v6TransAM

Great looking layout. With your level of detailing using Lego alone, no one is going to notice your non Lego ballast. It will look fine.

Hoping for a USA steamer, but I doubt it. Would be happy for a real USA diesel as well, since I missed out on all the others and I won't pay the ridiculous price people are asking for them. The boy and I would enjoy more stuff like we see on a daily basis to play with.

Waiting for my kickstarter curves. Glad to see this made it thru and appreciate the follow up emails as well as posts here keeping us informed.

More like GP-15. It's too short without adding in some extra length otherwise. The 6 stud lengthening really looks like the way to go with the new cargo train. Wonder if we will ever see a real North American style windshield for trains.

When I say I hate you, please do not take it the wrong way. Your builds are awesome. I wish I had the time/money to do builds like yours. Mind sharing a bit of info on your truck design?

That's pretty cool. But I will stick with my telekinesis for now

So what is the cheap new track option? Hard to find that Banbao stuff cheap the switches are dirt cheap, the straight/curve pack is almost as much as real Lego. Shame the Enlighten stuff seems to have gone away.

I think I was the only one to luck out with VTN..................................... HE's were 93$ or so each, ordered two. Absolutely nothing from them and then three came to the house within a couple weeks I was lucky, DO NOT ORDER from anything that says VTN in the site, everyone else got scammed that I am aware of. Also credit card fraud occured later as well(although cannot confirm it was due to them) Now the one that was the biggest kick in the junk, I won a lot of 40+pounds of Lego for about 320$ shipped, not so bad. I did find a mostly intact HE in there along with some track, but the killer was I have the doors for the passenger car that comes with the Emerald Night, but it is not in there. So close yet so far away lol

You would be poorer for about 2 months, then you would be ahead of the curve after the third recharging. If using regular batteries, you have to go with quality ones or they simply do not last. I am currently running Eneloops in all of my sons/mine battery boxes and they outlast the Duracell and Energizer regular batteries I started with. Myself and quite a few others here think they are worth every penny. I am slowly replacing all my batteries with them in everything since they are kind of pricey up front. As far as PF stuff, zero use in stocking up now other than keeping stuff on hand for future builds or maybe a complete backup set of everything. PF is used across the line in Lego and will be around for a bit and we will probably see many more options become available for PF as well. Train specific PF stuff probably less so, but as they add new things I am sure there is a chance some improvements will come our way.

Well it is nice to see it seems to be more than the odd store here or there. I'm about 45 min. south of Chicago and like I said, seeing a Lego train set not at TRU has not happened for me before.

Nope, I only buy retail stuff when sales are on It lets me attempt to justify it to myself

Since I am basically a big kid, when I go to the store for anything I always go to the toy aisles and check out Lego and Transformers. So imagine my shock today when I hit the Lego aisle at Meijer. I stopped dead in my tracks!?!?!?!?(get it?, get it?, I kill me) There on the top shelf were to of the passenger train sets 60051 sitting on the shelf in there own spot with a price tag for 149.99. So as I started to look around with my interest piqued I also found 5 or 6 train station 60050 on the bottom shelf, also with there own spot with a 64.99 price tag. Now, I am 38 years old and have never grown out of checking out the toy aisle and this may be the first time I have seen a Lego train set in a store that was not Toys R Us or a Lego store proper(leaving out the high end toy stores), at least anywhere near me my entire life in the USA. So is this a "its just me thing" or does it happen elsewhere as well?

Thrown them away to this point Not very creative, but lacking a better use I was getting quite a stack going.

Nice, like to see other parents teaching their kids how to save, its getting rare these days. My son is younger than yours by 4 years, so he is much more into the "train" part rather than the cars/trucks/accessories with the sets, so I would have to imagine your 8 yr old would be more of a fan of the playability the new cargo train offers. Just wish the prices on both sets didn't go up with the new releases......

I can back what the other posters are saying about the Eneloops, they are way better than any other rechargeable I have tried personally. My 4 yr old son now has 1 cargo train, 1 pass. train and 1 TGV all PF, it takes about 3-4 weeks in between having to charge them. He is very good about turning them off when he is not using them however They are expensive at first, but I did the math and figured out by the second recharge cycle you are close to break even and by the third you are coming out ahead. This is assuming you use quality batteries to begin with like Duracell or Energizer, so if they see any amount of decent use you will come out ahead fairly quickly.

Please, please, please, make a new post for each one and also a master post for it with them all linked. Way to awesome to bury them in one post. How many bricks long is the baggage car? Is it made for standard Lego track curves as well?

Nice

I am willing to bet your already thinking about adding PF to the tender aren't you? lol Looks good.

Never been a fan of the European steam and diesel engines, but you have built some mighty fine versions of them from Lego. Look forward to seeing other works of yours soon.

Battery box with Eneloops for me. Cheaper in the long run and you can always use more batteries somewhere with 2 children. Wouldn't mind hearing about the custom battery setup however.

Curve and straights are good to go. I was told from multiple sources to avoid the switches due to point issues and no spring in them for return like the Lego ones. It is supposedly no longer made and last time I was looking for some, very few sources and it was getting expensive. The switch mod is awesome once you get over cutting.

I say do it. You very well may cringe as you are cutting, but as soon as you put a basic loop together with much improved geometry you will be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner. I always recommend to make sure to measure twice and cut once lol It is not a hard project, just do yourself the favor and stop by a hobby store or the like and get yourself a razor saw so u get a much finer/thinner cut than the hacksaw I used(literally). Good razor saw, utility knife with sharp blades and a pair of wire cutters is about all you need along with some nefarious Kragle if building a 90 degree crossing out of flex track. As a side note, folks have made the 90 deg. crossing from flex track without having to add in the styrene strips...... Mine just did not come out that way, I will try again and see where to improve.

This is what happens when Dad and the four year old have too much free time when Mom is out Did the switch mod to make the curve the equivalent of two curves, so much better this way. Also made a 90 deg. crossing from flex track, although it took a little more modifying than what I was hoping for, had to hit the hobby shop and pick up some styrene strips to make it 100% functional. Will have to work on polishing it up and find something a little finer to cut it with. This was the screwing around test fit after I got it all together permanently and fully functional Close up of modified switch, this makes things sooooooooooooo much easier when slapping some track together. I cut up Enlighten track to make the 1/2 curve sections. The switch being equal to 2 curves should have came from Lego to begin with. Shot of the modified switch and the 90 deg. Hated to add the styrene strips in, but I had to for functionality because the gap was just large enough to catch the wheels in long ways. More careful trimming might have helped, more time, not having a four year old over your shoulder and so on and so forth My rule is if he wants something made, he does it with me or not at all. Held it together on a base plate using long single plates to elevate it a notch while I worked. Used Krazy Glue(Kragle) on the top side to hold it together initially. Slicing the top off the flex track for the center sections was basically a pain, so I have a couple ideas for future projects. As you can see I did have to add in the styrene strips to make it all work. It does indeed work great and causes no issues while running trains over it or the switches. My son is absolutely enthralled by it, so all in all it is a success, learned some lessons along the way to apply to the next batch I make. Overall, I know some people are abhorred by cutting, but this makes your life so much easier by not fighting obscene track geometry. I mean you can actually make an end loop using a switch and swinging a circle back to it. If you are on the fence about it, just make yourself one set and try it out, you will not be disappointed.

I am glad I is It bugged me out to, but when you open and build it with a 4 yr old and you find warped plates, you build it because he gives you no other choice

Any of the Union Pacific or Norfolk Southern heritage units lol