ecmo47

Bummer....all those great new sets displayed at the New York Toy Fair and not a peep about a new Expert train.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEGO-Steam-Locomotive-2-8-2-w-Oil-Tender-UNION-PACIFIC-Built-fully-tested-Train-/131429416509?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e99cdbe3d Here is a steam locomotive for sale. (No, it's not mine). It is a nice example of what can be done with Lego.

True, but the battery box IS the side of the engine. I believe that is the only red battery box that Lego has produced.

Nice! Looks like those a 6-wide cars? Also, can we see more shots of the overall layout that they are on?

It does have working pistons. Here is a link to Stephans Flicker page that has a video and I havent been able to make a decent movie yet. https://www.flickr.com/photos/65402716@N07/16001643396/in/photostream/ Im not sure what you are talking about. All parts are genuine Lego "

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=118-1 Here is an inventory of the set so you can know exactly what pieces are missing. http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?sID=21781&itemID=41268801 Maybe you could by this guys incomplete set and and combine it with yours. Do you have the whistle? That would be a hard to find part. Looks like a complete set set could be worth $1000.00.

It just needed more weight over the motor so the wheels didnt slip as much especially getting started. Helped quite a bit.

Love that layout! Lots of cool things to grab your attention at all points. Love the model train layout on the model train layout. What really makes it is all the trees. Got any tree building tips or LDD instructions to get me started?

I'd jump on 2xHE before they get outrageous. One set does not look complete. As you can see from the picture, my HE has grown to an 6 car/2 engine train that is 7 foot long. I actually have three engines. One is PF, one is 9v and one is unpowered. I've been running tests and both the PF and the 9v will pull the entire train with a single motor. The HE is was not my favorite of the modern train era but it has really grown on me. The 9v pulled the train without modifiecation. For the PF, I put 2x train weight pieces (parts # 73090b) in cab of the engine over the PF motor to give it better traction. Before I did that, it had trouble pulling a 4 car train. Another thing that has helped opertions is using silicone lubricant on the trucks. I am using WD40 brand silicone spray. DSC01039 by ecmo47, on Flickr I really like the Emerald Night but it needs running gear modifications to make it run well. Ive posted those mods a couple of times. Once the mods are made, it is a real beast with the XL motor and can pull lots of cars! The Mearsk is nice train but doesnt pull very well. Ive got 2 powered engines that will pull a seven car train. This engine would be very easy to make 9v. All you have to do is take off one of the trucks and slap on the 9v one. I have not tried that yet as both my engines are currently PF. All of my trains have been aquired by trades, ebay, or Craiglist. None have been opened NIB sets. I'd hold that Mearsk (I assume that it is unopened) and trade it for used sets. My latest HE came from a childrens 2nd hand shop for $75.00. Get familiar with Bricklink to order those missing parts! DSC01038 by ecmo47, on Flickr Here's a picture of the HE with the 9v motor as noted by the silver wheels.

Ironically, my CC is only three floors right now as I have sold several extra levels lately! Getting more parts in to get it back to it's lofty height for a show in two weeks. After getting used to seeing it with extra levels, it looks really pathetic in it's origional configuation. Here's one more shot from my Flicker stream. DSC01016 by ecmo47, on Flickr Heres the link to some more photo's on flicker as I dont want to hi-jack your thread! https://www.flickr.com/photos/128506921@N06/16438593922/in/photostream/

DSC00936 by ecmo47, on Flickr So when is the Cafe Corner going to get the "Charles Atlas" treatment? All the rest of the modulars are kicking sand in it's face! Seriously, that's a super nice set-up. I'm with you in that Im not real good at creating my own new designs but like to "tweek" current models to make them unique. I've been thinking about creating a twin stall Fire Brigade and I'll refer to yours for some design ideas.

DSC00981 by ecmo47, on Flickr DSC00984 by ecmo47, on Flickr DSC00987 by ecmo47, on Flickr I completed Stephan Pakbaz (Apojove) Logging Shay a few weeks ago and set it up with my Water tank. I must say that it is a beautiful model AND it runs very well too! As is typical with a geared locomotive, it aint fast but it can pull some cars! It is powered by a normal "M" motor with the IR receiver and battery box hidden in the first log. It is loud though. I hope that it will quiet down after I lube the drive train with some WD-45 brand silicone spray. I'd like to add a third truck to it, but that project is down the road. Anyway, thanks to Railbricks for running the contest and to Stephen for posting the LDD instructions.

DSC01035 by ecmo47, on Flickr Here's a picture. It has a nice clean look. The only problem is that you pretty much have to open the roof and push them open from the inside.

I havent posted in a while but things are looking good for the show. Here are some photos of what I'll be taking to the show: DSC01022 by ecmo47, on Flickr This the yard side. It's a bit sparce since the engine shed and other buidling have not been completed yet. DSC01016 by ecmo47, on Flickr DSC01021 by ecmo47, on Flickr DSC01030 by ecmo47, on Flickr DSC01029 by ecmo47, on Flickr I've still got a bunch of things to complete before the show in 2 weeks. I've spent a bunch of time operations and it's paid off with both the PF and 9v systems running smoothly. Things yet to do. 1. Make a skirt to go around it. 2. Make some stantions. 3. Get the Emerald Night engines prepped and lubed. 4. Fill out the front corners with plates and scenery. 5. Make more "Seek and Find" vignettes. "Cat Rescue" shown above. (Suggestions welcome!) 6. See if the venue has a dolly or cart. 7. Buy more batteries! 8. Make checklist of things to take. (Chair, bucket, tools, cords etc...) 9. Swap out some sidewalk tiles with 2x2 with stud tiles to hold minfigs in place.

I designed some EN baggage cars that have that design. They look nice but are difficult to open.

Wow! If your not an engineer by trade, your missing your calling!

I wonder if it even has train wheels. Since the "rails" are just painted on the display, I would suspect that it just has some regular wheels so that little hands can easily push it around the floor.

Thanks for the info. Still many features of LDD that I havent explored! ummm....where are those LDD files located on EB?

What a great idea to use 1x2 plates to simulate real bricks! Has that technique been used before? Seems so obvious!

Very nice! Looks great without being a 6000+ piece monstrosity! A little off topic but how did you show the trains on your LDD plans? Surly, you didn't build them brick by brick just to decorate your station.

What happened to the photos?

I used two 1x4 tiles and four 1x1's (reddish-brown) on each tie on the pre-made track to gussy it up. Looks pretty good!

Why dont you just buy more track? It's cheap and there's tons of it available on eBay, Craigslist and Bricklink. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=53401&colorID=85 Seems easier than making track from bricks.

Thanks! Some great entries! Especially that really cool water tank! Oh, wait that's mine. Two shay locomotives is a real surprise. Hope to build one of those someday.

Who won this contest? I can't find the link to the contest entries, just the contest rules.