WesternOutlaw

Guys: you had a lot of time to build an entry. This contest started over a month ago. Are you waiting for pieces? WhiteFang: I think it's nice that you extended the deadline. This will hopefully allow the late builders a chance to submit their entries. The entries so far have been fantastic, but can they take down 1979? I don't think so... EDIT: Oh, and there's still a missing yellow castle among the entries.

Welcome to Eurobricks Chromeknight. Small/home-sized layouts is an interesting topic and issue that many Lego fans have to deal with, with limited space. My Layout Let me share a little bit about my layout which is close to the size you mention. I have a small table in my computer room which I made larger (just for a train layout) by using two large boards of equal size that I had cut by a local hardware store. I placed them on top of the table creating a larger area 6' x 3' 4". The boards are thick enough that they hold up well where there is overlap. Loops vs. End-to-End Layouts While one can never have enough space for a continuous loop, it's not much fun to run an end-to-end train. One of the best things about a Lego or any hobby train is turning it on, and watching it go around your layout. The only thing better is perhaps two trains. Although with all the new high tech Power Functions and other "techie bricks", one can perhaps have the train move from one side of the layout to the other on an end-to-end layout (that doesn't seem too fun though). Roadplates and Space for Town The only problem with not having a lot of space is that you're limited to how much town you can fit within your loop. My table allows me an oval with 8 straight tracks along the length and 1 straight along the width. I'd have space for 2 straights on each side, but with the Train Level Crossing (10128), there's 10 studs of baseplate I have to create an inset for. This layout allows 8 32x32 standard baseplates in the center of the track with another 4 that the track is placed on (with my Train level Crossing). I don't like when the track is partially placed on a baseplate (esp. curves) which are difficult to attach. Straight track is not a problem. You also want some sort of shunting yard with at least one switch track so that you can add a few cars that are not in use. You can check out my layout HERE. What Trains to Add/Build This all depends on the look that you are after. If you have a modern City, you might want a very modern train. I prefer steam trains and/or locomotives. I created my town around the Emerald Night trying to capture a more classic/traditional look. At the same time, this doesn't stop me from adding one of Lego's diesel locos like the SFSC or BNSF. It's just that I love the look of the new Emerald Night which I have running. An ICE or bullet train is out for me. I also have the Swiss Crocodile on my tracks, and I don't think it's bad to mix train types (although perhaps a little unrealistic). Building Up Scenery My layout is pretty flat with the exception of the town itself. I have not yet tried adding anything other than trees, which on this size layout, may be a little difficult with the town. I'd love to add a train tunnel mountain, which perhaps I'll try on the far end of the table where I don't have any roadplates. You just gave me an idea. The town adds height/dimension. I did try building another raised loop for a 2nd train, but I would not recommend it without placing it on a mountain or other raised scenery. Other Resources I would highly recommend Track Designer as a great program to help you design your layout. When you're done creating a digital layout, the program will give you the overall measurements to help you stay within your parameters. There's a link to the program in Train Tech. Good luck, and please share some pictures of your WIP or final layout. This topic has been added to TRAIN TECH.

Do any of you save your sets, in unopened boxes? Are there any Town/City sets that you may have purchased two or more of, in order to open one, and perhaps leave one in mint condition? What qualities do you look for in a "savable" set? Age? Legend? Classic Town? Discuss those extra-special Town & City sets here.

Excellent details! I love the statue and the crossing sign. A nice entry Koffiemoc.

Oooohhh! Make it stop... Way too much information.

Yes, those too.

Present day, but that all depends on your perspective. More will be revealed when the story unfolds. NOTE: a few of you are sending me questions through private message. As some of you are new to my style of delivering a mystery, I reveal information on an "as needed basis". This assures that you also have fun participating in the mystery. You also don't want to irritate me too much, as I'm communicating with 23 individuals over PM. Participants who wish to do this may quickly find themselves doomed to an unpleasant demise. :skull:

UPDATE: All of the secondary characters have been selected. The first page of this thread lists all of the characters. NOTE: Secondary characters are not to post until being called upon. At this time, this game is locked. I will NOT be accepting any more participants. More information will be provided before May 15, at which time the Emerald Express will be embarking, ...toward MYSTERY... :skull:

I just stumbled upon another new part on Lego SAH that is for Mindstorms NXT, but by the description, can be used for trains. It's called an Infared Link Here's the part description: Infrared Link Sensor for MINDSTORMS® NXT! Enhance your MINDSTORMS® NXT creations with an Infrared Link Sensor! With 3 NXT-G blocks, you’ll be able to build robots that can communicate with other devices, including the MINDSTORMS RCX, LEGO IR remote-controlled trains, and LEGO Power Functions motors. - Includes 1 Infrared Link Sensor. - Does not include connector cable. - This is the individual component, and does not include the NXT Intelligent Brick, software or any accessories. It requires the complete LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT set (#8527) for use. And the LINK to Lego SAH. For those of you "techies" on the board and/or train fans, how might this work with Lego PF Trains?

Excellent! I see that you've added one. I'm glad the link helped. The Train Depot is one of my favorite train sites. It offers quite a bit for train fans.

Make sure you share some pictures when you get it running. EDIT: oh, and welcome to EB!

I was going to add that Panda has an awesome collection and 12V layout, perhaps he might give you some pointers... and now I see that he has. If you're still highly interested in 12V trains; just like everything else, if your willing to pay the price, I'm sure you can find the pieces and/or sets your looking for.

I sometime enjoy seeing these old topics resurface. There's another more recent face-off that also includes the Hobby Train. Let me see if I can find. Yes, here it is: Triple Train Engine Face-Off Great train facts that you've shared re. these two superb engines, Otters! While the Santa Fe Super Chief is a superb model in every way, I must say that I love the colors of the BNSF, and having used orange and dark green, two newer colors in the official Lego palette, the BNSF just looks fantastic. I still lean toward the Super Chief, but it's a close decision for me. I'm going to have to break them out and line them up side-by-side to compare. Perhaps I'll share some shots on EB.

Yet another design flaw in the magnificent Emerald Night. I discovered the problem when my Emerald ran over a small toy penguin causing friction along the drive train. The small vertical gear slipped out of the short technic beam. I remedied the problem by sliding the existing beam more toward the gear, and have not had the problem since. Now I just have to keep the toy penguins off the track of my Train Town. Thought for the Day: I suppose all great things are not perfect.

Great entry! I love that monorail.

Ten Terrific Train Links Beneficial Community Resources for Every Lego Train Fan A Lego Train Article by TheBrickster Whether you are thinking about purchasing your first Lego Train or you're a long-time Lego Train collector, here are a number of very useful community resources for all Lego Train fans. 1. Have you ever wondered where Lego Train fans get those fantastic little trains they use in their signatures? Yes, the ones that look like little bitmap graphics. Herby's New Lego Train Depot is the place to go. Whether you're a fan of blue-era, grey-era, or 9V trains, the Train Depot has got them all. The latest addition is the new Power Functions Emerald Night with its tan and brown passenger wagon. Trains are sorted by era, then by number, and even trackside building are included. No train fan should do without a collection of their favorite train bitmaps! New Lego Train Depot 2. For owners of the first 10,000 limited edition Santa Fe Super Chiefs, don't forget to stop bye the Santa Fe Train Engine Registry, provided by the North Georgia Lego Train Club (NGLTC). Owners of this first wave of fantastic train engines received an exclusive 1x2 tile containing the set number. You can provide the set number, your name, and location in the registry to help determine the owner of each exclusive set. Santa Fe Train Engine Registry 3. Having trouble designing your track layout? Never fear. There's a program that will help you design different layouts. The Train Depot's Track Designer 2.0 is an awesome little program that enables users to lay out digital track and baseplates to make sure that their track will connect to the other end. Other elements including roadplates are also contained within the program. Fortunately, Track Designer 2.0 works with most operating systems. HINT: just don't rename your file folder once installed. Track Designer 4. The Train Depot (old site from NGLTC) also provides an abundance of track plans from a basic oval to advanced layouts. This site/page is an excellent resource for viewing pre-designed Lego track designs. Train Depot Track Plans 5. Want the official train resource from Lego Shop at Home? Lego Factory Hobby Trains provides a nice resource that includes the "Basics of Train Building", fan created train models, train terminology, real-life train models for building inspiration, as well as a Lego Train Timeline (although not all Lego Trains are listed). Lego SAH Hobby Trains 6. Interested in more of the technical aspects of Lego Trains? Railbricks is a brick railroading magazine that provides an abundance of train-related articles. The magazine includes interviews with outstanding train builders, train instructions, and even spotlights various models from the Lego Train community. Issue #5 is the latest edition as of May 11, 2009. Printed copies of the electronic magazine can be purchased at a price of $12.50 (USD) plus shipping. Railbricks 7. While some of the most current Lego Train news had always been provided by the International Lego Train Club Organization (ILTCO), a great place to stay current with train information, the site is not as active as it once was. It does; however, still provide periodic news and information, and posts news from LUGNET.Trains. ILTCO 8. Most Lego fans are familiar with Lugnet, and Lugnet.Trains is an excellent resource for train fans. Messages include MOCs, news, and a variety of train topics; from getting started with Lego Trains to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The site has a good Search Engine if you're looking for a specific topic. Lugnet.Trains 9. Wikipedia Lego Train, a free Internet dictionary article provides the history of Lego Trains from the 1966 "Blue Era" to the new 2009 Power Functions system. The article also has a number of useful links for Lego Train fans. Wikipedia-Lego Train 10. The latest resource for Lego Train fans can be found right here on Eurobricks and is called Train Tech. While currently just in its infancy/developmental phase, Train Tech will provide a comprehensive resource for Lego Train fans including the latest MOCs from the Lego community, "hot topics on trains", articles from expert train builders, as well as news from the Train community. You can even help Eurobricks Train Tech by providing a train article and sharing it in the Trains & Town Forum. Train Tech I hope you enjoy these train resources! And if you don't own a Lego Train, visit Lego Shop at Home (LSAH) and order the Emerald Night, the most beautiful and skillfully designed Lego Train to date.

Q: What's better than one Train Engine Shed? A: Two Train Engine Sheds Nice! Green would look nice with the tanker. I think I have a green MOT engine but not sure if it's the small or larger. I'm going to have to check. Very nice dome car. I'd love to see a close-up image of that. I only picked up one of each of the Sante Fe cars which I regret. I really think we're going to see Lego offer a few additional cars for this beautiful train - perhaps a dining car. I've seen it with a few of the MOT fuel tankers and they look really good. The intermodal container cars would probably look very nice. Thanks for sharing those great shots of your layout Holodoc. I always enjoy seeing how others set up their layouts.

I would also look into 9V sets/parts as opposed to 12V. 9V is still more readily available on the second hand market. There's a number of great 9V sets that I'd love to get my hands on, but even they bring a hefty price tag. Good luck with finding your parts and please share a few images when you're able to bring everything together. You might also check out Train Tech periodically for some tips. We've seen a lot more train activity lately, and more and more train fans are sharing their technical knowledge.

Very nice BlueBard. I really like the detailed images of the garage, esp. the way you photographed them. Great job!

For those of you who had recommended the new startion, thank you. I put it together this afternoon, and must say that I really like it. The architecture fits in very well with the classic Main Street, as the station has a single window with arch similar to that of the Drivers Ed building of Main St. I did combine the farm set, but ended up placing the cows in another part of the town. I love those brown fences! -Reminds me of an Eagles song. You'll also spot the Hobby Train Crocodile engine in the background. It's a fantastic train! In any case, Train Town is shaping up nicely, and you may be seeing it again very soon. Until then, here's the latest: Link to LARGE Picture

It would be interesting to see what other train cars might go well with such a fantastic model. Santa Fe wagons perhaps? If I break out any of my different rolling stock, I'll share a few images. I'm also trying to figure out what would go well with the Hobby Train Crocodile. Also, do any of you mix passenger and freight cars?

Thanks for sharing. Definately creative combinations. I really like combining wagons based on color. As an example, I will add the green passenger wagons to the cargo train engine from 4512, and sometimes the fuel tanker (although it's more of a passenger train). The combination of the open freight car (10013) goes well with the hopper (10017). I've also added the little red tipper wagon from Cargo Train 4512 to the Classic Train (3225) because of the smaller size. For those of you with a few of the My Own Train cars, how do you like to arrange your wagons? EDIT: on an unrelated note LTF, nice pictures. I like the thought of a Lego room with a large train layout (like you have created).

Who doesn't love a parade? Fantastic entry Teddy! I love the red and white building which really has a classic look about it. The use of two curved roadplates works well, it's got a great assortment of classic figs, including a blue spaceman, and I love the little round flower garden in the center. Overall, a terrific entry! Added to our entry list.

Over the past few weeks, I've been admiring a few of the signature images that Lego Train fans share with their train collection or favorite trains. They look like this: Some of you have shared a number of creative combinations that I would never think of building (e.g. BNSF with a few tanker cars). It got me thinking, what other nice train combinations have you created? What rolling stock goes well with the Hobby Train Crocodile? How do you mix and match the My Own Train collection? Are there other train cars that go well with a Super Chief? Share your creative train combos.

I want that Hawaiian shirt!