Legoless

Beautiful rich colours- and using gray for the off roader really brings them out. Lovely MOC. I did wonder what I was going to see when I clicked the link- in medical terminology a 'T.I.A' stands for Transient Ischaemic Attack, a sort of mini-stroke that can present like a full-blown stroke (my mother is prone to those and had a major stroke a few months ago). She's made a wonderful recovery thankfully. Carry on MOCing.

Yes. Use cork tiles which you should be able to obtain from DIY stores. Glue these to the entire table top. This will absorb a lot of the vibration created by the train wheels and prevent the table tops from acting as a 'sounding board'. Even cheaper would be laminate floor underlay which would have the same effect (choose the slightly better quality more cushioned type). Carpet underlay could be used at a pinch but would most likely be too springy. Model railway folks often lay their tracks on foam underlay- you could improvise if you can get hold of something similar. You could also try applying battens to the bottom of the tables to stiffen them up a bit- should help a little but probably the most effective and cheapest approach would be the laminate flooring underlay as above. If you are a skilled enough builder you could attempt to fit suspension to each train axle- however that might involve re-building existing models and a lot of faffing about to get it right. Suspension does a lot to quieten the sound of trains. Also, if you use a PF motor, I suppose you could wrap it in some kind of insulating material, however this won't cancel out noise from the train gearing.

I really loath 'textspeak' (or txtspk), but all I can say right now, rather too loudly, and in the manner of an over-excited schoolgirl, is 'OMG!!!!!!!!!' Any model layout or diorama wins or loses for me not necessarily on the technical accomplishments of the model itself, but on the sense in which the viewer can 'invest' in a sense of 'being there'- too many well crafted models seem to lack the sense of 'life'- they seem quite sterile. This MOC is full of human interest despite being centred on an airport and hotel (actually not the cosiest of possible things to model), yet, with clever model-making which invites you to take a 'virtual stroll' around the facilities, and a humorous and all-too-realistic storyboard, you have really excelled. You seem to have an artist's sense of being able to make a relatively compact model seem much larger than it actually is, without using false perspective. Truly inspirational.

Brilliant MOC- I spend several miserable summer holidays in these dreadful yet iconic contraptions back in the 1980s. All you need to do to add more realism is to attach a very leaky annexe tent to the side, fill the area around the MOC with the smell of petrol and exhaust smoke, and show a diorama of the van parked up by the side of the road, with an emergency repairman's legs visible under the engine compartment... Funny thing is, despite everything, occasionally I have a yearning to own one... EDIT- I've just realised that I've drunkenly bumped a very old thread- Mods may delete this post if desired.

New 9v track sounds like a great idea- especially if someone could make metal train wheels and matching pickups so that it would be possible not to have to cannibalise an old 9v motor in order to use PF. However, for me the problem with 'L Guage' track (as made by Lego) is the sharpness of the curves. If I had the money I'd be investigating using LGB/ G Scale track with Lego trains- that way I'd have far more flexibility with track curvature and the prospect of building wider bodied trains for more realism (and the prospect of using true DCC). I know that isn't a 'pure Lego' solution- however that appears to be TLG's own way of running Lego trains outdoors at Legoland Billund.

Interesting prototype to model. Odd specification though- they only had 4 cylinder engines- the only British train to use this English Electric power unit was the famously noisy class 201 Diesel Electric Multiple Units used on the Hastings line. I've never had the, er, 'pleasure' of riding in one of those- but then I've never been a fan of the Southern Region British Rail stock. Also, this Australian loco seems rather large given its compact power unit. I suppose the loco's size gives it more room for cooling equipment or lots of room for maintainence. It sort of looks like a cut-down British Rail Class 20- which would make sense given the small numbers built- as otherwise it would probably have been built as a glorified 0-6-0 high-speed shunter. Looks like someone else has modelled one of these locos in Lego. Good luck with yours.

Congratulations on netting yourself some 12v stuff- I think without doubt the most 'fun' Lego train system out of the box there has ever been, and in its day, the quality of it was vastly superior to other toys on offer. That high-quality engineering came at a price of course, that and the need to use mains power, so even if they'd have not introduced 9v, it would have had its day by now, sadly.

Yeah, you can just download it in PDF format for free- then save it on your hard drive. You can print it out from there or just access it from your hdd. From an energy saving point of view the PDF version is by far the 'greenest' option- otherwise loads more fuel will be used in the production and delivery of a printed version.

Definately not a Class 92 I'm afraid. 92s don't have the 'wrap around' cab effect. The 92 in fact is the electric version of the class 60- albeit with improved front end styling.

Have you considered making up your own stickers to detail the fascia above the lower windows and also for the roundels? I love your work- I've just been through your Flickr pages. Dutch townscapes really work well in Lego- since most layouts are flat, and the Dutch landscape is flatter than a very very flat thing- in fact when you first go to Holland and Belgium you really have to re-calibrate your brain to take in the endless flatness of it all. Your work, with its tall skinny buildings, really captures the 'feel' of Dutch towns. Particularly loved the ghost and skeleton next to the industrial greenhouse- reminds me of the time I was trying to locate a particular street in Berkel en Rhodenriis (spelling?) and ended up going round and round endless bloody greenhouses- I'm sure it is entirely possible that people have died trying to find their way around places like that and survive only as frustrated ghosts!

Superb MOC. I've never been to Australia (only seen it in films and travel documentaries, etc), but this to me conjours up what I'd expect a small 'one horse' Australian town to be like- a long straight street with low-built buildings. I particularly like the way you've stickered the shops, and the pickup. I can imagine the heat and the dust. I'd love to see a pub, as others have said! And possibly one of those impossibly long Australian road-trains. Look forward to seeing the completed layout.

In the UK and other European countries it is common to have an electric locomotive at one end of a passenger train, and when reaching terminii, instead of the old time-consuming practice of running the locomotive around to the other end of the train, the driver simply walks to the other end, where there is a driving cab in the end carriage. Usually in the UK this carriage is used for storage/parcels rather than passengers, and is called a 'DVT' (Driving Van Trailer- it it has a driving cab, is a 'van' not a 'coach' and is not itself powered. DVTs commonly superficially resemble both the type of locomotives commonly used to power them and also match the type of coach used, eg Mark 3 or Mark 4). The British Rail Class 91 locomotive is purpose-designed to work with DVTs. Although it looks like it only has one cab on the sloping end, there is another cab on the flat end of the loco in case it has to operate facing the 'wrong way'- albeit at reduced speed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_91 It has also become common for diesel-electric loco powered trains (now very much a minority) to be operated 'top and tail' with a loco at either end for the same reason. Control signals are sent via the coach wiring so there is no need for a driver to be present in the tail loco. 'Topping and tailing' has been brought about because of the resergence of rail travel in the UK has resulted in more congestion, therefore it saves considerable time (and track space) at terminii not to have to run locos around the train, as well as there being many surplus locomotives due to (ironically) the phasing out of loco haulage in favour of much more flexible and more efficient multiple units, as well as the import of more reliable heavy freight locos from America and Canada. Since most diesel-electrics can easily propel a train solo, it is very ineffient in terms of fuel use and maintainence costs to 'top and tail', and this practice reflects the slow process in introducing sufficient multiple units to meet demand.

Absolutely stunning layout- and I loved the YouTube. I thought the opening door mechanism on that EMU was especially clever. I noticed a lot of nickel silver non-Lego trackwork in use- are you able to tell us more about how this was constructed?

What a wonderful structure- I've always associated early South Western American railway structures (which I've never actually seen in real life) to be a bit 'shanty'-like. However, that station has a real architectural elegance to it- even though it is only made of wood. You can really imagine it in its heyday because it has not being spoiled by being over-modernised as so many railway stations are these days (as of necessity). Lovely model- really captures the spirit of the original. Love to see the whole layout when its complete.

An exceptionally beautiful piece of work- a true work of art. I can't really add anything to what others have said! BTW- I note that the ship sails under 'a plain white linen flag', don't the French always fly the white flag of surrender?

It'll be in LDD- I'm not building it in actual Lego. I'll only post it if it isn't too embarassing. I doubt whether it would be possible to build a Co-Co loco on LDD that would actually go through points- as it would require blind wheels on one axle, or some kind of extra articulation.

Funnily enough, and quite independently of your post, I've been using pictures of Bachmann's new 00 scale Class 70 for inspiration for trying to build my first LDD MOC. The Freightliner PowerHaul Class 70 is a big and very ugly new heavy freight loco from America (clearly American's like their trains styled as badly as their cars !)- the prototype designer obviously wasn't listening in class when they were being shown how to use French curves! But then the angularity absolutely lends itself for reproduction in Lego- although some kind of articulation would need to be applied to the bogie design (beyond swivelling) to enable it to traverse tight Lego curves. I'm finding the components on offer in LDD somewhat limiting as well as being a very slow build compared to building with 'real Lego' (of which I don't currently own). These are the pics I am uaing for reference http://www.ehattons.com/StockDetail.aspx?sid=32703 If I were to build this using real Lego I'd have to invest in some transfer making kits to do the very striking livery.

I like it but I'd repeat what the others said about too many lion's heads and the yellow window frame being a bit 'loud'. It looks interesting juxtaposed against the storage drawers behind- which look a bit like modern glass-fronted office blocks! Good luck- look forward to seeing the final result.

Out of interest, has anyone ever considered going 'broad guage' (compared to regular 'L guage') by using G scale track, such as that produced by LGB, Piko, et al? That would give access to much gentler and more realistic radii, as well as pointwork that can easily be motorised with far less chance of fouling the mechanism- even with the much longer loco and carriage length that such track would permit- not to mention wider and more prototypical width. And it would also enable the use of 4 axle bogies for diesel electrics or to facilitate the building of longer steam engines. It should be easy enough to widen the axle length by 7mm since the most recent Lego trains use Technic axles (standard 9v motors wouldn't work without customisation I'd have thought because of the pickups). And of course, most G scale track is designed for live electric track in harsh outdoor conditions- so might possibly be an interesting way of preserving a form of 9v live track lego- especially if there was a way of taking power from the track using modified pickups or wheels to feed a PF motor. Edit- I'm wondering if the commentator in the YouTube is actually from New Zealand rather than Oz, as he keeps referring to 'Ligo' rather than Lego (although his pronounciation is uneven). New Zealanders have a similar accent to Australians but they tend to pronounce the letter 'E' as 'I'. From experience, most New Zealanders are most offended if they are mistaken for Australians...

Yeah, I remember that when I had the 12v transformer as a kiddie- that always bugged the hell out of me too. Sorry I can't help.

Wow! Although 9v might be more 'realistic looking' than 12v (due to not having the central power rails), 9v in its standard form can't touch 12v for playability. Are you planning to set up a permanent layout? That would look fantastic, and enable you to hide the cables underneath. Is there any logic to the way you've assigned the switches to control points or other accessories or do you just remember what does what? If you get confused because of the inevitable spaghetti of cables eminating from them one tip would be to run a strip of decorator's masking tape across them- which you can then write on to indicate which switch does what. This is what professional lighting and sound technicians do- it comes off cleanly (if not left too long) and doesn't leave a sticky residue.

Damn- I want to go and move into Davey's basement- it looks quite big, so do you think he and his missus would notice that a fairly large Englishman had moved in? As regards the noise issue generated by using trains on a table, one trick would be to take a leaf out of the model railway brigade's book- and use some kind of underlay, such as thin foam under the tracks. A better technique would be to cover the table tops in cork sheeting, which is not too expensive. A third option (and the cheapest) would be to use the kind of foamed rubber used as flooring underlay for laminate or floating wood floors. Bracing the underside of the table tops would help too as it would stiffen it and make it behave less like a drum skin. Or, if you like a challenge, install suspension in all of your trains. This would help them ride better, improve traction, and quieten down the noise. I've seen some interesting designs for train suspension based on pneumatic tubing.

It would be a real shame if outstanding sets like this were released to AFOLs only. It really is an aspirational set- and one that I'm sure would greatly popularise Lego trains if given a wider release with some promotion- ie like the 12v stuff was back in the '80s (many of us remember that fantastic advert with the gangsters using a 12v set to plan a train heist). And whilst I'd be more inclined to custom build my own trains (based on British prototypes) I still ache to have one of these American style sets! I can't comment on the accuracy of the loco (not being American although it looks great to me) but the Terberg yard tractor is stunning and instantly recognisable to those who've seen the real thing (usually in large industrial complexes).

Many thanks for the warm welcomes! As I've said, I've been lurking on this site for months- its nice to be able to actually contribute- even if all of the MOCs I'd like to dazzle you all with are only in my head...

This is great- there is something wonderful about Victorian railway engineering- electical switches just don't have the magic of a well-oiled lever attached to cables or rods. I guess that's why I much prefer a manual gearbox to an automatic- its just more tactile and involving. So adding such a structure can only add to the sense of atmosphere on your layout. Its a simple model beautifully done.