Hrw-Amen

I can only talk about normal model railways in respect to cleaning metal rails. I used to find it a huge issue to be honest, tried several different methods with varying degrees of success or failure. The best I found for cleaning was actually some trains that had little buffers fitted under them that scrubbed the line as they went. They were usually fitted to small shunter locos. They did need to be run almost every time the track was used though as they were no good if it got really dirty. I guess it depends how big your circuit is. I had a few hard to reach bits and it was quite hard to clean any other way. I tried all kinds of things from sandpaper to some thing that was actually wired into the circuit that was supposed to keep dirt off. None of it was a 100% at keeping it clean though. I suppose sandpaper was good as it did clean it, but then that was really what the little engine fitted with the buffers did, just without me. It still got dirty real quick though. With LEGO I have gone with PF as the thought of keeping track clean seemed just way to much, coupled with the cost of starting with 9V just as it died out in the shops seemed way to expensive compared to PF. True you can use the PF trains on 9V track, but if you need a lot of track it will be quite expensive especially as has been pointed out for straights..

I have not got any of the turtle sets as I am not a fan, but seeing that I may have to get one and build one of these as I really do miss AC and we don't have Galaxy Squad yet!

Looks good and tranquil. Nice little rise as well without too much track inclination. You could always put a little bit of incline just behind the track, maybe in the corner to give the impression of the land rising away out of the scene. But yes, looks really good. The little houses by the lake are nice as well and it is good to see how you have built the garden areas with paths to go to the road and pavement.

I have been pondering this for a while now. I have been looking at some newer trains, (Mostly the South West Trains that come to my local station.) and there seems to be a distinct lack of buffers on trains nowadays? I really noticed it on a trip up to London recently where I was at Waterloo Station and looking across all those platforms, not a buffer to be seen on the fronts (Or rears I guess as they look pretty much the same.) of all those trains. Any other countries other than the UK seeing a declining buffer use? Any idea why this is, I mean OK hopefully trains nowadays are less likely to run into anything requiring buffering and I suppose most trains are put together as a certain number of coaches and that is pretty much that, but still at the ends? Opposite to this I do still see them being used on freight trains, so maybe it is the overall un-shutableness of modern passenger trains?

That is really great, I would not have thought that it would work at all but it is amazing that it does. It will be interesting to see if using different props has a huge difference on its performance.

I did notice on Monday this week (18/03/13.) that there was a large picture of LEGO DUPLO used as a backdrop in quite a bit of the BBC News on News 24. Not sure why as there did not seem to be any mention of it in the news, but every time they went back to the anchor it was in the background?

Do you think you could use this technique to actually make a new type or shape of brick or just modify one to a form they do not produce, perhaps if a mould could be made using existing bricks to get the shapes, sort of things like brackets or say a 2X4 plate that was 2X2 plate with LEGO studs and the other 2X2 bit a tile, sort of half and half, or obviously countless other bits people may want?

I always wanted one as a kid but there was not a hope in hell that my parents could afford one. To be honest I don't now see the appeal. I suppose as a train fan if they made a new one I'd buy it but only for the sake of having the most up to date thing i fear. I don't think I'd actually get it out and use it much.

I much prefer the look of this one over the modern one. It just looks more like something that actually could have been running in real life. Any chance of some general shots of your layout so that we can see the whole scene?

Looking back (I am in my mid to late forties.) the period around 25-30 was certainly the hardest for me finacially. I had moved out of my parents, bought a house, car, bike. Was working all hours, could not afford anything other than bills. But as you get over that 30-35 period things definately improve, the mortgage is not such a burden, savings start to pick up etc. Thinking back I did consider selling off a load of stuff myself, but fortunately I had moved away from my parents and it was stuck for the most part in their attic miles away and I could not get at it. I am now glad as some of it I really cherish. I was lucky in a way that even when i moved away I never lost my interest in LEGO although buying new stuff was hard due to budget, but I certainly think you will regret selling at least some bits later on. If you really must try and think of the ones you will miss the most and keep those at least, even if they are not the most expensive or valuable money wise, they mean more to you so keep them at the very least.

Interesting, there seems to be an awful lot of face huggers in that town! Looks like an alien invasion! This is a nice use of the camera to show the whole town off as well as to show the train running through crowded city. Can I ask in the clip with the train running through what looks like several different themes, there is a space type of one, it has the trains in that vertical tube and sort of Blacktron 1 colours(?) are there any still shots of that as I am interested to see what the overall scene is especially if it is Blacktron, but as the train whizzes through it is hard to make out? But another example of nice camera work. I would like to see though as well as trains whizzing round, some more slow shots both forwards and turned towards the scene so we get a passenger's eye view sort of out of the window,

I like the way that although that Horizon Express catches you in the curves you out run it each time down the straight leaving it way behind on some occasions. Not bad for a wagon with a camera mounted on it!. I think the whole idea is pretty good to be honest, sort of like a drivers view and some of those are really cool, going past other trains especially. It gives you a totally different perspective on the various trains that we don't normally see. It would be great to see it running through a fully scenic area with lots of buildings and vehicles, fields and stuff like that.

Nice to see how you have built up around the battery box to make it look like part of the train rather just being dragged behind like in so many of those early trains. It really gives the train character and the corridors connecting the two parts of the train. Such old 4.5V bits put to really good use again, those old motors are so reliable. Nice build and story.

Yes it would be extremely expensive for multiple signals. I will use it with this one as i have bought the bits and gone to the trouble of making it. I would really like to be able to do it with PF stuff but don't know how to wire up those LEDs. What would happen if i just wired an LED directly into a battery and switch with none of that gubbins in between, would it light, explode, do nothing? The only real problem i see with using the standard PF lights are that they have two lights on them and there is no option to just have one. Fine if you are lighting a train headlight or room or whatever but not so good for little signals where you want one red and on green or whatever. What happens if you just snip off one of the PF LEDs so that you could build a signal like I have but with PF lights? I considered using the PF LEDS to make two consecutive signals so that on one line the light could turn green at the same time the other turns red, but unless it is in some overhead gantry I cannot see the cables being anything like long enough for that. I suppose I could always cut them off and just stick another bit of wire in between the PF brick and the LEDs but that then again moves away from a LEGO solution, which I was hoping to avoid.

I use the rechargeable AAA batteries or rechargeable C (Or is it D?) batteries depending on if it is 9v or 4.5V. I have never run a train long enough to have them run out on me yet. I do tend to keep them topped up though and have some spare just in case, I use Energiser ones, I have no idea what they are made of or what type they are from that perspective. I just know they work fine. I have thought about buying the more expensive one but it is just way too expensive. If it were just double the price I would, but at 4 X the price (In the UK.) it is not even going to have a look in.

I had a thread about that when I was trying to figure it out. Someone had put a really useful diagram of how to wire them on Brickshelf. There is a link in the old thread, http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=71035&hl=%2B4.5v+%2Bremote+%2Bcontrol I did not cut the wires on the IR unit itself as they are quite expensive so I just bought a P/F Extension cable as they are relatively cheap and used that for any cutting that had to be done attaching it onto the IR Unit. I have to say that once I had the picture of what to attach to what It was very easy. I fine wiring diagrams nowadays mean nothing to me as they seem to use totally different symbols to when I used them back in the 70's at school, but a picture is much better. Anyway, hope that link helps, the Brickshelf link is near the end of the thread.

I think the only deterioration I have on my early minifigures from the late 70,s onwards is that due to play from when I was young. The newer less played with ones are still in original condition but then they have been kept locked away in boxes for twenty odd years.

OK, I have put some photos up. I have had to hide the wires in the back. I used those 2x2 corner bricks for the mast and used the modified plate clips to keep the wires in place. I can then use either plates or extension wires to go to the switches. I have ordered a second switch today from Bricklink. I have also included a photo of the junction in question. It is the sole bit of track I can leave in place as it is behind the chairs in my living room and thus hard to get at. The rest has to be taken up each time after I have used it.

I have a class 01, 02, 08 and 17. They are in my flickr pages, but I have posted them here as well. Here is a link:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/hrw-amen/

I have to agree, the open field look is good and having the monorail going all over it kind of distracts from that. Also, why is it there, what is it doing? You have to think that if you have a regular railway running that route what would be the purpose of the monorail doing a similar one? It is a little hard to see right now as there is not so much structure with the monorail, but yes I would say if it is going up the mountain (Assuming your mountain is getting higher?) then I would hide bits of it in tunnels so that you are almost watching to anticipate when it come out. It would make it, its own feature rather than having it getting in the way of the main railway.

OK, the bits came and I was fiddling around last night trying to get a working signal. I have made the signal itself but it seems that I do indeed need two switches. I would have thought that there would have been a central connection to go back to the battery box so that one way would have been green and the other red? Seems a bit of an odd idea for a polarity switch and really only gives us on or off? I am sure that I could actually use two 9V battery boxes than could be on or off but of course they are a lot bigger to hide. I will get some pictures when I have time.

Very nice, looks like some of the commuter trains we have running around just two or three coaches including the engines. No idea if they have toilets though?

I think there will be Gorillas in a later wave along with bears and skunks. I watched the DVD that came with our club magazine this time and included the first two episodes of a Chima TV series, (Where on earth is that broadcast, I have never seen it listed in any UK channels?) and they seemed to have all those tribes as well as the normal lions, crocs, wolves and eagles. I think there was a rhino or hippo or something like that as well? Anyway, glad you like the wagon.

I built this one over the last few days with a view to the Wacky railway Challenge, but also as I have been messing about with Chima stuff and building some MOCS. Anyhow, the idea is the same as those WWII & WWI photos you see of railway locomotives and in front of the train they have a modified wagon with a gun being pushed along. The Crocodile Clan from the land of Chima have somehow opened a dimensional portal into LEGO CITY and have started a take over. They have seized control of the CITY Railway and to put their mark on it are running specially converted Croc Wagons at the front of each train. Converted from the standard coal wagons these still retain the original coal wagon chasis and wheels, the rear of the wagon also folds down in the same way as it does on a coal wagon. But the front has been heavily converted to have rotating blades as well as the standard Crocodile Snapping mouth full of teeth! As the train rolls along out in the front the blades spin faster and faster and the Crocodile jaws open and close at ever more alarming rates making sure no Chima enemy tribes try and muscle their way into the LEGO CITY. Some things though never change. The Crocodiles may think they are in control, but even they have to obey railway regulations and wear their High Visibility Vests whilst riding in the wagon. http://www.flickr.com/photos/hrw-amen/sets/72157633002967118/with/8559067565/ I would have preferred to use the three bladed head for the rotating bit but I did not have any of them left so had to improvise with what i had, still they do rotate in the same manner as on the Chima Croc tank. The mouth moves up and down as the train rolls along which is going one better than the tank. I have only used a simple mechanism to do this in the same way as the Chima Wolf vehicle. Nonetheless it gets a bit wild as the train goes faster and faster bouncing wildly up and down in true Crocodile Snapping Action. I constructed the base of the wagon in the same way as I have nearly all of my short wheelbase wagons the only difference being that I used the technic axle wheels )Like the ones that come with the train motor.) rather than normal wheels. This is because I wanted to use them to turn the blades and operate the mouth so needed access to the technic axle to do that. I would have liked to have hidden all of those gears out of the way so that they were not seen, but that would have made it huge and ungainly, not to mention that I did not have that many Olive Green parts, just having a few left over from my Chima MOCs.

This is going to be a huge engine once you finish it. More importantly though I think will be seeing a real locomotive actually pneumatic in its power plant running. It is all well and good seeing a cobbled together load of pipes and bits stuttering forwards to test the concept, but a fully working loco model will be worth seeing, so you will have to post a video!