.
My Modules
The following modules were built by me:
Module | Type |
---|---|
Kawanaga | Single |
Nishi Kawanaga | Single |
Rice Farm | Single Crossover |
Bus Depot | Single |
Hospital | Single |
Shrine Festival | Single |
Service Station Corner | Corner |
Temple Corner | Corner |
Substation Junction | Corner Junction |
Onsen Junction | Corner Junction |
Kibuneguchi | T1-Trak Single |
Kurama | Double Terminus |
Kitano Station | Single Terminus |
Kitano Crossover | Single Crossover |
Tokei Dai | Single Tramway |
Rice Farm Corner | Corner |
Cherry Blossom Park | Corner |
Sake Brewery | Corner |
Tsunohama/Beach Corner | Corner |
Airport Underpass | Double |
TV Factory | Double |
Altstadt | Double |
Russian Village | Double |
Frampton | Single |
Akashijima Station | Double |
Akashijima Crossing | Single |
Small Freight Yard Left | Single |
Small Freight Yard Right | Double |
Okada | Endcap |
Roundhouse | Endcap |
Staging Yard Left | Triple |
Staging Yard Right | Triple |
Shomyoji Station | Quad |
My Trains
Below are some trains that I run on T-Trak layouts:
Japan

E3 Toreiyu and Tsubasa Mini Shinkansens. The real trains run on a conventional line converted to standard gauge, as well as on dedicated high speed lines. The models are small enough to run well on T-Trak.

721 and 701 Sendai area commuter trains

E259 Narita Airport Express

Nankai Railway 20000 and 21000.
Australia

NSW State Rail Authority 48 Class diesels (Goodwin-Alco DL531s). These are produced by Gopher Models, and are the first ready to run N scale plastic models of a specifically Australian locomotive.

V/Line T Class Series 3 (Clyde-EMD G8). This is a ready to run model produced by Aust-N-Rail. The body shell is resin with brass handrails, window frames and cab roof, running on a Kato NW2 mechanism.
Taiwan

TRA R100 and DR2700.

CK124