Brick-Built Lego Railroad Track

[L-Gauger]

This thread concerns a building project that I'm only in the very earliest stages of prototyping... but for some years now I've wondered whether it was possible to build a track for Lego trains that was made from only non-train specific Lego elements, preferably common parts. So, this thread is for discussing all things related to brick-built Lego train track. Topics can include, but are not limited to:

Have you tried making a brick-built track before?

What technique do you think is most detailed? Most economical?

How would you build a curve with a radius that lands on the stud grid? 

Should we AFOLs try and develop a modular standard for brick-built sectional tracks? 

This might also be a great place to discuss the gauge possibilities that brick-built track provides, like Q gauge (1/48 scale, 4 stud gauge) Ln2 gauge (2-stud gauge) and the broadened horizons of S gauge/Ln3 gauge (the normal Lego narrow gauge/rollercoaster gauge.) 

Here's a photo of one early prototype I made on top of a MILS module, with two tracks. My model of Railway Series "Rusty" is parked on the Ln2 track, and the unoccupied track is triple-gauge (Standard L gauge, Ln3/S, and Ln2.) 

[djm]

I did build a Diamond Crossing, more than 10 years ago. Have a look at this thread: 

 

[TeriXeri]

Those 1x4 fence pieces were one of the first parts that could unofficially partially function as rails, and released almost the same year as blue rails too.

[JopieK]

Very nice @L-Gauger! Looking forward to seeing the next steps / builds.

[L-Gauger]

@djm your work on that crossing is impressive! I might have to study your design and see if any of the principles could be applied to making a frog for a railroad track switch... 

@TeriXeri I never considered using 1x4 fence elements as rails... have you tried doing so before? It seems like it might make a good stable track. 

@JopieK thank you! Although I'm still early in the prototyping phase, I think brick-built track could have a lot of promise to expand the horizons of track geometry without the need for third-party parts (thus keeping the purists happy...) So far it seems like the most cost-effective track can be made by inserting tiles between the studs of plates using the "pony-ear" technique, like below. Personally, I think track made this way looks fairly realistic...

I've successfully built some sectional and flex track using this technique (the pictures shown are of flex track,) but its primary disadvantage for L gauge is that  the crossties must be 7 studs long, not 8: 

The seven-stud ties means that at least four parts must be used per crosstie: 

Plus the odd dimension means this system differs from the standard eight-stud length for crossties in Lego track. 

What other brick-built track systems are out there? I know the Logging Railway set included a brick-built track for its trestle bridge... but what other building techniques make a useable, realistic-looking track? 

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, L-Gauger said:

 

@TeriXeri I never considered using 1x4 fence elements as rails... have you tried doing so before? It seems like it might make a good stable track. 

The tall fence has the fence centered, so regular train wheels could fit , however the piece can be fragile, so putting any sort of prolonged weight/pressure on it could probably have the piece crack somewhere eventually.

I never tried short fences as they aren't centered so would not fit standard train wheel / wagon parts.

Edited June 26 by TeriXeri

[zephyr1934]

Interesting stuff. Curves will be tough but doable, e.g., the logging train BL set. A long time ago someone posted working brick built switches in train tech, most of the links are dead but one remains operational:

http://vimeo.com/22037422 

 

Another ancient take on brick built curves

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=477982 

 

I can recall one more take on a brick built switch but I can't find it in my notes.

 

[L-Gauger]

On 6/25/2025 at 8:21 PM, TeriXeri said:

The tall fence has the fence centered, so regular train wheels could fit , however the piece can be fragile, so putting any sort of prolonged weight/pressure on it could probably have the piece crack somewhere eventually.

I never tried short fences as they aren't centered so would not fit standard train wheel / wagon parts.

Yeah, the tall fences wouldn't be the best choice for track. I wonder if the short fences might work when turned on their sides... I'll have to try that. 

 

@zephyr1934 a brick-built switch is something I've been working on. Currently I have a functional prototype of a no. 4 switch, but the part I'm not yet satisfied with is the frog. Currently it's just a tile mounted at a height sufficient to support the wheels of the train as they roll over the frog, but I think the lack of side-to-side support will make that design prone to derailment at high speed. 

Oh, and on the subject of curves, so far I've used an adaptation of @HoMa's technique from Railbricks issue 1 hidden in brick-built ballast to make curves, like this:

However, building such curves in a manner that permits 90-degree turns which align exactly to the stud grid of Lego is proving a challenge. Still trying to figure out all the math for that... 

[FGMatt]

I'd have thought that the simplest solution would be to use the 30413 1 x 4 x 1 panel?

Can put it on jumpers to align neatly with other tracks, although there will be a height difference to contend with. Might get some clickety-clack sound effects too from the rounded edges.

 

[L-Gauger]

@FGMatt, that's a good thought! The track looks great, is simple, uses only common parts and legal connections. 

I just prototyped the design in real life though, and there was one slight issue: the gauge is 1/2 plate too wide for L gauge, just wide enough that the trains fall between the rails. However, I figured out a very simple fix to this problem, shown below: 

I have to say, this looks like it might be a really good idea. 

And while we're on the subject of panel elements, the 1/2 plate width of the top part of the 30143 panel makes it a great element for building switch points. That's what I've used on both my prototype brick-built switches with excellent results. 

[FGMatt]

Yes, I had a little think about that - the one issue with this is the wheels pushing outwards on the panels might push them off of the studs.

However, using the 1 x 3 jumper and a cheese slope they can be reinforced if that does prove to be an issue.

 

[L-Gauger]

You know, that might be the best track shown yet. I did a small test on the technique in real life, and even though technically it's 1/2 plate under gauge the trains roll just fine. There doesn't appear to be enough outward force on the panel bricks to push them off the studs, but your reenforcement technique looks a lot like the sleeper chairs used on British railway tracks so it's a great added detail. 

Interestingly, a similar technique for building the crossties allows the use of 1-stud wide tiles for rails, while keeping the 8-stud long crossties of conventional Lego track: 

This would probably be more expensive than using 1x7 crossties like I've used in my prototype tracks, but maybe using the 1x3 jumper plates on every other tie instead of every tie could reduce the cost? 

[zephyr1934]

I suspect the 1/2 plate thickness of the panels could cause occasional problems, e.g., if it falls between the traction band and the flange on a powered axle. Probably would still work, just a little extra drag.

 

I like the look of the tiles between the double jumper plates. Have you tried it with 1x2 tiles in the middle instead of 1x2 plates?

 

[L-Gauger]

Here you go @zephyr1934! This version shows what it would look like with 1x2 tiles between the double jumper plates, with the double jumper plates appearing on every other tie. This would likely be cheaper than using double jumper plates on every tie, but would require brick-built ballast: 

That does look really good. I think this is the exact same tie design used by @FGMatt on his ties with cheese slopes here: 

On 7/2/2025 at 11:01 AM, FGMatt said:

Yes, I had a little think about that - the one issue with this is the wheels pushing outwards on the panels might push them off of the studs.

However, using the 1 x 3 jumper and a cheese slope they can be reinforced if that does prove to be an issue.