German 2-axle cargo wagons (xmas!)

[XG BC]

Hello guys! Today Like to present my wagons that i have built over the last few months. they are all based on trix- express models since these are older and pack in just the right amount of detail to be built with lego.

first are some hoppers. from left to right: rhein-kies,DB brown, donau-kies and DB red.

next are some tankers in various colors: a grey vtg one and a yellow shell one. the other colors i dont know the companies of.

next are two boxcars: a classic brown one and a white one for things that needed to be kept cold. these have a cab for a brakeman to sit/stand in and well...brake the train.

next are silowagons in various colors

next is a special kind of wagon: a klappdeckelwagen. this one included lids that where able to be opened similar to a modern wheely bin. like the boxcars it also has a cab for a brakeman.

and finally there are the "von haus zu haus" wagons which where basically the precursor to the modern 40ft container cars. these standardized containers where able to be transported either on these wagons or on special lorrys that brought them to the companies that needed the goods. hope you like my wagons!

added a 4-axle variant of my 2-axled hopper wagons:

now that it is (almost) christmas here is a christmas themed wagon based on my flatbed car with brake cab:

i got inspired by the winter holiday train but wanted a more "realistic" variant. this one also has more moving features in that not only the christmas tree spins but also a christmas pyramid (click here for more info on that). each spinning motion is driven by an individual pair of wheels with bevel gears. the weels are not linked together

Edited December 17, 2021 by XG BC

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wow lovely wagons ...very nice fleet!

[XG BC]

thank you!

[zephyr1934]

Looking good.

Meanwhile, I've always wondered about those brakeman cabs. They really add a neat feature to the cars but growing up in the US I never learned how they were used. Would they only be at the end of a train like cabooses in the US, or would they be anywhere in the train? Would there be just one occupied cab per train? Since the cab is tied to the car, would there typically be more cabs in a train than the number that needed to be occupied?

[Ropefish]

Nice and simple, good work.

[Frank STENGEL]

30 minutes ago, zephyr1934 said:

Meanwhile, I've always wondered about those brakeman cabs. They really add a neat feature to the cars but growing up in the US I never learned how they were used. Would they only be at the end of a train like cabooses in the US, or would they be anywhere in the train? Would there be just one occupied cab per train? Since the cab is tied to the car, would there typically be more cabs in a train than the number that needed to be occupied?

As far as I can tell a train could have more than one of these cars with brakehouses/brakeperson: they whould be placed around heavy/brakeless cars. They were quite frequent in the times before compressed air brakes.

[XG BC]

1 hour ago, zephyr1934 said:

Looking good.

Meanwhile, I've always wondered about those brakeman cabs. They really add a neat feature to the cars but growing up in the US I never learned how they were used. Would they only be at the end of a train like cabooses in the US, or would they be anywhere in the train? Would there be just one occupied cab per train? Since the cab is tied to the car, would there typically be more cabs in a train than the number that needed to be occupied?

yes there would be multiple ones. i dont know for shure how many though. some narrow gauge trains also had a system where a steel cable would run along the entirety of the train to facilitate braking. but after the advent of air brakes this system and the brake cabs dissapeared. some cars still ran with them though nobody was in them as far as i know and they where converted to air brakes.

[zephyr1934]

Thanks for the info, fascinating stuff.

 

Meanwhile, back to the builds. I see you used round plates instead of round bricks for many of your tanks. Was that simply because you liked the more regular pattern of stud notches? Or was it color availability? It is definitely more visually interesting than bricks would look, but I bet it adds a ton of weight.

[Paperinik77pk]

Great wagons - very colorful! I love the brown "klappdeckelwagen"!!! 

[XG BC]

5 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

Thanks for the info, fascinating stuff.

 

Meanwhile, back to the builds. I see you used round plates instead of round bricks for many of your tanks. Was that simply because you liked the more regular pattern of stud notches? Or was it color availability? It is definitely more visually interesting than bricks would look, but I bet it adds a ton of weight.

i used plates because bricks are not available in 6 wide as far as i know. yea true weight is a bit of an issue but it is not like i am going to build 50 of them and make a long train. my goal is more to go with shorter mixed wagon trains so weight isnt really an issue here + i bet some 8 wide model of the cars weighs more.

[zephyr1934]

Doh! That's right, not much in six-wide bricks. The 1x2, 2x2 and 2x4 curved slopes can be built into 6 wide cylinders, that simply trades the dashed stud holes for straight lines on the face of the cylinder. There is one nice 6 wide part though that could work for tank cars, as I think has been done in several sets,

[XG BC]

now added an xmas themed car!

[Brickwolf]

Nice freight cars, especially the boxcar and the flat car!