zephyr1934
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That is really sharp, only one suggestion is to make the studs on the cab roof go away. Perhaps using a pair of 2x2 curved slopes? I would agree, 6 wide is difficult, 4 wide is REALLY difficult.
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An excellent build of a prototype that has some challenging angles. Great work
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Oh no, lego trains are incredibly resilient, even many (but not all) MOCs. I've lost count as to how many MOCs of mine that have gone screaming off the table at shows only to crash on a concrete floor, including some of my best MOCs. I've found that the greatest risk is losing a part at a show. Usually I've been able to rebuild within 30 min. While I do my best to avoid table dives, so far the only broken part I suffered was the pin snapping off of a bogie plate. The traditional model railroaders can't say that. If you REALLY want to flinsh, check out what AlmightyArjen has done, e.g., here. That said, wandering back on topic, the ME R88 and R108 curves allow me to run some of my heaviest trains at top speed. But if you run for a long time the tracks will slowly slide across the floor or table. So it helps to use spacers (either baseplates or 2xn plates) to keep the tracks apart and if on a table, just watch to make sure the tracks do not wander near the edge. This problem has nothing to do with the ME design per say, as it would be true of most curves.
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Indeed, that is an incredible build loaded with detail. The interior of the shed is just as nice and the surrounding scene. Very complete, excellent work!
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That is a great little layout with a lot going on. The buildings are well done (I particularly like the warehouse with the masonry bricks) and the idea of having the train disappear into buildings instead of a tunnel is a neat trick.
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Another excellent MOC
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That is a slick little layout, I really like it (I'm working on a streetcar myself, my first 9v moc in a while, and perhaps I should say this is even inspirational). All in all exceptional work (especially with your station MOCs). I did a couple of RCX layouts in the long distant past that might be relevant to what you are doing. First, the light sensors in this thread. They use a PF LED to shine in to the light sensor. I put the LED behind a 1x1 technic brick with a 1/2 pin to keep the beam focused on just the sensor and the light sensor having a "tunnel" pointed straight at the LED to keep the ambient light out. Also, I wrote the code so that the first thing it did was to auto-calibrate the light sensors to the ambient lighting. The other RCX layout I did that is of relevance was a simple one track "ping-pong" similar to your layout only with one train and no switches. I was running a longer, heavier train at a show. By the end of the 3 days the 9v motors were burned out, probably in part due to the PWM of the RCX. You might want to consider putting a capacitor in to the circuit to smooth out the PWM and get something closer to DC.
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Excellent work! Impressive how you were able to hide all of that PF in an excellent looking MOC. I would agree that the best MOC's make horrible sets (and that no matter how good they are, trains are a difficult item for IDEAS). Great job capturing the essence of a K-36. About the only quibble that I have about the locomotive is that I would try to replace the yellow, red, and tan parts on the running gear with gray if possible. The coach is fantastic, and that looks like you have a wide open interior to place figs in if you wanted to (a bonus for a set). The caboose is the weakest of the three pieces. The running boards on the roof are too tall, the 1x tile on the side of the copula doesn't seem right, and the panels on the roof of the copula are strange. I think the train would look better with the coach and a combine car to make it a strictly passenger train. The diorama just pushes the whole work over the top, incredible work and really does a good job setting the scene. I am not surprised that the MOC is a prize winner.
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You never cease to amaze and surprise me with your video projects. Yet another stunning project. Simply incredible. Just one question, how did you get 9v so far up the mountain (grin, I know, PF retrofit)
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Wow! That's an impressive crane, amazing that you were able to fit so much in to such a tiny package. The linear clutch is brilliant and using a game controller is also slick. The PF truck was also impressive (even if it was not a train, still inspirational)
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No matter what you do with the EN, if you want it to run, you should do something about the cylinder (which is discussed in the MODs article above). The cylinder can bind and stop the locomotive. Worst case, if you have binding at the show, you can simply pull the connecting rods that go to the cylinder. Second, if you turn the EN in to a push locomotive you will also want to bypass the gear train that is used for direct drive from the XL motor. It has A LOT of unnecessary drag when it is not being used for propulsion. Probably easiest to just pull the crown gear on the driver axle.
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Excellent work! Very nice looking structures (and tram car). Detailed buildings like this really help bring a layout alive. Hum... while the buildings are fantastic, looking at some of those characters I'm not sure I'd ever want to visit (grin)
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In the mean time, one or two years back there were a couple of good threads about replacing the actual motor in a 9v shell with the motor from a PF shell, e.g., this one . One of the big limitations is that the brushes wear out, but a few folks had solutions for that too... don't remember if that was discussed in the linked videos.
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Nice work! Powering it could be a nightmare though. Maybe if you made one axle with the PF train wheel and have that truck pivot point right above the axle you could make something work?
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While I usually prefer models based on real prototypes, I find your MOCs are compelling. There are a lot of great details in the locomotive. Very impressive work just with the wedge plates alone. The striping and grebbling are well done, even if there wasn't a particular prototype it certainly has the feel that there was.
