Andalo_an

If I remember correctly the circular windows were prints in the original and not decals, so depending on what you have that is a good telltale both for an original set and the decals.

I have taken it upon myself to design a LUG boxcar (using BMR’s design as a starting point) and as our club's logo is based off The Milwaukee Road's I've looked at replicating one of their designs. When looking for interesting or otherwise unique designs I found one I liked but unfortunately, as I had suspected, it is only a fantasy scheme. Talking with a friend who works with preservation for MILW he noted that “the Milwaukee’s iconic boxcars were the ribside cars, which would be tough and probably expensive to do I’d imagine. There is a brown and yellow scheme that was fairly widespread…” The thing about that one is that it was only ever built as a 50' and not a 40'. I know I could just drop the length to standard but would prefer not to if I didn't need to. Now a question for anyone who has participated, would it be considered a “faux pas” to have a slightly longer boxcar then is standard for a swap? (8 studs longer) Second question, the door has distinct structure, any suggestions on how to replicate this detail without adding a solid brick of sandwiched floating tiles?

In their 2019 announcement post there was an S4 piece but there hasn't been any mention of it since.

New update on the Fx blog. TLDR: switches are comming but after testing at conventions over the summer there are a couple of modifications they want to make before full release. Expected preorder January 2023 with delivery around March. Simultaneously R64 , S1.6 , and S3.2 will be released. New store inventory of current products are being sorted and will be stocked soon.

Has there been any update since November where they said they were aiming to have the kits in hand before the year was out? I’ve tried reaching out to them a couple times over the last few months but have not received any response. I have had issues receiving emails from them in the past so I wanted to make sure I haven't missed anything.

Hello, I have stared the initial designing for a project that is a very long and specific consist, around 26/27 cars long, currently measuring just over 15 yards at 46’ 9” (there are a couple unknowns that I still need to find measurements for). While everything will have ball bearings there will also be a lot of interior details. Given this I will need additional motors. The locomotive will likely be powered by 2 L motors and controlled by a FxBrick. I will probably be looking to add a couple extra train motors throughout the rest of the train. Would there be any way to have it set so that when I control the main motors in the engine with their driving wheels, the train motors adjust to the same speed? Is there a simple way to do this or would it need to be a separate additional control circuit of some sort?

@michaelgale just updated the reference instructions on l-gauge with his suggestion for 56-120 brick built ballast. It also notes which tracks are compatible for each size curve.

In my experience it can pull quite a lot. I think both motors were on the same port but I can't remember. https://imgur.com/a/KyRSLx9 As far as torque goes the wheels were occasionally slipping but the motors were still pulling just fine.

@michaelgale Back in the initial announcement there'd been mention the P40Y, the X40L/R and X90 crossings, and S4 straight but there hasn't been any mention if them since. There has been one mention of the S1.6 and S3.2 on a post detailing yard ladders but none of this is listed in the current product catalog. Would it be safe to assume that at least the short track pieces will be released in parallel to the P40L/R switches? Are the crossings and P40Y still planned? Also, on a side note, could the track library be updated to the latest version of BlueBrick as the current download is incompatible.

That is one of the things mentioned in the initial announcement for this project. Power pickups, motors, speed regulators, extension cables. So far they haven't said much in the way of anything besides the initial track releases. There was a post by @michaelgale around last New Years that mentioned a motor bogie.

Just saw the update on the project posted yesterday with a lot of info updated. Set for production S32 (2) -Dec 2020 R72 -Early 2021 Next R88 -Q2 2021 S8 (1/2) -Q2 2021 Pending the funding to allow for early production R56 S16 (1) R104/ R120 Along side that the P40 switch is out of the cost evaluation stage and they are committed to production but release schedule is dependent on performance of ^^ There was also info on the XL Speakers, button input integration, LDraw files, and better visuals for code scripting the bricks. I'd assume the R64, S1.6 (1/10), and S3.2 (1/5) pieces will be in production when the switches move forward as to properly make switch ladders and turnouts. Also as a note I have no affiliation with them I'm just super hyped over the track system. Here is the relevant blog post. https://www.fxbricks.com/fxblog/?post_id=40&title=fx-track-is-go--and-other-news

You can hit a larger audience with the track as an initial launch. 9v can only run on 9v while RC can run on both. That said it isn't like they are only working on the track. They have confirmed that a replacement "motor bogie" is in progress in the development pipeline. As a component it's going to take more time.

For the water running out the bottom I didn't want it to put a bridge under a switch nor did I want it to run under 3 tracks at once. The shape of the waterway isn't set in stone yet, but the location really can’t move from its current spot in the layout without major changes to the track. My current thoughts are to have a girder bridge for the double track, a worn wooden deck bridge for the siding track to the farm and a stone single arch bridge for the last loop. All the bridges are single spans. As far as the landscaping goes; - I'm taking inspiration from the LGMS/ MILS system but not strictly following it. -I want at least 3 or 4 bricks deep from the baseplate to the rail height allowing me to have elevation changes both below and above the track elevation throughout the layout. -I plan to have the water not be blue but trans/ clear with stones underneath it. -There will be a marshy area with reeds and other aquatic flora extending from the open water of the lake in the center of the table. -The second lake isn’t natural and is more of a drainage basin/ holding pond and so therefor will have murkier water and have other garbage in it. -Pretty much everywhere except in the “yard” area and the fields will be forested/ have undergrowth. -Most of the landscape on the right half of the layout is grasslands/ plains except for the top right corner which is a heavily wooded/ abandoned rail. -The structures I’m currently planning are and have notated in the drawing are a farmhouse with a shed at the end of the dirt road. The dirt road crosses the track but before that turns off into more of a worn path that follows the river/ creek to a countryside loading dock. In the “yard” there is a water tower, a sand tower and other maintenance equipment. This area is the only place that won’t be densely vegetated. Finally, above that is a passenger station and platform with a paved road. There will be other smaller elements that will come as the layout becomes physical. -In the upper left I have a tunnel cut through a mountain/ large hillside as well as a pair of tracks that are in a cut through. As far as the rock I want to avoid using a majority light/ dark gray, but instead use a mix of other natural colors. -There are a lot of things that I have chosen to do purely because of aesthetics. This includes making the layout with metal rails, using reddish brown tiles for the rail ties, and including excessive detail in the trees/ ground cover (I don’t want to have open areas of studs on the ground.) -I will be building the landscape in such a way so that once I have completed my physical setup (a few years down the line), I can then move on to creating tiles that I can easily swap out to change the seasons. The footprint of the layout is the largest it can make it, even the shape is specifically designed to fit. My current layout is ballasted, and the rails are fully detailed, but is built directly on baseplates and not detailed any further. So, yeah. There are a lot of things that I have envisioned for this project and I will try to keep you guys posted as it progresses into reality.

I realize that I may not have been as clear with my original post as I could have been. I was looking for some help in designing a layout with 9v capabilities taking into account both traditional transformer operation in running power to each loop. What precautions would I need to take in avoiding short circuits between the loops? Would separate power even be possible with the current setup? Would only a single hookup per loop be sufficient enough? A projected piece of the FxTrack System is the incorporation of DCC. With this system of control and power setup I wouldn't need to worry about isolating the different sections/ loops just make sure polarities don't cross, correct? Would I need to wire the layout differently for this style of setup? Again, how many hookups would I need to power this? My only experience with powering a layout of a basic loop of track (set 4535-1) and until just over a year ago when I jump-started building a new era of layouts for myself with setting up this: (the brown baseplates are giving relation to how the new layout is situated.) However, by this point something in my connection is no longer working after sitting for years gathering dust. I can get light from the 9v light brick when I hook it directly up to the transformer but the motor itself doesn't run when I connect power to the track, but I digress. With a completely new layout design I am looking for assistance in that regard. Other then that I return to the final question I postured in my original post, Given the size of setup I have given myself would I be able to fit the design elements I have drawn in? Feel free to ask any questions if you are able to give assistance in the matter.

I've been wanting to redesign my current layout for a number of reasons. Primarily because the current setup only allows for a single continuous loop, but it also uses the standard Lego 40s curves, it wasn't wholly my own design (mostly just a design suggested by Lego), and I wanted to take the step for a layout with detailed landscaping. Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on designing this setup. I want to stick with 9v for mostly an aesthetic reason which is why I've designed this with the FxTrack System in mind. As such BlueBrick is missing a couple of the elements but that didn't detract from what I was able to work with. With a layout semi-complete it was time to add in the landscape details that I had had in mind when putting the layout together, and so I've drawn the following. Key: Light Blue -Hillside (Includes Tunnel and double track cutout) Blue -"Water" Gold -Fields Green -Trees Lighter Green -Plants (not trees) Brown -Structures Tan -Dirt Road Black -Paved Road Gray -Border The back and left sides are against a wall. Am I being over confident in what I would be able to fit into the available space? If/ when I power the track is there anything I need to take into account? Power Distribution? Short-circuiting?