Sokratesz

To add to my introduction post.. My favorite Lego series was the train and city as they existed late 80'ies/early 90'ies at the transition of 12v to 9v, and the mid-90'ies also saw the most epic Technic sets ever, the 8880 supercar, 8868 compressor truck and of course the Space Shuttle. For me, Lego has been going steeply downhill ever since then, with this piece as a sad epitome of everything that Lego should not be. I initially strongly disliked the studless Technic series but after getting some experience in building with it I can see some of the merits, still, Technic sets without studs make me cry a little on the inside and I think Lego would do well to reconcile this new technology with its old roots. Now, on to trains. I love the 12v series for its complexity and tech level they offered. All the remote functions and different sets offer a huge level of playability and customization both in the conventional and non-conventional sense (modifying Lego parts manually). Especially the later 9v and early remote control series trains I hate with a passion - I really cannot stand their plastic futuristic look. PF is a different story, because while they lack the complexity in tracks and accessories that 12v offered, they do bring about a lot of hugely detailed sets with many small pieces (see link above :)) and good customization for the locs, engines and transmissions. It is however for their lack of technical accessories that I plan to stay clear of them, and will happily collect and play with the 12v sets til kingdom come. That'll be my little rant for today, Sok out.

Looks really neat, but doesn't the trailer fall off when taking corners? :)

I am intrigued, how does this work?

Hi, I'm sok, 24, from NL. First lego train set I ever had was a second-hand 7727 back in 1994 (if anyone is selling one, contact me pls). I switched to lego technic around the age of 10 and what little train stuff I had got lost somewhere. Now, 15 years later I'm keeping a moderate Technic collection and only just started 12v trains again, slowly building up a collection. My budget is still somewhat limited as a student, and the prices that traders are asking for this stuff are retarded so it's taking awhile sifting through the ads to find the good deals. I don't have much room at my current place to build lengthy track layouts but when I move to a new place somewhere in the next few years I'll get me a nice place for the trains. Back in the day me and my dad used to build mountains and tunnels from papier mache to decorate my lego city and I'm looking forward to doing this again. - Sok.

I got lucky yesterday and bought a 7745 (high speed train) with some extra rails and a spare power supply for cheap :D My current budget is out, once I get salary I'll start looking for the 7727 specifically - I had that one when I was a kid and really loved that set. Once again, thanks for your help everyone!

Thank you for your elaborate reply. I played with these trains when I was a kid in the mid-90'ies and now that I have a little more cash to spend I'm looking at starting it up again. I bought two large boxes full of tracks and switchpoints for a really good price and I'm now looking for a few affordable train sets to go with it. (if you have any tips on where to get them, ebay etc. are stupidly expensive). I finished sorting everything last week and by the looks of it I have about 150 straight, 200 curves, a bunch of crossings and 9 switchpoints, one automatic and another with an automatic box that needs a new spool. Much of the track is dirty though, hence my question about cleaning but I'll check out some of the commercially available stuff :)

Please allow me to ask a few noobish questions regarding these huge layouts: - How do you prevent it from gathering dust if you let it sit like this for months? - Does it all run on one stock power supply? - I always get problems on large tracks with the trains running slower if they get further away from the power connection piece - easy to solve with multiple leads, obviously, but how do you do this? - What's the best way to clean rust and dirt off of the midrails? - How well do the remote decouplers really work, how precise does the positioning of the train need to be? - I noticed many people use multiple switchpoints on one clickbox, is there a specific reason for this other than saving room? Kind regards, Tim