SavaTheAggie

Thanks all, I appreciate it. It was fun to not work off a prototype for once. --Tony

Texas Brick Railroad has a series of MOCs that were originally built as background filler - which we named "Old MocFiller's Farm". But it's proven to be much better than expected, and we're currently working to expand it and improve it. So as part of that effort, I began work on "Old MocFiller's Storehouse", a run down, dilapidated building with a loading dock on one of our first dedicated rail spurs. It's still a work in progress, but it's mostly done. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. MocFiller's Storehouse (WiP) by Tony Sava, on Flickr This is designed to be a module, easily "plugged in" to the rest of the layout. --Tony

As I mention on in my PowerPoint presentation linked to in the Brickworld thread, and mentioned by Benn, ME Models is offering a new plastic rail color - silver plastic rail. Think of it like LEGO pearl silver. (I have some and gave some away at Brickworld) But there is also nothing stopping ME from making blue rails, should there be a market for it. Just sayin'. --Tony

The only problem I have with the LEGO Rechargeable battery box, aside from the price, is it doesn't weigh anything. It would be good if your battery isn't in the same unit that's powering the train (i.e. motor in the locomotive, battery box in the tender), but all of my trains are all-in-one, so the extra weight of the batteries in my battery box equal greater tractive effort. --Tony

I have uploaded my Power Point presentation here: Gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=557138 Deeplink: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/savatheaggie/trains/ME-Models-Rails/modeling_with_me.pptx It contains a couple of videos that are also located in the same folder - I don't think the videos are actually in the Power Point. --Tony

For those interested, I was very surprised, and of course very happy, that my MOC went at auction for $550.00. Overall the Brickworld Charity Auction set a new record and raised over $26,000.00. Here's the finished MOC with stickers attached, just before I handed it in to the folks in charge: Auction MOC ready to donate by Tony Sava, on Flickr --Tony

Travel blog: https://www.flickr.com/photos/savatheaggie/sets/72157654583517078 Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/savatheaggie/sets/72157654997733941 --Tony

And my orders arrived timely and the MOC is completed except for stickers. Time will tell if I can get that done in time. Brick-Finished by Tony Sava, on Flickr But either way, the MOC will be in the charity auction. --Tony

You buy nothing through kickstarter. Read the T.O.S., technically speaking you are making a donation to a company, and the company, in turn, offers incentives for higher donations, but you "ordered" nothing, nothing was "purchased." That said, the fact that ME collected far below their goal means the project should not have gone through, and no rails made. But ME did it anyway, spent or borrowed the difference, and that's awesome. I have personally spoken with the ME guys on several occasions, and I can tell you the amount of frustration you feel about not getting the rails you wanted is no where near the frustration they feel over not being able to immediately provide them. I have faith they will make good on all of the track. It is unfortunate it is taking this long, and I will criticize them for lapses in communication. But I think they're doing the best they can with the hand they were dealt. I recommend anyone to contact them directly, rather than through forum posts. --Tony

Not bad, I like what I'm seeing so far. --Tony

Very nice. I dealt with a lot of these (and by dealt I mean "got to see" and "dealt with paperwork") at my previous job. In the industry they're also called "Tanktainers". One nit-pick though. Tanktainers don't have exposed valves beyond their exoskeleton. Anything that hangs outside of that is liable to be knocked off, broken, and in this case, prevent the tanktainer from being stacked. --Tony

Thanks all, I hope she finds a good home, too. I don't expect bidding to go crazy like it did for the MOCs last year, but if it goes for more than the value of the parts I put into her, I'll be happy. And yes, I'm still selling instructions. A link to my shop is in my signature. --Tony

Hopefully my presentation doesn't bore to tears. :P I plan to set up one of my ME Corner Modules during the presentation, which in total probably won't last more than 20 minutes. --Tony

Charity Auction MOC by Tony Sava, on Flickr When I announced I was selling my Advanced T1 instructions, I mentioned that in addition to funding my trip to Brickworld, it would also be funding a secret project I would reveal later - this is it. The parts I'm missing are currently on order (let's hope they arrive in time...). This MOC, almost as seen here (PF track, not 9v) will be submitted to the Esther Walner Memorial Charity Auction at Brickworld 2015. This is an updated version of my American "Standard" 4-4-0 locomotive, along with the detailed track and decorative base. In addition, I will also be including a digital copy (probably on a USB drive) of every set of instructions currently available in my Bricklink shop. If you are attending Brickworld 2015, I hope you come to the auction - I only went for my first time last year and it was a lot of fun. And if you can bid on something, please do - it's for a great cause. --Tony

Thank you all, we had a lot of fun this weekend. For those interested, I've also uploaded a video to YouTube: --Tony

My opinion, for what it's worth, is if you're just starting out and are building steam engines 8-wide, you should build every thing else 8-wide. The only reason, in my mind, to build 6-wide is if you are going to build everything 6-wide. The only exceptions I would make would be for modeling different regional trains - European trains are smaller than American trains, which in turn are smaller than Russian trains. --Tony

Texas Brick Railroad's two displays at the 27th annual Train Show Jamboree in New Braunfels, TX. We did two displays because the two sets of tables we were using were two different heights. I am remiss in that I did not get any pictures of TexLUG's layout. While we have historically teamed up with TexLUG in the past, this is, I believe, the first time we've attended the same show as independent layouts/entities. We were also in completely different rooms. See the entire gallery here: https://www.flickr.c...157651492057917 NewBraunfels-April-2015_04 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr NewBraunfels-April-2015_07 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr NewBraunfels-April-2015_22 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr NewBraunfels-April-2015_51 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr NewBraunfels-April-2015_52 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Thank you both! Thanks. I think I'm a bit between a rock and a hard place on the railings. I tried doing some angled tiles, but it didn't work out. Tiles and clips (to hold tube railings) would be nearly as "chunky" as the cheese slopes. I'm not sure there really is a "good" solution. --Tony

I've had similar delays with a few of my designs, so I can certainly relate. Great job so far, she a looker. I can't wait to see her complete. --Tony

Thanks! There's still some tweaking left to do, but nothing that is all that noticeable. There is an interior already in the second floor, check the link in the original post. The first floor will remain empty because of the fragile nature of the build - it's already hard enough trying to remove the roof. The second floor contains the Interlocker mechanism, as well as a desk. Missing, as I learned from my most recent visit, is a stove and a bathroom (which is also currently missing from the real tower, but there's a discoloration on the floor from water damage where it once was). --Tony

This weekend I found my way over to the Rosenberg Railroad Museum and was able to take a few shots of my LEGO Tower 17 next to the real thing. For those interested: Tower17_Visit_01 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Tower17_Visit_02 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Tower17_Visit_04 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Carl does amazing work, but to me, if you're going to go through the trouble of building a highly detailed scale model out of LEGO, why would you cheapen it by using non LEGO with it? I only use non LEGO elenents in regard to function (I.e. wheels and track), and even then they must be LEGO compatible. Everything else must be LEGO. There is no challenge otherwise. --Tony

Hook up the motor to a 9v or PF battery box. The power works in both directions - you can supply the motor with power from the rails or through the "Accessory" attachment on top. If the motor runs as expected while hooked up to battery power, then the fault lies in the brushes that pick up power from the rails (in my experience the first thing to die on a 9v motor). If the motor performs poorly even with the battery box, then the fault lies elsewhere and is a more serious problem. As for fixing the problem, I don't *know* how to do it, but I have seen online guides showing people pulling motors from the PF motor and inserting it into a 9v motor (with some slight customization to make it fit) or even replacing the brushes. --Tony

I wish I hadn't clicked that eBay link. Both locomotives that seller has listed are my design. --Tony

It's a bit late, but it might be worth a look. A few weeks ago Texas Brick Railroad was invited to the first annual CreekCon at Clear Creek High School. While this comic book convention was a first go-round, you wouldn't have guessed it by the turn-out. Nearly 1400 people paid entry to the one-day event, a very impressive number for a small town deal. TBRR @ CreekCon 2015 Gallery CreekCon-2015_02 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_06 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_07 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_14 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_18 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_19 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_29 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr CreekCon-2015_31 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony