-R8-

MOC: Elevated Rail

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Hello everyone,

I have recently begun work on creating my own Town layout.

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It's currently empty, for the most part :blush:

Part of the reason for that is I have been primarily thinking about and designing its layout on the computer. I anticipate on being able to transport this to conventions, so the entire design of the city will be modular.

It will be placed on an area that's 30 in. by 60 in., covered with eighteen 32x32 standard green baseplates. Here's the blueprint, created in BlueBrick:

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The red bars indicate where the roads will go.

Around the perimeter of the layout will run an oval track. However, in order to accommodate for more road space, I decided to make the rail layout completely elevated.

I used a number of reference pictures of the New York City subway system, in which above ground subway tracks are common outside of Manhattan. http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29905

My goal was to create an elevated track that would be strong enough to support a train going at full speed, but still easy enough to disassemble. I chose to just keep it simple:

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The track is elevated by 2x2 brick pillars, which I plan on spacing out every segment of track. Two stud width plates connect the pillars across the street, and provide a place for the track to rest on. 4x10 plates were attached to the sides of the track to allow the side railings to be connected, as well as for a little bit of "greebling."

I also want to place these on the underside of all the straight track to give more of that "urban" feeling to it.

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The roads are entirely brick made. I didn't really like how the road baseplates looked, and they also would have made integrating the modularity somewhat more difficult. The roads are just wide enough for standard four-wide vehicles to pass through. To my luck, the road fits perfectly in the 12 stud width space allocated for it. :wub:

Having the track above the road also allows me to attach things like traffic lights and street signs from the top. I feel though as if the space is still a bit empty - is there more that I should add to it?

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I really like how the train looks while on the tracks. The side railings might look a little low though - what do you all think?

I have yet to think about how this will work on curved track.

Comments and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. I wanted to get some input from some of the people here before I go and make a large Bricklink order, so your posts will be of valuable insight. :thumbup:

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Really like the look/greebling and the idea of a 100% elevated track. I have tossed around the idea more than once, and had my share of failures, usually at the connection points. Would be curious if the (2) 1x4s on the top of the 2X2s will not be a failure point, collapsing in, wasn't clear if this has been tested. Best of luck, and will be interested in seeing the completed layout.

Very cool!!

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for sure it looks nice! but are you sure that there is enough width clearance with those fences? if you plan to run the emerald, I'm quite sure it could get struck.

for that "weak point" you can use 2x16 plates instead of the two 2x4, making the rail stay on a stronger "bed".

I'm waiting for some update too!

have a nice train lego day

mrBlue

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You're off to a good start. I too tried to make an elevated rail. I used the 2x2x10 girders that Tearloch33 recommended. For a home layout elevated rail is nice. As for making it to shows, I only brought my elevated to one show and never again. BUT if you come up with a way to make it modular and nice looking I may have to try again. Speaking of trying, here is my old topic on my elevated. It might help you with making your curves.

Making Curved Track Look Better

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Thank you all for commenting!

Would be curious if the (2) 1x4s on the top of the 2X2s will not be a failure point, collapsing in, wasn't clear if this has been tested.

I've found that the modified 8x8 grille plate actually works pretty well to reinforce that area, I tried applying a fair amount of force with my hand to the area and it didn't seem to budge. On the contrary, on the side where there was no grille plate to reinforce it, the columns did start to cave in.

for sure it looks nice! but are you sure that there is enough width clearance with those fences? if you plan to run the emerald, I'm quite sure it could get struck.

for that "weak point" you can use 2x16 plates instead of the two 2x4, making the rail stay on a stronger "bed".

The subway that I plan on running on it is a six-stud wide train, so it should be able to make it. If worse comes to worst, then the grille tiles and plates on the side can always be rearranged to move the fence out further and accommodate the additional clearance needed.

2x16 plates also would work well too for support.

Just want to throw out an idea of using some 2x2x10 girders instead of the 2x2 brick pillars. I am not familiar with NYC transit, but it looks similar to what is around Chicago on the "L". Here is the link to BrickLink for what I was thinking.

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30517

Yes, you would be correct in that this is similar to the Chicago 'L'. Thanks for the link, although buying those in bulk at about fifty cents each might be more expensive than 2x2 bricks at one-three cents each.

You're off to a good start. I too tried to make an elevated rail. I used the 2x2x10 girders that Tearloch33 recommended. For a home layout elevated rail is nice. As for making it to shows, I only brought my elevated to one show and never again. BUT if you come up with a way to make it modular and nice looking I may have to try again. Speaking of trying, here is my old topic on my elevated. It might help you with making your curves.

Making Curved Track Look Better

Thanks for sharing, DHCP1121. That's quite an impressive elevated layout. Are the black plates just attached to the ties on the curved tracks?

This solution looks wonderful ...but you'll need a lot of pieces to complete a large layout! :sweet:

Share your progress with us! :thumbup:

Indeed, frankly I have no idea how long this will take me, but I suppose that's where the fun lies!

I hope to update this topic as the project moves on.

Thanks again everyone!

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My train club uses modules which are the size of 3x3 32 base plates. The smaller your modules are the more time you spend setting up at shows. We have considered going to 2x3 32 stud base plates because that allows the modules to easily be carried through doors in our houses without tipping. Many of our modules get transported stacked on top of each other, with smaller buildings lifted of and boxed separately. Larger buildings get transported on their modules.

The elevated section will probably need to be separated from the module below to allow efficient packing for transport. I'd guess you might want to have track bed modules made of three to four track pieces, and then the columns to support it. Still a lot of assembly but at least you should be able to pack them so they wont break in transit.

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This is smart, and very good job well done, but the one thing that I might disagree with is the SNOT building, but that's up to you. I have my train elevated on the right side of my street, but it is very tricky because I have 2 other trains running on the grass. I love the vintage scenes by the way. keep up the great work!!!

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You could use these to elevate the side railings a bit. Maybe even stack two and alternate colour, with a grey one on top of a black one.

- Sok.

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Hello everyone,

I recently had a go at creating a support system for curved areas of the track. This is what I came up with:

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Part of the goal was to build the support beams around the road, while providing an adequate amount of space for the curved track to be placed on. Just like the straight segments, this is designed so that all that needs to be done when assembling/disassembling is placement of the support beams right onto the allocated spaces on the sidewalk, and then placing the track right on top.

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Building a fence around the curved tracks is a bit of a problem, since as you can see what happens when longer trains run.

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Even though there is plenty of room on the other side of the track, on this side there is very little clearance. I am thinking about adding a few plates on the sides to make more space for the side railing.

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At this connection, the track isn't actually connected to the support beams; it is just resting on them.

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However, at every 45 degrees the track is physically attached to the support beams, with the help of turntables in the areas where SNIR is present.

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Connected to the straight track I posted earlier.

Comments are welcome.

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Excellent job so far. I'm liking how the curved section is looking :thumbup:

Can't wait to see more.

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Hello everybody! Here with a final update for this project:

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Over the summer I spent a lot of time obtaining pieces for this and another project that I have been concurrently working on. As of a few days ago, this specific project is now finished, although I may make changes to it in the future. But as you can see, the layout has been completely elevated, fenced, and detailed.

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One of the main issues was how to fence in the entire track. I wanted a piece that would be flexible, but a piece that was also common and simple to integrate. I came across these black ladder pieces at BrickFair, and bought a whole bunch of them (then went to BrickLink for more), and if I must say myself, there couldn't be a better piece to serve this specific purpose.

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Underneath the straight modules of the track, I added 8x8 grille plates that serve both as an aesthetic and design choice. Aesthetic because I think the track looks more complete with it, and design because the spaces in the grilles are meant for studs, meaning that things like traffic lights and street signs can be added underneath with no trouble. Furthermore, the grilles help to reinforce the track connections.

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Brick-built roads will be set to run directly underneath the track. The clearance only allows four-wide vehicles to drive in this city, but four-wide vehicles rule! :thumbup:

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Perhaps the most important goal was to ensure that each connection point wouldn't fail, even if a heavy, fast moving train was operating on it. The straight portions are composed of two double length and two standard length ME Models rails on each side, meaning it is 96 studs long total. The advantage for having longer pieces of track is less connection points - less potential failures for the track to cave in.

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Usually, these connection points are reinforced by underlying support beams. I couldn't add support beams here however, as then it would get in the way of a road that would be branching off right underneath here. So basically, this particular connection is reinforced by many plates, and it doesn't budge one bit.

See my entire flickr set here:

And feel free to ask any questions/comment!

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Wow, nice system. I have to say I am impressed that this can hold two moving trains with so few support beams, with such a gap between poles. The only issue I have with it is the fact that cars have to be four bricks wide, and not a brick wider. Still, sacrifices have to be made. Will a city be built in the center?

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Thanks for the comments!

Any plans to finish the streets below?
Will a city be built in the center?

Most certainly. In addition, I even have plans to build a subway system underneath everything. My 'philosophy' for designing this layout is essentially to build up and down as much as possible. Since I am limited in terms of surface area, it's not really possible for me to build out like larger LUG layouts, so my goal is to deliver a variety of features and details at different levels of the city - underground, on the street, and in the floors of the buildings that will be erected one day. :classic:

The only issue I have with it is the fact that cars have to be four bricks wide, and not a brick wider.

I agree, it will be an issue when it comes to making vehicles like fire engines and ambulances that probably won't look that great with a four-wide width. But hopefully, it will not be too detrimental.

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