Minamisakura

Minamisakura is a work-in-progress Japanese-themed layout created by Ōkami Mashū. The layout is notable for being built entirely without quickmods or quickprops, its excessively tight turns, and for Ōkami's shapebuilding.

Overview
The layout consists of six tables:


 * Western table, where the central station is located
 * Southern table, where the industrial area and port are located
 * Eastern table, where the airport is located
 * Northeastern table, where an elevated urban area is located
 * Northern table, where the main urban area is located
 * Northwestern table, where an agricultural and suburban area are located

Each table is marked with initials of the cardinal directions (e.g. N, S, E, NW), though this has yet to be added to the NE table. All tables except the W and S tables are not aligned to a 90° angle relative to the menu corner, Ōkami has stated that this did cause some issues with aligning track and structures.

The main track of the layout is two tracks wide, and runs through almost every table, with the exception being the elevated NE table.

On the wall next to the W table are diorama sets, each featuring a small diorama of the layout's trains, as well as a description of the trains it represents, made entirely out of the game's alphabetic and numeric shape pieces.

The layout is available for download on the Steam workshop.

Formation
Ōkami first created the base of layout some time in late 2019, as a generic city layout which at the time consists of only the W table and tiny portions of the NW and S tables. It was then shelved until late June 2020 when, while listening to a song Ōkami thought of turning it into a Japanese-themed layout. He "went ham on table placement", which is how the layout gained its shape, with the exception of the NE table which was added a week later. E table was also modified later on.

The first structure on the layout was the old central station building, followed by the sheds of the maintenance yard.

Etymology
The name Minamisakura is the combination of two Japanese words - Minami (南) meaning 'South', and Sakura (桜) meaning 'Cherry Blossoms'. This was originally a reference to the Central Sation's location, as in the beginning its table was the southernmost. Trackmeister pointed out that the orientation of the sun did not fit the cardinal directions, to which Ōkami responded by rotating the compass 90° counter-clockwise, resulting in the central station's table now being the westernmost table. The Minamisakura name, however, stuck around.



Early Development
One of the first sections of the layout to be completed was the freightyard area on table E, a screenshot of which was featured in a Gaugepunk tweet, he then worked on the elevated NE table, creating a tunnel system, before focusing on creating the first liveries for the layout. It was around this time that the N table elevated track was first built.

Livery Work
Once the Fantasy Livery Jam was announced, Ōkami focused all his efforts on making the layout presentable for the event. Several more liveries were created, including the shunter, the intercity carriages, and the commuter trains, along with edited screenshots for each livery. It was also around this time that he created the Minamisakura colletion on the Steam workshop.

Layout Work
The Minamisakura livery showcase layout was created to complement the liveries, as the main Minamisakura layout was still far from done. The layout itself was based off of Higashiyama Station, featuring a simple platform made of wooden planks. A mountain is visible in the distance if the player has maximum layout view distance enabled. Along with the livery showcase layout, Ōkami also worked on the main Minamisakura layout. The agricultural and suburban areas were added to NW table, and was developed through the duration of the FLJ.

Lore Work
Ōkami noticed that a majority of those who subscribed to his workshop items did not visit the item pages, each of which contained lore. He considered the lore and backstory of the trains to be a central part of the layout, which led him to create the dioramas - six scenes featuring the layout's trains, each with its own backstory, so that even if people did not visit the workshop pages they did not miss out on the lore. As this was before prop modding, and as Ōkami did not want to use quickmods or quickprops on Minamisakura, he built the text entirely out of the game's alphabetic and numeric shapes. The dioramas were liked by the community, Ōkami once said that he speculated that the dioramas were one of the main reasons Minamisakura was included as Gauge's 3 top favouries in the Fantasy Livery Jam, he has also stated that the dioramas were arguably his first step into becoming known as a madlad.

Post FLJ
After the layout's success in the Fantasy Livery Jam, work began on the urban area on N table. Ōkami first focused on the road that went through the table, creating an extensively marked three-way intersection, as well as an overpass connecting the N and S tables. Work then started on the buildings of the N table, with the addition of mockups and what would later become the Meister building and the Ōkami Industries building. It is around this time that Ōkami thought up of the idea of Discord Lane, filling N table's main road with references to members of the RollingLine discord. Work also started on the western side of the N table, with the addition of elevated land held back by stone retaining walls.

The Bus
On the 13th of July 2020 Ōkami started work on a shapebuilt bus. The discord community was impressed by the amount of detailing he put into the build, and Ōkami persisted despite criticisms of overdetailing. Several more screenshots were posted as the build progressed. The bus was created with the help of several pictures of real Japanese busses, it was completed after roughly five total days of building, with the completion date, the 21st of July, being put on the bus' license plate.The bus has a capacity of 25, not including the driver, and features the Minamisakura logo at the front. Minamisakura was updated shortly after the bus was complete, the update prominently featured the bus. Minamisakura appeared on the front page of the RollingLine steam workshop two days after the update.

Late 2020
Following a gap after the update, Ōkami started work on Minamisakura's airport on E table, as well as adding more details throughout the layout. It was around this time he created the JRF Doublebox, a livery for the doublebox carriage which gave it the appearance of JRF containers. He also reworked the freightyard area to make it more accurate to real Japanese freightyards. Speed limit signs were added to the layout around this time. On September 15th, Ōkami reworked the central station, removing the large roof and adding an enclosed walkway connecting the platforms to the main station building. Shapebuilt details were also added to the flyer on display outside the station, making it closer in appearance to the JNR C57. The excessively tight turnaround track near the freightyard was fixed around this time, the curve leading into the N table station was also smoothened. Following the release of a Japanese railway sign quickprop pack, shapebuilt versions of the signs were added to Minamisakura, improving and complementing the previously added speed limit signs.

Work on Minamisakura halted on September 28 as Ōkami focused his efforts on the Milwaukee Road Beer Line.

Work did not resume until November 11 when NE table's 135° turn was replaced. NE table's underground tracks were also reworked, along with the diorama tables in order to remove z-fighting. Around this time, the freightyard was reworked again, more buildings were added to the suburban area, and a small warehouse area was added to the agricultural district.

Minamisakura Full Scale
Ōkami has floated around the idea of a full scale version of Minamisakura as a response to people saying that Minamisakura's turns are very tight. He had previously claimed that if Minamisakura's turns were properly sized, it would take him years to detail the map. Work then started on a bare full scale version of Minamisakura's W table, Ōkami then compared it to Minamisakura's current room size of 9x7.

2021
After a month long gap in December, Ōkami posted a screenshot of his progress with the western side of N table, namely the addition of a wooded area around the station as well as the addition of another piece of elevated land. Ōkami stopped working on Minamisakura throughout January and February as he turned his efforts to Open Hearth Point Expanded. On February 23rd, Minamisakura was updated, changed include an elevated station on the west end of N table, an extension of track on E table, rework of the fence and roads on W table, additions to Discord Lane and various other tweaks. Ōkami stated that this would be the last update for a while as he planned to work on the upcoming Railroad History Jam.

City Lore
The city is described in the steam workshop as "A serene coastal city surrounded by mountains."

The city sits on a river delta, it consists of several islands connected by a rail network. The city's name is derived from the cherry blossom trees near the river.

The exact location of the city is unknown, and Ōkami has stated that the city's location within Japan has been left intentionally ambiguous.

The city's location in time has also been ambiguous, but as the railroad lore mentions the privatization of Japanese National Railways, it can be assumed that the layout is set after April 1987.

Railroad lore
Taken from the Steam workshop page.

Minamisakura's rail network has seen its ups and downs, but the railway has been integrated into the city's culture. With the advancements of air, sea and other land transportations, Minamisakura's railway has shrunk, now only operating roughly a third of its original number of locomotives. The Railway is still an important feature of life in Minaimsakura and its surrounding mountain towns, especially with the latter as it is the only alternative to automobiles when moving across towns. Due to the city's remote nature it gained some level of autonomy within the JNR, and it retained this autonomy even after Japan's railways were privatized. Minamisakura's trains have the city's emblem painted on them.

Train Lore
Taken from the dioramas present in the layout.

Tsuin Oni (Twin Oni) - Diesel Snowplow Named after the Yokai, these two locomotives are used to clear heavy snow on the mountain passes. They are able to operate independently but normally operate together. Their nicknames comes from the Oni; Red-skinned ogres in Japanese folklore, as their plows are reminiscent of an Oni's horn. This nickname only began to be widely used in more modern times, as the Oni lost their wickedness and took on a more protective role, often being used to ward away bad luck, a fitting symbolism for the train that clears the way.

Hachikō Kyūkō - Minamisakura's Intercity Minamisakura's most iconic railway service, the intercity service long acted as Minamisakura's fastest link to the rest of Japan. With the advancement of air and other land-based transport, railway operations were scaled back. Intercity service was reduced to only one destination, which required only one train. This locomotive is the last of its type still in active service in Minamisakura. It has become an icon of the city's railroad, and the public have lovingly named it Hachikō, after the loyal dog. Due to this, the intercity service is often called the Hachikō Express, or Hachikō Kyūkō.

Diesel Shunter - The Little Trains That Could The staple of Minamisakura's industrial and port district, these locomotives spend their days moving all sort of goods. They regularly move containers in the freightyard, products in the industrial district, and occasionally fresh produce from the agricultural district. They are also used to move passengers in special occasions, usually when a Green line commuter encounters issues. They are Minamisakura's only multipurpose diesel locomotives that are availalbe at all times, and they are one of two ways many of the surrounding towns get their goods. Due to this, the shunters have become an icon of Minamisakura to the people of the surrounding towns.

Minamisakura's Commuter Trains

The backbone of Minamisakura's public transport system, these trains are a common sight in all parts of the city, as well as many of the surrounding towns. They carry thousands of passengers each day and are often the quickesy way of getting around.Minamisakura operates three lines:

The Blue Line - Main Ring Railway Main line of the city, connects almost all districts - Operating four-carriage trains, this line carries most of the commuters in the city.

The Red Line - Urban Rider Connects urban districts, operates elevated railway - Operating in urban areas, this line is an icon of the ever expanding business district.

The Green Line - Faraway Reach Connects nearby towns to Minamisakura - One of the few ways to reach most of the surrounding towns, this line is vital. The line operates both electric and diesel trains as not all of the tracks are electrified.

Discord Lane
Discord lane is a section of Minamisakura's N table, dedicated to references to members of the RollingLine discord server. Currently, the list of references are:


 * A shop named ローリングライン (Rōringurain) which translates to 'Rollingline'
 * A banner outside the RollingLine shop with the text 'NEW Finniko Models Tokyo', a refernce to the Lost in Tokyo project created by discord user Finniko
 * A banner outside the RollineLine shop with the text 'Spaceline Models P 42 DC', a reference to discord user Space and his flagship model
 * A piece of paper taped to the RollingLine shop window with the title 'AoFRC', a reference to the Association of Fictional Railroad Companies, a splinter server of the main RollingLine discord
 * A shop named DET 22 エレクトロニクス (Erekutoronikusu) which translates to 'electronics', it features a TV with eyes, a reference to discord user Detroit's TV head character and username
 * A poster featuring King Ghidorah, labeled ギドラ (Gidora). This is a refernce to discord user William's profile picture
 * A building labeled マイスター (Maisutā), a refernce to a trend in the RollingLine discord server of naming oneself (something) Meister
 * A large poster featuring discord user Long's character, with the text 長い一日 Vol.2 (Nagai tsuitachi Vol.2) which translates to Long Day Vol.2.
 * A restaurant named ハマム卵 (Hamamu Tamago) which translates to Hamman Eggs, a reference to discord user Hammaneggs
 * A shop named Wrobomart, a reference to Wallmart requested by discord user Wrobo
 * A poster with a character from an anime, which was used by discord user Halton for his discord pfp
 * A shop labeled Aksa Coffee, a reference to discord user Aksa
 * A building labeled ŌKM Industries, a reference to map creator Ōkami

Ōkami has stated that in order to be featured in Discord Lane, you could simply ask him, that is if there was something relating to you which he could easily fit into a Japanese setting.

Secrets
WARNING - This section contains a list of all of Minamisakura's secrets and their locations. This alert will be here until the wiki team get the inbuilt spoiler alert working.

Minamisakura features several secrets and eastereggs. Ōkami does not consider Discord Lane references eastereggs as they are too ovbious.

The current list of secrets are:


 * The Gaugepunk logo on one of the buildings in the maintenance yard.
 * A pinwheel in the forest on the west side of S table, a reference to the music video for the song Senbonzakura.
 * The Monarch logo from the Godzilla universe can be found behind the ferry at the harbour.
 * In the suburban area, a camera can be found, with star decals on the wall behind it. This is a reference to the cover photo for the Fantasy Livery Jam end announcement being taken nearby
 * Below the afformentioned camera, a Fantasy Livery Jam wagon can be found inside the table.
 * Behind the walls of the underground tracks, a text saying 'NYA-!' can be found.
 * On buildings in the N table, red doors can be found, this is a reference to the video game Mirror's Edge.
 * Inside the ŌKM Industries building, seven sets of two unlit cylinders can be found along with the text 'WORLD ORDER HAVE A NICE DAY', this is a reference to Discord Lane's main inspiration Akihabara, the music video for World Order - Have A Nice Day was recorded in Akihabara.
 * A scaled up aircraft can be found under the airport, Ōkami used it to scale the airport's gate markings.
 * A drifting car can be found behind the Green Line commuter diorama, this is a reference to Initial D.
 * A ghost flyer can be found behind the intercity train's diorama, it also features text written in romanji. Ōkami did not keep a note of his original translations, but has stated that the text roughly translates to:

Old Intercity Train |  Iron Horse of the Hills  |  These were the trains used for the intercity services. They were replaced by the diesel locomotives. Some people say they've seen them years after they have been decomissioned. Its whistle can still be heard in the mountains. | Locomotive: One, Steam  |  Carriages: Six  |  Status: Decomissioned  |  Location: Unknown