EdwinWesterhof

I started with 12 volt blue track, because when i started that was the track i could get plenty of, for a good price and never had any regrets. I always wanted a Lego train as a kid. I know the gray tracks look better, but i got used to them . Only had to repair some wiring and everything works great.

I also got a layout with a raised crossing, The first track i raised only one plate, after that 2 plates per track, to get a smoother ride .Because my trains with wagons had to much trouble to make the climb. I also had to isolated the track where the train goes up, powered by its own transformer. so i could give the train climbing more power. But my motors are of the old type of the blue era. Also had to make the curves without a increase, had to much trouble with them when they where raised. Really love your trackplan, lots of options to drive several trains. I made one long lope with some options to take a short route. The track going down can be steeper, but look out for the curves, because your train while gains speed and derail in curves if your going to fast. Depending one what kind of trains your using i would try to get more space between the tracks. I like steam engines and the are 8+ wide and they jut out (don't know if this is the right translation) on the front of the train in curves. This is my layout, My trains drive counterclockwise. The light green is raised, climbing curves are flat. As you can see i need a lot of space to get the train high enough. Maybe this wil give you some ideas, I made my layout on the ground, so i can walk over it, this way i could make a bigger layout . Have lots of fun building your layout, looking forward to see pictures of your advancements.

For cleaning my tracks i made this. this way its not so much work , i use some vinegar on it. I have the vinegar in a old aftershave bottle to cover the smell. And when i'm not lazy i steal a scourer (colored sponge with a green top, do not know how they are called in English) from my wife with just some water and soap. This helps to get the black tan of the rails and most corrosion. But since i use my car its not needed to do it often. So i would recommend building a cleaning car.

At first i isolated the sections with just some tape, but that was not always a good isolation, so i decided to modify some section, bij cutting the iron rails in half. the best place to do this is in the middel of the iron rails. only cut deep enough so that the iron strip is in 2 but not the plastic. Lol never noticed the oxidation, used a very old rusty saw to make this cut, don't make the same mistake The isolation is only needed when you use multiple transformers. It is not needed if you connect your rails on several places to the same transformer. If you don't want to modify your tracks you could also use Train, Track 12V Conducting Rail Straight for 12v Signal with Rail Interruption in the Middle http://alpha.brickli...age?P=3242d#T=C But this only interrupts on one side, you can use this, but only if you know what is + and - on your track and you use the interruption on the + side. But it is better to isolate both tracks. Because if you drive the other way + and - switch and then there is no isolation on the + side.

I'am using 12 volt rails myself and i have made some more connections with the same trafo just see to it that you connect the same wire on the same side and it while work fine. If you connect the wires the wrong way, no problem but the train wil not drive. If you are going to use more then 2 trains you wil need more power. I have split my tracks in 3 separate sections and every section has its own trafo, this way there are never more than 2 trains on a section. The big blue trafo with the studs on top have a better power output then the gray ones.

Hello I'm Edwin and i love Lego trains, always wanted a Lego train as a child, but got a model train. Now i'm older and finally got a Lego train. I started with a castle for my daughter but she rather played with playmobile, so i started playing with it. Bought some more sets and after a while it was too much to stay building in the living room. My wife has made room in our bedroom so i could build bigger :) and then the trains started to roll. At the moment i removed everything, sorted most of my bricks and i have started a new train layout, the track is based on my second layout. This is the current condition of my layout.