Alternative brick track

[jburgt]

For my grandson, I developed a simple brick track. I want to print it with my 3D printer. Although the measurements are familiar, it’s not compatible with the common L-gauge tracks. The width is 8 studs, the room between the rails is 37,6mm and the free wheelbase is 3mm. The sleepers are 1 stud broad with an empty room of also one stud. 
While the joints differ at each side, the sleepers don't make a 2x8 stud form.

The main difference with normal L-gauge track is the underside. It's a solid. To connect them to a plywood board, I will use some nails or screws. My printer is of course a one color printer, so the track is in grey.

[M_slug357]

Interesting, but why?

[jburgt]

30 minutes ago, M_slug357 said:

Interesting, but why?

To get curved tracks with a greater radius, it was of course possible to buy some tracks from other firms, but for me it is easy to make my own stuff. 

[legotownlinz]

One-stud-wide ties are an optical improvement. But you'll need switches, which will be more complex to develop. With ballast plates (e.g. from TrixBrix) and one-wide tiles you could get a similar look using existing parts.

I wonder if Lego will ever redesign their dated tracks. There's so much room for improvement. And if they make dual-molded tracks they would outclass the compitition.

 

 

 

[jburgt]

34 minutes ago, legotownlinz said:

One-stud-wide ties are an optical improvement. But you'll need switches, which will be more complex to develop. With ballast plates (e.g. from TrixBrix) and one-wide tiles you could get a similar look using existing parts.

I wonder if Lego will ever redesign their dated tracks. There's so much room for improvement. And if they make dual-molded tracks they would outclass the compitition.

 

 

 

For my grandson a ballast plate isn’t necessary. I made some plywood modules with these tracks on it. Easy to connect and to store. And yeah of course a switch is more difficult to develop. But we will see.

[cptkent]

At first I thought “that’s going to be a garden layout part” - and it still could be. I like your idea.

[jburgt]

49 minutes ago, cptkent said:

At first I thought “that’s going to be a garden layout part” - and it still could be. I like your idea.

When you print it in PLA plastic it would be warping on a hot summer day. Not such a good idea. Inside the circumstances are better. Or I could print it in ABS.

[cptkent]

1 hour ago, jburgt said:

When you print it in PLA plastic it would be warping on a hot summer day. Not such a good idea. Inside the circumstances are better. Or I could print it in ABS.

I'm not sure what materials work best outside. I think a simplified track piece such as this, less prone to getting dirt and debris stuck in it, would be great outdoors.

[Black Knight]

On 10/7/2021 at 6:17 PM, M_slug357 said:

Interesting, but why?

Vendor lock-in! Pure genius to make your grandson depend solely on you.

But on a little more serious thought: Ausini has tracks with 1-stud wide sleepers for quite a while -- but afaik you only get S16 and R40 elements there. And if you don't care about compatibility with L-gauge anyway, then there is the Märklin 29730: A H0 train set where you build with bricks atop H0 bogies -- and it's even track powered and of course motorized.

For me personally, your approach breaks compatibility too hard: It is of course much easier to design things that are free of any existing constraints, so I understand the fun in taking a green field approach. I just think that in the long run you decouple your world from everything else. Any innovation or work done by 3rd parties will pass your system by. And in our world of specialization and division of labor this will hit your system pretty hard: Both in terms of cost and novelty. If this is just a toy for a couple of years, this is fine. If it's your personal hobby, this is also fine. But I am not sure, that if this becomes your grandson's own hobby, he will be happy in the long run with your decision.

[jburgt]

14 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

Vendor lock-in! Pure genius to make your grandson depend solely on you.

But on a little more serious thought: Ausini has tracks with 1-stud wide sleepers for quite a while -- but afaik you only get S16 and R40 elements there. And if you don't care about compatibility with L-gauge anyway, then there is the Märklin 29730: A H0 train set where you build with bricks atop H0 bogies -- and it's even track powered and of course motorized.

For me personally, your approach breaks compatibility too hard: It is of course much easier to design things that are free of any existing constraints, so I understand the fun in taking a green field approach. I just think that in the long run you decouple your world from everything else. Any innovation or work done by 3rd parties will pass your system by. And in our world of specialization and division of labor this will hit your system pretty hard: Both in terms of cost and novelty. If this is just a toy for a couple of years, this is fine. If it's your personal hobby, this is also fine. But I am not sure, that if this becomes your grandson's own hobby, he will be happy in the long run with your decision.

To couple this track to standard track, e.g. a point, only a small conversion part is needed. But as you say, it’s only for private. 

[zephyr1934]

5 hours ago, jburgt said:

To couple this track to standard track, e.g. a point, only a small conversion part is needed. But as you say, it’s only for private. 

Exactly that... but if you don't need to maintain 32 stud baseplate continuity, you can even lay the track out with a half stud gap to make the transition without an adaptor.