ARTICLE: Ten Terrific Train Links

[WesternOutlaw]

Ten Terrific Train Links

Beneficial Community Resources for Every Lego Train Fan

A Lego Train Article by TheBrickster

Whether you are thinking about purchasing your first Lego Train or you're a long-time Lego Train collector, here are a number of very useful community resources for all Lego Train fans.

1. Have you ever wondered where Lego Train fans get those fantastic little trains they use in their signatures? Yes, the ones that look like little bitmap graphics. Herby's New Lego Train Depot is the place to go. Whether you're a fan of blue-era, grey-era, or 9V trains, the Train Depot has got them all. The latest addition is the new Power Functions Emerald Night with its tan and brown passenger wagon. Trains are sorted by era, then by number, and even trackside building are included. No train fan should do without a collection of their favorite train bitmaps!

_{New Lego Train Depot}

2. For owners of the first 10,000 limited edition Santa Fe Super Chiefs, don't forget to stop bye the Santa Fe Train Engine Registry, provided by the North Georgia Lego Train Club (NGLTC). Owners of this first wave of fantastic train engines received an exclusive 1x2 tile containing the set number. You can provide the set number, your name, and location in the registry to help determine the owner of each exclusive set.

_{Santa Fe Train Engine Registry}

3. Having trouble designing your track layout? Never fear. There's a program that will help you design different layouts. The Train Depot's Track Designer 2.0 is an awesome little program that enables users to lay out digital track and baseplates to make sure that their track will connect to the other end. Other elements including roadplates are also contained within the program. Fortunately, Track Designer 2.0 works with most operating systems. HINT: just don't rename your file folder once installed.

_{Track Designer}

4. The Train Depot (old site from NGLTC) also provides an abundance of track plans from a basic oval to advanced layouts. This site/page is an excellent resource for viewing pre-designed Lego track designs.

_{Train Depot Track Plans}

5. Want the official train resource from Lego Shop at Home? Lego Factory Hobby Trains provides a nice resource that includes the "Basics of Train Building", fan created train models, train terminology, real-life train models for building inspiration, as well as a Lego Train Timeline (although not all Lego Trains are listed).

_{Lego SAH Hobby Trains}

6. Interested in more of the technical aspects of Lego Trains? Railbricks is a brick railroading magazine that provides an abundance of train-related articles. The magazine includes interviews with outstanding train builders, train instructions, and even spotlights various models from the Lego Train community. Issue #5 is the latest edition as of May 11, 2009. Printed copies of the electronic magazine can be purchased at a price of $12.50 (USD) plus shipping.

_Railbricks

7. While some of the most current Lego Train news had always been provided by the International Lego Train Club Organization (ILTCO), a great place to stay current with train information, the site is not as active as it once was. It does; however, still provide periodic news and information, and posts news from LUGNET.Trains.

_ILTCO

8. Most Lego fans are familiar with Lugnet, and Lugnet.Trains is an excellent resource for train fans. Messages include MOCs, news, and a variety of train topics; from getting started with Lego Trains to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The site has a good Search Engine if you're looking for a specific topic.

_{Lugnet.Trains}

9. Wikipedia Lego Train, a free Internet dictionary article provides the history of Lego Trains from the 1966 "Blue Era" to the new 2009 Power Functions system. The article also has a number of useful links for Lego Train fans.

_{Wikipedia-Lego Train}

10. The latest resource for Lego Train fans can be found right here on Eurobricks and is called Train Tech. While currently just in its infancy/developmental phase, Train Tech will provide a comprehensive resource for Lego Train fans including the latest MOCs from the Lego community, "hot topics on trains", articles from expert train builders, as well as news from the Train community. You can even help Eurobricks Train Tech by providing a train article and sharing it in the Trains & Town Forum.

_{Train Tech}

I hope you enjoy these train resources! And if you don't own a Lego Train, visit Lego Shop at Home (LSAH) and order the Emerald Night, the most beautiful and skillfully designed Lego Train to date.

[Bartram]

Thanks for the awesome article, Brickster! I've always wondered where those trains came from!

[WesternOutlaw]

I've always wondered where those trains came from!

Excellent! I see that you've added one. I'm glad the link helped. The Train Depot is one of my favorite train sites. It offers quite a bit for train fans.

[Stash2Sixx]

Thanks Brickster. This is an excellent reference for us.

[Rijkvv]

I discovered an useful page about inclines for trains:

http://www.ngltc.org/train_depot/inclines.htm