ALCO

I don't think a new switch should matter... I'd like to see a photo and maybe I can identify what the issue might be. While I have been working on ballasting this in, I have made some minor adjustments. I changed from the 2x2 tile with pin for mounting the base of the cylinder to two 1x5 technic plates one plate off the baseplate and a 3L axle I have a 1L bush between the cylinder and the plates. This moves the base of the cylinder a half-stud away from the switch on both the X and Y axis and seems to give the cylinder a little better leverage. You might try this for the issue you have. Another thought is that the 3L bar might be REALLY snug in the 2L and 4L half levers, if you have a 3m tube handy, try that and see how it goes. I will be out of town for the holiday so I will put up some more photos next week when I get back. I will also test with a brand-new switch as well and report back. Also, a new update on this project: I have a working position indicator attached to this mechanism. Green for through and red for diverging. Seems to be a common scheme on American railroads. I'll post a photo and video of it working next week. Also, I've got some of the cross-over ballasted as I'm trying to make it look all "pretty".

It can't be a real element and be functional as displayed in the photo. @ColletArrow is right about the length, but also there is not bit of straight rail between the rails of the crossing track to support the train. Looks to me like a MODed parts for that particular project. Shameful waist of straight track as they are total non-functional.

When will you list the new parts for sale? I'd like to know what you've got cooking before I place an order as I would like to pick it up at Brickworld tomorrow.

I agree with @Toastie that your issue is that you have one end of your train pulling, and the other end pushing it. This might work great if you had a heavy train going over a steep grade, but I don't believe this is the case. I had thought about doing your setup with my extended (2 copies) of 60051. Now, from your post I will not do this. If you got a pole-reverser and put your 2nd motor in the front so just the front of your train is powered, then I think you will eliminate your problem. You can still use the long wire light the end unit. I would be careful to have your wire run through the connection between coaches in end so that the wide side of the wire is facing the right and left sides of your train. In this orientation, it will flex with the curves and switches better. PoweredUp is a good idea if you don't mind pushing two buttons at the same time. As of yet there is no way to control two different hubs from the same side of the controller. There are 3rd party solutions to this if you wanted to be pure.

BMR is doing a pre-order for an exclusive boxcar that can only be picked up at BrickWorld. Can you do something like that? That way you are not vending and can still make some sales. I for one am looking forward to checking out what you have and am already planning to purchase some more of your track.

Agreed! This was the one idea I was really excited about.

Actually, there are quite a few out there already. I think I saw like 4 or 5 different ones the last time I was at BrickWorld Chicago... You can probably find photos of mine in my Flickr.

Easy! With the standard un-modified Lego Switch, the yellow throw lever always "leans" in the direction of travel . Even if the switch has been modified such that the yellow throw lever is moved to the other side, it moves the bar under the track in the same manor thus even if moved to the other side of the track the yellow throw lever will still "lean" in the direction of travel. If you look closely at these points, You can see how the levers lean in the direction of travel. The above switch is set to Through and the lever is leaning to the through side. The lower switch, the points are set to diverging, and the yellow lever is "leaning" toward the diverging side. This will be the same even if the throw levers are moved to the other side of the track. This is because the bar under the track that moves the points still travels in the same direction when moved to change the points.

@Haddock51 You may also want to consider using pneumatics to change your points. See this thread and go down to the posts starting in April this year. Looking at your layout, it would be very easy to apply the small piston which is 1x1x5L. so laying on it's side on your layout, the piston will not come above the top of the rail. You can also easily attach a position indicator to the mechanism controlling your point. This might be a lot cheaper and less frustrating than using a motor and gears to control your points. I am assuming you do not mind drilling more holes into the sheets on which your track is laying. Seems to me you may not as you have the power to your track hidden pretty well. Note in the linked thread, I still have to upload a photo/video of the position indicator. I know a lot of folks say pneumatics are expensive, but if a small piston is $6.50 each while expensive, is less than the price of a motor for each point.

lol No kidding! They did not have brick-separators back then...so it is no wonder. Now they are almost included in every set over a certain number of pieces so hopefully that should help reduce the number of pieces. Just training T(oddler)FOL's and CFOL's to use them might take some patience.

Lol the pneumatics do not provide much strain. In your example it looks equivalent to the small cylinder which extends only 2L. Learning how to treat the bricks right sure can be hard to learn. Too bad he already sees the difference between his Duplo train and mine. He likes mine better.

This would allow one to create more compact yard-ladders and position switches in places where normally the throw mechanism would interfere with other track or structures.

I have not checked with the 4 plate height yet but should be fine. I changed out the axle-pin used as the pivot to a 3L axle as it provides more stability for busier switching operations. I also added a couple levers to connect to a position indicator - through or diverging. Just need to move it to accommodate my clearance requirements. Hopefully I can get some photos this weekend and upload them on Monday.

Oh! that's a cool idea! I really like it! Looks like it would work too. However, since the red parts, (Cant remember what they are called) are round, I might be concerned the wheel could climb over them, then you would have a derailed train and not a decoupled one. I just don't know very much about de-coupling or have played around with it beyond the "Hand of God." You can test you mechanism without the pneumatic components so long as you have all the other parts. Once you have everything else working to your satisfaction, then get the pneumatic parts. I'm not sure I have all the parts, but I'll see what I can do. Looks easy enough though. It might take some time...I don't get much for building with keeping up with the chores and teaching my 16 month old lad to be careful when playing with dada's Lego trains.

@Haddock51 I know sometimes it can be hard finding old threads, but you might find this one useful. It has detailed instructions on how to move the throw to the other side of the track.

I will work on a hidden setup for. I will also play with your 4plate elevation too. It might take some time though. Again, thank you so much! This is awesome! What a great lead! Now I have some more shopping to do.

@Hod Carrier this is a great idea! I had only vaguely thought about a compressor, but to make one with an automatic shut-off is a great idea! Now, how to get it to turn on again when the pressure falls below a certain point... I'll have to check out the Technic threads for anyone talking about pneumatics. Thank you @baard!

Thank you@Hod Carrier! My cost for the piston was $6.50 USD. The hose I got from my local hardware store for $.17 USD per foot. I think the Pneumatic Switch (to control the direction of the air) was much less and the pump was about 3-4...ish. In all it was about $13ish USD with 3ft of hose and a couple T-pieces so less than the cost of a motor as it seems most people use when remotely controlling their switches. I did not remove the lugs inside the switch. The lever give the piston more power much like a crow-bar. Once the switch has been changed I can completely de-pressurize the system and the switch will not move back. the piston only moves the drive bar so the switch operates normally as if the "hand of God" changed it like when you change it manually with the yellow throw. Also, when the piston is not pressurized, it is still possible to manually change the switch. Thank you @Roadmonkeytj! I don't know if it can run off a fish take airerator... I have been thinking about that as a far-down-the-road addition. I do not know the max PSI the pneumatic system can handle but I think the hoses would pop off before any real damage can be done. I am planning to get a air tank and regulator in combination with an additional pneumatic switch so when I am finished moving the switches I can shut off the air supply and de-pressurize the system at the same time as a fail-safe to protect the equipment. Maybe over-kill on my part but I think it would be good in the long run. Using MILS, it would be very easy to hid the piston under the landscaping. The reason I wanted such a simple solution is that I think having the piston exposed adds some cool, realistic, and interesting detail to the layout. Some of my first and working attempts at this had the whole mechanism hidden except for the 4L half-lever. It was then I decided I wanted the piston exposed.

I was going to create a new thread but then I found this one and decided to bump it as I feel I have new content/ideas to contribute to this topic. Here goes: I have also long wanted to use pneumatics to operate my switches...mostly because I thought it would be the most realistic and pretty cool. I had a pneumatic crane set a while ago but my sister sold it on ebay while I was in the dark age. Most recently while placing a bricklink order the seller just happened to have some pneumatic parts, so I got them and the project started. I already had modified a couple switches to be a cross-over and thought that would be a good place to start since both switches had to be changed at once. I wanted a clean and realistic look and most importantly, the final result must allow for even the most demanding of clearance requirements. The best I came up with in the clearance department was the BMR PS-1 40' boxcar. The trucks and the bottom rung of the ladder are quite low and stick out pretty far, so that was my test. My first plan was to have the piston under the switch so it would be completely hidden, but quickly found it was not strong enough to move the switch. This lead me to use the power of a lever and an off-set fulcrum. After many Thomas Edison moments (trial and error) I have found a method that works with actually few parts requirements. The project: I thought I would start with a cross-over using MILS standard: Baseplate with Brick and one plate, track sits on two plates of ballast. So essentially the track sits on two bricks. I don't have all the parts to make this look pretty as this is a Proof of Concept project and I want you all to see the the details in how this is done. I feel this is knowledge worth sharing to better our community so this is why I am sharing. I did not build out the second switch as I will need more parts from Bricklink to finish that. As it is, I had to "borrow" a couple parts from a finished locomotive for this to work. Edit: Just some notes on this project, the whole mechanism does come rise above the top of the rail, so any parts of any locomotive/rolling-stock will not come into contact with the mechanism. The 4L half-lever fits nice and snug over the switch lever. the 3mm tube is only 1L and that is the hinge between the 4L half-lever and the 2L half-lever. The pivot/fulcrum point is the axle/pin that connects the 2L half-lever with the 3L "L" shape half-lever. The Plate Modified 2x3's with Hole are arranged as indicated in the "parts" photo below to provide maximum stability as there is a fare amount of force exerted by the piston on the whole assembly. I think this captures the scope and requirements of the intent quite well. Clearance requirements are met, it looks and operates "realistically" and provides an extra bit of detail to a landscaped layout. Below is the final photo: The switch in each position: Clearance: Parts Required: And the Video! https://www.flickr.com/photos/128636628@N08/47741308491/in/datetaken-public/ (Can't figure out how to embed it) I'd love to hear (read) your thoughts, ideas, comments, questions.

Very cool! A must have for any railroad! I love all the details.

I for one will be getting this set FOR the re-railer, as it will make putting my 4-8-8-4 Big Boy with Centipede tender back on the track a breeze! Not to mention all the other good train parts like the doors!

Your welcome @Roadmonkeytj! I agree with you. At first I thought this train was pretty silly and not worth my time because it was not big and cool like something from BMR, but once I got it, I fell in love with it. I extended my 2nd copy by 4 studs as posted above and put an old 2x6x2 lead boat weight in the boiler to give it a bit more traction. Looking forward to seeing your zoo train!

One of 5 molds... My thought is that it is the switch project. 1 mold for right, 1 for left, 1 for each special curve, and one for the half straight. I'm guessing this particular mold is for the half straight considering how well the r104's seem to be selling. This is the one part of this project that can be sold as a stand-alone part.

I was there! How did I miss that!? Boy oh boy, I really hope that is it!

I know what you mean. When I was a kid, my dad and I would set up his Lionel trains under our Christmas tree. Now that I have my own house and a lad of my own, I don't have the Lionel trains, so I have settled with my Lego trains. I think the Lego track sticks together a bit better than O-gauge. While they are roughly the same size... Give or take a few, running the Lionel in your Lego Winter Village, might look fun from the perspective of all different toys playing together because it's Christmas. But if you want everything to look the same, then stick with one brand. I guess the only "right" answer is what works for you and what you like.