Fx Bricks (Michael Gale) announces Fx Track system

[M_slug357]

@michaelgale Looks like you had a blast testing out those new elements!

[michaelgale]

@M_slug357 It wasn't me having the fun this time on the video--it was one of my colleagues at the Hong Kong office!  

[mark6399]

Man, this is exciting, great work!

[Gordon Werner]

@michaelgale any chance that you could offer metal wheelsets so that train cars could pick up power for lighting / to power an M/L/XL style motor from the track?

[zephyr1934]

6 hours ago, Gordon Werner said:

@michaelgale any chance that you could offer metal wheelsets so that train cars could pick up power for lighting / to power an M/L/XL style motor from the track?

Look back through the thread, I believe Michael had said that power pickups were in the plans.

[BrickTronic]

On 11/1/2021 at 5:11 PM, michaelgale said:

All of our motor bogie products will be DCC "ready".  This means they will offer separate access to the track power pickup and motor terminals so that you can use an external control, e.g. DCC decoder, PFx Brick, etc.  Integration of the DCC decoder in the motor bogie itself is in the roadmap--but this will come after the first "DC" motor bogie.

...

Can you go more into detail, how DCCready will look like ?
How can we imagine a PFx Brick as DCC Decoder ?

On your Page Brick Dimensions from 2015 there was in interesting DCC concept, but the electronic seems to be much different to the PFx Brick

There was also mentioned to charge a Battery to can drive on non metal rails sections too.

An Architecrue-Overview (wiring) of the options/possibilities (examples) would be nice.

 

Jo

[ivanlan9]

Great stuff!  I like the new power connectors.  And I'd really like to see that new 9v motor being tested. ...

[legotownlinz]

On 11/1/2021 at 5:11 PM, michaelgale said:

All of our motor bogie products will be DCC "ready".  This means they will offer separate access to the track power pickup and motor terminals so that you can use an external control, e.g. DCC decoder, PFx Brick, etc.  Integration of the DCC decoder in the motor bogie itself is in the roadmap--but this will come after the first "DC" motor bogie.

This is a smart decision.

From a business point of view it is very important that the products are useful for 9V DC, PF and PUP users, too. I'd estimate that PF and PUP is >90% of the market, so anything that has value for PF and PUP will sell much better.

I'm hoping for a PUP battery box that can be recharged with power pickup wheels. I like all the cool TrixBrix items too much to switch entirely to 9V. But I'm open to convert parts of my layout to metal track for automatic charging.

[Gordon Werner]

On 11/24/2021 at 7:21 AM, zephyr1934 said:

Look back through the thread, I believe Michael had said that power pickups were in the plans.

thx ... haven't been able to keep track of who is making what and when anymore ...

[MellonHead]

Hi everyone,

@michaelgale the stuff you and the fx team have been making is truly amazing so far and i also can't wait to order a ton of stuff when more products are released

I do have a few questions and opinions about some of your products:

1: Are you going to maken different colors for the 12v motor bogie casing? Because i need a few dark red ones and maybe other folk would like to see different colors, which blends in with the frame of the locomotive for a nicer/prestine look.

2: From what i could see on the steel wheels for the Fx 12v motor bogie, they pickup power not only through the flange on the inside against the track but mostly through the top of the track. This also means if this is true that these wheels won't press themselves through the switch gap any more because these wheels/flanges are not sprung but a full steel wheel and are locked instead, which could make for interchanable wheel sizes, because if they would be sprung and interchangeable they would press themselves of the axle, how would you change and lock them? With the wheels from the Lego 9volt motor bogie which are spring pressed against the inside off the track, which cause(s)(d) derailement on my layout on the r40 switch at a certain speed, because of the pass trough gap, which was and still is very annoying, Is now eliminated with your non-sprung wheels, correct me if i am wrong? 

3: this is important: which types of wheels can you put on the fx 12v motor bogie instead of the ones shown in your previous design concept picture. Because with interchangeable wheels and the same motor/gear ratio i don't know what and how it might/will affect the motor long term, i would really like to see L wheels on this bogie for power pickup and as locomotive drivers.

4: What are the following products going to cost: Power Station, P40 switch pack left and right with 2x half straights and 2x R64P curve, Track power feeder, P40L and P40R as seperate switches?

5: Lastly, can you show us some better/close up pictures of the now already beloved P40 switches?

Thanks for your time already! I hope with my questions a lot of solid information might come out of it for the rest of the users in this group who also take great interest in the New Fx Track System. 

Kind regards,

MellonHead. 

[Modeltrainman]

Will the new wires that feed power to the track be compatible with my original 9V track?

[michaelgale]

@MellonHead Thanks for your great questions!  Here are my responses using the best information I have at this time (Nov 30, 2021):

1. Bogie Colours - Clearly, black is the desired colour for the motor bogie so that it is consistent with the legacy of LEGO train motor products for the past 40 years.  However, we are open to alternative mold colours for the motor bogie.  We predict that Red, Light Bluish Grey, and Dark Bluish Grey would be welcomed by most fans.  I haven't thought about Dark Red, but it is also a good suggestion--perhaps also Dark Brown since LEGO do produce a cosmetic sideframe element in this colour already.

2. Wheel Geometry - You are correct that our wheels will be rigidly mounted to their axles at the precise "back-to-back" gauge for L-Gauge.  Power pickup is primarily through the wheel tread contact with the rail head top surface (reinforced by gravity) as well as occasional side contact with the flanges.  There will be no rubber tires or other superfluous grip features since it is mostly not required, interferes with reliable electrical contact, contaminates the track, and doesn't look aesthetically pleasing.  I have tried pure steel driven wheels on LEGO track and it works the same as other model train scales which almost all use direct metal wheel to metal track contact.  You will get wheel slip if you apply too much acceleration--just like the real thing and other model train scales.  Once you get the hang of driving trains "properly" with more discipline (i.e. no "foot-to-the-floor" drag races!), it will perform no different than "tire-assisted" wheelsets.

3. Fx Motor Bogie Wheels - The wheels for our motor bogie are NOT interchangeable.  They are custom turned wheels with a precise profile.  They are designed to mount semi-permanently to our axles at the precise back to back gauge and for optimal contact with phosphor-bronze electrical contact strips.  If we were to allow user interchangeable wheels, this would likely lead to improper mounting at the wrong gauge and potentially damage the electrical contacts and internal gearing.  Furthermore, there are no alternative wheels which are compatible with our motor bogie which a user could substitute anyway.  Alternative/standalone wheelsets will come in the future, but only after we have established a reliable family of integrated motor drive products.

4. Prices - Sadly, it is not possible to release pricing for these products at this time.  This is not because of competitive or intentional secrecy, it is simply because the two main components of our costs (manufacturing and shipping) are totally unpredictable and very likely to change by the time we're ready to put them into the shop.  We have already seen alarming increases in both these areas over the last 8 months.  When we ship manufactured product to both Germany and Canada, it would normally ship via sea container.  However, sea container rates have spiked to 4x-6x over the last year with delivery commitments of many many months.  As a result, we have sent some of our consignments via air freight at considerably higher rates.  You will also notice that we have not adjusted our prices higher to compensate, rather we have absorbed the costs with the expectation that global shipping will eventually sort itself out.  Therefore, any prediction we make on pricing now will likely not be valid by the time it is available retail.  Rest assured, we do our best to price our products as best as we can and our prices do reflect the contribution of costs from all sources: materials, manufacturing, labour, quality assurance, packaging, documentation, certification, shipping, wholesale margins, etc.  

5. P40 Details - These will come very very soon.  I am waiting to receive several engineering samples from manufacturing any day now.  My team in Hong Kong have already been evaluating the P40 switch and are routinely in contact with the manufacturers with feedback and changes.  Based on what I have seen so far, the P40 switches are going to be well worth waiting for!  They look gorgeous and their mechanical performance is outstanding.  I'll be sure to take HD photos and video to showcase these switches both statically and in operation.  Stay tuned!

[michaelgale]

@Modeltrainman Yes, I can confirm that our new track power feeder product will be compatible with your LEGO brand 9V track.  Our feeder product is designed to be a form-fit-function replacement of the original LEGO brand feeder element.  It is designed to make side contact with the rail at the locations with a vertical relief channel and adjacent to notch cutouts in the rail for wire passthrough.  Our track feeder element makes a few improvements over the LEGO brand product in the following ways:

1. Enhanced clearance - our feeder sits at/below rail height within 2 studs of the rail.  This means steam train wheels, coupling rods, valve gear, cosmetic bogie elements, etc. will not interfere with the track power feeder.

2. Smaller footprint - our feeder occupies a 2x3 stud footprint rather than a 2x4 footprint.  This will give an extra stud of clearance either side of the track right-of-way.  

3. Better wire - we will be using high quality PVC stranded wire which will not be vulnerable to the disintegration observed with the rubberized wire coating of the LEGO brand power feeders

I'm waiting to receive some fully assembled prototypes to verify performance and hopefully we will be able to green-light production very soon.  The other critical item we need to verify is our new 9V compatible power connector element.  This element forms the basis of our entirely new Fx Power System--more details about this new system will be released in future; suffice to say, the aim is to offer a complete system of electrical products, accessories, control systems, etc.  All interconnection is designed to be achieved with the versatile 2x2 conductive/stacking connector.  Not only will this support legacy LEGO 9V components, but also indirectly Power Functions components with the PF extension wire.  More importantly, we want to give this simple, yet elegant and versatile electrical connector an opportunity to shine and live up to its full potential.  

[Modeltrainman]

@michaelgale Glad to hear it! I'm still using LEGO's 9V track for legacy trains, but also use PF, PU, and it'd be nice to replace the track feeders, and as you've hinted, maybe use PF/PU electrically.

[Black Knight]

Oh my. JB-Spielwaren has the R72 as EOL / none left.

[Jeffinslaw]

6 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Oh my. JB-Spielwaren has the R72 as EOL / none left.

It's definitely not end of life, just out of stock.

[michaelgale]

@Black Knight @Jeffinslaw  Yes, the R72 is absolutely not end of life!  :)  JBS has run out of stock, but we do have inventory remaining in our Canadian store and in Hong Kong.  For EU customers who urgently require R72 tracks, you can purchase them from our main store (https://shop.fxbricks.com); however, be advised that the shipping cost will be higher and you will likely have to pay VAT + customs flat rate handling fees when the product is imported.  We are currently in discussion with JBS about their inventory requirements for next few months, so hopefully we will able to provide them with more R72 tracks soon.  This will likely coincide with the availability of the R56 and R104 tracks since they will likely go into production (hopefully) next week; meaning that we may receive them as early as Jan 2022 for onward distribution in Feb/Mar 2022.  We'll keep you posted as we learn more.  

[Hamster]

Nice to hear about R56 and R104, because they are a little bit later than anounced.

[Black Knight]

8 hours ago, michaelgale said:

@Black Knight @Jeffinslaw  Yes, the R72 is absolutely not end of life!  :)  JBS has run out of stock, but we do have inventory remaining in our Canadian store and in Hong Kong.  For EU customers who urgently require R72 tracks, you can purchase them from our main store (https://shop.fxbricks.com); however, be advised that the shipping cost will be higher and you will likely have to pay VAT + customs flat rate handling fees when the product is imported.  We are currently in discussion with JBS about their inventory requirements for next few months, so hopefully we will able to provide them with more R72 tracks soon.  This will likely coincide with the availability of the R56 and R104 tracks since they will likely go into production (hopefully) next week; meaning that we may receive them as early as Jan 2022 for onward distribution in Feb/Mar 2022.  We'll keep you posted as we learn more.  

Well, your online shop tells me that tracks "can’t be shipped to your address". But I'd guess that the package from Canada will not arrive in Germany on time for Christmas anyway. Bummer.

[michaelgale]

@Black Knight Oh...I guess our shop's business logic is trying protect EU customers from buying track from Canada!   I'll have to see if I can untangle the R72 and permit sales to all regions.  We have contract shipping with DHL so we could get track to Germany by Christmas--but it might be crazy expensive.  

@Black Knight + anyone else:  if you urgently require R72 track, PM me directly -- it will be easier if I manually create a draft order in the shop with actual shipping costs including options to use DHL Worldwide Express (it looks like 1 box of track will cost approx. $45 CAD for DHL WPX to Germany--usually 3-4 days delivery)

[fhurlbrink]

How will the switches be operated? The original Lego switches use a yellow lever for that. Will there be an equivalent for the Fx Switches?

Edited December 13, 2021 by fhurlbrink

[SpokaneSteve]

Hello all:

I have been recently emerging from a second "dark age".  I am extremely excited to see Mr. Gale bringing these excellent products to market. The chance to run a true DCC train will be fantastic.  I for one- can't wait to see the power bogies come out and to see how they will integrate with DCC decoders and speakers.  

Running sound on model trains really brings them to life.

Thank you Mr. Gale - I am waiting any new scraps of news!

Steve.

[Matt Dawson]

On 12/13/2021 at 4:24 PM, fhurlbrink said:

How will the switches be operated? The original Lego switches use a yellow lever for that. Will there be an equivalent for the Fx Switches?

I'd personally hope they would opt for the BrickTracks approach of a reversible rotating switch mechanism that can be mounted either side of the turnout.

[legotownlinz]

10 hours ago, Matt Dawson said:

I'd personally hope they would opt for the BrickTracks approach of a reversible rotating switch mechanism that can be mounted either side of the turnout.

But it should be more robust and have a better haptic feedback (latching). The idea of the BrickTracks approach is good, but the actual implementation is disappointing.

[Vilhelm22]

To keep with the whole model railway idea, I can practically guarantee a motor will be easily available for the points..