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Here is my Victorian-inspired train station and signal tower. If I made a topic about the station before, I am sorry. I'm reposting it as I couldn't find it. First up is the station: Background info: This station was built between the East & West Barrett's Tunnels in 1893 by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was used until 1944, when the war-time traffic became too much, and the two single track tunnels were bypassed by a double track cut-through built right next door. The Station and the West tunnel were preserved, while the East tunnel was covered up and buried under a road, which was eventually named Barrett's Station Road. The site of the station was turned into a museum known as the Museum of Transportation. Builder's notes: This station was originally the Toy Shop from the Winter Village series of LEGO sets. In real life, the story I just told you is 100% true. However, the Barret's station was not made in 1893, and looks nothing like the one seen here. The inspiration for the station came from the real-life Kirkwood Railroad Station which was built in 1893, is still used by Amtrak and is located a short distance up the track from the Museum of Transportation. Their are supposed to be printed 1x1 tiles spelling out BARRETTS on the sign on the front on the station. The other version I uploaded yesterday of this station will not work with my budget, so I went back to the drawing board and looked at my original station made from set 10199. I then combined the best of both stations into this model. This station is the fourth station I have made from 10199, and uses mostly parts from the second version from 2013. Here we see the station separated into it's modular components: - left platform - right platform - station building with access ramp (lower level) - station building and roof (upper floor) - station building tower roof The inside of the station features the following on the first floor: inside seating, stone fireplace, and a old-fashioned cash register for ticket sales. (This piece: http://www.bricklink....asp?P=3039pb26 ) The second floor (tower) is a employees-only area and houses some machinery. Here is the brand new street side of the station. This side includes an overhang that protects passengers from the rain.\ Next is the tower: Fictional History: This tower was built in 1893 at the same time as Barrett's Station, to control the single track mainline. The tower was updated in 1928 with modern controls and bypassed in 1944 by a double-track cutoff to avoid the bottleneck of the two single-track Barrett's Tunnels. The tower was preserved by the Museum of Transportation and has been recently turned into a public lookout point for the busy Brick Railway Systems mainline. Builder's Notes: This is a Signal tower that matches the color scheme and design features of my Barrett's Station model. This Victorian-era tower features a signal bridge, a spiral staircase to connect the two floors and a signal / switch computer from more modern times. The story on Barrett's Station is inspired by real life, but the real station was a one story affair and had no tower accompanying it. The Museum of Transportation does exist, however, and there is an elevated platform (at the way back of the property) to watch Union Pacific trains go by every fifteen minutes or so. The first floor features the spiral staircase. The signal arm disconnects from the first floor, and is attached to the second floor. The signal arm is a modified version of the one at the L Gauge website. (Link: http://lgauge.com/ ) The second floor features the control panel for the lights, and a desk for dispatching orders to the train crews, or in this case, holding a newspaper. The (updated) LDD file for the station is here: http://www.mocpages....1428338100m.lxf The LDD file for the tower is here: http://www.mocpages....1419790555m.lxf This model was inspired by set 10199, Winter Village toy Shop. The model is up for a remodel into a double sided version with a bigger interior, so I though I'd take some pictures while it's still together in this form. The platform splits off into three parts: left side (which is about three tracks in length) right side, (which is about one track long) and the building itself. (which is two tracks in length) The building is open backed, and features a desk on the top floor and ticket counter with cash register on the first floor. Comments welcome!

(Please note: I could not remember making a topic for this train. I looked through about 15 pages of train topics and couldn't find anything like this... sorry if I missed it or something.) This four car passenger train was inspired by LEGO sets 10015 (Passenger Wagon) and 79111. (Constitution Train chase) The color scheme is based upon the one seen in the movie "The Lone Ranger", although that film takes place in the 1870's and this train is from the 1910's. The locomotive is a 2-6-0 (two leading, six driving, and zero trailing wheels) steam locomotive. The piston design was taken from Benn Coifman and his instructions for adding pistons to set 79111's locomotive, while the tender was inspired by the one attached to Anthony Sava's 4-6-2 steam engine, with SNOT (Studs Not On Top) stripes from his 4-6-0 engine's tender. The rear of the engine features a ladder for access to the cab from the train along with a red tail lamp. The coaches were originally designed to look like set 10015, but the design evolved to it's current form through a combination of expensive parts shortages, guessing and inspiration. The rear of the train is supposed to have "BRS" (short for Brick Railway Systems) in black printed 1x1 tiles situated on the back railing. These letters also go on the sides of the tender, while the number 4613 go on the locomotive cab sides. The LDD file is here if anyone wants it: http://www.mocpages....1421791760m.lxf Here is the pictures of the train in real life: The locomotive is a 2-6-0 (two leading, six driving, and zero trailing wheels) steam locomotive. Engine number 4613 usually pulls the Emerald Express. Combination baggage and passenger car for the Emerald Express. Two identical passenger coaches for the Emerald Express. The observation car of the Emerald Express. The letters BRS stand for Brick Railway Systems, the owner of the train. Comments, questions, & complaints welcome!

This railway shed was inspired by Shaun Baseby. (alias: Lightningtiger or "LT") He designed the basic frame on this shed with one of his town buildings, and I ran with it. The platform in the center is low enough 8 wide trains can drive by, but only barely. This model was inspired by the Roberts Building at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri... now all it needs is a clock tower in the center! side view. The model itself is 5 tracks long, but sits on a 32 x 96 stud base-plate (that's three 32 x 32's put together) This photo shows how tall the shed is. That's the Southern Pacific 4-8-4 Daylight number 4460 & my Brick Railway Systems 2-10-4 "Texas" number 6297 in there. The engines are also my longest to date, and they fit inside with room to spare. (The Daylight and / or Texas type are NOT included in the LDD file, by the way) And yes,set set 10014 Caboose can fit under this as well. LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1427740513m.lxf Comments welcome!

I'd like your input on this set I made recently: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/95531 It's based on a very famous event in US history in 1869, when the rail networks of the East and West coasts were symbolically connected for the first time with the driving of a final golden railroad spike with a silver hammer. To the best of my knowledge, this would be the first non-fictional Wild West Lego train set. The 150th anniversary of this event is only a few years away, so I figure now is as good a time as ever for Lego to release something like this.

Hey guys, I have found a cool way to use the minifigure style head piece to go inside boilers. I just used that and an upside down 1x1 to give it some depth. Lego train Boiler by Railco1, on Flickr Lego train Boiler by Railco1, on Flickr I think it adds a small touch to the boiler and I hope you like it! -Rail Co [How you can use it for cars!]: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=105602

So I've been steadily increasing my collection of steam era 7 wide wagons over the last few months. Most of them came out remarkably well and remarkably quickly and needed little or no modifications to the original design, others (well the brakevan) needed a little work but didn't take too long all the same. Then there's the van conundrum. I just can't get these right, and it continues to bug me that the most simple shape a railway wagon can be is causing me the most issues. The original design took a lot of time to perfect, and in LDD looked pretty good, but it turned out to be less than solid in the bricks, and whilst it basically looks really good, it's also a bit too short compared to the other rolling stock I have and am designing. After a fair bit of faffing, I was still not altogether happy, so I decided to pad around the net for other people's ideas, and I stumbled across H.A.Brick's PF battery van kit. It arrived, and I enjoyed building it (there's an extra instruction book and some extra pieces to build it without the sensor hole), but it only served to highlight the problems with my existing design (too short, not sturdy enough). Never the less, it gave me some ideas, such as using some black Lego to represent the frames the van is sat on to bulk up it's height, so after slightly modifying the (upper part of the) build to closer fit my needs, I set upon one of my existing vans to have a look at the idea with my standard truck chassis design. The height was good, but the bufferbeam was terrible, in order to line up with the rest of my rolling stock, it needed to be lower than the 'frames' which just doesn't look right at all. The current line up, L-R: modified H.A.Bricks van, modified version of my cattlevan MOC (with some random colours and random gaps), my original standard van MOC. The modified H.A.Bricks design. Internally strengthened and black plate/rail removed from between the body and the roof to bring down to my preferred height. (See also the rather ugly bufferbeam of the truck next to it.) Modified version of my cattle van. Although now the correct hight, I really don't like the fact the bufferbeam isn't inline with the 'frames'. Original design. See the less than perfect panel alignment due to less than perfect internal structure plus old and chewed bricks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still not exactly happy with any of the designs, I went back to LDD. First I married the H.A.Bricks design with my own frames, and it wasn't bad but I was still not sure it was right for my preferred style and level of detail. Another thought I had was to add an extra plank to my existing design (and drastically redesign it internally). I've come up with several variations, none of which feels like a complete winner to me. H.A.Bricks inspired vans, both short and long bodied (whichever style I settle on, I will eventually produce long and short bodied versions). Several variations on the 7 high version of my van and cattle van. At the moment, my preferred normal van is the one with the 1x8 tiles running down the side and preferred cattle van will probably be a long bodied version of the one with the 1x8 tiles hanging down the side (although I can't decide on plain doors (middle version) or slatted doors (other two). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any ideas or suggestions are very welcome, also if anybody wants the LDD files to play with (complete with engine and brakevan), feel free to PM me.

Here is my latest creation: the Winter Station! As previously announced in the spring of 2014, the station was the last big building I had in mind to achieve. I got there just now because I can finally put the railroad in my diorama in a new row of bases on the front. The station occupies two bases 32x32 and has a considerable size but always in line with the other buildings in my village (visit here: https://www.flickr.c...57638505699563/). I tried to enter details as possible using many small parts and developing very both the architectural interiors. Throughout the building (including its two bases of support) has over 4600 pieces. The architecture is reminiscent of a mix front of some stations real, for example for the clock on top of the roof I was inspired by some Italian stations. The tracks pass close to the dock, which allows travelers to get on and off easily by train. On front side windows with embellishments side obtained with techniques snot and upper ones have the shutters of wood with a central cross that look a bit the north-European style. The clock on top is an addition to not leave the roof too simple. But now we speak of the interior: I worked a lot on the interior looking at part of recreating a station in reality. It helped me in this also my personal experience in the world of railways and railway signaling. In the central part of the ground floor there is an open corridor (without front door) of passage for the public. At the bottom left you can see the control room with the head station while controlling rail traffic with all its equipment. Alongside you can see instead of the ticket office with two doors to the public, monitor for announcements of trains departing and arriving, a tree with Christmas decorations and accessories. At the bottom right is the waiting room. In this room is accessed by a door from the central corridor. The room is composed of a series of wooden benches for waiting minifig and some accessories such as newspapers, lamps, flowers and paintings. The walls and floors look a little stations of 60/70 years with a retrò style. And now comes the most interesting part: the attic. The floor is reached by a staircase from the hallway and opening a trap door on the attic. For some time I wanted to make an attic by inserting a bit 'of everything. The basic idea was to make it look like a storage of goods, or rather a warehouse where it was placed a bit 'of everything and consequently left abandoned over time. No attendant at the station today remembers what is stored there! If you look around carefully you will notice several things extravagant and of course I have not forgotten the reference to some famous films, especially the golden object on the right. The boxes with printed markings are 3 accessories can be purchased on site www.minifigforlife.com Other details The floor gives access to the side doors to two small terraces in which it was done a Christmas tree (left) and a little man with snow (right). The gear technic you see behind the clock serves to adjust the time, of course, will allow us to have just the right time twice a day! In the building there are 10 minifigs and as usual I have included a number of fairly rare pieces as if it were a UCS. The part of the roof is easily removable for a better look at the ceiling; Also the entire first floor is removable in order to better observe the ground floor. Finally, the entire station is removable from the base to be able to put in boxes for transport. Enjoy! Gallery HD images on Flickr: https://www.flickr.c...57650075760667/

So, one of my cats (Schrödinger) finally got over the noise of the railway and decided to inspect further. After merely observing for a while, then following behind, he decided it was time to try to actively effect this new and strange beast. I'm sure you can all imagine what happened next, and sure enough, one round trip after the photograph... Let's just say that red van didn't take well to it's swift trip to the floor, nor did the cat who got somewhat deluged in a shower of Lego fright wagons!

Here are a bunch of my models in one post than in six different topics. First, here is my Western Railroad Tunnel - Version 2 I have revamped my Modular Western tunnel by combining it with my father's older stand-alone tunnel design. This design makes the interior walls more realistic, while still preserving the rough rock-work outside. The modular bit comes in when you disconnect the tunnel into it's three components, 2 identical end-caps and 1 middle section. This is for ease of transport and making the tunnel shorter or longer depending on your needs. As an added bonus, the flat roof lets you put a small Native American village or a small US Cavalry outpost. If you are not into Wild West models, the tunnel easily recolors with the Dark Tan to dark bluish gray and the regular tan to light bluish gray via the LDD file below. (It's not that hard to recolor it in the program, so only the tan version of the tunnel is included.) Two of these are missing from this model: http://www.bricklink...asp?P=14309pb01 The inside looks like this. It connects the the other sections via the four Technic pins. tunnel LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1412007044m.lxf Next up is two refueling towers: My father built the Water Tower way back in the 1990's, back when 9V was king. Fast forward 15+ years, and I realize that it needed a companion coaling tower. I made my first attempt at a much larger size than this using pictures from LGauge.com, a website of older Lego train models. Please note, some parts are of the tower have been modified in the digital realm, (such as the water spout) so it's not "entirely" accurate. The corner walls also are printed with the part seen here: http://www.bricklink....asp?P=2345pb06 Here is the rear view. LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1411953429m.lxf The next two models are locomotive sheds: First the Classic Brick Railway Systems shed, This model was built by my father around 2005 / 2006 for an old-style MOC steam engine we built together based off set 7722. Anyway, the years roll by, and my engines get bigger and bigger. I realized in late 2013 that I needed to enlarge the shed to fit more than just that one engine type. I haven't done it real life yet, but here is what it will look like. I have added one track's length of shed and one more smoke vent on the roof. Here are the statistics for the shed when it's finished: Building type: single track locomotive shed Track length: 3 ½ tracks (60 studs) Maximum side clearance: 10 studs total Maximum height clearance: 12 bricks total The rear view of the shed. The trans light blue windows were some of the first things my father bought off BrickLink, and as such they are staying on there... even though trans-black might looks better. LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1411655710m.lxf The final model is this Modern Locomotive Shed This model (in red instead of black and white instead of tan) was originally designed back in the late 1990's by my Father for his 9V locomotives. After completion, It sat in the Basement alongside his other custom models including his tunnel, grain elevator, bridge, and water tower. Fast Forward a decade to 2006. I had played with his models all my childhood, using them for my own trains until he built me my own smaller single track version in black & red around 2006. I longed to figure out how to build my own, and in in 2005, I discovered Bricklink & LEGO Digital Designer. I didn't really use them together until 2010, when the first version of my dad's shed was built. It wasn't very good, but it led to this model back in 2012. (Link to that mess: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/335344 ) From there I made the roof removable, and then I added newer windows, and a less expensive color scheme. By mid 2013, it was compete, at least in digital format. I remains to be seen if I will build it in real life. By the way,the roof is removable. A base-plate will need to be cut If I build this, as it's four studs longer than two XL base-plates. LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1411407373m.lxf Western Caboose This caboose was originally from set 79111, Constitution Train Chase, a part of The Lone Ranger theme. At first it was a prison car, but I turned it into a caboose. I added a regular door and roof top cupola for the conductor while retaining the side doors and exploding back wall. I don't know if there is any real world prototype with a design like this caboose. (minus the exploding wall of course!) Here we see the rear of the caboose, with two red lanterns and the exploding back wall with dynamite attached. This is the first MOC in a long time that I built in real life before building it in LDD. The only changes from real to digital are that I have a 1x4 Technic brick on the back wall with three printed 1x1 letters spelling out BRS. LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1412105087m.lxf The LDD file groups the 79111 stock parts together, with remaining bricks being extra ones not found in the set. Official-Style Freight cars (Part 1) The first car is an automobile carrier like the one in set 2126. ( http://www.bricklink...em.asp?S=2126-1 )It carries two modern re-imagined versions of the Classic cars from that set. The second and third cars are Boxcars, slightly modified from set 3677. ( http://www.bricklink...em.asp?S=3677-1 ) Next up is the fourth car is a water tanker, while the fifth is a tree carrier, and the sixth car is a rock gondola. They are all inspired by set 2126. (The link to that set is above) The seventh car is a modified version of set 3225's general freight car. ( http://www.bricklink...em.asp?S=3225-1 ) Finally, the eighth car is a caboose inspired by set 10014. ( http://www.bricklink...m.asp?S=10014-1 ) All of these cars are modifed to bring them almost 100% in line with modern parts and colors, the only exception being the yellow tipper parts on the gondola. (Those parts were last used in 2000.) LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1411686540m.lxf Notes: Personally, I have the original cars from set 2126, and made the two boxcars from my parts bins. The brown cargo car and caboose are not needed, as I already have a general flatcar and the Western Caboose from post #6 above. Official-Style Freight cars (Part 2) These train cars are inspired by official sets & techniques used by LEGO. The first car is a depressed center flatcar, and it carries a re-imagined and updated set 5920 Island Racer from the Adventurers "Dino Island" Theme. ( http://www.bricklink...em.asp?S=5920-1 ) The second car is a gondola carrying three huge boulders. It was inspired by set 4434, Tipper Truck. ( http://www.bricklink...em.asp?S=4434-1 ) The third car is a gasoline / oil tanker in OCTAN colors. The tanker was inspired by set 7939, Cargo Train. ( http://www.bricklink...em.asp?S=7939-1 ) This model also needs two printed 1x4 tile pieces like this: http://www.bricklink...m.asp?P=2431px9 LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1413560515m.lxf By the way, here is the front of the green automobile: Lego City Passenger Station This station was designed first by LEGO as set 2150, Train Station. It was recreated by someone on Eurobricks, but had an added "street side", that was almost identical as the track side. I downloaded and added: a expanded platform, made a clock with sign for both sides, and made the sections removable. (Yes, the roof for both levels come off.) I modernized the look of the station by adding a pizza oven with opening door like in set 7641, (City Corner) and adding a safe on the second floor for the station master. Street side of the station. The studs on the wall beside of the clock on both sides of the station are supposed to spell LEGO CITY in printed 1x1 tiles. The first floor features the ticket counter, pizzeria with bar seating and the oven taken from City Corner, while the second floor features the Station master's office, with three chairs, a desk, open-able safe, rotary telephone and several cabinets with drawers. This floor and the roof above it are held on by just a few studs, making them 100% removable, while the platform is a attached via Technic pins. LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1412010310m.lxf Grain Elevator Built originally by my father in 1999, this elevator was never completed. As my Dad did not discover Bricklink until 2006, it lacked several crucial parts, and remains uncompleted to this day... just another thing on the to-do list! I have faithfully recreated the elevator and added some parts that did not exist in '99, such as the red windscreens used a funnel, and a conveyor belt with handle. I also did some major goofs, such as making the building one stud too thin, (it should be 16 studs wide at the base), but I hope I compensated enough by making the funnel tall enough to let the tallest official train car I could think of go through without problems. This view shows the conveyor and handle. LDD file for the grain elevator: http://www.mocpages....1398708090m.lxf Modern Truss Bridge Designed using 24 of these parts, ( http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=15706 ) this bridge fits even my tallest trains. It can fit up to 10-stud-wide locomotives, leaving 1 stud on each side for clearance. It also can fit 12 2/3 bricks tall train cars, but only barely: the clearance is less that a third of a brick in difference. The tallest train car I own is this one: a caboose based on the prison car from the Lone Ranger "Constitution Train Chase". (set 79111). This car fits the bridge by a hair less than a third of a brick. LDD file (bridge only): http://www.mocpages....1414539136m.lxf Signal Tower 22 Inspired by Whoward69's signal tower, (link: https://www.flickr.c...s-55973205@N08/ ) this enlarged version features two removable sections (the roof and second floor) and a staircase to the second floor. There are studs on the front of the building to spell out TOWER 22 (Or whatever two digit number you want to.) using printed 1x1 tiles. The tower also has two computers on the second floor for train signal / switch direction control, while the first floor is empty. (except for the staircase) LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1417547843m.lxf Wide Vision Caboose This model was originally Model number 30 from the 2007 set "Hobby Train". I redid the whole model from the ground up, replacing old windows and updating the style. The caboose features removable cupola and cupola roof, along with the two regular roof sections. The Inside features a bed, stove, table and two chairs, while the cupola features two more chairs. I'm going to use this piece ( http://www.bricklink...sp?P=87079pb006 ) for the sides of the caboose, and one of these ( http://www.bricklink....asp?P=3039px20 ) for the bed for the conductor. Here is the LDD file:http://www.mocpages....1418063886m.lxf All comments are welcome, and more MOCs / MODs are coming!

So, I'm going to have to dismantle my 3rd attempt at a semi-permanent Lego railway due to it being situated under a building site. Also, I have bought some more appropriate tables which will allow it to bw properly level, and allow me some extra space to extend it and add another loop (on the station side), so now seemed like a good time to photograph it for prosperity. Overview The Rolling Stock I also have a couple of modded HE sets (ie one full TGV), but due to space and it being the most awkward to operate, it's currently sat on my dad's far from complete 00 layout. Sections -The yard and MPD. The Lone Ranger's escape! Substitute Knights and Pirates for Settlers of Catan. Dalek attack on the Bako Signal Box Successful Police sting (or is this too many officers and too much equipment to capture one man who is on foot?). -The bridge and container yard. -Town Center and Station ATM robbery. Station Kiosk. Near miss! The final battle of a crap film... -Angel Park and Firestation. More detailed image of Angel Park. Maintenance on the footbridge. The firestation. Fin

Here are my American -style trains, in real bricks (NOTE: lots of pictures!:) ENGINES 2-6-0 Mogul #4613: Built 2014 2-10-4 Texas #6297: Built (as 2-8-4 Berkshire #6221) 2012, finished 2014 FA (diesel A-unit) #7996: built 2013 FB (diesel B-unit) #7996: built 2013 GG1 electric: Built 2012 TRAIN CARS (PASSENGER) Legoredo Limited - streamline combine: built 2011 (yes, it's missing a magnet, but I fixed it after this shot!) Legoredo Limited - streamline coaches: built 2011 Legoredo Limited - streamline observation: built 2011 999 Limited - heavyweight combine: Built 2012, finished 2014 999 Limited - heavyweight coaches: Built 2012, finished 2014 999 Limited - heavyweight observation: Built 2012, finished 2014 TRAIN CARS (FREIGHT) Generic Boxcars: Built 2011 Depressed Center flatcar: Built 2014 Drop-side Gondola: Built 2013 Water Tanker: Built 2013 Rock hopper: Built 2013 Branch-line Caboose: Built 2014 I have more, but they are a mix of UK & US trains, plus I have my streetcars. I am getting 4 more passenger cars (they are dark green vintage ones for engine #4613), plus a 2-6-2 steamer engine for Christmas. Railroad Buildings will be posted here, but the non-train buildings will be posted in the Town forum sometime.

Hello all, I can finally present you my new bridge. It is 304 studs long, so that's more than 2.4m (or almost 8 feet) and I used about 12500 bricks: The thought of making a bridge started years ago and the design also took quite some time with a lot of design iterations in LDD. I can still see where I can make some improvements though ... But for now I consider it finished. It was inspired by a bridge I used to cross quite often in my student days. (Link) To be honest I first thought of using the railway bridge on the other side of that city but that would have resulted in an even larger bridge... I have seen many other truss LEGO bridges using the TECHNIC bricks but I wanted to have a cleaner look: And I am also satisfied with the cross bracing on the top and bottom In the end it has some sagging in the middel of about four plates. It seems a lot but considering the span it actually poses no problems for my trains. I am also busy with the design for the sides of the bridge. There is still some space to fill. The idea is to make a road underneath with a bicycle path next to it. But what do you think? Feel free to comment.

Background info:Brick Railway Systems (BRS) was constructed in the early 1870's from pieces of other roads. It began small, with only 120 miles of track laid as of 1873. (Note: Only 57 of those miles were actually constructed by BRS, not by the former component roads) By 1910, BRS had rose through the ranks of the other roads to become the top freight hauler in the country. However, In World War One, the railway was was run into the ground by government control via the Imperial Railroad Administration (IRA), which took over control of all railroads in 1914 and kept them until 1920. Upon return of the company to it's civilian owners, the railroad itself was in shambles The company responded by trimming the unnecessary trains that had been kept running during the war years even though they were practically useless. By 1928, the company had remade itself so much so that it had electrified most of it's main line between Glencoe, Ironwood, & Fort Legoredo. This cut back majorly on some of the costs of steam engine fuel and maintenance for the railroad. The benefit of this was not evident immediately, but later payed for itself when the Great Depression hit. By the the Second World War, BRS was even better off than had been projected in the depths of the depression The war traffic barely affected the system, as the 1920's upgrades had unexpectedly prepared the system for the surge in goods and soldiers. In the late 40's, while several other roads had started getting rid of their steam engines for diesels, BRS was resisting the flow by building more steam, and experimenting with more advanced designs such as duplexes, triplexes, & Garrett’s These efforts never payed off, but the they did give the BRS engineers valuable advice on what to do and what not to do with steam. Meanwhile, diesels were on the railroad from starting around 1936, but not in great numbers until the late '60's. 'The System' (as she is sometimes called) was doing fine at this time, while other roads were struggling. By the '70's, diesel fuel prices had put a stop to the diesel takeover, and optimism was high. This feeling continued right up until 1987. The main competitor, Federal Railways, had gone up for sale and Brick Railway Systems was getting a ring-side seat on what could happen if a road got out of hand. Before their eyes, the road was torn apart by lack of leadership, (not helped by the fact the Federal Railway / Brick Railway Systems merger was denied) lack of funds and working motive power. Then, in late 1992, the railway was finally gone, eaten up by hungry debtors and rival railroads alike. (some of it was eventually bought by BRS) The other half of the '90's & the early 2000's had Brick Railway Systems wondering if the same financial breakdown would happen to it. By 2010 the shock had worn off, and the optimism had returned, albeit with a little more caution.Present Locomotives:2-6-0 "Mogul" Steam locomotive Built in 1917 by Zephyr Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS for short), engine #4613 was one of a class of 44 locomotives numbered 4610 to 4654. They were the last class of BRS engines painted in dark green & black with gold highlights. They were also the first class to feature modern tenders with increased water & fuel storage capacity. These two traits created a oddity in the BRS loco department, as it was both old and new. They have all since been repainted except for 4613, which proudly still wears in “Green and Gold” as a testament to the first 50 years of the railroads existence. 2-6-2 "Prairie" steam locomotive Built in 1919 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS for short), engine 4754 was one of a class of 110 engines ranging from number 4749 4859. They were built at the time when the Imperial Railroad Administration was running BRS due to World War I. These engines proved themselves good freight haulers, but the a severe side-to-side swaying motion kept them from passenger service. They are all painted black with the usual red box on the tender 0-4-0 "Yard Switcher" steam locomotive Built in 1923 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS), engine #4990 was part of a 250 strong class of switchers made for the tight industrial & dockyard trackage of Brick Railway Systems. The class spread from number 4860 to 5110. They were painted in classic BRS black with a red stripe with a little red ring surrounding the funnel. 2-8-0 "Consolidation" steam locomotive Built in 1926 by Lima Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems, engine #5775 was the second to last engine in an order of 30 engines. The engines were numbered 5746 – 5776 and were painted in the traditional black and red paint scheme. This consists of a red box on the tender surrounding the letters BRS, which stand for Brick Railway Systems. 0-6-0 "Mixed Traffic" steam locomotive Built in 1929 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS), engine #5972 was supposed to be part of a 75-strong engine order, but the Great Depression startted, causing BRS to cancel the last eight engines, leaving 5972 the last of it's class. The type has been painted in standard black with a red stripe with a small ring of red around the funnel. 2-8-4 "Berkshire" steam locomotive Engines 7221 – 7235 were built in 1933 by Lima Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems. These fourteen 2-8-4 (2 leading, 8 drivers, and 4 trailing wheels) locomotives were intended for heavy freight service on the mountainous 'Southern Division' of Brick Railway Systems. (BRS) However, it was discovered that these engines could pull long passenger trains better than the usual locomotives assigned to that route. The engines were given control over crack express trains such as the '909 Limited'. (known for going 900 miles in 9 hours, at about 100 miles per hour) These engines performed wonderfully for over 25 years. However, the cost of running these fleet-footed engine became so great in the early 1970's that BRS seriously considered getting diesels to do the steam engines work. Thankfully, the oil embargo of 1974 put a stop to that by restricting diesel fuel consumption by just enough to put the steam engines in a more favorable position. Safe from the threat of a diesel takeover, the locomotives run like clockwork to this very day. 2-10-4 "Texas" steam locomotive These twenty four 2-10-4 (2 leading, 10 drivers, and 4 trailing wheels) locomotives numbered 6394 – 6418 were built in 1939 – 1940 by Lima locomotive Works. They were based off the very successful 2-8-4 Berkshire type Lima had sold to Brick Railway Systems (BRS) in 1933. One of these engines was 6398, which was painted in the BRS standard black with a red box on the tender and red stripe on the funnel. Number 6398 served well on the heavy freight duties it was designed for, though, as with the Berkshires, the engines proved equally adapt at handling the passenger trains as well as the heavy freights. GG-1 electric locomotive This GG-1 electric locomotive was built in 1943 by Altoona Works as unit 4939 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. When that railroad merged with New York Central in 1968, the ensuring legal nightmare concerned with the merger (& the subsequent bankruptcy of Penn Central) caused the engine to be "lost" in the paperwork. After being stored for 20 years in a shed on a branch line in New York, the engine was located by a local railroad club, and restored to working order. As the engine was owned by a defunct railroad, it was sold at auction by the club to Brick Railway Systems, who had bought 12 other GG-1's from Altoona in 1943. The engine was taken apart into 3 sections and shipped to Brick Railway. It started work in 1989, was repainted into the classic Brick Railway black / red color scheme, and was renumbered 8620, to better fit with the other GG-1 locomotives. FA (A Unit) & FB (B unit) diesel locomotives In 1947, Brick Railway Systems (BRS) bought seven PB-1 & seven PA-1 series locomotives from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). They were numbered 8666 - 8673. Both units carried the same numbers and were semi-permanently coupled. The fourteen engines were delivered to Brick Railway but were slightly modified when they arrived. They were then painted in a variant of the famous BRS black-with-red-stripe paint scheme and had the front coupler removed. The engines were used on the non - electrified sections of main line to pull many named trains that couldn't be pulled by steam. This started in 1948 and continued until 1963, when the whole main-line system of Brick Railway Systems was electrified. Regulated to freight traffic & branch line work, the engines worked until 1982 when the engines were finally pushed back to "reserve" status. As such, they are not run often, but are kept in operating condition to this very day MRS-1 (Military Road Switcher -1) diesel locomotive In the early 1950's the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) was considering what would happen to an enemy railroad if another European war broke out. If the native locomotives in said enemy country were destroyed or rendered inoperable (as they likely would have been) what would pull the US military trains on their soil? The answer was not easy, as many countries have different gauges, loading clearances and couplers. The USATC decided on specific set of guidelines for it's Military Road Switcher (MRS) and waited to see which companies would offer the best design. American Locomotive Company (ALCO) beat out Electro-Motive Division (EMD), and won the contact. Engine #8945 was built by ALCO in 1954 and stored until 1970, awaiting a European war that never came. It was sold, unused, to Brick Railway Systems in 1971. It was immediately put to work along with another MRS-1 unit (#8946) on slow freight trains, though #8945 did pull a passenger train in an emergency in 1988. The engine remains in operable condition to this day and has been painted in the Black & red paint scheme. SW-1500 switcher Built in 1966 by Electro-Motive Division for Brick Railway Systems, engine #6715 was the first engine in an order of 15 engines. The engines were numbered 6715 – 6730 and were painted in the traditional black and red paint scheme. This consists of a stripe near the bottom of the loco and letters on the cab sides which say BRS. RS-2 Road switcher This RS-2 road switcher was ordered from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in January 1949 for Brick Railway Systems (BRS). It was delivered in July 1949 with 19 others of its type, and was given the number 6505. (The other RS-2's are numbered 6500 - 6520) This type wears the famous “Black with red stripe” that most BRS engines wear. 4-4-0 "American" steam locomotive This 4-4-0 (also known as an American type) was built by Rodgers Locomotive & Machine Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS) in 1876, and features a bright red-yellow-&-black paint scheme. Number 210 pulled passenger trains for 10 years before being reassigned to Freight duties in 1888. By 1900, the engine was worn out, and sent to a scrapper, who sold the engine to a museum for $100. Eventually, the museum was reorganized as the Imperial Rail Museum, where the engine rests today in non-operable condition. There were plans to get #210 in working order for the US Bicentennial in 1976, but nothing ever came of it, and the engine has remained cold and silent to this day. This is the oldest surviving BRS loco in existence. 2-6-2 "Prairie" steam locomotive This is locomotive #263, of the 2-6-2 Prairie type. This one was built by Sava Locomotives Incorporated in 1883 and was designed for slow freight trains. (It has smaller diameter wheels than faster passenger engines) It served until 1902, when the engine suffered a boiler explosion near Golden Gulch in Legoredo County. The engineer and fireman died in the explosion, but the engine was salvaged and repaired. Loco #263 was retired in 1925 when it was bought by a Hollywood film company for use in a Western movie. After filming ended, the engine was donated to the Imperial Rail Museum in the city of Legoredo, where it rests today in operable condition 2-6-0 "Mogul" steam locomotive The locomotive is engine #272, a 2-6-0 Mogul type. It was built by Zephyr Locomotive Works in 1885 and was a passenger engine, usually only in fast, named-train passenger service. (Thus the large driving wheels for greater speed) It was last used on the faster passenger trains in 1909, when it was painted in the new black & red paint scheme and sent into regular freight / local passenger service. It was supposed to have been scrapped in 1921, but was saved along with late 1800's passenger stock and a caboose. It was sent to the Imperial Rail Museum where it is stored in it's original dark green & black paint scheme. Engine #272 is operational, but is only steamed on special occasions. Present Rolling Stock:1930's streamline coaches These are not really based on any one prototype, but I was going for a Anthony Sava (Tequila Sunrise) meets Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Super Chief look. It looks more like a early 1930's consist to me, like something Pennsylvania Railroad would have done in brown or dark red. 1920's Heavyweight Passenger Cars Again, these are not really based on any one prototype, but I was going for a Anthony Sava (Polar Express coaches) look. It looks more like a early 1920's consist to me, though. 1950's Blue & White passenger consist I based this one off of two sources: the Wabash Frisco & Pacific Railroad (a 12 inch gauge ride-on steam line in Glencoe Missouri, near St. Louis) and the coaches formerly owned by the Museum of Transportation (also in St. Louis) before they were sold in 2012. Express passenger cars (2003-style) In reality, these cars are modeled after set 4511 (2003's High Speed Train) and the Carolina Train Builders passenger coach instructions available at the Railbricks website.-Express Coach (x3)-Cargo / Express Coach (x1)There is one part missing from this picture: http://www.bricklink...sp?P=44572pb005It is not in LDD as a decoration but the basic part is. 1950's Freight Cars In the real world, the modified tank cars are originally from set #7939, (Cargo Train), while the boxcars are from set #3677 (Red Cargo Train). The rock gondola was my own idea and the caboose is a mashed up Toy Story Caboose #7597 (Western Train Chase) and the vintage 10014 (Caboose) from 2001. Wide Vision / Bay Window Caboose I made this model about a year ago from instructions for an Bay Window caboose mixed with instructions for a Wide Vision caboose. I recently rediscovered the photo I posted to Flickr at that time and I wanted to make the model better. I removed some expensive parts (the red train base-plate, for one!) and replaced them with other, cheaper parts. 1920's Commuter Cars These cars consist of 1 baggage / mail car, while the other 3 cars are coaches 1910 Dark Green clerestory passenger train This wonderful train comes with one steam locomotive, one baggage car, two passenger coaches and one observation car. Comments & Critics welcome! I currently own (in real life) the PA / PB set, the 2-8-4, the 1920's heavyweight train, the GG-1, the streamline consist, some of the freight train, the 1920's commuter cars, and the 2-6-2 & the 2-6-0 Western trains.Most of these are modified versions of Anthony Sava's wonderful designs. He has a a Bricklink store from which I purchased everything but the two far left models. (Here is his store: http://www.bricklink...asp?p=AggieSava ) The LDD files or copies of the models I made from his instructions are NOT for sale... so please don't ask. The GG-1 was inspired by this builder from Brickshelf: http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=301802 The FA / FB models were inspired by Flickr user valgarise & his train called the "Invencible": http://www.flickr.co...ise/6238331351/ The SW-1500 is from LGauge, a LEGO train MOC site. (Link: http://www.lgauge.com/ ) The Alco RS-2 was inspired by memories of a diesel creation my Father & me made when I was 7. The LDD file for the GG-1: http://www.mocpages....1395173382m.lxf The LDD file for the RS-2 & SW-1500: http://www.mocpages....1395678142m.lxf The LDD file for the ALCO PA & PB units: http://www.mocpages....1395680308m.lxf The LDD file for the 0-6-0 steamer: http://www.mocpages....1398707791m.lxf The LDD file for the 0-4-0 switcher: http://www.mocpages....1398707178m.lxf The LDD file for the 2-6-0 Mogul steamer: http://www.mocpages....1401200779m.lxf The LDD file for Black & red 30's stream train: http://www.mocpages....1395862145m.lxf The LDD file for the brown 20's heavyweight cars: http://www.mocpages....1395861942m.lxf The LDD file for the white and blue 50's train: http://www.mocpages....1395862516m.lxf The LDD file for the modern white & green train: http://www.mocpages....1395860545m.lxf The LDD file for the Freight train: http://www.mocpages....1395860725m.lxf The LDD file for the Wide vision / bay window caboose http://www.mocpages....1395936808m.lxf The LDD file for the black and red commuter train: http://www.mocpages....1398787896m.lxf The LDD file for the 2-6-2 Prairie (black and red, large): http://www.mocpages....1406727379m.lxf The LDD file for VERSION 2 of the 2-6-2 Prairie (black and red, large): http://www.mocpages....1412537572m.lxf The LDD file for the 1910 Passenger train & Updated 2-6-0 Mogul: http://www.mocpages....1407852914m.lxf The LDD file for the 2-10-4 Texas steam locomotive: http://www.mocpages.com/user_images/80135/1413678781m.lxf

This station was designed first by LEGO as set 2150, Train Station. It was recreated by someone here on Eurobricks back in 2011, but it had an added "street side", that was almost identical as the track side. I downloaded and added: a expanded platform, made a clock with sign for both sides, and made the sections removable. (Yes, the roof for both levels come off.) I modernized the look of the station by adding a pizza oven with opening door like in set 7641, (City Corner) and adding a safe on the second floor for the station master. Track side. Street side of the station. The studs on the wall beside of the clock on both sides of the station are supposed to spell LEGO CITY in printed 1x1 tiles. Top floor features the Station master's office, with three chairs, a desk, open-able safe, rotary telephone and several cabinets with drawers. This floor and the roof above it are held on by just a few studs, making them 100% removable. The first floor features the ticket counter, pizzeria with bar seating and the oven taken from City Corner. Every floor & platform is grouped in LDD, and the station is also build-able in yellow for most (99%) of the parts. NOTES: I built this station for my father, who already owns the original yellow station set, number 4554. This modified station will be mostly recolored yellow to match his station, which this will replace. (I could have put this in my "Misc. Railroad Builds" thread, but I thought I deserved a thread in it's own right.) LDD file: http://www.mocpages....1412010310m.lxf Comments Question & Compolaints always welcome!!

Hi everyone! This is my newest creation, a remote controlled minifig scaled monorail, which is not fast, not modern, not streamlined, but old, dirty and slow. Despite or because of these fact, I hope you like it! The video: Maybe you remember my RC STS crane (http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/380083). The temperature was +1°C in that video, in this video it was +42°C! The bridge and the other things under the track contains approx 1000 bricks! On the last Malug meeting we made a bridge building competition and after that we got the bricks. What a cool thing, without them, the train destroyed the track. And an advice: if you build a monorail, don’t make the video in a rock-garden. Find a flat and horizontal table, and your life will be very comfortable! :D (to make the scenes with the bridge took more than 4 hours, I had to rebuild the whole track after every failed record) The Track looks simple, but it has to be strong and stable, because the train’s centre of gravity is in a high position. Of course the technic pieces are the best for it! The blue 2L pins are necessary. If we use only the small pins (with stud on one of its ends) the system part of the track can leave the technic part easily. Behind the windows: I found out the method I used, while I was building my RC Mercedes Citaro (http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/349750). The main feature of this method is that the model has an only-technic module inside, and it is covered by system elements and walls. The inside modul is completely independent, it can work perfectly without the system parts. In my Mercedes I used this only at the driving mechanism. The main advantage of the construction is the stability. The technic pins and liftarms (built in three directions) are strong enough against the forces caused by motors and gear ratio (and crashes…). More pictures: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/392844

What's your favorite railway museum, and why? I was at the China Railway Museum here in Beijing a few weeks ago for the third time and it got me to thinking about all the wonderful train museums I've seen in my travels. I thought it might make for an interesting discussion here in the train forum. Mine would have to be the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. It's been awhile since I've been there, but some pieces that stick out in my mind are the Big Boy (above, photo from their website) and UP 6944 (below, photo from UP150.com): This GM Aerotrain (designed to pull modified highway bus coaches for commuters) always fascinated me (photo from Wikipedia): They also have the original EMD FT Demo engine # 103 which is a model I always admired (photo from American-Rails.com): Anyway, they have a lot of stuff there! If you're anywhere near it, don't hesitate to take a look. Their web site is here. Besides the large array of historical pieces, the fact that it was within walking distance of my home factors in a lot to it's ranking as my favorite. A couple other American museums that I remember as being exceptional are: California State Railway Museum in Sacramento, CA B & O Railway Museum in Baltimore, MD ...but I'll leave those for others to discuss as I'm not so familiar with them. Oh, the China Railway Museum in Beijing? It's pretty good! It's completely enclosed in one huge shed and they have an interesting array of motive power there. It would be better if they had more English placards and maybe a bus that goes there as it can be tricky to find and hard to get a taxi out of. If you happen to be in Beijing and have an afternoon to kill, go take a look. Their web site (in Chinese) is here, the Wikipedia entry (in English) is here. They also have an annex in the center of the city in the old Qianmen Railway Station, but I've never been there. I don't think that there's any rolling stock there. Ok, so which museum(s) is/are your favorite? Joe

Hey! Do you have a favorite TV show, series and/or documentary program about trains? I've started to get interested in trains again after a long hiatus and am not so familiar with what's been put out recently. Personally, I've always enjoyed Michael Palin's travel documentaries such as; 'Around the World in Eighty Days' and 'Pole to Pole', although they're not strictly about trains. He's also done a show in the 'Great Railway Journeys' series from the BBC, hasn't he? There are a couple of railway-related series that I have been watching lately: > 'Rail Away' - the English version is a documentary series of twenty-five programs in which they go to a different European country each show. > 'Extreme Trains' - an American show of eight episodes with a different focus each time, i.e.; freight train, steam train, etc. Kid-related shows are, of course, Thomas and the 'Choo Choo Bob Show'. There's also a show called 'Chuffington' or something like that, isn't there? What have I missed? Thanks, Joe

"The Twins" Now finished and will be on running display at the Bucks Railway Centre show 25-27th this month. Managed to get 3 working front LED lights on 10000. Both have 9v motors in...again a bit of "smoke an mirrors" with them as they have a dummy 3rd rim above the track. The pics dont really show it but I managed to get hold of some metalic brushed aluminium vinyl for the numbers and lettering, which looks very nice IRL and true to proto. 3mm tube is LEGO metalic silver, again the pics dont show it well. I've also tried to include the subtle differences between the engines ;) These are the first 7 wide full size diesels I have done (they were sort of a test to see if I can re-visit the class 37 and 40) and also now the longest at 2 or 4 studs (cant remember) longer than the Pullman DMU units. Link to Flickr set:

Inspired by Locomotive Annie's recent 'Steam Electric Locomotive' topic and Electrosteam's 'Bag of Ideas' topic, I threw together this little MOD. Car #168 is the end result of a secret program started by the CIA in 1964. The previous 167 cars all met a grisly demise on the test track, incurring the loss of numerous personnel. The work was so hazardous that hardened criminals who were offered reduced sentences were about the only people willing to work on it. Haircut (pictured here with his guard) was one of the few to survive. The engine was designed to air-lift itself behind enemy lines where it could wreck havoc in it's own unique way. Most of the interior of the car contained various weapons including large calibre machine guns and missle launchers under the retractable roof. There was also room to store the rotors when not in use as, obviously, they would cause a bit of a problem with bridge and tunnel clearances. This prototype - the first to successfully complete trials - was launched from an aircraft carrier when it suddenly developed engine problems and presently it rests at the bottom of the Gulf of Tonkin. The crew was able to paracute to safety however the general in charge of the program was secretly shot for embezzling funds and for being so daft as to think this was a viable project in the first place! Due to lack of funds the program was discontinued soon afterwards. Oh, what's this? The Atlantis team has stumbled upon the wreck! What are they doing in S.E. Asia? Aren't they supposed to be in the Atlantic or Mediterranean somewhere and what are the Fish-men doing at the wreck? There are rumors of rolling stock that were being developed as well but no photographs have ever surfaced. There are several researchers digging through the files, who knows what they might find...? Ok, hope you got a laugh out of it. I don't have much in the way of space, time or bricks...did the best I could. The 'Atlantis' shot probably would've been more successful from a higher angle, live and learn. Joe

I bought some instructions from Anthony Sava's BrickLlink store the other day, and finally finished MODing the model in LDD. The instructions I bought were very easy to understand, and If your thinking of buying them, do it. You won't regret it! ...Anyway, I haven't come up with my usual backstory yet, so here are my pics. The locomtive is number 1227, and was built in 1933 by Lima Locomotive Works for Brick Railway. The white tiles on the tender / cab are supposed to be printed, and in real life will say: Sides of cab: 1227 Sides of tender: BRICK RAILWAY SYSTEMS Rear of tender: BRS (or maybe 1227, I haven't decided on this yet) Inside of the cab. The slopes will be replaced with two printed pieces, and the firebox door is also a placeholder. I really enjoyed redoing this model, and making into my style. Once again I wish to thank you, Mr. Sava, as you design really thought out, good looking engines' & rolling stock. I give you :thumbup: for excellence and ingenuity. (NOTICE: NO instructions will given here or anywhere else by me, so don't even ask, as I don't want to take away Anthony's hard work and give it away for free. If you really want it, buy the instructions & modify it.)