WesternOutlaw

The group arrives at the hand car eventually rolling it to the location of the fuel tanker. An attempt to move the tanker with ropes found in the train engine shed proves unsuccessful. It's a bit too heavy to pull by hand car.

DON'T LET TRAIN MONTH PASS YOU ON THE RAILS! What's happening in the Trains & Town forum that has EB members "train-ifying their avatars"? It's Train Month! Yes, Train Month! Eurobricks members are celebrating the month of August by enjoying the new Train Tech Forum, building great contest entries for the Train Tech Building Contest (excited that they might win an official Lego Emerald Night train set), and sharing many interesting topics related to trains. What are you waiting for? Grab some blue and white striped overalls and a red scarf, and head over to Train Tech for the fun.

Discussing a few plans to obtain fuel for the Crocodile, the group decides to... (insert ingenious Wile E. Coyote plan here)

Great EB members to the rescue! I'm loving all the fantastic train avatars.

Specifically mentioned in the contest rules under Category 3, but YES.

Okay, I'll go ahead and start. Here's me in front of a visit to the Nevada Southern Railway: Looks like the classic 12V blue shunter, doesn't it. How about someone else?

Max and Steve get busy on the Crocodile. CLINK! CLANK! Could you hand me that Johnson Wrench please? Sure thing Max... CLINK! CLANK! Now let's try placing the Crocodile Rod in the Johnson Shaft... (Steve hands the Crocodile Rod to Max) CLINK! CLANK! okay - got 'er did. Let's rock 'n' roll! Now what should we do for fuel smarties? (secretly wishing he had his train pin)

Yes and no.

Being that we still have two weeks for Train Month, I call upon all you train heads to change your avatar to something train related. Feel free to share them here.

I was actually considering adding something about each person, like 12V, 9V, RC, or PF collector, but decided not to because many of us cross train types and building styles.

Love the frost! I don't think I've ever seen a Lego MOC pictured with frost. Very nice work.

The group is back in the train engine shed with the Crocodile. This engine rocks!

With my recent addition of Cafe Corner, I'm really struggling with integrating it within my Classic-style town. It got me thinking, are there some tips that can help integrate new City modulars with classic style buildings, an issue that most town builders are faced with? I had a couple of thoughts on the issue that I may try: - Place the modular set(s) in the center of the town as a focal point and build the rest of the town around the center - Separate the modular with some sort of "natural" break, like a park or forest. What else? What else can help blend/integrate modulars within your existing tabletown? Share your thoughts

Bad things seem to happen when we spilt up. Perhaps we should stay together.

That reminds me. I had a very small table set up in the home computer room, with a Wild West theme. With limited space, I placed the crossing in the middle of the table diagonally to create a basic figure 8. It was narrow enough to make it work on the table, and created a Wild West junction. It worked pretty well.

Oh, yes, +2 life points as a result of a little rest, and the magical and mystical powers of Shmelt's homemade garlic chicken and lentil soup with ginsing blueberry tea.

Murder on the Emerald Express: Chapter 14A Crocodile Rock The weary group has returned to town. After some rest and relaxation aboard the Emerald Express with a filling, but late lunch prepared by the new moonlighting EB moderator Shmelt ( ), they have decided that an attempt to get the Crocodile engine jump-started might be a worthwhile plan (finally ). Now comes the difficult challenge in getting the train started...

Realizing that Cassandra Crossing is not a safe route out of Willoughby, the weary group return to town to try their luck with the Crocodile. End Chapter 13

Regardless of price, I would like Lego to still offer 9V track and perhaps motors for many of us that want to continue along the 9V path. This is a HUGE population of train fans as demonstrated by the train clubs and shows around the country. Sure, it will be costly to produce, but at a premium price, I'm sure Lego could continue (if not turn a profit, then at least break-even). However, I doubt this will happen, and we can only wish. They didn't listen once with the "Save 9V Train Campaign", so I doubt they will do so a 2nd time (as interest and letters from train fans have probably diminished since the new system). I'm running the Emerald along my 9V layout, but I still like the 9V system better than PF simply for the ease in adding a 9V motor - with the exception of the big wheels.

Otters! Welcome back. I'll be expecting a very high quality creation from you folks. Good luck!

Keep in mind that during Lego's rise to fame (at least in the mid to late 70s), I don't remember seeing Lego commercials or any other types of advertising (except for maybe an occasional Lego custom model in a toy store window/glass). Lego was able to capture a market without all the hoopla. They made an exception to the old business flaw, "If a man can make a better mousetrap, the world will make a beaten path to his door". From what I understand, the modular City sets have sold quite well, and are in very few stores (aside from Lego stores). I would think that moving trains would have even more apeal to many, esp. kids.

Great pictures KD! It's great to see your digital layout transform to a brick-built city. My first observation is the nice blending of Classic Town sets with newer sets. Take for example Main Street with the cinema from Town Plan next to it. You've successfully mixed these sets from two very distinct eras making it look good. I admire this in a city, as I have many old sets myself, and I add the new farm and other town sets to the mix. Nice job! (although I think you should swap the theater with the Town Hall). I'm also seeing some great sets within your collection (like the old metro parking garage - what an excellent set!). I like your park, but notice that it has many more trees than your digital design. In any case, it still looks good with the Town Plan fountain in the middle, that serves as a great focal point (I love cities/towns with focal points). Overall, a very nice combination of new sets with old, and neat city for many Lego fans to admire. Great job! EDIT: now where's that Classic Train to provide some transportation services to this town?

Well, we didn't start 'er up yet, and there's still the little issue of fuel. The gas in my tractor won't get us very far.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions regarding the compatibility of Market Street w/ the other modular sets. I finished building Cafe Corner last night (after about 7.5 combined hours), and absolutely love the model. I think it's the largest set that I have built, and really enjoyed building each floor. The exterior details are truly superb. Based on everyones' feedback, I'm going to see how much Market Street will cost me on the 2nd hand market, and if it's not too bad, may end up buying. I agree that the architecture is a bid different, but even with the brighter color, it may look okay. I'm also going to look at a few pictures of the combined sets to see how they integrate with one another.

Perhaps someone is trying to tell us that this is NOT a safe route out of Willoughby. It's been a long time since I've been out this way, but even if we make it across Cassandra Crossing, the next town is at least 250 miles away. What can we hope to accomplish by crossing on foot? We have learned that if the nearby switch track leads any train in this direction, it would result in a terrible catastrophy. I don't want to return to town, but maybe we should be looking at getting our Crocodile Rods out of here, aboard another train. Hey Snitchman! Is that my shirt?