SD100

I'll take pics later, but for an SD40 MOC I've been working on I put the 3rd axle on a pivot, braced by part no. 45590. (https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=45590&name=Technic, Axle Connector Double - Flexible Rubber&category=[Technic, Connector]#T=C) I have yet to have an issue with truck steering with it. SD

That is a sharp looking locomotive right there... Do you have any plans on running it at conventions in the near future? SD

@Ashi Valkoinen Would you be willing to share a breakdown of your mechanism? I've got some of the switches and I've been searching for a way to motorize them, but haven't been able to come up with anything that low profile yet... Thanks, SD

That is looking great! SD

Love those boxcars! Thats a KISS method that really carries through. SD

That looks great, but 6 axles under the tender would look even better! NYC Tenders were HEAVY. SD

Motor is just a different plug, it'll fit into the same space fine. And you already have the controller from 60197 so you're good. SD

You can swap it over to the Powered Up box and motor with almost no modifications. Only thing may be accommodating access to the power button, but that shouldn't be difficult. SD

To be fair, the track is much easier to produce... Also, buying used 9v motors at around $45 where I'm at is probably a cheaper option at this point for power pickup. While running PF motors off a power pickup axle does sound like a great idea, the fact that my club burned up 4 9v motors our last show also demonstrates the challenges presented in trying to bring a similar product to market. If people are going to run the heck out of new motors they have to be able to hold up. People running this stuff under 8w trains was never what LEGO designed it for (And I wasn't). But if I buy a $100 motor from FX and toast it in one show, there is gonna be a lot of buyer remorse. If I toast a bunch of $15 PF motors, I'm gonna feel a lot less bad, lol. That makes me understand the process a lot more. SD

@AbleChristopher Once this is complete, you gotta let us know if you're gonna be running it at any shows. I'd love to see that thing on a layout. SD

@michaelgale My LUGmates and I are looking forward to a show next weekend with a bunch of new switches and R104s. They look amazing and it's such a huge upgrade from what we had before. Is there any estimated timeline on the larger radius curves? I know you've said the power pickup is probably the next focus, and I'm looking forward to that, but I'll buy up curves like no ones business as well... Thanks! SD

OT but it will pull anything if you take the time to put in roller bearings. SD

That image almost makes me think the designers intended this set as a coach pack for the crocodile, and that kind of explain why they didn't put much into the loco... SD

I'm just really hoping to see Stea... I mean Lords' rebuild of that loco, cause that's something I'd buy off rebrickable... SD

^What he said about the stripes. That starts out as a hard scheme to do in lego but you made it all fit and look great! SD

Wow. That's a lot of work right there, but that's an awesome looking set of equipment! I'm actually sitting here building your GP40 but that SD unit is giving me all kinds of bad ideas. And all the detail from the decals just takes everything to a whole new level! SD

You got a multimeter? Check and inspect everything. Clean all the contacts if you haven't. If you do have a multimeter I'd check each point to see where your voltage drops off... If the wire insulation is breaking apart anywhere than that's probably the issue. There are topics on here about replacing it, I just did it and it's a bit finicky not not too hard. SD

I'm trying to bring a lot of the old trains up to AT LEAST Power Functions compatability but I'm running out of the wires I stocked up on. Needing the 9v connector is whats got me bogged up. Is there anything on the second hand market that has that adapter function? I can get plenty of 9v to 9v or PF to PF wires but that is not what I need. Thanks, SD

Yea I think LBG+DBG would stand out a lot better despite not being quite the correct color. SD

This has been a consistent problem with FX Bricks... But on the other hand, is it really a problem? As much as waiting sucks, when their product finally gets released, it's bulletproof. I just got a loop of r104s and they are flawless! I'm gonna keep throwing money at this guy for a long time... SD

My LUG attended Bricks in the Six and I've been kicking myself for not going with them. After that we have gotten shirts and badges, but even with the badges, I feel like you gotta lean in and take and uncomfortably long look at some of these to be able to read them... If it's just like yours its simple but I saw a lot of guys wearing plaques with every con they'd been too. That's probably my problem though, lol. I've heard the discussion time at BitS was good, I'd have like to have seen it, but what I'm seeing now is a few people filtering onto other peoples discord servers or forums and saying hi, and that's it. To answer your question, the conversation I'm looking for is basically to what extent individual LUGs are intending on contributing to odd shows, and if there is a possibility of collaboration. IE: if two LUGs have MILS train modules, should there be two separate layouts, or is it possible to combine the two. Also, who's coming. I'm a train guy, if there are gonna be other train people coming from other LUGs, I'm gonna bring my train stuff. If its a bunch of art stuff, I'll help my LUG but probably won't cart all my train stuff around, ya know? I'm thinking of trying to start a regional Discord just so everyone who wants to get involved has a little more insight into shows in their general area than what filters down through leadership, but I figured I'd ping this site first cause there's a lot of knowledge here. Thanks, SD

I've been on various Lego forums for around 20 ish years, starting with LUGnet and eventually ending here. A few years ago my city here in the US finally generated it's own LUG and we've been trying to grow that since, and in this past year I've started to attend shows and such with my LUG. This past weekend I attended my first multiple LUG event in at ErieCon and it really got me started thinking about how to network and realize the connections I've made online over the past X amount of years. I realized there were people I had interacted with that belonged to some of the LUGs that we were involved with that I had seen or talked with online, but there was no way of knowing who they might be IRL, cause of course we're not using names here. I mentioned a couple pseudonyms to a few different members, and they thought they might know who those people were, but weren't sure. So I've got some questions for you all... What do you do to facilitate conversations between different LUGs when you're all going to a show, or is that a rare thing? Do people generally run specific Discord servers for specific events, or is anyone one involved in "regional" servers? And if so, is any one better than the other? What are your other methods of access to Lego and LUG related discussions? IE: Everyone in my LUG is only influenced by FB Groups, and when I mention forums like this I get looked at like I have 3 heads... But there has to be a middle ground. Thanks for your input, anything you can offer will be helpful! SD

When Brickshelf started hosting "other than Lego" pics for a bit I used it for a ton of stuff... One day I got on and it was all gone. Don't trust it for long term storage. SD

Nice. Great interpretation there.

That engine does capture the essence of the fp45 very well, but I'm waiting to see that coach! SD