Ts__ Posted May 4 Author Posted May 4 (edited) Just back from the NLGM 2026 in Wörrstadt, Germany. The modifications I made over the winter have paid off—the technic is running really well. Not perfect, but more than good enough to have a lot of fun with it.... ;-) A little teaser: Thanks so much to Dennis for helping out with the driving, trucks and trailer! Thomas Edited May 4 by Ts__ Quote
Ts__ Posted May 8 Author Posted May 8 Thanks! I handled dozens of loads for the exhibition. Dennis was a big help, both with driving and by providing an additional truck and trailer. The kids lined up to take a quick ride. The technology is now up and running, and I can say that the project is no longer a “work in progress.” I've achieved my original goals, but the work continues... Overview: blue Trailer from Dennis: Thomas Quote
LL1982 Posted May 14 Posted May 14 What a work. I've seem the videos and hope to see it one dat live. Really impressed for all this tinkering and automation. Quote
Ts__ Posted May 15 Author Posted May 15 Thank you! 13 hours ago, LL1982 said: and hope to see it one dat live. Maybe it'll work out in Germany or the Netherlands... that would be nice. Thomas Quote
Ts__ Posted June 17 Author Posted June 17 Construction continued, and I've received confirmation that my terminal will be on display at the BSBT 2026 in Schkeuditz near Leipzig! But I don’t want to display the same thing as last year, and in Wörrstadt I found myself lacking easily accessible storage tracks for my train (I had underestimated that). And to give the layout planners more flexibility in arranging my modules, I built a second entrance with additional parking tracks. The extension is built at a 45° angle. This makes the whole thing look more dynamic, and you don’t end up with an 8–9-meter module that’s just straight. Of course, the construction was also more interesting than just stubbornly lining up 32x32 base plates one after another.... The many angles create some beautiful lines of sight. I'm also excited to see the result in person, because I can't set everything up all at once at home. I won't see my module in its entirety until the exhibition ;-) There are two new videos on my (German-language) YouTube channel. One is about my module at the NLGM 2026 exhibition in Wörrstadt: And the second one is from the test setup of my new driveway last weekend. It shows even more details than the photos do: Have fun, and see you in August at the BSBT! Thomas Quote
LL1982 Posted June 17 Posted June 17 That looks very good. Lovely landscaping, and that angle indeed works very well. Also like that you have the switches interlocked. Quote
Ts__ Posted June 17 Author Posted June 17 Thank You Shiva and LL1982! 23 minutes ago, LL1982 said: Also like that you have the switches interlocked. That makes sense here, since the turnouts always have to be switched at the same time. But I have to say, it was harder than I thought. Long LEGO axles have a lot of torsion, and at first I had trouble getting the remote turnout to switch as well. Using lots of short axles and applying a little preload helped. I also locked the adjustment lever on the main switch in one direction so that it can only be turned 90° in one direction. Otherwise, you end up with gear backlash as an additional source of inaccuracy. Thomas Quote
zephyr1934 Posted June 17 Posted June 17 That is an inspirational thing of beauty that just keeps growing. Still, the thing I hate most is that you are making me want to try my hand at building a remote control truck. Quote
LL1982 Posted June 18 Posted June 18 10 hours ago, Ts__ said: Thank You Shiva and LL1982! That makes sense here, since the turnouts always have to be switched at the same time. But I have to say, it was harder than I thought. Long LEGO axles have a lot of torsion, and at first I had trouble getting the remote turnout to switch as well. Using lots of short axles and applying a little preload helped. I also locked the adjustment lever on the main switch in one direction so that it can only be turned 90° in one direction. Otherwise, you end up with gear backlash as an additional source of inaccuracy. Thomas I do not even know where to start haha. I've seen approaches like this on a single switch on the LLMTC layouts or that they somehow use the old 12V power boxes to move switches, that already looks cool to me. Quote
Ts__ Posted June 18 Author Posted June 18 Thank You both! 18 hours ago, zephyr1934 said: Still, the thing I hate most is that you are making me want to try my hand at building a remote control truck. Yeah! And you wouldn't be the first person this has happened to ;-) 12 hours ago, LL1982 said: I've seen approaches like this on a single switch on the LLMTC layouts or that they somehow use the old 12V power boxes to move switches, that already looks cool to me. I used a purely mechanical solution: the two turnouts are connected beneath the rail by a cross-axis. But that's easier said than done: This is the turnout on the branch line; the turnout is operated by turning the turnout indicator at the top 90°. The axle linkage then moves to the protective turnout: There wasn’t much vertical space; the whole thing had to fit into a MILS module. The problem was the LEGO axles. I’d first tried 32- and 16-series axles, but they twisted too much on their own (torsion), so that not enough of the 90° turn at the control turnout was transferred to the protective turnout. The solution was to use many short 3- and 4-pin LEGO axles and axle connectors. And here’s another trick: the BrickTracks turnout can be rotated 90° in two directions, but that caused a lot of inaccuracy due to the gears under both turnouts. So I limited the rotation to just one direction. The light gray 1x2 lift arm with a cross-axis shown in the picture serves this purpose; it’s prevented from rotating in the wrong direction by a stop. And with a little preload created by the position of the gears on the protective switch, the power transmission from the branch line switch to the protective switch then functions purely mechanically. protective turnout: Thomas Quote
LL1982 Posted June 18 Posted June 18 Thank you for that explanation and the detail shots. I see, or googled, your switches that they operate on a turntable. Handig to learn, something different from lego or trixbrix. Quote
Ts__ Posted June 19 Author Posted June 19 16 hours ago, LL1982 said: I see, or googled, your switches that they operate on a turntable. Handig to learn, something different from lego or trixbrix. You use here R104 switches from BrickTracks. Thomas Quote
Ts__ Posted June 21 Author Posted June 21 I don't have enough space at home to fully assemble my modules. So I work with a digital twin to keep track of everything. And today I really put my computer to work and created two 4K images, each with over 100,000 parts. This is how I envision my terminal at exhibitions. On-site, there will be even more and a wider variety of trees; I saved myself the trouble of creating those in Stud.io. Thomas Quote
Stereo Posted June 21 Posted June 21 Unfortunately I didn't take pictures when I opened one to repair it, but the BrickTracks switch stand is fairly easy to open, you just have to release the 6 clips on the underside by pushing on the sloped side of them. So you could probably reduce friction quite a bit on the protective switch by opening it up and shaving down the detent that makes it snap into place. I believe it's on the light gray piece that rotates. Quote
Ts__ Posted June 21 Author Posted June 21 47 minutes ago, Stereo said: Unfortunately I didn't take pictures when I opened one to repair it, but the BrickTracks switch stand is fairly easy to open, you just have to release the 6 clips on the underside by pushing on the sloped side of them. No problem. I know how the BrickTracks turnouts are built on the inside. I had to open some up years ago because I'd damaged the internal connection with a motor. Bricktracks was very helpful and sent me replacement parts. The turnouts were then used with motors at exhibitions for a few years. 50 minutes ago, Stereo said: So you could probably reduce friction quite a bit on the protective switch by opening it up and shaving down the detent that makes it snap into place. I believe it's on the light gray piece that rotates. That's an interesting idea, but it works just fine without me having to change anything on the switches. Thanks Thomas Quote
Ts__ Posted June 22 Author Posted June 22 Thank you. It wasn't my intention to make it this big—it just turned out that way, unfortunately.... You need a certain amount of space to create a realistic, full-scale play area. I definitely underestimated that at first. And now it's too late ;-) Thomas Quote
LL1982 Posted June 22 Posted June 22 I know, I am trying to use up a big part of a room at home. But those big curves take so much space. That I am still at r56 max. It is that I need the floor space for all my part bins and I have the track on the table but it feels more efficient to simply have it on the floor just like in the 80s 🤣 Quote
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