Hod Carrier Posted September 30, 2015 I've been fascinated with minimum space model railways for a few years and so I have been drawn to shunting puzzles such as the classic Inglenook puzzle (more information can be found here). However, I've taken the recipe and spiced it up a bit to create this LEGO microscale version. I'm calling it a Doublenook because there are effectively two Inglenook puzzles arranged back-to-back. This allows for different levels of complexity. Level 1 is the classic Inglenook puzzle where you marshal a train of five wagons from the eight on one side of the puzzle. Level 2 adds a level of complexity by having to marshal two trains of five wagons from the sixteen on the board. This may mean moving wagons from one side of the puzzle to the other using the runaround loop on the centre of the board. However, there is space only to run around one wagon at a time. Level 3 adds further complexity to level 2. Each wagon in the two trains must be loaded first by visiting the automatic loader. Every wagon that goes beneath the loading tower MUST be loaded whether or not that wagon is scheduled to be loaded or, indeed, if it has been loaded already. The loader only holds ten loads. Normal railway rules apply also in that the player may not leave any vehicle foul of the points/switches. Being British I have followed British prototypes. The shunting engine is an English Electric 350hp 0-6-0 diesel electric loco (later BR Class 08) in British Railways black while the wagons are 4 wheel 16 ton standard mineral wagons. The "automatic" loader is, unfortunately, not actually automatic. A few tweaks still need to be made, as some of the sidings need to be adjusted for length and I fear some bricks may require gluing to ensure they remain robust enough under play conditions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legotom Posted September 30, 2015 This is utterly utterly awesome. If you make instructions, or better yet kits, i would happily pay for them. I just love this. One query. Do the loads fit in the wagons, or do you have to rebuild the wagon tops? i cant quite tell from the pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted September 30, 2015 The loads aren't shown in the photos, but they are just 1x1 round tiles so there is plenty of room in the wagons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garethjellis Posted September 30, 2015 What a fun build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted September 30, 2015 Legotom: Sorry, I think I might have misunderstood your question about loads. The coloured blocks are not the loads but the means of determining the order of wagons in the train. The colours on each block corresponds with a wagon on the board. You draw them out of a bag one at a time and place them in the indents on the frame starting from left to right which then gives you the order in which the wagons must be formed up. As I mentioned, the loads are 1x1 round tiles which are held inside the loading tower. Wagons are loaded using a slide mechanism which dispenses them one at a time. I'll try and post more photos tomorrow if I get a chance. The LDD version needs a little tidying up first, but I'd be happy to release this if you're interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legotom Posted September 30, 2015 Ah right, I see. That's a good idea. The LDD version would be awesome. Do you know how many parts it is? Also I assume that wagons and shunter don't actually couple, you just hold them with you're hand? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted September 30, 2015 I'll be able to give you a better part count once the LDD file is tidied up. The present version is not very well optimised because the original version had a problem that needed to be corrected. The changes I made were intended to re-use as many of the original batch of parts as possible in order to minimise the number of new parts required. However, the board itself is around 600 parts with the playing pieces and loading tower around another 600. You're right, the wagons and locos don't couple. I did briefly experiment with magnets which was not entirely successful. They tended to "catch" the last wagon at the end of the sidings as the train moves past. There isn't really any space inside the board for a mechanical coupling solution. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redimus Posted September 30, 2015 I too would be interested in the LDD of this, I think my dad would get a real kick out of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 2, 2015 Chaps, I've had a good look at the puzzle and discovered that the required tweaks are not to do with the length of the sidings but the size of the loco. An 0-6-0 shunter is too small to ensure that the formula for the classic Inglenook puzzle can be adhered to. So I'm just waiting for another batch of bricks to build a larger loco to test before releasing the LDD file. However, if anyone is interested in receiving a copy of the LDD file once it's ready, please send me your e-mail address by private message and I'll happily e-mail it to you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted October 2, 2015 I had a similar toy when I was a child ...ii's a great surprise see this game made with lego! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redimus Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) Chaps, I've had a good look at the puzzle and discovered that the required tweaks are not to do with the length of the sidings but the size of the loco. An 0-6-0 shunter is too small to ensure that the formula for the classic Inglenook puzzle can be adhered to. So I'm just waiting for another batch of bricks to build a larger loco to test before releasing the LDD file. However, if anyone is interested in receiving a copy of the LDD file once it's ready, please send me your e-mail address by private message and I'll happily e-mail it to you. That's a shame, because you pulled a really good minikit sized 08, lol. Edited October 2, 2015 by Redimus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 2, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I'm quite fond of it too. I never thought of it as a minikit. I'm giving some serious thought to gluing it and adding a keychain to keep it with me. But if it helps, it's being swapped for another English Electric design; their Type 3 Co-Co mainline loco in BR Green (BR Class 37). LT12V: There was a game like this before? I'd be very interested to know more about it if you can recall some of the details. I am only aware of these puzzles from the world of model railways. Edited October 2, 2015 by Hod Carrier Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted October 4, 2015 Nice cute addition! LT12V: There was a game like this before? I'd be very interested to know more about it if you can recall some of the details. I am only aware of these puzzles from the world of model railways. No it was a similar toy: there was a small box with a glass top, inside was a small steam locomotive with a magnet. The locomotive was operated with a magnet of opposite polarity slidden under this sealed box. Inside the locomotive could do some typical train activities in this micro micro scenery 20x20 cm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 4, 2015 Ah, OK. I understand. They were simpler days back then, when a kid could easily fill their day with little more than a box full of LEGO bricks and their imagination. *Sigh* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Man with a hat Posted October 5, 2015 Brilliant. This would be also be an excellent set. You might consider putting it on LEGO ideas. I would definitely vote for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legotom Posted October 6, 2015 Yeah, I'm quite fond of it too. I never thought of it as a minikit. I'm giving some serious thought to gluing it and adding a keychain to keep it with me. But if it helps, it's being swapped for another English Electric design; their Type 3 Co-Co mainline loco in BR Green (BR Class 37). This is brilliant. I love microscale creations like this. +many internet points for you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zephyr1934 Posted October 10, 2015 Excellent! I really like it. There was a similar MOC a few years back in this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 10, 2015 Yes, I admit I did see it on Flickr and took inspiration from it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zephyr1934 Posted October 10, 2015 It's evolutionary then. If folks didn't keep building and improving on great ideas like this, we'd never have such nice looking train MOCs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted November 2, 2015 I don't know what I was thinking asking for e-mail addresses when it's possible to post the file directly online. So for all who want it, here it is. Doublenook Final.lxf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6ix Posted November 3, 2015 Has anyone ever tried the original Inglenook in 6-wide scale? Or maybe Timesaver? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted November 4, 2015 I did consider the possibility briefly, but for a shunting puzzle to work convincingly you need a good way of coupling and uncoupling individual cars. The current LEGO system of magnets does not easily permit this, so some other form of coupling would be required. Incidentally, a few words regarding the Doublenook has been added to the shunting puzzles website. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6ix Posted November 4, 2015 Congrats on the mention on that site! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
garmsey Posted January 10, 2022 I know this is old but do you still have the lxf file for this build? I am interested to see if I can build it as the game looks interesting but when I tried to download the lxf from the link it was zero kb and did not appear to have anything in it. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
