Back to the real world.....

I've been back in Sydney for a couple of weeks now. My trip is just a memory.

Once again I've made some changes to my plans for the module. After seeing Thap Cham and Saigon I've abandoned the idea of a level crossing across the yard. The level crossing will have to be on another module.

I came across a couple of city type buildings by Kato in a shop here in Sydney, very expensive but I bought them and they're on the module already. The idea is to create a small slice of a city skyline:

The Kato buildings are perfect as the modern tall ones, but I will have to scratchbuild the narrow 'Vietnamese' ones in between.

The good thing is I've actually seen DSVN in operation so have a better idea of basic operations and the 'feel' of the system. Some of my ideas were confirmed, and some not.

I have so many photos to add to my two websites and not a lot of time. But I will get there!

It was interesting to witness an integrated rail system with both passenger and freight. Here in Australia most freight has been sold off to private operators and the two functions don't have a lot to do with each other.

I still don't have a locomotive so I'd better get going with that one. I noticed in the same shop I bought the city buildings an example of the N scale GE '44' tonner locomotive. I wonder if the chassis could be used? But my first loco will be a D12E as previously reported.

I also got some photos of the grey tank cars. There were two at Thap Cham, so that should make my tank car modelling much quicker.

Oh well.... on with the modelling...

On the way home.....

Well here I am back in Saigon due to return to Australia tonight.

On Thursday I had a wander around Saigon Station. Lots of different carriage types and yard shunter D9E 217 doing its thing.

On Tuesday I came from Thap Cham to Saigon by train (SE5). A very pleasant 6 hour journey, with a D19E (type 2) on the point. I sat up but no problem. The train was about 1 hour late (shades of the Up Melbourne-Sydney XPT!), Though since it had started two days before at Hanoi, no problem.

There was a D4H pottering around Thap Cham yard but it was labelled in what looked like Russian Characters and had a number in the 2000s. Don't know why.

The trains I saw both freight and passenger where all pulled by D19Es of both types. I presume other types are around.

I got some photos of tank cars and boxcars, as well as the station. Also interesting, a track vehicle (GM07) with a wagon behind. There was another one in Saigon (GM08) with a similar wagon. Looks like they use it to pick up rubbish or rubble around the track.

At Saigon I took 'walkaround' photos of the 141 class 2-8-2 steam locomotive displayed outside the station. So I now have plenty of detail shots. Enough to do some drawings? Maybe.

Oh, well back to the real world tonight. Lots of photos to work on and put up on my website.