Breakdown Posted January 24, 2014 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah from Kitchener Ontario . . . . . Canada. Till someone shows me something more substantial, home of the biggest most complex 12V lego train layout in the nation. There's only one 12V set that I can recall being sold here and it was the 7857 crossover track to my knowledge. Everything else had to find it's way here via a number of different countries world-wide. My interest was primarily spurned on wanting and then receiving lego train set #7715 one Christmas in the 1980's. I was young and thought that it would be much cooler to have 7715 plus the stupid battery set, over 7722 which had the battery operation more "integrated" let's say. But what got my interest going in the 12 volt stuff was seeing the mini-catalogue that came with the 7715 set and displayed 7745, 7866 and other great late sets in the 1980's grey track collection. It might seem funny, but I always thought that set # 7860 was stupid, because as a child I just assumed that it was like the illuminating bricks, look, the light is changing, I didn't know that it actually could stop and start the train remotely. So . . . here I am today, and most of this layout has been in the basement like this for a while now. There's three 12V engines and in this layout - both ends of 7745 are equipped and one in the 727 train. Even though it looks pretty integrated, it's not there's two completely different circuits and then two completely different transformers with them. Long story short,I was moving a bed into the room (it's in pieces) you can see the mattress and boxspring on the wall there, and invited my now 7-year-old nephew over to play with the big train just one last time and then had some friends over (adult friends) and we went nuts playing with it, and I'm thinking that the bedroom in the basement can wait. Proof that I'm Canadian lies in the outlets and the hockey puck collection on the wall. Just some shots of the honest beginnings. The end goal is something more city-like and visually appealing, a Youtube video and then probably a tear down to be honest or move so that I can get that double-bed in there. I'm looking at a local opportunity to acquire another 7745 train, along with some more track components (honestly, i have absolutely no idea what another one of these is doing here??) Some pics to enjoy, I've been looking through this thread and trying to see similar and not many layouts. To be very honest, this layout is Very space efficient! Hoping to update weekly and we'll see if I can't turn this into something to be proud of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 24, 2014 It's always fun see a 12 v layout! I love this era because remember me when I was a child! By the way why are you interested in another 7745 set when you already own it? I mean: you can chose among several 12v train sets! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breakdown Posted January 24, 2014 A guy's selling a lot of power switch 7745 train, signal (don't yet have one) and three switches (one power) and precious straight track. It's also local which means no tarriffs and no shipping, both of which really hurt the pocket book and jack up the prices, one of those beggers can't always be choosers things. Ideally I'd like a 7740, but the asking price on those is very high, in the end I may use it to barter with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP Posted January 24, 2014 I think that Hi-Way Market had 12V brought over... I know they had Playmobile brought over. Friends lived in KW. Not me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doom2099 Posted January 24, 2014 Very nice 12v layout! The raised section looks great, especially the work on the bridge, and really reminds me of the 7777 Idea Book. Thanks for sharing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harnbak Posted January 24, 2014 ...to play with the big train just one last time and then had some friends over (adult friends) and we went nuts playing with it, and I'm thinking that the bedroom in the basement can wait... Funny how quickly one's priorities can change... ...The end goal is something more city-like and visually appealing, a Youtube video and then probably a tear down to be honest or move so that I can get that double-bed in there... Looking forward to more pics and vids. Love this 12v nostalgia! Some inspiration: Do you know Bricklink? It is a kind of Ebay for lego enthusiasts around the world. You can use it for buying missing parts or even sets: 12v sets and supplemental. Maybe even some sellers are located in Canada. But be careful, Bricklink is not entirely cheap though... Have fun! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dundarach Posted January 24, 2014 Cracking, love it and the bridge is amazing :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breakdown Posted January 24, 2014 I think that Hi-Way Market had 12V brought over... I know they had Playmobile brought over. Friends lived in KW. Not me. Much of my extra 4.5V track came from that store, after I got my first train set, my mom took me there and with Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas money we bought all sorts of track. I was only 9 years' old and was just learning about money and got some really ill-conceived ideas about how far a little money would go. The legendary store was closing out stuff and hence we capitalized on close-out stock. To the best of my knowledge they wouldn't have imported 12V sets. Without some huge warning labels that could really screw up someone's Christmas - unpack set, build and watch it do absolutely nothing. You may be a little older than I am, but I cannot remember seeing any of the 12V sets other than the Cross-over piece and I think that's only because they discontinued the 4.5 only one early, you see piles of blue ones, but barley ever a grey one. I don't have the most concrete memories of hi-way market other than the floors and those crazy escalator things without stairs - don't even know the proper names for them. If there was one place in Ontario that would actually carry this stuff, it would have been Hi-Way Market. Where in Canada are you?? Also, my boasting (if it appears that's what I'm doing) that I have the biggest 12V layout in Canada is just hot air, I would be more than happy for someone to tell me that they have something bigger . . . more complex, etc, it's just this stuff in North America is pretty much non-existant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP Posted January 25, 2014 I live in Victoria, BC. I'm a Marine Engineer Artificer in the Canadian Navy (now). I am not 100% sure, the other place that _might_ have had 12V is "The Toy Store" on Cumberland Ave in Toronto. (Yorkville). I got my 4535 there in 1998. (I passed up on a monorail in the Eaton center that trip). I'd already bought a pack of 4.5V points in 1992 or so from Simpsons (well, Sears) downtown, as the last relics of 4.5 were going out then. I think I have the largest Canadian 9V home layout. See my threads for video. James P (Member, PNLTC since 1998) I got my 4.5V crossover at the Radio Shack in Uxbridge in 1989 or so. (gray). Not sure how many were made, but you are right. Lego pre 1988 in Canada is a interesting subject,as Sampsonite did some strange things. James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zephyr1934 Posted January 25, 2014 Just some shots of the honest beginnings. The end goal is something more city-like and visually appealing, a Youtube video and then probably a tear down to be honest or move so that I can get that double-bed in there. Oh no no no, it can't be that difficult to integrate a double bed into your lego layout. When I was in college I had a bed frame out of milk crates. Do something similar and you have all sorts of interesting things under your bed for the train to run through. I think that Hi-Way Market had 12V brought over... I know they had Playmobile brought over. Friends lived in KW. Not me. Schaper toys in the US had a license to manufacture and sell playmobil in the early 1980's, so they might have been brought up rather than over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP Posted January 25, 2014 I am fairly sure that they came over from Europe for Playmo, rather than up. KW has a huge German population (it used to be called Berlin, pre 1915 or so...) and so I would expect that the playmobile that Hi-way market brought would have been from geobra. All mine is stamped as being geobra, so I would expect that all the Canadian playmo came direct from Germany. I remember the Playmobile displays @ the CNE, which were quite spectacular. (perhaps as early as 1982, but certainly by 1984). Lego had some amazing displays at the CNE, I think 1983 or 84 they had the Alberta pavilion near the firehall. Much later, 1988, Lego had one of the pods near cinesphere/the Forum for lego. There was all kinds of stuff in the kid build lego when we went in there on opening day. (firing cannons, and monorail...). Lego in Canada is an interesting topic, rather poorly covered. I don't think Gary has much time spent on it in his history books, because there are so few of us relatively up here. I do know that there were several large collections of AFOL's featured in Bricks & Pieces. I have my B&P's from the September 1984 issue onward until 1992 or so. Now, with regards to 12V, I knew it existed, but I can't think where I had learned about it. I have UK catalogs from 1983 or 84 on, so it might have been through them. When Simpsons-Sears had the Lego Space show in, there was a loop of it used for the space transporter. We knew about the problems of having UK electric stuff, as we'd moved from the UK in 1979. When I went over in 85 (xmas/new years), I wanted to get a copy of 7735, but didn't...I think I got rather in trouble over it. I knew that it would be hard to get more as my grandmum wouldn't be traveling to the UK as often as she had been. (she'd been providing respite care for “uncle harry”, who her mum had been housekeeper for in the 1930's/40's...) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Breakdown Posted January 28, 2014 (edited) A very, very little bit of progress: Have some of the concept down for the road layout. My biggest concern at this moment is that there may not be enough gas stations in my city. Most of the remaining creations that will be added to this city will be my own unique lego stylings. Edited January 28, 2014 by Breakdown Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP Posted January 29, 2014 You clearly need more fire stations, and police stations, to deal with the robberies and fires at the gas stations ! James Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
