AlmightyArjen

That is one awesome design, nice job! A bit too big though ;) Thanks for the link though, maybe I can get some ideas from your layout.

Cool! Good luck with your design!

Hey everyone, The people who know me know that I do always stuff with Lego trains. While I'm designing a fully automated container terminal, I want to upload some non-train related animated episodes. Since some of the scenes will take place on the surface of Mars, I need to build a Martian surface display. But I lack time and eye for detail so I came up with the idea of making an LDD design contest of it. If you are interested in participating, have a look at the video below!

Yes she was a weekend gone with friends so I took my chance :) I keep all of my setst built so it was only a matter of placing them after we had laid down the track. It took 1,5 day for two persons to set it all up. I shot the video for a couple of hours and then put everything back to the attic. There were 7 loops and two tracks on which a train automatically stopped at a station at both ends. Some of the 7 loops were crossing each other. These crossings were automated too so in theory I didn't have to do anything. Ofcourse so now and then a train derailed for whatever reason.

Yes it is! I liked the design of it so I stole it, haha. Both trains that run up the bridge have both 2 motors, so in total 4 motor drawing maximum current: this was too much for a 9V regulator so I had to use a 12V regulator which can deliver more power. For the lights in the trains: I've put a huge capacitor pack in the locomotive that makes sure that the lights don't dim in case of short power surges (which occur a lot in the 9V system during short periods of bad connection between the track and the wheels). The lighting draws a lot of power and to make the lights stay on during a stop I'll need way more capacitors. I was thinking about a capacitor pack per wagon instead of one pack in the locomotive. Or maybe switch to a lithium battery that is charged when the train is running. Haha, not all of my videos end with a crash ;)

Hi all, A new video of my biggest layout so far is online. It has a huge bridge in the middle and has 9 trains running at the same time. Enjoy :)

I'm not going in detail about the costs but I needed about 100 Bricklink orders to get all the bricks...

If you want to do real automation like I do, the 9V system is the better candidate. Example: you want to automate a rail crossing. That means that you have to stop one train to let the other pass. If you have multiple trains running on the same track where the train needs to stop in front of the crossing, you have to find out to which train you need to send the stop-signal (for example by RFID). Plus an extra sensor to detect the train close to the crossing. When using the 9V system, you just cut the power from the rails (isolated track segment (that is controlled by an arduino using an L293D motor driver)) and a train that arrives at the crossing stops by itself because it's no longer powered from the rails. Just an example of many. You can find the above described situation in more detail in this video: Think about what you want to achieve with your automation in detail and write down the pros and cons of each system.

Wow nice work! I design my own electronics for my automation projects but this is really great stuff! This gives everyone the ability to automate their layouts, very nice!

We've already had the winter train so I assume we'll have to wait a while for another creator train.

Thanks for the positive comments! I've thought about it yes, but the commissioning of a layout like in the video takes a lot of time, like 40 hours or so which is too long. I could scale it down a bit, with for example two side tracks instead of six which makes everything a bit more easy. But shows aren't my cup of tea: standing there while people have a look at my layout, not really my thing ;)

Hey, A few years back I set up a layout which consisted of one big loop with a couple of side tracks where trains can be parked. So multiple trains were running on the same loop. This system had a central controller and the downside of this was that a lot of times the system had to wait for a train to come in or there were only two trains at the maximum running around. This time I've made a system with six side tracks and every side track has its own controller. So the choice wether to park a train on the side track or not is done locally based on a few variables like distance with the previous train and how long the side track was not occupied. A video says more than words so enjoy :)

I love it, looks amazing, well done!

haha, thanks

For the ones interested: I've uploaded an extra footage video with only 4K drone footage.