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@Amoreternum I think people love to see some of your preliminary design sketches & design work!

@moparacker Theres nothing wrong with the #5 wheel having an axle. Thats the standard wheel size from Lego.

I didn’t even know that LL and xLL were available options....! Also, I think anyone and everyone that does 4-wide Narrow Gauge is interested in those proposed wheels...!

I think a (perhaps annual?) review of these competitors' offerings-- much in the vein of the "Communist 'lego'" files-- could be an interesting and Enlightening recurring segment for the Train Tech forum. We could use it primarily as a gauge of how advanced the competition really is versus how much farther they'd have to come. Secondly, we can highlight any novel building techniques, as well as interesting new elements. Lastly, it could serve as a written thesis? of sorts as to what TLG is doing right versus what they could improve upon in regards to train offerings.

@Phil B This reads like a decent reason to stay operating with 9v versus PF or PuP.

@legotownlinz You should write a review once you get it (in a separate thread though). The battery box looks more like an imitation of BuWizz’s imho. The two bits that grab my attention is that the set is like 95% dark green elements, and it seems that there is an add-on pack available separately.

My only gripe with this is the magnetic switch that toggles the different power profiles. I feel like a tactile switch would have been a better choice... yet I understand if smaller components were not possible.

@Plastic_Goth Its chonky! Is this for gartenbahn...? You should add photo(s) of the irl engine.

A little late to the game... no? If they had led with switches, I’d probably be more interested. Plus, I hear that BB’s clutch-power is ... low

@coaster Something I’ve been toying with recently are LGB wheels with metal tires/flanges. I found a few different sizes that are equivalent to BBB’s M, L, and xL size drivers. Even more interesting is that the diameter for the plastic rim of one wheel size is close (+|- 1~2mm) to that of the outside diameter of a blind driver from the next wheel size down. Basically, a blind M driver could fit into the metal tire of an L.

@Phil B There are 12.5 stud long straight segments in the crossovers. In my irl test build there was maybe about 1-2 degrees of flex, but I’m thinking its due to not having the specialized turnout curve.

Did some additional sketching on BlueBrick as well as irl, and I agree that having the switches lined up seems to make sense. I measured the length of the straight segment between the branch and the curve to be roughly 12.5 studs. Which in turn leads to some interesting visuals: MILS Sketchwork (17): R104 Triangle by Nick Jackson, on Flickr Setups like this would be great for connecting LGMS layouts!

@zephyr1934 I've been looking at a similar configuration, and I think I've come close to a MiLS-friendly solution: MILS Sketchwork (16): Double Mainline Split by Nick Jackson, on Flickr What do you think?

Maybe you should consult the program’s help guide.......? It sounds like you need to either rearrange your content layers. Either by the actual named layers (bottom right of screen), or within the layer itself via the “Bring to Front” or “Send to Back” commands. It helps to rtfm... Just sayin...

@@coaster Sign me up for at least 12 pairs!

@SteamSewnEmpire The best places to look would be @Philo ‘s website or @Sariel ‘s website for comprehensive motor info. But I think they can be grouped like this: M motor is speed / torque xL motor is torque / speed L motor is balanced, but higher amps Hope this helps?

You should add a on/off switch! I used a SPST, but you could make it fancier, if you fancy it.

@SteamSewnEmpire You should look up @jtlan ‘s posts about scale & lego trains. It’s pretty good stuff despite myself not being a scale modeler.

Not to ruin anyone’s optimism, but that still of a steam engine looks similar to a sticker/ a stock photo from off the internets...

Can we still spoof motor id’s by including some resistors? Or has the system evolved......?

Uhm... the Disney Train is $330 usd, and the PuP freight set is $230 usd... oh and a motorized Krokodil is almost $200 usd! While I think your set proposal is fantastic and I love how much support it’s getting, I don’t think you should stop trying to improve/rework your model. Really try and attack it from a set designers’ PoV. You should be asking questions like: “How sturdy is this?” “Where can I cheat and use more stickers/prints?” “Is there room for some kind of action feature?” “How can I rework this to use even less/cheaper parts?” “What can I do with the budget leftovers?” BTW, Does anyone else get the feeling that TLG is experiencing some of their 90’s (pre-bankruptcy) swagger again??

@Coal Fired Bricks Idk if replicating the radii that’s already available from 2-3 other manufacturers is the way to go. Something fresh to see would be half-curves for the r56 - r120 family. Another fresh take would be producing the r136 - r200 family of curve tracks. Lastly, those pinholes are useful for two reasons: 1) they’re great for stacking& storage for ppl with temporary layouts and 2) they can serve as mounting holes for ppl with more permanent layouts (esp gartenbahn)

@dr_spock That joke would be more comprehensible if the loco was (any) shade of green....! Maybe if you tie up a Robin minfig to one of the ends...? I wonder if the Killer Croc bigfig from TLBM can fit in the cab sideways? lol

Getting back to the loco itself, I have a couple of theories as to the Croc’s wheel arrangement: 1) Each end has 3 swivel (articulation) points. The first connects the pilot wheel to the coupled pair of drivers (F+B) and nose assembly. The second connects all of that to the third (F) driver axle and the third swivel directly underneath the cab. 2) Each end has 2 swivel points. The first connects the pilot wheel to the rest of the nose assembly. In this version the drivers are rigidly arranged in (F+F, B), but the second swivel point is still over the third axle. It’ll be interesting to see how this negotiates r40 curves& switches.

Personally, I would've opted for either a dark red, dark green, or even dark brown color scheme. Do the wheels look black or dark grey to anyone? Can we get some gunmetal grey wheels though!?! I'm hoping that this set will have at least 1-3 rebuilds, as this is key to evoking higher sales imho. It would be crazy to see a Mallet or Garret-type engine as an official B-model! Also, after reading into the divide about yes extra cars vs. no extra cars, TLG mightv'e factored rolling stock in as alternative builds ((theres like 1300 pcs, c'mon TLG)). Even if the B-models aren't the best, it'd still be some sort of incentive to buy multiples. What I most want to see is the rumored 'new' motor that'll be powering this. I agree with those that think it'll be the PuP L-motor, but I also hope it'll be something new new!!