knotian

4DBrix quality seems excellent on the stuff I bought.

ColletArrow, This is interesting and I will try it out today. Thanx, Ed

Capparezza, Thanks for the link. I downloaded it a year or so. Some good stuff in there. I just threw an idea together---https://www.dropbox.com/s/uxahwx2vksowytk/100_0741.JPG?dl=0 Since It does not have to go to the main line, I can be creative. The lever will dump the pair of boxes. This is like a device called railveyor. Ed

Roadmonkeytj, Your thinker is right in sync I may automate later, in fact I did it once with the Lego hopper I mentioned before, to show an automated sequence using the EV3. Now just something I could run over and unload is what I'm after. The rotary dumping just would not fit in the diorama and would take away from the blast furnace complex. Along the lines of something sticking up in the roadbed that would catch a slide to open the hopper and a spring (rubber band???) to close it. My engine is controlled by sbrick so I can run it dead slow at the dumping area. I only have two kinds of material so I was thinking a narrow catch one on either side of the car depending on where I want to unload. The industrial setting allows me the freedom of constructing cars that don't hit the high iron. Ed

Roadmonkey, Actually the idea of a slide is not a bad one. I'll have to do more study. Thanx, Ed

You can experiment with "O" gauge rail. Either flex track or individual rails are available.

In the early lego idea book there was an operating hopper car. In the early 2000's there was one that was a side unloader. Has anyone come up with any new ideas? I need something to automatically unload either between the rails or on the side. Something on the side of the track should be the operating mechanism, preferably as the car is moving. I've looked at several rotary dumpers but that is not the way I want to go. The design can be prototypical since it will be operated in an industrial plant environment, not main line. Thanx, Ed

Any one out there that has used these two products please add your comments. By the way the linking to Bricklink is not a feature I am concerned with. Thanx,Ed

Digger of Bricks I hope they continue. Maybe someone will admit that AFOL's are a viable market base. Us old farts need toys too

ProvenceTristam That's not an unusually large number for a development team. The important thing is to determine whether it was suicide due to the complexity, or murder by management because they could not do it over-nite.

Thanksgiving eve - got something I am thankful for. Two pictures - the first was about 1 hour after my last update. A wild elbow completely ruined my day/week. https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1zu0m28oyivynk/100_0736.JPG?dl=0 But - I recovered https://www.dropbox.com/s/ducl0y7o6twtf6y/100_0740.JPG?dl=0 The major construction is complete. I need to design the lolly car and hopper mechanisms, but this represents it's earliest configuration. A boat/barge has to be done also. The mnotors and mechanisims are in place and I will run the cables and do the s brick template next. The rail car is from an early train book and has automatic dumping built in. The 'thing' between the tracks is a pusher engine that was used to position cars. It had an arm that could extend to either side to reach the cars. Truck is Lego design. I have decided not to power the supporting structure as I won't have room to traverse the unloader in my diorama. Happy Thanksgiving! Ed

l_lgor I got those brochures for their underground series and you are correct they do the job. I was looking at obtaining some of the interior workings. Ed

You can also try (if you are a glutton for punishment) searching patent office files. Good diagrams but not actually blueprints. Some manufacturers wil completely ignore modelers request for infoe. I have been trying for over a year to get Caterpillar info on mining equipment.

Thank you very much

Forgive a newbie type question. Why are the rails serrated on the top? Was there any motor,wheel etc that was supposed to run on these tracks? I would like to use these on some mocs (like overhead cranes) and would like to have some way to have a powered carriage run on these tracks. In the past I have used gears interacting with racks for motive power. Thanx, Ed

They look great!! I build my mocs with the BWWYH method so I am used to seeing this. Goes with Function Over Form mentality. Ed B(uild) W(ith) W(hat) Y(ou) H(ave)

Cheers; I just had to do it. This is the first day in the build that I was able to put it all somewhat together. I had to do quite a bit of building of the support structure and bracing to make it 'viable'. It's not ready for it's "It's Alive" moment, but by gar! I think it will work. The guy in the arm does not look to happy, but we will get him convinced before too long. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntu3vwu99p6phkv/100_0735.JPG?dl=0

Boy how time flies! After many attempts I got the walking beam and bucket assembly sort of complete. I'm going to do a proper bucket and swap out the holy bricks for solid before final assembly. https://www.dropbox.com/s/almp9vfsaa6w0wh/100_0733.JPG?dl=0

I've searched on the net and have had no luck. I know that PF cables can be cut and spliced with additional wire for longer lengths. I also know that longer cables can be purchased from Lego. Does any one know of anyone selling pf connectors by them selves or making custom length cables without splices. I can get the for Mindstorms but cannot find any for PF. I'd like to get, or make some that look better as well as routing better with a smaller cable like Mindstorms.

Mylenium Color is the least of my objectives when sorting. Shape is much more important to me. When I bulk buy I sort by several informal trinary objectives and only when I'm at the item stage do I separate by color. Ed

Doug72 Take a look at Sioux.net. They use mindstorm in a big way. I have used Mindstorms with that ir link, but you can't control what you can't see. Sbrick is working on it also. In my small attempt I used a color sensor to determine when a rr car was at a specific location and stopped, then I started a device for loading that car, set a switch to route the car to the dump site and then back on the main line until I stopped it at the loading location. Worked ok since the train didn't need any speed changes while traveling.

I'm hoping for more like this. I believe Lego should look at the history of Model Trains in general ( I AM NOT A FAN OF RAIL) and see that industrial models are good sellers. I am working on a iron blast furnace and a chemical plant goes well with it, since the coke plant of the blast furnace generates coal gasses that feed chemical plants. I'd personally buy any industrial model that they would offer.

Love it! Will probably get two one for the plants and the other for parts.

No you are going to have to go to a language. Evidently they had the blocks but lego changed EV3 protocols and it does not work any more. I was working with it a couple of years ago. Their tech support may be able to help. Ed

I was referring to the HiTechnic Infrared Link.