A Layout in Three Eras - 4.5v, 9v and 12v - Three Loops Complete

[GoHabsGo]

Great build !

[Vilhelm22]

Another fantastic expansion to the layout!  Are we able to see multiple modules together or is this not possible with the amount of space you have?

[Andy Glascott]

1 hour ago, Vilhelm22 said:

Another fantastic expansion to the layout!  Are we able to see multiple modules together or is this not possible with the amount of space you have?

Thank you. I'll be setting them all up next weekend at our LUG's show so will take pics of all 9 modules together then. Events are typically the only time I can put it all together.

 

Edited January 27 by Andy Glascott

[zephyr1934]

On 1/25/2024 at 8:55 PM, Andy Glascott said:

Looks amazing!

[Andy Glascott]

Thank you @zephyr1934

[Electricsteam]

This an an absolutely amazing layout and I am blown away by the time and attention to detail you've put into this set!   So great seeing it at every show ya bring it to!    

Seeing it in person is a treat as always with yesterday show :) 

- Bear/Tyler 

 

Ya should share the photos of it from the event! Actually who was taking photos for the LUG? Haha

 

[Andy Glascott]

Thanks @Electricsteam, I took so,e pics yesterday and will sort through them and get them posted by tomorrow evening. 

[Andy Glascott]

Ok, photo update! I had the whole layout at my LUGs show on Saturday, the first time I've seen all nine completed modules together, so yes, I took pics! I had hoped to stitch some together to make a single image with the whole thing from the front but that didn't work out, so here are the 4 pics that would have made that image up:

(I'm hoping at this size they'll come out side by side...)

These two show the full layout from either end/corner on:

And then a few pics of different areas/angles:

There are a couple of other images over on Flickr too. I hope you enjoy the images, it's been a fun build so far, with a bit of luck the whole thing might be finished for Brickfair VA in August. Of 2026!

Edited February 6 by Andy Glascott
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[Murdoch17]

Here, let me find my jaw as I seem to have dropped it!

This is absolutely amazing... mere words do not do it justice.

I will say I love the castle with a train track running through it!

[Andy Glascott]

Thanks @Murdoch17. I’ve found that working on a section at a time has really helped me focus on getting things like that right, it went through a few changes when I first built it and then again after a couple of shows. 

[GoHabsGo]

I'm in love with this layout !

[zephyr1934]

That looks amazing altogether, as if you broke into the lego photo studios in the middle of the 1980's

[Andy Glascott]

Ok, sorry for the delay with the latest update, but I have been busy! I've completed 2 more modules, and with that closed the loop on the 12v city section. Here's the map of the completed sections, I've taken the upper level track out to make it easier to see the lower level loops as the upper one crosses the lower ones in several places. 

Module 11 is the 4th of the city modules, with mostly official modular city sets but I did add a MOC "Pink House", which my 5 yo daughter loves! 

02

The Signal Box took a few rebuilds before I was happy with a design, the street scene is fairly straightforward. 

01

Module 12 is centered around a beach and is at the back of the layout, so won't always be easy to see at shows and so on, but it was a lot of fun to build, particularly as I lowered the wooden frame for a 6 baseplate area so the beach and sea are actually lower than the land!

And here it is in lower light with the 12v light bricks making their presence known! 

Lastly, the beach itself. I've seen water done in several different ways, all very impressive, but on the basis I already had a vast amount of trans light blue round 1x1 plates from a previous project I decided that was the way to go for this on. 

And with those two modules complete, and the 4.5v and 12v lower level loops complete, it will be on to the 9v loop next! It'll be a while though as I need to make the legs and frame to display all this on next... 

 

 

Edited September 30 by Andy Glascott
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[Legownz]

Honestly, this is one of my favorite projects on Train Tech and I'm loving following all the updates. These two modules look awesome! That S-curve station platform is *particularly* impressive! And I love that orange and black train on the upper level!

[Andy Glascott]

Thank you @Legownz, it's nice to know people are  enjoying the thread when posts are only every few months. The orange and black train is based on locos and coaches from Ireland, the coaches were built 10+ years ago along with the orange and black loco on the lower level, the mainly black loco I built earlier this year and needs a period accurate (1960s) set of coaches to go with it... 

[zephyr1934]

The warm glow of the 12v light bricks... ahhh... and it is all looking fantastic

[jeanclaude]

Bonjour, je redécouvre les lego grace à mes petits enfants et souhaite créer un circuit ferroviaire conséquent. J'ai connu la loco à moteur avec le pack de 3 piles de 4.5 V dans le tandem, j'ai acheté un train d'actualité avec la technologie RC en 9 V toujours à piles.

Hors je vois dans ce forum qu'il existe des rails electriques similaires aux trains electriques jouef ou des rails electriques posés entre les rails porteurs. Par contre je ne connais pas leurs appellations et je n'en trouve pas dans le commerce.

Pas plus que les moteurs qui vont avec.

Je trouve dommage que lego ait abandonné ce systéme d'alimentation, c'est contraignant les packs de piles, cela limite la puissance.. Pleins d'inconvenients saut certainement le prix.

Quelqu'un saurait me dire quel mot clé je dois taper pour avoir les infos pour s'en approvisionner ?

Merci du retour.

[Toastie]

16 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

The warm glow of the 12v light bricks... ahhh... and it is all looking fantastic

Oh yes ... "Technic" 4.5V lights can do the same magic - and match very well with the 4.5V train section ...

@Andy Glascott: This is so incredibly nice. I have copied your pictures, enlarged them and just sat there and enjoyed every detail ... 

All the best,
Thorsten

[Andy Glascott]

@jeanclaude Welcome to Eurobricks! We're all happy to help wherever we can, but my French is poor and Google translate didn't do a great job with your post, so I hope my reply is helpful.

Lego no longer make train tracks that are electrically powered, all their current trains are battery powered. All of my trains date from the 1970s to the 1990s... There is a network of Lego User Groups around the world, FreeLug is based in France and would be happy to help you out as well - https://www.freelug.org/

@Toastie Thank you. I have a few of the 4.5v lights and will be using them and some trans orange and red bricks to add some seasonal glow to the 4.5v section when I set it up for Halloween next month.

[jeanclaude]

Thank you for this information

[trucks3]

On 5/3/2022 at 9:36 PM, Andy Glascott said:

The first section, the 4.5v era is complete! Well, almost, but enough to show last Saturday at Ashland Train Day in Ashland, VA as part of the Richmond VA LUG. And by almost, I mean the top of the third module is flexible space that can be adapted depending on the show/event, so will be remodeled from time to time. Anyway, on to the pics and a video. 

The whole 4.5v layout complete for the first time, during set-up last Saturday.

4.5v layout by andyglascott, on Flickr

And video of it all in action. It turns out the clutch power on a 40-ish year old battery car is a bit suspect, the lid kept popping off, hence the rubber band to keep it in place on the day. It'll be clear tape next time.

4.5v layout by andyglascott, on Flickr

This module doesn't have a lot of detail, just a lot of mountain as it is also one end of the elevated 12v loop that is part of the overall project. I might play with the tunnel entrances a bit over the summer to dress them up a bit. 

Tunnel Entrance by andyglascott, on Flickr

The top can be repurposed, but will be used each Halloween to dispense candy both at home on the day of and at our church Trunk or Treat, and by October will have more detail to it, but can also easily be turned into a lake or other feature. The conveyor does work, and was fitted only a day or two before the show.

There are a couple more pics and 2 more short videos over on Flickr. I've got a lot on over the next 6 weeks or so, so I suspect work on the 12v section won't start of a couple of months, but putting this together has been a joy. 

Ashland OH? 

-Trucks3 (a guy)

[Andy Glascott]

Nope, Ashland, VA @trucks3 And wow, I'd forgotten the original design of that section with the ineffective candy conveyor for Halloween, now replaced with a castle that can have a ramp added for candy distribution.