# Saxonian VIK arrives in Tokyo



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Yesterday the postman delivered the parcel from Mr Schug (Accucraft DE). The box is large, but nowhere near the overwhelming size which Accucraft uses for US locomotives. This is mainly due to the fact that the VIK is a compact tender locomotive, typical of Germany: the chunky, many-wheeled style so characteristic of lines in Saxony, a few of which are still operating. Being 15 mm to the foot (or
1:20.3 scale), a good choice for a 762 mm prototype, this is nevertheless a sizable model. It is wide and high, and proportionally long. After I'd unpacked it completely, I put it next to its older siblings, the IK and IIIK. This locomotive overshadows both its predecessors by its mighty, modern appearance. In fact, as I confirmed through testing, this model is also functionally superior to the previous models from the Accucraft DE stable. 
But before we get there, let me continue the unpacking story. This is actually quite a lengthy procedure. The cardboard box contains a beautiful dark red box, already familiar from the IIIK model, protected by two-inch thick polystyrene on all sides. It is enough to remove the top layer and to slide up the two smallest end pieces of the polystyrene to be able to lift out the precious red box. After removing the plastic wrapping, the top of red box can be opened to reveal a VIK completely bound in swaddling clothes. All being well, no part of the locomotive should be visible through the layers of swaddling. Now the laborious procedure starts. I advise using a small vegetable knife and scissors to approach the swaddling. Careful action is important in order not to hurt the locomotive during de-swaddling. By no means pull on the tape or plastic! The tape should be cut with a knife right at the wooden base at the bottom, on which the locomotive is standing. The other layers of tape should be cut with scissors. When using the scissors and knife be sure to insert them as little as possible under the tape. Better to proceed in many small steps than apply one deep cut. At the end of the tape cutting procedure, the tapes and the plastic should be removed from the top of the locomotive and the locomotive should still be wrapped in delicate protective paper - still unopened and unharmed. Now it is enough just to pull the paper layer up and sideways and the locomotive appears. It is still standing on the wooden support with all the tape and plastic still sticking out from under the wood. Expect this procedure to take at least 20 minutes.
This is long, and the impression one gets is that there is an excessive amount of tape and plastic around the model, but in fact, it is just a small ball of waste that you're left with when you've finished. All the remaining material, including the polystyrene profiles protecting the engine from the front, back and top, plus the delicate white paper, can be kept together with the wooden support and of course the beautiful red box, should the locomotive require repacking for any reason.
The locomotive is now free to be moved away from the wooden base. It is large and chunky, but not as excessively heavy as it may appear to be. The quality of the paint and detail is outstanding, as it was on the previous models IK and IIIK. The paint is deep satin/matt on the locomotive body including the cylinders and the smokebox/smokestack, and half matt on the frame and the wheels. This looks pretty and will weather to half matt all over the locomotive with use, due to the steam oil. I recommend cleaning the locomotive with tissue paper and with a large soft brush. This will help to spread the oil evenly on the locomotive surface, including places difficult to reach due to the amount of protruding detail parts, pipes etc. The cylinders have drains, and the drain levers can only be turned downwards as they are shorter than the length of the cylinder blocks. But there is enough spacing between the levers turned down (which corresponds with open drains) and the top of the rails! I am glad this has been properly done on this model as I quite enjoy the drain valves even if they have marginal effect in small size live steam models.
The cab roof opens sideways in a now standard Accucraft way. Underneath is a really pretty view. One look into the cab reveals the refined standards to which this locomotive is built. The 'into the cab view' is simply amazing. I took a picture in the evening light, showing warm glow of the shiny copper and brass components. There is no plastic in the cab. The manifold is now beautifully executed and it is a true pleasure to see. Both the gas valve and the regulator are equipped with short but strong metal R/C levers, different from those used on the US models. They are shorter and have threaded holes. Ideal for fixing metal pivot balls for R/C control equipment, such pivot balls are in my opinion actually handy even for manual control (I am slowly install them on all my locos). While the reason for installing an R/C lever on the gas valve is not really clear to me, I do not mind as I use these on the older locos with plastic knobs, and install proper brass knobs on the gas valve. With the cab roof open, all the controls can be easily accessed. I found that the lubricator is better accessible with the cab roof open in the other direction, in a less conventional fashion, by flipping the cab roof so that it folds out upside down ... but I cannot quite recommend this as one may scratch the paint on the roof surface.
Now let's move down to the drive. The locomotive wheels are a work of art. This is a compact 0-10-0 with closely coupled, small wheels, and in the model these wheels are beautifully reproduced: truly a sight to behold with their shiny stainless steel rims and dark red centres. The simplified Walshaert valve gear is greyish ‘titanium’ matt, presumably also stainless steel. It makes a very solid impression. I moved the reversing lever forward and backward and the valve gear responded without the slightest hitch. I got excited: this should be a good locomotive. I put the loco on a wooden board, and moved it forward and backward. This motion, too, was perfectly smooth, only revealing the compressive/expansive working of the air in the cylinders and the steam supply system. Everything worked as it should, but the biggest surprise was still to come. I put the locomotive on its side and checked each wheel. All the axles are sprung, and they are sprung lightly. With a gentle push of a finger one can move each wheel up. The spring will give only on one side and the axle will softly 'bend' to an angle, gently, without any force, equally on all the wheels. And each wheel will come back to the original position once the applied force is relieved. WOW! I believe this is the first ever Accucraft locomotive where the sprung axles actually work as they should. (BTW, the previous Saxonian engines IK and IIIK by Accucraft DE are not sprung.) As if this were not enough, the springing on the centre, blind axle is actually considerably softer than on the four outer axles, which is exactly as this should be done in order to prevent this centre blind driver from dropping off the rail head on very tight radii. Good, besides this the locomotive is equipped with an opening smokebox (insulated from the heat of the flame - standard on Accucraft these days). The oil drain is the same style as that on the IIIK engine, a beautiful, tiny valve, looking like a part of the prototypical piping rather than some oversized pieces of brass such as those used on the US style models which look like something a drunk plumber might have left in haste on the house water supply, by mistake or negligence or in an act of hydro-despair... This tiny valve really looks better, and it works too.
I left the locomotive for the night to breathe, and tested it in the morning. To test run the model, I filled the boiler with lukewarm water from a kettle, up to 1 cm below the top of the glass on the water gauge. This left 55 ml of space in the boiler. The glass of the water gauge is extremely long, and I preferred to have a fully watered boiler, as I did not install a Goodall valve, and planned to run as long as the gas sufficed. I filled the lubricator with Roundhouse oil, which I use on all of my locomotives where oil passes through the superheater. I filled the gas tank to the top with butane and took the locomotive to the track. I did not lubricate the locomotive as it still had traces of oil and water from being tested in the factory, and everything moved smoothly. I opened the gas valve and lit the burner through the stack. The flame caught promptly, flashed back instantly and started burning. Yet, apparently due to some frozen butane, the flame died. I had to repeat the procedure a couple of times, but soon the burner started working stably and confidently with a pleasing gurgle.
The boiler on this locomotive is large, and the flue is also large in diameter. This may be the reason for a nicer, lower sound than that typical of other Accucraft locomotives. In the style of operation which I fancied, I put the reverser forward and opened the regulator fully, waiting for the loco to move by itself. As the boiler was almost full of water, I had to wait for almost 10 minutes before this happened. The locomotive shot a few plumes through the stack, and started to push condensation out of the cylinders, slowly engaging the motion. Finally it moved, struggling with condensation water or just water from the overfilled boiler in the system, it pushed it out of its own accord and started to move by itself without any interference by me. A perfect self-start capability. Once clear of condensation it started running fast, and derailed a few meters farther, on a heap of bonsai pine needles which had covered the track in that place in the course of the winter ... gross negligence on my part. I went and cleared the track, put the locomotive wheels back, and set it running again. Now the locomotive made a full, speedy circle. I let it run for about five minutes before I attempted to slow it down and turn the gas down. The gas tank began to heat up, so the jet pressure was unnecessarily high, yet the locomotive retained a reasonable speed even before I intervened. I turned the gas down low, and tried to turn down the regulator. This was slightly tricky as I did not have any gloves, and the R/C ready handle was quite hot. Finally, after a few tries I decided I'd leave the locomotive to run fast. Slightly faster than I wanted, but this was just a test run. It took another 25 minutes before the gas started running out and the locomotive slowed down. All this time the steam pressure remained at near constant 60 psi and the locomotive maintained a very comfortable, confident, speedy pace. When it finally stopped, it had at least 30 minutes run behind it, and the water level was still at half the length of the glass in the water gauge, indicating half a boiler full. I could have easily started with 2/3 water level. And I am pretty confident that once fully run in, properly lubricated, perhaps R/C controlled, this locomotive can achieve over 40 minutes run. Perhaps even 45 min. But in adverse weather conditions, I am quite sure that it will not go down below 25-30 minutes.
With burner out and the pressure down, I opened the lubricator drain, letting the water and watery oil mixture out of the lubricator, pushed by the residual steam with a hiss. This required just a turn of a tiny handle. The valve opened and closed, just as I wanted it to do, and the entire operation dotted the 'i's of this most satisfactory run. And it reminded me of the way real locomotives in Saxony or the Harz mountains, or anywhere else in that matter, are serviced after the hard working day. This gentle push of the valve had a good feeling to it.
Well, this run was over. Not bad for the first run. Not bad for any run for that matter. I think this VIK is an excellent product.


Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi

PS here are some photos:


and a video: Here is a link with some historical photographs http://www.saechsische-schmalspurfa...k/vik1.htm and a link to the previous thread Accucraft.de? - myLargescale.com - Forums - G Scale Forums - Live Steam


----------



## agrund (Feb 19, 2011)

Hi Zubi, 

Congratulation to this masterpiece of steam loco! Your report is very well written, I enjoyed it. Did you have to pay any import duty for the import from Germany to Japan? 
BTW, some more photos of the VIK ate shown at the BBF here 

http://www.buntbahn.de/modellbau/viewtopic.php?t=10268&sid=00c7c7a7526de89f77875e354cf7c736 

best regards within Tokyo, 

Andreas


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Hi Andreas, Thank you! Yes, I payed 7.700 yen. Thanks for the BBF link, I just saw it today too, the black version looks very very good!! Best wishes, Zubi


----------



## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks great, especially with the Bonsai.....


----------



## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Great report, Zubi! 

What a beautiful model, too. 

Best 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org 
POH101TLAS


----------



## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

I am very happy for you Zubi.  Looks like Accucraft did a great job packing an a neat engine.  Remember,......................Use the correct water in it,........ he, he, he.


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Sure Steve, the only correct water is Tokyo water, more precisely, Zubi's tap. I think I should make it (commercially) available to a wider live steam public, right? Best wishes from the land of plentiful of correct water, Zubi


----------



## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By zubi on 20 Jun 2011 05:51 AM 
Sure Steve, the only correct water is Tokyo water, more precisely, Zubi's tap. I think I should make it (commercially) available to a wider live steam public, right? Best wishes from the land of plentiful of correct water, Zubi


----------



## Steve S. (Jan 2, 2008)

The only way that I would buy it is if you put an Aster label on the bottles.


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Oh Steve, that is Yokohama water, it's more expensive actually... But I can arrange it for you! Best, Zubi


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

That is beautiful. I was supposed to get mine by the first week of June but Alas ! not here yet. I am now going to have sleepless nights waiting for mine in child-like anticipation. I remember working long and hard on my Accucraft Hudson when it arrived taking it out of its mummy costume but it was worth it to get a pristine locomotive without any travel injuries. The only unit I ever recieved damaged was my 1/29 th scale AML 0-6-0 which had a broken water glass, but that was quickly replaced by Cliff at Accuraft. 
This will be my first European profile steamer and finally, I will have something to pull all those foreign varnish and wagons.....when it finally arrives. Thank you for the excellent video and write up about its features. Maybe in your next video you could put some of those beautiful bonsai trees on the outside of the track loop so the we can see more of the train. 
Or not. 
Thank you and All the Best, 
Peter.


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Peter, Thanks for the kind words. I am glad that you enjoyed it. Good luck with your VIK, I hope you will receive it soon. Best wishes, Zubi 
PS I wanted to have a maximum possible radius this is why the track is outside and bonsai inside, sorry! Also too many water drip pipes...


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

*Hello Zubi, I recieved my Accucraft Saxonian V1K yesterday and got a chance today to run it on my layout. It is everything you described in your original post and more. It fired fairly quickly, kept pressure up well and generally ran nicely. Minor piping had to be reconnected as the tape which came with the wrapping dislodged two of them but are now fixed. You might see one out of place on the video. The MBV Schug advertisement says it has D-Valve but the Accucraft site says it has piston valve. Do you happen to know which is the correct one? I have included a link to the video of this fine little engine.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAtMaJun_M0I hope everyone enjoys it. All the best , Peter.*


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Hello Peter, I am glad that your VIK arrived and that you like it. And I enjoyed the video - I see you have a good companion for running trains! The VIK has D-valves. Best wishes, Zubi


----------



## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

I know I am a nitpicker, but the Saxonian narrow gauge was/is 750mm, not 762mm. 762mm was/is used in Austria/Bosnia. VIK's which went to Austria during the war had to be modified (probably just reshape the tires). Some of the locos went to Wuerttemberg (later West Germany). As a Teen I actually rode one of them on the Marbach-Beilstein-Heilbronn line. They even built one "modern" passenger car for this line in the 1960's. 3 locos of almost identical design were built for the 1m gauge line Nagold-Altensteig. One of them was used as a backup for a diesel and has been preserved in Switzerland. One of the 750mm locos was "rescued" by a dentist and stored for many years. It has now been restored to running condition and operates on the "Oechsle" Narrow Gauge line (Warthausen/Ochsenhausen). On this line it was the first time ever the Saxonian IVK (Meyer type) met the Tssd (4-4 Mallet) from Wuerttemberg. BTW, the Marbach-Beilstein-Heilbronn line had an interesting oddity: There was a crossing with 3 gauges involved: Dual gauge 750mm/standard gauge crossed the 1m gauge of the Heilbronn trolley system. 
Regards


----------



## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Peter - I know you won't mind me saying that your track seems ideally suited to NG operations, having landscape and curves that are typical of the prototype railway. I noted that the loco also has the valve gear in the 'correct' position - what a beauty it is! 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

*Henner, I want to thank you for the information. It is always amazing how much knowledge is out there and this site brings it all together.* *Thank you for sharing your knowledge of this engine with everyone.*
*Tac, Thank you for your observations regarding the layout. Much work to still do as I ripped out a lot of it in the last 12 months.* *Some of the raw soil and gravel in its present state looks like part of New Mexico and Colorado....but that is only by accident as I want to eventually have greenery growing over those rough hills. In our wet coast area a mound of dirt will quickly become a weed patch. Once again I appreciate everyone's input and keep it coming. Peter. *


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Posted By HMeinhold on 23 Jul 2011 10:16 PM 
I know I am a nitpicker, but the Saxonian narrow gauge was/is 750mm, not 762mm. 762mm was/is used in Austria/Bosnia. [...]
Henner, thanks for the note, you are entirely correct: Saxonian narrow gauge is 750mm I should have known better, sorry about the mistake. I often mix up these gauges as 750mm was so widely used in Russia, on the other side of the frontier. However, I need to point out that Austria and also Bosnia/Herzegovina railways were 760mm not 762mm. Call me a nitpicker too if you wish;-)... Best, Zubi


----------



## HMeinhold (Jan 2, 2008)

Darn,
you overnitpicked me







. But to add something more substantial to the thread:
4 of the VI Ks survived:

99713 and 99715 both operational, on lines around Dresden/Saxonia
99716 in Southern Germany (Warthausen-Ochsenhausen), also operational

99651 non operational in Marbach near Stuttgart. on display. This loco had a round topped dome and was retired as late as 1969. It was the only steam powered narrow gauge locomotive of the "Deutsche Bundesbahn" in West Germany which was entered in a list for filing with a computer. This number with a checksum identifier added was 099 651-2 (0 for steam.99 for narrow gauge, 2 checksum)

Regards


----------



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Wow, what a beautifully detailed model.


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

*This is just a quick note to anyone who has an Accucraft Saxonian VIK that on my second run I noticed that the combination lever at the valve stem guide was wiggling on both sides of the locomotive. Turning the engine over I noticed that the screw which goes through the lever was not held at the back of the guide. It seems that the wishbone (non technical term here) was spread apart too far and the threads on the screw did not catch when the unit was assembled at the factory. Make sure that everyone checks this. All the best, Peter.*


----------



## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Peter, 
It's Accucraft, so no one else will have that 'same' issue, they will all have different ones. 
I don't care who builds a loco, for every new loco to you, you should always take an hour to go from front to back, and side to side and look for anything loose or suspicious. 
Looking forward to seeing it tomorrow at your place. 
All the best, 
David Leech, Delta, Canada


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

*Excellent words to live by David. *
*I did look over and tightened all drive bolts and hex nuts but as these two components were not very visible only running it brought to attention the problem. Your advice is always appreciated as they have saved me from numerous small scale catastrophes before, which would have worked out to large scale financial catastrophes. *








*All the best and looking forward to steamin' .......Peter.*


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

After a long, long break, I took the VIK for a spin again. It run as good as the first time. Only the bonsai trees changed colour... Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

*Hi Zubi, The president of your railway must be pulling all of his hair out by now as I see that you are still not generating any revenue behind your engine. Time to drag out some passenger or freight cars to put behind that big 0-10-0 and make some money for the Company ! Really do Enjoy watching it run. All the best, Peter.*


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Peter, Thanks! You very precisely hit the nail on its bold head;-)!! Have you, or anyone else, found a nonsurgical way to mate these Saxony couplers with standard LGB? Best wishes, Zubi


----------



## agrund (Feb 19, 2011)

Hi Zubi, 

nice balcony layout indeed, and the beautiful Momichi! Not to forget to mention the loco, which runs great. I recognized the Skytree tower in the background, seems, you live in the northern part of Tokyo? 

greetings, 

Andreas


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Hi Andreas, Thank you! Yes, I enjoy all of these things. That's correct, the Skytree is right there, I live in Sendagi, not far from Ueno, north of the Imperial Palace, about 30 minutes by bike. If you have some time, please come along and bring your Shay! Best wishes, Zubi


----------



## deltatrains (Nov 25, 2010)

Posted By zubi on 05 Dec 2011 11:15 PM 
Peter, Thanks! You very precisely hit the nail on its bold head;-)!! Have you, or anyone else, found a nonsurgical way to mate these Saxony couplers with standard LGB? Best wishes, Zubi 

*After having investigated the prototype couplers made in Germany, which are very beautiful but rather expensive, 
*
*I decided to make two coupler hooks out of metal from an old cash register machine. They now form a hook similar to an LGB hook and simply slide into the V1K's buffer and the pin on the V1K buffer holds it in place. It is not spring loaded so a very large prototype person gently lifts the loop part of the LGB car coupler onto the V1K's hook. Simple, cheap and it works. I won't be doing too much prototype yard switching with it but for ordinary runs around my track it pulls the cars just fine. Painted black it almost looks right !
*
*All the best, Peter. *


----------



## Dick413 (Jan 7, 2008)

Hello Zubi 
Nice video,also when is a good time to bonsai the maples? 
thank you Richard


----------



## agrund (Feb 19, 2011)

Hi Zubi,

Thanks, eventually I visit you - together with the Shay (plus 4 logging cars) and the Krauss..... so, by bic with the load its difficult..

BTW, I will be in Germany soon until mid of January, if you need anything from Lorenz S. or so let me know, I can carry it back home with me.

Best,

Andreas


----------



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Zubi,

Must be a real nice apartment with a balcony like that. 


What would the rent be for a place like that in downtown Tokyo? Probably enough for a nice Aster.


----------



## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Zubi
Great hobby...bonsai. Not sure how you get away from the "forest" outside the rainy season and keep those thirsty little ones in good health. So many mouths to feed and keep trimmed. I can see how you enjoy your free time. So of the sizes would indicate many, many years old, thus excellent care and technique.


Having visited Japan I enjoyed the many gardens. So, the inspiration of the art form of bonsai resulted in my most recent purchase of a beautiful tree that is most striking without it's leaves to go along with my corral bark tree:



Acer palmatum 'Bihou' 










Great compliment to live steam setups you have with the bonsai!


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Posted By Dick413 on 07 Dec 2011 08:31 AM 
Hello Zubi 
Nice video,also when is a good time to bonsai the maples? 
thank you Richard 
Richard, Most of the major work like pruning to shape should be done in the early spring before the leaves start growing, you can also do wiring then although I don't do this much as my bonsai were all grown and shaped by professionals before I got them. Later in the spring and summer you need to continue trimming cutting larger leaves and the long shoots, that can be quite a lot of work on some energetic maples. Remember to water the tree every day, less in the winter. Best wishes, Zubi


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Posted By agrund on 09 Dec 2011 06:10 AM 
Hi Zubi,

Thanks, eventually I visit you - together with the Shay (plus 4 logging cars) and the Krauss..... so, by bic with the load its difficult..

BTW, I will be in Germany soon until mid of January, if you need anything from Lorenz S. or so let me know, I can carry it back home with me.

Best,

Andreas

Andreas, that would be great! I will help you to carry them from the station (Nippori) or we can take a taxi. I am looking forward, in early January I am going to India, so it will be some time in February. Thanks for the kind offer, if I have any needs, I will let you know. Have a good end of the year in Germany and all the best for the coming year! Best wishes, Zubi


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Posted By steamtom1 on 09 Dec 2011 12:27 PM 
Zubi,

Must be a real nice apartment with a balcony like that. 


What would the rent be for a place like that in downtown Tokyo? Probably enough for a nice Aster.

Tom, thanks! I enjoy the place very much. I was extremely fortunate to find a wonderful place for a price which I could afford (after considerable discount). And my place is only a studio. The roof terrace is on the top of the building and does not belong to me, but I can use it thanks to the kindness of the owner. If you want a modern apartment with a few bedrooms and a considerable living room plus a terrace of this size, you are talking 500.000 yen/month most certainly. That is one good Aster/month as you say. And it is one of the reasons why most people live quite far from the centre, up to 1.5 hour per train one way... 1 hour is pretty normal. 30 minutes very close... Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Posted By Charles on 10 Dec 2011 06:37 AM 
Zubi
Great hobby...bonsai.  Not sure how you get away from the "forest" outside the rainy season and keep those thirsty little ones in good health. So many mouths to feed and keep trimmed. I can see how you enjoy your free time. So of the sizes would indicate many, many years old, thus excellent care and technique.


Having visited Japan I enjoyed the many gardens. So, the inspiration of the art form of bonsai resulted in my most recent purchase of a beautiful tree that is most striking without it's leaves to go along with my corral bark tree:



Acer palmatum 'Bihou' 










Great compliment to live steam setups you have with the bonsai! 

Charles, a beautiful tree, I hope it will bring you lots of joy. Bonsai trees are a bit like live steam locomotives, you need to take a good care of them, and if you do it properly, they can be very rewarding and bring happiness to the owner. Yes, you are right, watering is a major problem in the super hot summers which we have here in Tokyo. I lost a few trees because of insufficient waterring, a few days is of insufficient water is enough to kill them. For the first few years, I watered them every day myself in the morning and in the evening, now I have a watering system installed, without this I would not be able to leave anywhere for more than a day. Pruning and trimming takes some time and taking out weeds and keeping the moss in good shape. But the most tricky is repotting, that is a major operation, so far I have only done it a few times, it is like replacing a boiler on your live steamer;-)... I agree with you that bonsai make a wonderful combination with live steam or any large scale trains. And I enjoy both. But surprisingly, I have never seen this combination elsewhere in Japan, people tend to specialise;-), but I hope someone eventually will follow this idea. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi 
PS The only other place where I have seen trains and bonsai together is Shinznachdorf (the trains are 1:1 2ft prototypes, and the bonsai, well as tall as 1:1 people;-))) http://www.schbb.ch/


----------



## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Zubi
Thanks for the overview. Yes, the Bonsai trees are like little children that need care and maintenance. I remember seeing in videos from Japan garden railways with collections of Bonsai. 

Here is the most recent one that I prepared:


----------



## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Zubi,

Do you leave your track down on the roof terrace, or do you have to set it up each time you run?


----------



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Tom, It is there all the time, when you come to Tokyo, please take your live steamer;-)! Best wishes, Zubi


----------

