AussieJimbo

Hi Everyone, I was looking around the net for train stuff and stumbled upon the interesting MODALOHR intermodal system. It uses flat-bed cars that swing out to allow trucks to drive on and deposit their trailers for onward delivery by rail. Please see the MODALOHR website for more information: http://www.modalohr.com/gb.htm After some experimentation, I've developed the following Lego version. It's designed for use with a geared down shunter that is easy to stop at the required positions. You can just about do it at the slowest speed of a normal PF loco but it's tricky. The model employs pins on the underside of the flat-bed, which engage with the yellow levers to rotate the platform as the loco shunts the car into position. These levers are set with the orange handles which also raise the ramps to flat-bed level. I have shot some video of finger powered operation but won't be able to post it for a while, so I hope the photos convey the general idea. Mechanism for raising the yellow levers uses a slider with a tile that is pushed under the lever arm. Axle from lever arm mechanism is activated by the ramp raising mechanism moved by the orange handle. The following three shots show the pin on the flat-bed acting on the arrival lever to turn the platform. Reversing up to collect the trailer. The black parts on the left of the track ensure the swinging platform is aligned correctly after departure. It's not always necessary. To depart, the arrival lever needs to be lowered and the departure lever raised. The following shots show a light grey technic bush on a pin under the flat-bed acting against the departure lever to straighten the car as it's shunted on. Click pictures for larger versions. Feedback and suggestions always appreciated. :classic:

Thanks for the review from last year. This set was on my must buy list when I visited my first ever Lego store in London last June. It's useful and it's fun. A nice improvement, if they ever upgrade this set, would be to print the numbers in red one of the other sides of the 2x2 number bricks, so you could use these to mark special occasions, holidays, etc. Print a third side with grey numbers and, with the purchase of a duplicate set you, could show the trailing dates from the previous month and the next few days from the upcoming month, which would be quite helpful. Very happy with my Brick Calendar. :classic:

Or try Wolfram Alpha: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28distance+travelled+by+car+europe%29+divided+by+%28number+of+cars+europe%29 Distance travelled per car in use: - European average = 10,100 km - USA = 19,800 km - Australia = 15,700 km - Denmark = 18,000 km - UK = 14,430 km - Germany = 12,590 km - France = 13,720 km - China = insufficient data - India = 27,400 km - Japan = 9,350 km

Cool, thanks for posting, Phoxtane. Lots of nice details, looks like a fun time was had by all. Also, great venue for the show, the room sets off the layout. :classic:

No, it's still a winch, I don't have any LA's. There is plenty of Mindstorms goodness hidden away that I'll reveal when I can get the video done. I'll also be taking some photos of the mechanisms during the tear down. The photos give a few clues to speculate on for the moment. My apologies in advance for the likely delay I'll face in posting a detailed thread on the complete model with video and additional photos. This probably won't happen until Xmas. :classic:

Thanks guys. Much appreciated. Cheers, timmyc. The prototype sat in a cupboard for ages but I really wanted to give it the full treatment before it had to be put away. Really glad you like it. Thanks, I'm pleased with how it turned out. Raising the whole model to the right level to accommodate the dock was a job in itself. Cool. I was lucky to find all the great source material for the original machine. On the left of the track (as the cars enter) there is a set of light grey 2 stud wide plates (green in the video) on top of the red wall in the cylinder (beige wall in the video). This forms small a lip just above the top left edge of the hoppers. There is also a snotted curved slope and tiles on the wall just under the lip to avoid the hopper jamming as it enters the cylinder and stop sideways movement when tipping. You can probably see this best in the frame YouTube shows before you click on the video. As the cylinder starts turning, the lip prevents the hopper from tipping sideways. As it goes past 90 degrees the flanges of the wheels against the rails stop the hoppers from falling out.

Great job, Kivi. You must have had fun building up to the level of the turntable, have you got any Duplo hidden in there? Nice expansive engine shed. I've got a 3 bay shed for my Emeralds and I know how many brick that took. :classic:

Hello everyone, I can't believe it's over two years since I first built the prototype. It's finally time for me to preview a major update. I've been working against time to get it completed before I put all my Lego into storage ahead of an extended overseas trip in the next few weeks. Needs a touch more landscaping but it's mostly done. The update is both cosmetic and functional. I won't go into all the details for now but basically I've automated the whole dumping cycle for 6 hoppers with Mindstorms. I'll be shooting video and photos of the new functionality before I have to do the tear down but probably won't get them edited and online until I'm overseas (maybe around Xmas). Please forgive the rushed shots with the messy background. Click photos for larger versions. Feedback and suggestions always appreciated. :classic:

On my homebuilt yellow Maersk loco I'm currently using dark grey track retention pins (the plastic parts that hold track together from the factory and the instructions tell you to throw away) for the long upper handrails. I was going to replace them with black '6L bar with stop ring' pieces but they look good enough as is and I haven't got round to it yet. :classic:

You could put a contrasting coloured technic bush in the middle of the sliding axle and detect it's movement with the light sensor. Eg. a light grey one of these on a black axle. I think I'd go for the bogie pin axle connected to a rotation sensor. :classic:

Really interesting idea for tracking your train around the layout. It could also detect which direction a train has passed a set of points. If RCX has a record function (like NXT) you could use this to read the initial 'map' of your layout. Otherwise it wouldn't be too difficult to create the map manually. In addition to supporting the location detection, the map could also provide for some self-calibration of the train position to account for any slippage. For the curve detection: - Checking rotation of inner and outer wheels/axles as per the great suggestions above, - Go with your initial idea. Use a brick built bogey with an axle for the bogey pin and attach the rotation sensor to that, - Use the touch detector to sense movement of the bogey or raised tiles on the track bed (This doesn't give you rotation angle or direction so is less useful but on a simple layout might give you enough data to do what you need) Once you've got it all working you could output the train position data to a display just like a real train network control room. :-) Looking forward to watching your progress. Good luck. :classic:

Looks very good but way too many stickers. Stickers aren't fun, it's always a pain trying to get them lined up and blemish free. STAMPs are a particular abomination. I'm not really sold on the viewing window. Is this an optional part of the build? Impressive model with some great details but let down by the excessive use of stickers. :classic:

> -how can I create my own blocks ? I have read somewhere on the net that there is a section called 'my blocks' to do that but I can't find it :/ In NXT v1.0, you use Edit Menu -> Make a New My Block. Then on the left hand side there is a set of tabs at the bottom of the Block Pallet, the right hand tab brings up your My Blocks. I don't have EV3 but this might help you. :classic:

Thanks for the feedback, I'll check out some of those options. > Can a Mindstorms robot read barcodes? I don't think so, but you could use the light/colour sensor and different coloured tiles to identify your stopping points. :classic:

It'll be good to have a place for Mindstorms queries and tips. I've been making some nice progress on a project but have found that the editor (for NXT v1.0) starts to get really slow and unweildy once the block count gets high (~50 plus). I'm going to go through and define some custom blocks to cut down the clutter but are there any recommendations for more robust development environments (line by line/text based or graphical)? :classic:

I think this is a really cool idea for a MOC. You've made great progress but I'd like to make a suggestion. To my mind, the key focal point is the crashed train and I'd want it to line up exactly like the source photo. At the moment the tender drops down too far because the height of the ground floor to rail level is too low compared with the original building. Good luck with the build. :classic:

Aussie viewers set your PVR's to ONE from 3am Monday (AEST): 03:00 to 06:00 Detroit Lions v Minnesota Vikings 06:15 to 09:25 Green Bay Packers v San Francisco 49ers <-- Looking forward to this one. :-) 10:20 to 13:30 Dallas Cowboys v New York Giants source: http://www.yourtv.com.au/guide/mon/fullday/ :classic:

Bravo, eurotrash. Love the Funicucamper. LOL at the first version though I know the type of funicular you were going for. Thumbsup to dr_spock too for the rail campers. :classic:

In Australia the game is on ONE from 10:30am AEST, following on from NFL Total Access at 9:30. Looking forward to the new season. :classic:

Bingo. Thanks for your help, JoeKaydear. Much appreciated. :classic:

Great, I'll give it a go. (I had the variable on only one branch but now I see how it's supposed to work.) :classic:

Sorry for a dumb question but I'm just getting back into NXT 1.0 programming and am having trouble with setting up a loop. There are some activity blocks in a loop with logic control, which needs to repeat until a motor on another branch (parallel sequence beam) of the program has finished moving. I've tried setting a variable after the move command so I can feed "false" into the logic plug on the loop control but I can't seem to get the wire to connect. I must be making some sort of newbie mistake and would be grateful for any guidance. I've looked at some of the links in the Technic index but to no avail. (Anticipating *facepalm* when I work out what I'm doing wrong) Thanks in advance. :classic:

Top job, Lego Junkie. I liked this book as a kid too. The model is spot on and a great steam shovel in it's own right. Well done. :classic:

Good idea. (The english term you are looking for is "aluminium foil") Adhesive felt might be a good option too: http://www.beverlys....heet-black.html Several colours available, you could use it as headliner on the ceiling and as a wall covering. :classic:

Great custom solution, mtrkustoms. Are the LED's a nice fit in the headlight bricks or did you have to attach them with glue/tape or drill a hole? I'm wondering about ways of dealing with light leakage. Not a big deal but it would be nice if it wasn't there. :classic: