Rounded Train Tunnel

[Yoggington]

I wanted to share some images of a tunnel facade I've been working on.

 

It is for a standalone display in my home, and built to fit the Cargo Train 60198.

Tunnel clearance

 

They are built as a pair. Some colours need changing out, will pick those up next time I am using bricklink. I'm not sure about the keystone, but the left version will do for now.

Tunnel front facade

 

The rounded effect is created using 1x2 rounded plates as seen below. In terms of alignment, this will result in the tunnel having an odd-count stud width, as an even-count messes with the radius. While I have not tried it, this theoretically means it will work at any odd-count width, so you could boost the width if you had wider trains, or wanted to place it at a curve.

Consequently, you will need to offset the entire structure by one half-stud.

Tunnel backend

[Feuer Zug]

Excellent design. I love the use of the rounded plates to create the arch structure and attach the decorative elements to the face of the tunnel. Your use of various rounded tiles and the ingot pieces provides the relief that makes it believable. I must ask, would it be possible to substitute 1x3 regular plates at the top of the arch to extend it to an even number of studs? It looks like you would only need 3x plates to do so. You could even use 1x1 plates to fill the gaps. If you wanted to retain the keystone piece, a 1x3 jumper with 2 studs should suffice there. If you're building an older tunnel for a branch line or in England, the current radius is perfect for the loading gauge. Brick On!

[Yoggington]

9 minutes ago, Feuer Zug said:

I must ask, would it be possible to substitute 1x3 regular plates at the top of the arch to extend it to an even number of studs?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here, a diagram might help?

I would have preferred an even width tunnel overall. The issue arises because of the internal arch radius. The arch made up of the 1x2s only aligns snugly with the arch pieces at an odd width. If the 2x3 plate between the arch pieces is extended to be a 2x4, then the 1x2 arch will either be overlong, or undersized - either way it won't sit snugly against the arch pieces.

[ColletArrow]

That does look fantastic! I don't think we see much railway infrastructure on here, but using the rounded plates within the arch is simply genious, and creates a really neat appearance with the arch stonework. I think the keystone is pretty good as it is too, I can't think what else you could put there. Good work!

[Pendra37]

To make it even, just replace the three dead center 1x2s with 1x3 plates. The connecting 1x2s on the left and right are almost horizontal at that point. There should be no issue changing 1x2s to 1x3s. After the change there will be 2 gaps between the 1x3s. There just put a round 1x1. Hm, now that I check it again, maybe you can't replace the front 1x2 with a 1x3 because the arch's elements there are not 100% vertical. There I would either try to use some technic thin liftarm or put 3x 1x1 round to hold the center piece.  
Making it even helps a lot with the general usage and line up with other stuff. 

Also you may want to rethink the top ornament. Currently it looks like a spider's head with eyes, fangs, everything. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Pendra37

[zephyr1934]

That looks really nice and I would agree with Pendra37 about replacing the middle plates to get it to an even number.

[Yoggington]

Aha, I understand the thoughts on evening it out now. My fault, I haven't really explained it correctly.

Firstly the current fix. The tunnel is only a facade, so it can be attached to whatever hill/stonework you like, with jumper plates underneath, and on top; using a connection something like the below:

Nextly, the actual issue. It's not quite as simple as bunging an extra stud into the connection.

When I say it doesn't align, I mean at the red point highlighted.

Sure you can add an extra stud, but this creates a gap (green) that is snugly sealed in an odd count width. Once the front is applied, you end up with parts of the internal arch pulling away from the external arch (yellow compared to blue). Further, this is not even accounting for the pink areas - if you don't start in the centre and work outwards, you will end up with non-symmetric heights on the frontage.

So for now, offsetting by a half-stud will do.

[BananaBrick01]

Loving the grey ingots for the lower brickwork - looks fantastic.

[JopieK]

Great tutorial-style post @Yoggington. Those rounded plates are really really handy for such and many other Train and non-Train applications!

[Pendra37]

This is what I meant: 1x3 in the middle.

You shift everything 1 stud to the side. Both the arch and the 1x2 chain. This means you should not have any alignment problems.

[Feuer Zug]

56 minutes ago, Pendra37 said:

This is what I meant: 1x3 in the middle.

You shift everything 1 stud to the side. Both the arch and the 1x2 chain. This means you should not have any alignment problems.

@Pendra37 You rock. This is exactly what I was trying to suggest. I didn't know how to explain it better, and don't have enough round plates to make it happen in real. I bow before your Stud.io (or LDD) capabilties.

4 hours ago, Yoggington said:

Thanks for the breakdown view of how you accomplished this. I really like it even more now that I see behind the decorative facade. Your design is superb.

[Yoggington]

Aha, thanks @Pendra37, I see what you mean now. If I get a wider train I'll give it a spin.

 

I'll have to get some tips around using angles in stud.io too - anything off grid seems to go haywire for me.

[Gray Gear]

Looks amazing! I really like the way the stone wall on the bottom looks.

Do you give all your bricks a little bite before placing them on the MOC? Normally damaged bricks, especially ones with bitemarks look really bad, but here it actually looks not that bad :o

[Yoggington]

54 minutes ago, Gray Gear said:

Do you give all your bricks a little bite before placing them on the MOC? Normally damaged bricks, especially ones with bitemarks look really bad, but here it actually looks not that bad :o

Hah, no. Just 40 year old bricks passed through many sibling's hands (and mouths). I figured some old stonework was a good place for them, rather than some shiny new building in the town.

[icemorons]

For the keystone piece, as others have said, it looks odd.   Most keystones taper inwards towards the bottom.  Perhaps just rotate the current keystone by 180 degrees?  That way the tapered end is at the bottom.  Those two exposed studs would then be at the top, perfect for attaching some sort of sign or decoration.