SavaTheAggie

The smart thing would be to builds solid core, that would make construction easier. But mine are completely hollow. The panels hold themselves together using 1x4 bricks with 4 studs on the side, 8 of them. I could have used 5 stud bricks in each corner, but I didn't have any spare. Doing it that way actually creates a VERY strong sphere, but only once all 6 panels are installed. Until then its incredibly fragile. Glad you like them. I can't take a lot of credit for the red birds design, but these were a fun build. I'm hoping to get two more blue and two more red birds built before I need them for the display, and maybe a black bird. The black bird should be bigger than the red, but I don't havetime to order bricks, so I'm going to try for a black bird the same size as the red. --Tony

I wasn't planning on posting these anywhere, but since they seem to be popular, why not. Angry Birds by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Fantastic job, really well done. It seems you've got the proportions just about spot on perfect. The amount of detail you've captured is impressive enough, but the added lighting is icing on the cake. I've been ogling your photos on brickshelf for several days now. You've got a lot of clever solutions hidden away in there, I'll be coming back to study them in the future. Very well done. --Tony

Behind the Scenes by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Self Portrait by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

The next installment in my SRW Scenic Tours "Texas Brick Railroad" photo series: "Throttle Up" Image is a link. --Tony

The next installment in my SRW Scenic Tours "Texas Brick Railroad" photo series: "Ghost Train" Image is a link. --Tony

The next installment in my SRW Scenic Tours "Texas Brick Railroad" photo series: "Tradition" Image is a link. --Tony

Thanks much! --Tony

Yup, all the bridges around here are black with creosote. Plus black in bulk is a lot cheaper. --Tony

The next installment in my SRW Scenic Tours "Texas Brick Railroad" photo series: "Brick or Treat" Image is a link. --Tony

Thanks! --Tony

The next installment in my SRW Scenic Tours "Texas Brick Railroad" photo series: "Topping Off" Image is a link. --Tony EDIT: It would be nice if I could edit the title of my post. Somehow I forgot to write the whole thing. It should be "SRW Scenic Tours:Topping Off".

Thank you all. The bridge is an expanded version of the trestle bridge design that I've posted here before. It's actually several months old, it debuted in an unfinished state at Comicpalooza in Houston, and then mostly finished at Brick Fiesta in Austin. Here's what it looks like all together: The module is 1 x 6 32x32 baseplates, and has two sets of track. The forward track is the trestle bridge, the rear track is a stone bridge with a large truss span. I haven't posted finished pictures anywhere yet because I want to add more detail, such as plants and a campsite. For this photo, I removed the truss span, and the trestle hid the stone/concrete pillars of the other track. --Tony

The first installment in my new Sava Railways Scenic Tours photo series, "The Texas Brick Railroad": "Rail In The Sky" Image is a link. --Tony

Thanks much! I really wasn't going to do an interior on the station, it was a spur of the moment thing. I'm glad I did as well, I don't think I'd be as proud of it as I am had I not gone the extra mile. I'm going to order the ME-Model rails for my engine shed today. Right now Brickworld is looking very possible, so knock on wood I'll be there. Thanks! Thanks! I was always going to do the water tower, but given its round nature I didn't want to attempt it in LDraw. Trying to arrange all those odd-angled bricks made my head hurt. Thanks much! Thanks! The doors on the water tower annex were a pain, they made me have to change the design of few times to accommodate them. I had to go back and edit the lower door once, which required me to open up the tower quite a bit. Thanks much! Thanks, I appreciate it, though I'm not sure I'm deserving of such praise. Thanks! --Tony

Oooh, yes! I'd definitely buy that set. Great work. --Tony

Gallery My MOC inspired by the Texas State Railroad's Palestine Depot. Along with its' locomotives, the two depots on either end of the Texas State Railroad - one in Palestine, the other in Rusk, are memorable in their own right. For me, I find the Palestine Depot to be more beautiful. It differs in some significant ways from the original: for example I chose not to build the partially attached gift shop, which causes the roof to become a hollow triangle. There are many other subtle and not so subtle differences, but I believe I've been able to capture the overall spirit of the building. --Tony

Thanks! Thanks much! They do seem to go nicely all posed together. My next works won't be finished for some time, and they're only train related, but they should be great additions. My next actual train MOCs will be more passenger coaches for the TSRR. I only have two right now, seems a shame to have more locomotives than rolling stock. Thanks much! I'm not a fan of diesels, but I decided to build the RS-2 on a whim. It worked out so well that I felt the need to build the other three, which turned out pretty good. The instructions fro the RS-2 and the MRS-1 are available from my Bricklink shop. ;) Still, after building four diesel engines it has only served to cement my opinion that steam engines are a heck of a lot more fun to build and play with. Thanks for the kind words on the main page, I appreciate it. Thanks! Heh... yeah, it's really been a labor of love bordering on insanity. All 9 locomotives were posted here to Eurobricks in their own thread. However, if you do not wish to search them out, photos of them all can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/savatheaggie/collections/72157600864043419/ --Tony

Thanks much. I do try my best to capture the look of the original, and in my opinion the only way to do that with LEGO trains is to go 8 wide. 6 wide trains (and even some 7 wides) just can't do the job. I try to get blueprints whenever possible, though for the TSRR locomotives I've had to stick with only photographs. Fortunately I've been able to take many of the photographs I've used as reference. Thanks much! After building the 610 with more eye for detail when it comes to hoses, I feel the 400 and especially this, the 201, have benefited. So much so that I am not going back to the 300 and 500 to add more details. I didn't know that, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I learn something new everyday. And thanks! I would love to, if I can find the time. Though I'm going to have to ask if my train here qualifies, since I've posted wip photos to Flickr prior to the cutoff date. --Tony

All 9 steam engines and diesel electric locomotives of the Texas State Railroad. Plus a motor car. Steam: TSRR Ten Wheeler (4-6-0) #201 TSRR Consolidation (2-8-0) #300 TSRR Mikado (2-8-2) #400 TSRR Pacific (4-6-2) #500 T&P Texas (2-10-4) #610 Diesel: ALCO MRS-1 #8 ALCO RS-2 #7 GE 70 Ton #22 GE 45 Ton #1 So am I finished? Nope. While there are no other locomotives to build, there are still more TSRR projects on my plate. Stay tuned for more. --Tony

Thanks much! Thanks much! I make the technic beams light grey instead of black to make them stand out. It's more fun to see them spinning when the train is in motion. Thanks much! You won't have long to wait. Thanks much! I don't own any 12v, so I don't build in it. Thanks much! I appreciate your business. Next? Oh, there are plenty more related projects on the drawing board... --Tony

Gallery Texas State Railroad Ten Wheeler (4-6-0) Engine #201. From the TSRR Website: -------------------------------- Engine number 201 is the oldest locomotive operated on the line. This engine was built in 1901 by the A.L. Cooke Locomotive Works for the Texas & Pacific Railway, and is the only operating T&P steam locomotive in existence. The engine was built for freight service and proudly wore the number 316 during its career with the Texas & Pacific. Engine 201 is classified as a 4-6-0. This means that it has four wheels in the front, six drivers in the middle and no wheels in the rear of the engine. This type of locomotive is commonly referred to as a "ten wheeler." In 1949, after years of hard service, the Texas & Pacific sold number 316 to the Paris & Mt. Pleasant Railroad, a T&P subsidiary. In 1951 the locomotive was saved from the scrapper's torch by a remarkable lady who wished to remain anonymous. She purchased the engine and, with the help from the T&P, donated it to the city of Abilene in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary as a city. The venerable ten wheeler remained on display in Abilene at the Oscar Rose Park for many years, wearing the number 75 to symbolize the seventy-fifth Jubilee Celebration of the City. In 1974 the citizens of Abilene graciously donated the locomotive to the newly formed Texas State Railroad. After extensive repair and refurbishing, the engine was again rolling down the rails to thrill a new generation of train passengers. The 201 was recently refurbished and unveiled during October 2006 and is currently used during steam excursions at the Texas State Railroad. ------------------------------ This is the fifth of five steam engines of the Texas State Railroad I have constructed. She is currently powered by a single 9v motor, but eventually I will be upgrading her to power functions, with a single power functions train motor replacing the 9v motor. I will be taking photos of all of the TSRR LEGO locomotives together, for the first time, sometime later this week. --Tony

There is absolutely no reason to have two battery boxes powering a total of only two motors in a train. The standard PF battery box produces more than enough current to power two motors by itself. The only reason why you'd want to use two battery boxes is to extend the amount of time you can run your train, but it will not grant you any more pulling power. If you want more battery life, go with the AA battery box if you have room, or use a custom non-LEGO battery holder to fit the 6 AA batteries inside. --Tony

I would say 6 wide trains are about 1:60 scale. The track itself is about 1:40 scale (to US Standard gauge rail). I build my trains 8 wide, at about 1:48 scale, which is the US standard for O gauge. But I consider a minifig to be roughly 5.5 to 6 feet in height with ridiculous width, as opposed a normal person of very small stature. It really depends on what you consider a minifig to be, and that's what you need to look at when considering trees (and everything else). This thread on Flickr is great for discussing the different thoughts on the subject: http://www.flickr.com/groups/legotrains/discuss/72157623038753275/ --Tony