coaster

Mechanically, yes, you would be able to assemble them into the current (old) wheel holder, but because we removed the point, there is nothing to laterally retain them, so they would rub on the holder. They might work, but would be less than idea for this arrangement. Yes, we'll have tooling approval pieces sent before we hit production, so we'll be able to make any tweaks needed to get it just right.

In case you missed our Facebook announcement: With the new all-plastic train wheels evidently becoming the new standard, I thought it would be a good time to announce that BrickTracks has partnered with Brick Model Railroader, Brick Train Depot, and Brick Forge to produce replacement wheels for use with metal axles and ball bearings. We have deviated a bit from the LEGO design, in that we have replaced the point on the hub with a standard full-sized stud. We are also tightening up the hole for the axle so these wheels will be a tighter press-fit, eliminating the need for the wheel housing or glue. This will have no effect on the switch track development (I'll have an update on that shortly). We expect to have these wheels available by December.

Short straights finally came in, after getting held up in customs. Unfortunately, the supplier went through the trouble of individually wrapping each piece, so, now I get to unwrap and repackage each one. Hurray! I've got a few long nights ahead of me...

They'll start going out this Friday, the 19th.

I think it'd be much more fun to make you guess who I am. :) I'm in the front row, looking all cool with my white shirt and blue hat.

@Worldwide_build I'm afraid I've set this aside for now. I wasn't happy with how it was turning out, and the switch track project and a few builds have been occupying all my time. I've heard rumors also of someone working on an adapter for a simple Katy coupler.

Boy, what a motley crew that is! We're missing a couple people in this picture, but I think this was as close as we ever got to everyone being in the same place at once. This was an amazing Brickworld, and it certainly raised the bar for 2020. The official theme may have been Space, but it was all trains this year. By complete coincidence, I discovered at Brickworld that I actually work in the same office as the guy that built the Super Chief Transformer. Small world...

@LowaAnd just like that, they've been ripped off by a certain someone else. Sorry man.

Since the cat's out of the bag on the switches, I don't mind sharing more frequent updates. We're in the downtime as tooling commences, but here's a peak behind the scenes at what goes into making a switch track:

There is more coming than just the shorties. The R104 switches are in progress. ETA this November.

Short straightd are up for sale now! Shipping will start July 8th. The packs consist of 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10 lengths. The 1/10 is certainly an strange size, but it's necessary when working at odd angles or building switch ladders. They'll all be needed for R104 switches. :)

No, I won't be with NILTC. There's a LEGO Trains collaboration project that I'm honored to be working on. It's got a prime location just inside the doors, and I'll have a front corner of it. There is a "flea market" scheduled. I suppose I could sell some tracks there. Otherwise, you're welcome to order some online and just let me know you want to pick it up at BW and I'll waive the shipping charges. The new parts that I'll have with me are small but useful, but the overall project is large and more useful.

I couldn't secure a vendor spot; been on the waitlist for 2 years now. However, I do have a corner module for the train collab, so I'll be right inside the doors. I might be floating around throughout the show, but that will be my base. I will also attend all the train-related topics. I will have the new item(s) with me as well as prints of what's in the works. I'm not allowed to vend at the display, but I can certainly bring any orders with me, and I always keep a small stock in the truck.

I (BrickTracks) was working on the 9V pickup wheels and 9V tracks. The designs are done, and I have costs for all the tooling, but I haven't done anything further with it, and I likely won't. I simply can't justify the costs. Fewer and fewer people are using 9V these days. Even if I released an entire platform, it's doubtful very many people are going to convert back to 9V. 10 years ago, maybe, but not today. But if you want to throw about $80k my way I'll make it happen for you.

That's pretty cool, Tom! Nicely done.

Got the final tooling samples for this initial mold. Took a little longer than I would have liked, but they look awesome, so well worth the wait. If you're coming to Brickworld, be sure to find me to check them out. Next step: release all the models and drawings for the rest of the project. Time to start playing in the big leagues.

I'll post here after Brickworld.

@Ludo, Yep, that's what I get for making formulas in my head. It should be +8, not +1. Not till Brickworld. You'll have to sit tight a couple more weeks. :)

I needed some downtime between working on tracks and train parts, so I built a choo-choo. Specifically, a 10-wide (1:38 scale) version of C&O 377. When someone says "toy train around a Christmas tree," what comes to mind? For me, it's a small steam engine and tender, something classically American, in a 4-6-0 or similar arrangement. I didn't want anything that was just all black either, and I wanted something that hadn't been built yet (as far as I could find), which is how I arrived at the C&O 377. I took some creative liberties with the build, most notably I wanted to use the single piece cowcatcher. Real-life and track development got in the way a lot, so this took about 2 years to actually complete. There are a few details I need to update or correct, but overall, I'm happy with how this build turned out.

Axles are back in stock!

The calculation for the outside edge of the curves is: D=(R x 2 + 1) x 8mm / 25.4mm/in So an R168 circle would require 8'10" of space.

It's a special material to get the proper size for the axles, and the supplier has been backordered on it. As soon as it comes in I'l have the axles again.

Here you go. Made this for Andy a few years ago: https://www.shapeways.com/product/7NQ5Q7QYM/1x2-lego-reg-technic-reg-brick-for-156zz-bearing?optionId=61828901&li=marketplace

If you will all indulge a little teaser, here's a sneak peak of what's coming. We're going higher quality moving forward. We're running a higher polish on the tooling and moving the injection points from the sides to the more traditional stud top. Half a dozen things to tweak still on these parts, but we're moving forward.

Yes, material is on order for more axles. I usually have safety stock on it, but @Cale wiped me out this time. He's not sorry though. Haven't recieved the new samples yet, so no news on that front.