TaltosVT

Eric Kingsley did a nice conversion of one of his narrow-hood locomotives. Basically he hid the majority of the battery in the diesel's fuel tank, then covered the top part with panels. You can see images here: http://www.trains-n-town.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20101029222556545 -Elroy

MagCloud actually ships to the U.K. and other countries, according to their Shipping FAQ page: http://www.magcloud.com/help/shippingAndOrdering Being in the U.S., I haven't tried it, so I'm not sure what delivery times look like. If you do order one, I'd be interested to see if it arrives as quickly as they state it should. -Elroy

RAILBRICKS Issue #8 is available for download. RAILBRICKS #8 Download We have a couple of really interesting articles that I hope you'll all enjoy. Big thanks to the RAILBRICKS team for pulling this latest issue together. Enjoy! -Elroy

If you run one on either end, be sure to run the faster motor in the front. Otherwise you end up pushing your train into itself. That said, I've run two motors on a single locomotive for years and never had any trouble. -Elroy

Looks like the email that I sent you yesterday didn't go through. I tried to send you the PDF as an attachment. Do you have another computer that you might be able to try accessing the download section of the RAILBRICKS site with? -Elroy RAILBRICKS

When I spotted set 3180-Tanker Truck in stores earlier this summer, my first thought was "tank car". I couldn't quite bring myself to spend the money on the set though. Today, we went to Toys R Us, and took advantage of the Buy One, Get One Half Off sale. So now, finally, I have my Octan Tanker: -Elroy

As others have already said, we're getting very close to releasing Issue 7. In addition we're looking for articles and instructions for future issues. If you have articles that you'd like to submit, please e-mail them to us at submissions(at)railbricks.com. While we can't guarantee that everything will be published, RAILBRICKS is a magazine by fans for fans, so we're always on the lookout for new material. The more material we have to work with, the more issues we can release. -Elroy

I had my layout on the floor of my basement for about a year. I didn't enjoy it at all. It was hard on my knees while I was trying to build, and I was constantly tripping over parts that I had already built. I finally broke down, purchased some plywood and lumber, and built a series of tables. Given the choice between the two, I'll hopefully never go back to having my layout on the floor. Some of the advantages have been mentioned already: - Space under tables can be used for storage. In my case, I keep not only my LEGO parts, but also my railroading magazines and books that I use for reference. - No more bending over or kneeling to build. I actually built my tables up higher (about 42" if I recall correctly), so that I can comfortably build and operate while standing up. The down-side to this is that it's difficult for my youngest daughter to see the layout. However, it's also more difficult for her to snatch pieces off the layout and pop them in her mouth. - Modular. My tables are 3x3 baseplates, built specifically so that I could rearrange them as needed. I can also adjust the height by adding different length legs, so building features such as rivers or sunken turntables is a lot easier. - Wiring is hidden. I can run all of my wiring beneath the tables. As someone else mentioned, you can also add cutouts and hide any motors that you are using for remote switches. In my case, my layout is still a pure LEGO solution, but I don't always need to see the motors. - Noise reduction. I actually found that raising my layout cut down on the noise as opposed to adding to it. There's probably a difference in how our tables are built. Mine don't seem to echo at all, especially after bookcases and parts drawers have been placed under them. - Better lighting. Since my layout is now closer to the ceiling, and therefore the lights, it's a lot easier on my eyes when I'm trying to build. The main con to the solution that I've used is that when I need to expand, I need to build new tables. Plywood is relatively inexpensive though, and it saves the pain in my back and knees. -Elroy

Brian Darrow's layout was featured in Issue #2 of RAILBRICKS. There isn't a track plan, but there are some photos of the inside of the mountains, as well as his table set up. You can download the issue here: http://www.railbricks.com/magazine-issues -Elroy

Thanks everyone for the comments. It was a fun little build. -Elroy

Just finished up my latest, a microscale timesaver switching puzzle. This puzzle is based on the original HO version by John Allen. Most model railroaders have probably heard of the timesaver, and I've been wanting to do a LEGO version for some time. The idea hit me at work today to build it microscale so that it would be portable. The goal of the original game was to move cars to designated spots in the least amount of time. The track lengths were design to hold a certain number of cars each (1, 2, or 3) so that the operator had to make a number of moves to attain their goal. I've attempted to do the same on my version. Variations of the game include moving cars to designated spots using the least amount of moves. Due to the tight fit on the diagonals of my model, it's best suited to these sorts of games. You can see a simle example of move counting in my Flickr set -Elroy

Nice use of the RC base. That's a tough base to build around. -Elroy

Shaun Sullivan built a great German train several years ago: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=7086 -Elroy

Just curious how this is going to be measured, given the built-in 2 hour time-out of the PF rechargeable battery? Will two hours be the upper limit, or will someone be keeping an eye on the locomotives to start them up again?

I really like this. I'm curious how it'll run through curves and switches with three flanged wheels that close together. -Elroy

My supply of brown and gray parts is dwindling, but I was in a building mood today, and wanted to add something to my rail-yard layout, so I mocked this up in MLCad. A small sanding house and tower: Flickr Page -Elroy

I can't think of any MOCs off-hand, but I have some photos of actual cranes if that would help you out any. The first is at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12534314@N04/...57622136804304/ There are more photos of it in that Flickr set, thought they are a bit scattered. You can see in that photo, however, that the main crane sits on the end of the crane car with the boom hanging out over the rest. The second is a double-ended wrecker in the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, CT: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12534314@N04/...57621592167933/ Not as many photos of that one, as it's huge, and I couldn't get any really good angles of it. In that case, though, the center mass of the crane sits over the middle of the car, with arms hanging off both ends. Both cranes basically just use a flatcar with the crane arm hanging over them. Photos of other cranes I've seen with the boom lowered, just have the arm resting over the flatcar. -Elroy

I like the use of hooks for couplers. How well do they work? -Elroy

This is possible today with available parts. See the discussion on this Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/legotrains/di...57617947835040/ I found that it works well on a small layout, but when we tried it at the NMRA show in July, it didn't work as well. I think the lighting conditions and distance played a large part in that. Rather than trying to bring back 9v track at this point, which they won't do for multiple reasons that have been mentioned over the last couple of years, I'd rather see LEGO work on making a smaller battery. The PF trains are powerful enough, the batteries they have available are just a bit larger than I'd like. -Elroy

I put my track down directly on the plywood, and it worked fine. I would imagine that a thin layer of HO astro-turf would be okay. For baseplates, if you attach the straight track to the baseplates, they stay in place just fine. We do this for shows all the time, and this is what I'm moving toward on my basement layout as I am able to purchase them. Yes, the RC line is being phased out. Power Functions have replaced them. The track gauge is the same, though, so you can run both with no problems. There used to be, but it hasn't been out for a few years. You might be able to find one second-hand. Hope this helps some. -Elroy

The calendar is now available for sale: http://www.railbricks.com/railblog-categor...r-now-available Available through Lulu for $15.00, plus shipping: http://www.lulu.com/content/8028155 -Elroy

I've never done multiple lights, but a single light powered off the motor dims or brightens depending on the speed that you have the regulator set at. So, if the train is going somewhat slowly, the light is fairly dim. If you are looking for a lot of light, it may be better to power the lights off from a battery box, so that the lighting stays consistent no matter how fast the train is going. -Elroy

My tips: 1) Build as many of the official LEGO sets as you can. It helps get a feel for the size, weight, and power of the various locomotives and cars. 2) If you are going to build a model of a prototype: research, research, research! Find as many photos of the real thing as you can. Try to find photos of both sides of the locomotive or car that you are building. Look online for statics about its size and weight. Compare it to other cars to get a feel for its size. 3) Don't ignore other scales. Scale modelers have been doing this for a lot longer than LEGO modelers have. Look to them for inspiration. Look through old copies of model railroad magazines. Join online forums for scale modelers. Talk to other modelers at shows. The forums and shows are generally also attended by people who work with the real thing. Get to know them. They can be a wealth of information. 4) Visit train museums. The best way to get a sense of scale is to stand in the shadow of a Big Boy. We tend to seem them as toys, but some of these locomotives are massive. Many of the museums that I've been to have also been manned by retired railroad workers. These are the guys that can really tell you stories that will inspire you. Don't be afraid of that 90 year-old man behind the counter. He's likely seen and done things that you can only imagine, and if he's still working around trains, it's because he's passionate about them. 5) Don't worry about the opinion of other modelers. Some people just don't understand LEGO modeling. Just do your thing, and let them do theirs. 6) Always have fun with it. -Elroy

The minifig-scale Millyard layout at the SEE Science Center in Manchester, NH has water running through it. The base of the layout if made from plywood, with channels cut for the water. An example from one of the during-construction photos: http://www.nelug.org/mediagallery/media.ph...060625222124924. NELUG is having their 10th anniversary party there tomorrow. I'll try to get some current photos. -Elroy

You can put the IR receiver between the controller and track. See the discussion on the Flickr Lego Trains group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/legotrains/di...57617947835040/ -Elroy