SavaTheAggie

I went through the box in the store for 16 unique barcodes (took a while), and then as I opened them I cut off the barcode and taped it to the picture as shown. --Tony

Minifigs Series 2 Barcodes North America by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

It's not a PF specific "problem". 9v trains did this too. Just manage your speed properly or bank your curves. --Tony

--Tony

There is no shame in tender-driven steam. All of my steam engines are powered this way. --Tony

I wrote about this in a RAILBRICKS blog post in 2009, which can be found here: http://www.railbricks.com/railblog-categories/power-functions/93-a-power-functions-primer I was able to build a reliable, robust, geared motor bogie that matches the LEGO train motor in size, shape, function and form. --Tony

The Benefits of Power Functions Trains (an incomplete list): Complex track layouts - The 9v system cannot do double-backs, wyes, and other very common rail configurations, as doing so would cause a short circuit. With all plastic track this is a non-issue, and very handy for people, like me, who do not have room for large loop layouts. Multiple trains - the PF system allows for multiple trains running at multiple speeds on the same track. This cannot be done with 9v without a significant investment in DCC and the time to install it. Longer trains/Stronger Motors - It has been suggested (I have yet to play with them so I can only go by third party knowledge) that the new PF train motors are stronger than the 9v motors. I can say with certainty that trains built with standard PF motors (Either the Medium or XL motors) and brick-built motor bogies are head and shoulders above 9v in terms of . At Brickworld 2009 a train strength competition was held and none of the 9v locomotives using non-LEGO power supplies could even come close to out-pulling the PF locomotive.Longer/Bigger Layouts - Like it or not, electrified rails is an extremely inefficient method to powering model trains. As the electricity flows through the rails it's current drops, and the trains lose power. The further away from the power regulator, the weaker the signal, the slower the train, and eventually it becomes necessary to boost the current with either an extension cable or a second regulator. Before someone pipes up about batteries dieing and slowing the train down - the rechargeable battery box, while expensive, offers constant current up until the point it runs out of juice - for the life of the charge your train will continue to run at peak performance. Reliability/Replaceability - Like it or not, the motors made towards the end of the life of the 9v system were inferior to the motors made towards the beginning. Lubricants, parts, etc. were all skimped in the name of saving money. The older, more longer lasting motors are now very old. So regardless of you having an older or newer 9v motor, they're going to fail sooner than later. Power Functions motors train or otherwise are currently available, and if they fail can be replaced at retail cost. As 9v motors die the amount of usable motors will decrease, and the price of 9v will only go up. 9v rails, too, age. The metal rails will corrode and as they are used will eventually break free of the plastic track base. Brick-Built Track/Backwards Compatibility - While 9v hold outs weep and whine about the loss of 9v, 4.5v and 12v collectors rejoice, as PF trains are not only backwards compatible with 9v rails but with 4.5v and 12v as well. You can also create realistic details, such as water pits for steam engines to take on water without stopping (as in the US), or pits for working on trains that the train can roll over under its own power. You can also create more realistic road crossings and turntables using brackets. Other, Misc. - Without the need for electric connectivity, things like drawbridges are much more easily constructed. While it isn't my thing, customized track is much easier as well, since cutting and gluing track requires no re-wiring. The PF control system allows users to walk away from their layouts and still retain control of their trains. If the train is about to derail, or already has, no one needs to run to the other side of the layout to turn off the 9v regulator - the controls can be kept easily in a pocket. I'm not saying the PF system is perfect, but neither is the 9v. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but the rush by so many to simply say "PF sucks, 9v forever!" is incredibly closed minded and illustrates a frightening lack of imagination. I'm not a cheerleader for the LEGO company, not by any means, but I am a realist. PF is what we have, so we better get used to it. At least LEGO listened to the AFOL community about the severe limitations of the RC trains and came up with a better PF based system that provides the pulling power and flexibility we wanted. --Tony

Not true. The vast majority of LEGO's revenue comes from laymen, and they'll buy their kids the trains no matter what without thought as to the method of locomotion. And with Power Functions trains being backwards compatible with 9v track, the laymen, as a whole, won't complain about the change from 9v to PF. When 4.5v trains was retired in favor of 12v trains, people thought it was the refusal to continue to support the old system and to be flexible and accommodate what their customers want that would ultimately cost LEGO customers and therefore revenue. When 12v trains was retired in favor of 9v trains, people thought it was the refusal to continue to support the old system and to be flexible and accommodate what their customers want that would ultimately cost LEGO customers and therefore revenue. It's happened before, it'll happen again. It's the refusal to be flexible and open minded to what is available to them that will prevent certain AFOLs to enjoy life, challenge themselves to incorporate Power Functions and see the many tangible benefits that it provides. --Tony

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. The camera is stationary, I'll let you figure out the rest.* :) --Tony * I've taken a few Behind-the-scenes shots that I'll release later this week.

The next installment in my Sava Railways Scenic Tours photo series: "Highball" Image is a link. --Tony

Thanks much, all! I do plan to continue this series for quite a while, in fact I'm very excited about the next installment. Unfortunately it will be another, but more difficult, "animated" shot like this one, and I have not figured out all the technical details yet. If I can pull it off, I think it will be quite nice. --Tony

A very good, in depth review, thank you. I really want this set, but my financial constraints have forced me to make a decision and I'll be buying the Freight train instead. I actually like the model of the passenger train better than the freight train, bu the freight train has more usable parts for my MOCs. I'll just have to score an extra set of PF equipment from an aftermarket source. --Tony

The next installment in my Sava Railways Scenic Tours photo series: "Excursion" Image is a link. --Tony

Since it took my computer over 12 hours to render this one, I can't help but to share it. Thanks! I can't take credit for the side rods, that goes to Jason Steinhurst. Thanks! I'll be building engine #7 first, as it's the "face" of the diesel locomotives at the Texas State Railroad. The steam engine #300 and #7 are the two locomotmives in the TSRR's logo. After that I plan to build the passenger cars, and then probably engine #8. The other two will probably be put on hold until I build some more of the TSRR steamers. --Tony

Well done, these look great. They also look like they'd be perfectly interchangeable between 6 and 8 wide layouts. I think I'll have to buy some parts and build me some. --Tony

I've digitally built the other two Diesel Electrics that the TSRR operates. TSRR Diesel-Electric Locomotive #1, a GE 45 ton side rod switcher TSRR Diesel-Electric Locomotive #22, a GE 70 ton switcher I build them in LDraw and run them through POV-Ray. I could only raise it up one plate-height before it would become too tall - she's just about spot-on with the real thing. But as it is it is as tall as it can be and stay within scale relative to my other TSRR MOCs. --Tony

Thanks! I have to admit I haven't followed through much with my locomotives. The only full MOC train I've ever built is the Polar Express. Hopefully I can change that. --Tony

Thanks! I was thinking of the different TSRR equipment the other day, and the thought of building this started off as a joke that became more and more like a good idea. I wasn't going to keep it after taking pictures of it, but I've decided to hang on to it. --Tony

Gallery (such as it is) I saw this in person when I went to the Texas State Railroad's Railfest. I have no idea what they call it, or even what it is, but I'm calling it a tram. They were running it back and forth on their wye, giving children rides for a small fee while everyone waited for the big engine to depart. The real thing will carry the driver and three passengers, though my model doesn't quite do that. A picture of the real thing can be found HERE --Tony

I don't have a lot of bricks left over at the moment, so I've been spending a lot of time lately in LDraw. I'm not usually one to just build in LDraw, normally I have to have something built in real life first and then copy it into LDraw, but for some reason lately I've been able get some results I'm pleased with. I won't be able to tweak the designs much until I get the chance to build them with real bricks, and I don't know when that'll be, so I figured I'd share them here, now. They may be works in progress, but I'm pretty darn pleased with what I've been able to come up with. First I decided to give my first two TSRR locomotives, #300 and #500, something to pull. So I began building some of the TSRR Passenger Coaches. All credit for the coach bogies goes to Cale Leiphart. TSRR Passenger Coach #44 - air conditioned TSRR Passenger Coach #72 - open air (currently has no interior) TSRR Combine Coach #60 - dining/concession car (currently has no interior) I've worked on Coach #44 more than the other two, so it's features are more refined, and has an interior. Expect to see the other two coaches with details (like the updated steps) similar to #44 in the future. I originally thought Coach #60 was a generator car (as you'll read on the Flickr page), but a recent email exchange with the TSRR revealed that I couldn't have been farther from the truth. Then I decided to design my very first diesel locomotives - a shock to most, I'm sure. TSRR Diesel-Electric Locomotive #7, an ALCO RS-2 TSRR Diesel-Electric Locomotive #8, an ALCO MRS-1 All of the models were built in LDraw and rendered in POV-Ray. Photos of the real things are all linked to from the Flickr pages. --Tony

We've not really had problems with switches yet, but that's mainly because on 99% of our layouts we don't actually use switches for active switching - we just have loops of track and let the trains run till we want/need to swap them out. Typically at a show we'll have two loops of track, with the inner loop attached to a rail yard. The outer loop is typically totally isolated. For the most part swapping out locomotives is done by hand, except for my huge Power Functions Allegheny since it's a pain to realign on track (but it's PF, not 9v, so a moot point). Most of the problems we have are on straight and curved track lengths. The metal tabs (for lack of a better name for them) that pass electricity from one section to the next tend to bend very easily, and once they get bent they seem to "remember" their misalignment better than where they should be. We've also had a few instances where we've discovered a section of 9v track was missing the entire metal rail from one side. Our track is well used. --Tony

Yes. Stickerless trains look dull and boring. Of course for me I hardly ever disassemble any of my trains, so I consider my stickers to be permanent additions to my MOCs. --Tony

TexLUG has been having many problems with out aging 9v equipment. The more we run our PF trains (both custom and otherwise) the more we start favoring running them, and the less we run the 9v trains. For small layouts there isn't a significant difference between the two systems, but as you build larger and longer layouts you quickly run into problems with 9v. The loss of electrical power from distance from the power source (necessitating more regulators or extension wires or both), the loss of power from old track (causing us to spend time trying to find the bad section(s) of track and replacing them, and the loss of power from uneven track, where the motor lifts off the rails. Power functions trains remove most all of these issues, as well as allowing you to run more complex layouts where it would electrically short out on a 9v system. The only time there is every really an issue is with uneven track, but even then we usually run non-stock o-rings which makes the PF wheels slightly larger in diameter than normal train wheels, ensuring constant track connection. TexLUG won't be abandoning 9v, but it makes life a lot easier relying on PF instead. --Tony

Thanks for the kind words. I can't really find a way to express how great it is for me to know people take such interest in my works in progress, and value that I post the in progress pictures. I thought about adding in mottling with dark grey and other colors, but the original cathedrals don't have too much in the way of random color shifts - they do have certain features that are darker in color, and in some cases I tried to reflect that. But all in all, St. Patrick's Cathedral especially, their colors vary only slightly. Thanks much! Thanks! Thanks much! I've always wanted to build a big church, too. It's something I've wanted to do since the very beginning, but only now did I finally have enough bricks, time, energy and experience to pull it off. I really wasn't a patient or skilled enough builder to do anything close to this caliber back when I was regularly building Castle MOCs. I plan to take some new pictures of the Cathedral soon to explain how some of the more complex parts of the build are done. --Tony

Thanks much! Unfortunately I cannot take much credit for several of the designs I used, such as the Rose Windows and the basic design of the other stained glass. I've edited them from their original creators, but they're still borrowed designs. I gave full credit where I could throughout the pictures posted to Flickr. The Cathedral is pretty solid, the only real problem I ran into with the roof is not collapse, but misalignment. As I was trying to install the ceiling and roof on top, I discovered the walls of the cathedral were leaning inward. With all the main supports on the outside pushing in, without a ceiling and another wall to work against, it was really performing its job. It took quite a lot of force to pull the walls apart enough to line up the studs of the ceiling. I'm not sure where you are seeing a slant on the front step, but if there is one it isn't intentional. It must be a byproduct of it being transported from my house to the back of my truck to the photoshoot. I did get a few funny looks while I photographed it. I was actually hoping someone would come up and ask me about it, but the few people that were there (it was a friday morning - not too many people at that particular church at that particular time) kept a good distance. --Tony