coaster

Hi @Ts__, I can send you a couple replacement switch stands and base pieces if you like. The switch stands only are meant for 180° of rotation though, so forcing it beyond that will indeed snap those linkages. Email me at info@bricktracks.com.

It is a known issue that can occur on the first batch of switches that went out. We've since resolved the problem, but the good news is it's easy to fix. I will post a video on the repair in the next few days.

The wheel flanges are 1 plate tall, so you are correct, add 2 plates/6.4mm in diameter. @supertruper1988 is working on the .dat files, but there are lot of them, so it's just taking a bit to get it all together. Plus, he's in the middle of moving across the country. I would help with it, but I'm dumb and don't know how to properly build the .dat file. My method is to export the CAD model into Part Designer and then export to Stud.io, but the file sizes are comparatively massive.

The problem with smaller flanges is you ride on the flanges when crossing another rail on a switch for instance. The rail has to break to allow movement on the crossing path, so to prevent bumping there is a raised area that supports the flange. If you go smaller, it will be fine most of the time, but you'll have a definite bump on such crossings. Also, are we assuming you are going flanged-blind-flanged, with the wheels as close together as possible?

Since I like to build 1:38, I compare them to LGB. I'm way ahead then!

We've already blasted through our first batch of switches, but don't worry, the second batch is due any day now. New orders will be a couple weeks though before they ship.

+1 Like. LEGO doesn't mind this at all. They're well aware their offering is lacking, it's just not profitable enough for them to pursue it. They are perfectly fine with the various 3rd party suppliers picking up the slack.

Hi koraldon, send me an email at info@bricktracks.com. We can work something out. :)

All the pieces are finally here! We're assembling the kits as fast as we can, but there are a ton of pre-orders, so it will take a few days to get through all of these. I quite literally need to build thousands of switches. I plan to have everything out early next week.

Hi All, sorry I haven't kept up with the EB updates like I should have. The ratio of interactions I have here vs. Facebook is considerable. Just to update everyone, barring another winter storm (which, we look to be getting this weekend and early next week, so who knows), we are looking good for a March 1st availability. Pre-orders will be going out in the order they were received, with HA Bricks and Brickmania's shipments going out first so they can distribute to their customers. There is a sizeable number of pre-orders, so it will likely take a couple days to get them all out, but everything should be out the door by the 1st.

I don't think the pricing is out of line. It was a touch higher than I was guessing, but not by much. Unfortunately for all of us, none of us are in a position to be truly mass-producing tracks; either mine nor FX. If we were selling our stuff in every Walmart and Target and every other big box retail store, where we're moving hundreds of boxes a day, then sure, it could be and would have to be a lot cheaper. But we're unfortunately a small niche within a niche, with barely enough demand to warrant tooling (and even that is often questionable).

The Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad provided interurban service from downtown Chicago to the western suburbs, branching off at Wheaton either north to Elgin or south to Aurora. Sadly, the railroad ceased operation in 1957, but the right of way was preserved as a walking/biking trail. Remnants of the railroad can still be seen along the trail. Several of the interurbans themselves have been preserved at local museums, so here is my take on #308: I build in 1:38 or "10-wide" scale, and it is indeed 10 studs wide and approximately 54 studs long. It is driven by 2x 9V motors controlled by a PF IR-receiver and rechargeable battery, and the headlight at each end works, too. Aside from the decals, it is completely purist. What I enjoyed most about this build was that it utilizes parts from all different eras. The white windows are the old style 1x3x2 windows from the 50's, up to small structural elements just released last year, and everything in between. The thin red stripe above the windows is brick built, made from 2x2 hinge top plates. To account for the 1/4 plate offset, this is repeated in grey at the roofline. Unfortunately, there is no interior to these. The older windows and bricks have notoriously poor clutch, requiring quite a bit of internal structure to keep the roof in place and the windows themselves from falling out. Of course, the first rule building a model is "why build one when you can have two at twice the price?", or in this case, three: #309 and #316 are just trailers, but are each uniquely different in their build, as their real-life counterparts were actually built by three different manufacturers, but to very similar specifications.

Awesome, thank you!

Thanks, but sadly I don't. It was built almost 10 years ago now. I probably had an MLCad model of it, but it's long since gone or lost. It actually is pretty simple though. The road bed is an overlapping stack of 6x12 plates, a total of 2 plates thick. Technic beams run along the top and bottom, so you have the correct spacing for locking both with the vertical beams. The rest is just 3-4-5 triangles. PM me your email address and I'll take some extra pictures for you.

Hi @Alban Nanty, any chance you could add the BrickTracks track pack as well? While similar, there are some difference from the TrixBrix versions. The folder can be downloaded from the BrickTracks site, but it would be nice to have it available from BlueBrick as well. https://www.bricktracks.com/resources Thanks!

You may be right. I only have Ben's XL wheels, and they do not, so I guess I figured the others were that way as well.

I'm partial to the whole numbers, and I like @zephyr1934's suggestion of switching to rounding up to allow for clearances. A note for spacing though gets a little tricky. The LEGO versions of the "L" wheels can be nested, where the flanges fit behind the adjacent blind driver(s). The BBB wheels do not allow for this though, so you would have a greater minimum spacing requirement.

Haha, hey @Robin_IV! I actually forgot about this thread, and have been commenting in the general BrickTracks thread. Anyway, yes, we managed to secure alternate funding for the project and have moved ahead with it. Covid crushed our production timeline, but we are finally in full production with the parts and are just waiting for them to come in so we can start our assembly party.

It's likely just the slight difference in overall load. The 10173 definitely has greater rolling resistance than the 10254, so your motor may be getting a bit old and overheats on that difference. I've run mine for hours without any issues. If you have a spare 9V motor, give that a try. If not, run it for a while, and when it does stop, see if the case is hot. If it gets to what I'd call "very warm", then the motor itself is going. If not, then it's just a bad thermistor that's being a baby about the extra current draw, in which case, like Toastie said, open it up and remove it.

I've tested them a bunch already, and they're pretty great. I used them on the BrickTracks train kit.

Hi @legotownlinz, they are not compatible with the new wheel frames, but are with the older ones. However, most builders are taking the ball bearing approach. What is typically done is you press the bearing into a technic brick (typically a 1x2 with either 1 or 2 holes depending on how you need to space the wheels), and then you can assembly the wheels and axles to these. Most builders using these wheels aren't using the normal wheel frames and prefer to build their own trucks from scratch.

I'm way overdue to update this, but the dimensional information hasn't changed: https://7861eae8-f79f-4a80-8276-06cf52632ba8.filesusr.com/ugd/b054be_5ea36d8302474337a2bf402fe3e1bf90.pdf If you want the centerlines, a stud is 8mm, so multiply the radius by 8 to get it in mm.

I think legonerd's comment was directed more at SteamSewnEmpire. I don't know how they came up with that price, as it did indeed strike me as higher than I had expected, but I can say that no one making custom kits with actual LEGO elements can do it for anywhere close to LEGO's costs. One, they don't have the economy of scale of producing thousands upon thousands of sets, and two, they don't control the manufacturing of the elements either. They have to be sourced from 3rd party resellers on Bricklink, and we've all built MOCs and know that can be pretty hit-and-miss. BlueBrixx, on the other hand, has the advantage that they can get exactly what they need from their Chinese suppliers, not only with a much lower cost but also without having to deal with multiple vendors and re-sorting and counting out the brick. As was said though, I'm just sharing it here. I had no involvement in its design or development.

Say what you will about the price, but they're already sold out. I think the justification for it is: because they can.

I quite likely have far more track designs than either of them, but I can only have so many molds made at once. This really didn't take anything away from that, as there is a lot of waiting around as molds get cut. It was a nice change of pace.