Dutchiedoughnut

Not bad at all for a first attempt! How does it look on the street itself? If Im not misstaken, it's 8 studs wide and the wheels stick out a bit. I'm rather worried that it's more than 1 lane wide? There is something funny going on with the wheels - or with the scale. I think the wheels are a tad too small and I would say that the front wheel is a bit too much to the back? I'm just looking up a few Greyhound bus pictures. The wheels seem to make up 1/3 the height of the bus. Maybe you can play around with slightly bigger wheels?

I've seen Big Ben Bricks, but at that time I wasn't sure at all about what diameter to use. I'm now thinking of 26mm diameter wheels, Big Ben's medium drivers are very close to that so definately worth a look! Either way, I'll change the middle axle to run blind drivers :). Bookmarked the Lego Flickr groups ;). About the tracks, Im torn between a few options. The ME models tracks look good, really good! So that is definately an option. I'm also thinking I could do flex track with a wooden baseplate, to keep them at a certain diameter and finish the outside with Lego pieces of course. I guess I'd need to try some things! This is a view of the underside and the mechanics. I didn't bother to model the gears that much, but I am planning on a 12/20 gearing I think. It's all Lego standard parts, and I dont see too much room to alter that. I do have the gears and one M motor laying around and I've built the gears just to try the torque and speed. It does seem fine to me; but I was using standard 16mm Lego wheels. I'll probably run the MOC on one M motor at first, and add the second if needed. I'm reserving room for the second motor just in case ;).

No problem ;). A shunter is basically a small locomotive used on yards and such. Its job is to move carriages about whenever a big locomotive makes no sense. Here is a like to my class 08-inspired model: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=98197 What elements would I kick out when I make carriages for my shunter? Tough question! I think I will try and stick to a 1980's British theme, and I'm very interested in passenger transport. Your models have a futuristic vibe to them I think? I'm finding it hard to put my finger on specific elements ;).

Wow, amazing and inspiring! The truss roof is one of those things that make me go "wow, is that really Lego?". And then it's really big and it looks like the truss roof can be extended as much as you like. Then, the steam train is so fitting under that roof! There might be a scale issue though: Why are the doors 2 minifigs high (well, that could be true IRL), and how come the windows are completely above the minifigs as well?

I like it! Although, I'd like to chip in a few suggestions ;). Please note that is simply my opinion, and can be dismissed if you like... I'm not sure how I like the rear end compared to the front. Most of the train is pretty square-ish, but the rear end feels very rounded. Perhaps you can match the A-unit rear end to the B-unit's ends? That will tie them together nicely! Getting into the scale of your model, here's another thought. How about turning it into a shunter? Shunters are usually smaller than the big loco's, so it plays into the size of your loco. I could also imagine making it a double cab, one at each end. You would have to fit the battery box and IR receiver into your loco though, which is a challenge but I think that can be sorted. In any case I love the train you've made! There is a certain "feel" to the loco that is shared by the B-unit and the carriages. I love the carriages a lot, and part of me want to take styling elements from them, but I am going for a very different look...

I'm using Inventor 2010, because I can make .stl files to upload to the 3d printer service. I do believe other (free) tools can do the same. The downside is that I have to copy each existing Lego brick to build a new library. Ah well ;). The 3d printer service is Shapeways. I don't have my own printer, that would be very expensive for me ;).

Hi everyone, I'm Bjorn but I tend to go by Dutchiedoughnut, or just Dutch. Incidentally I am from the Netherlands, so I suppose it's fitting. During the day I'm an engineer working on truck trailers and in my spare time I'm usually holding a camera. I also had the itch to build something myself, so of course I looked at Lego ;). Well, I have been torn between a Lego train setup, or a h0 layout. In the end the h0 would just too big to keep setup while I can take down the Lego as I please. I should warn you - I'm not a Lego purist. I value an overall clean look of my models over keeping to existing Lego blocks. I'm experimenting with 3d printing, so I wont destroy my Lego blocks either ;).

What do you want to show on your layout? You could do a diorama, if you don't mind your train being static. Or, on the other extreme, you could do a layered approach with a subway station, a streetcar running above and maybe a monorail. Of course, if you'd rather show a landscape you might create a hill or two, with the tracks running through a tunnel and over a bridge.