Sokratesz

While it does offer building advantages I think studless Technic constructions are ugly as sin compared to the old flagships such as 8480, 8888 and 8868. - Sok.

8868 all the way for me

The only recent train set I own is the Emerald Night, and only because I could buy the set for 80 and sold the wagon for 60, so I essentially got a 20€ emerald night loc and tender. All other trains, rolling stock and track side structures I own are from the 12v/9v era. What LEGO would have to do to get me to buy a new train set is release one that does away with the plastic dinky toy look of the recent sets. I really dislike the look of 7938, and the set has limited re-playability and is difficult to rebuild as something else due to many of the parts being very un-LEGO like: too large, pre-shaped, limited other uses besides their intended one. Same goes for the 7939 cargo train and most other older RC and PF sets. - Sok.

I've just bought a 4551 crocodile loc and 4564 cargo train on bricklink, both will be converted to run on 12v :)

I think this may be up for debate. Some of the 12v sets had lots of detail and/or a very high (re)playability, same goes for 9v. Personally I was very disappointed with the level of detail offered by the first RC and PF train sets, especially the ones with the huge new ugly pieces for fronts and roofs, they are very un-LEGO like and make it difficult to build other things out of single sets. - Sok.

My intern ship abroad is coming to an end, I'll be back in a few weeks. I have re-opened my bricklink store (link in sig), updated the prices and can give EB members a small discount. I am also looking to buy or trade a metroliner and one or more club cars, so if you have anything to trade or sell let me know! - Sok.

I never digitally design anything, just get an idea and start building, then break it down 10 times in the process to modify things.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/harry-the-crab-moves-into-a-lego-pad-779461

I would like to see some motivation from TLG for their current product- and marketing strategy for the trains. It's very different from the 80'ies and 90'ies and I would like to know why..

;)

It's adorable

Woah JamesP, that is huge :D I wish I had the space for that. My thoughts exactly :) A fully automatic mindstorms powered solution would be sweet.

Can you make a spiral like that? Is 16 curved pieces enough to up the height 15 bricks? I'd highly doubt it since curved inclines in general are super difficult for LEGO trains. As soon as I get home I'll have to start experimenting with the short slope roller coaster system and the entire train lift system, both seem very promising. *edit* oh and for the magnet problem, I just remembered how someone posted a solution where he put super strong industrial magnets between train couplings allowing the LEGO magnets to pull a much longer train. - Tim

A completely vertical lift system might be possible with mindstorms, although it would be a pretty large construction if you have long trains, but it would still save space and allow you to have multiple levels on top of each other. Hmmm I might have to look into that some time. You could even use the RCX to control the speed of the train on the stretches just before and after the lift such that it looks more natural and prevents disaster :) The magnet problem can be worked around but too steep an incline will indeed force the cars up against each other and maybe derail them, but again with for example side-support structures you could fix that. It wouldn't look very pretty though... - Tim

Hey all! Been awhile since I posted, am still in faraway lands without access to my LEGO :( I was just browsing through some of the new posts and got an idea. There are several guides available for getting a train to an elevation sufficient to cross tracks (13-14 bricks high IIRC) but long trains can take upwards of 2meters of slope to reliably make it to the top. Has anyone tried to make a multi-level (or otherwise elevated) railway using means other than the train motors themselves to move the trains to different levels? If you used a technic motor and and chain system similar to that found in roller coasters you could easily pull a very heavy train up a steep slope. It isn't very realistic of course, but it would save a lot of space, allow for longer trains and offer some nice options of integrating LEGO technic (mindstorms?) and trains. I'll use my paint skills to illustrate it. It would also allow you (for the 9v and 12v systems) to use a different transformer and thus different speed setting for the various levels since the electrification is interrupted on the slope. - Tim

I came here half expecting you to open a MISB based on the title ;)

Nice progress mate :)

I think its mostly high temperatures and exposure to sunlight that cause the ABS to become brittle. Your best bet is to simply not disassemble them, and if you, do it very slowly.

its because trains are awesome, duh

The voltage will drop as soon as you start connecting lights and motors to those lines. The speed control output should drop to 7 volts or so with 4 connected motors. - Sok.

Track that flexes in three dimensions would be nice ;)

It's beautiful :) Q for 7-wide builders. Where exactly do you make the switch from 6 wide bogeys to 7 wide carriages?

The 8868 uses a large pulley wheel (old steering wheel type) on the motor, not the smaller type, so there's only room for one rubberband. - Sok.

Pneumatics beats the crap outta LA's :)

If you mount the motor vertically, you only need two gears to get the torque to the wheels. Less gears = less resistance = more power. XL motors are quite slow and for small-medium trains I've seen people gear them 1:1 to the wheels. For large trains it's usually 2:1 I think. - Sok.