Coal Fired Bricks

One bad egg ruins them all. ME ended up being a cross between scam and true company by only providing few with the tracks they asked for. Lucky for this business idea of mine most of the KICKSTARTER money will go to a SLA printer and manufacturing materials the rest for essentials(PO box, vendor's license so I can go to shows, etc). Because of the cost variability of SLA printers I can work $10,000 or $100,000 again more is better because I can get better quality molds and better quality materials. Maybe Maybe not. After the whole 4d brix ordeal with the copycatting of trix I don't want to get the precise technique until I get a KICKSTARTER up and running. Again TRIX most likely will have better margen but I don't mind having lower margin because, well, I'm not quitting my day job. 4D claimed to be going DIY so you can always download a file from them and print at a local service(check here in an earlier forum). I don't plan on doing these only because I don't have any measurements to work with and myself have no plans to buy any monorail related things. Will post a progress report of a prototype, this will mostly be a regular straight track because that has been already done and is easily modeled in CAD. Also I can test performance against the TLG part. May also try ballast plates that look like many individual parts but rather are one piece. Bye Bye EveryBody, Coal Fired PS will post pics of updates soon and I will post a logo idea by the end of the week.

I mean this, Scot put a ton of effort into what he created, I don't want to see that go to waste. Using a 3PL can get pricey when developing new products and that is where this would hurt his business. That is why I would share how I did this with him not TRIX because of the.....well.......interesting theories(all you need to do is scan the part). And if we do ever get a chance to talk about this one thing I would tell him is to operate with a good better best model. Bye Bye EveryBody -Coal Fired

I was only 5 back then. I remember it loosely but I should've known by the bad design. Bye Bye EveryBody -Coal Fired

Great model. One thing, would you think of ballasting the tracks(Pennlug(ish) style). Overall great model, lots of little details all over. The cafe reminds me of some found in the Boston Metro(red line to be precise). All you need are some true scale trains(8 or 7 wide). The facade is amazing. Must have been a big blow for the bank account. Bye Bye EveryBody -Coal Fired

Interesting. You could put motors in the middle wagon cars such as in the real shinkansen. Also regarding curves, have fun, yes 3rd party stuff is always the best look and quality if you want to see the min curve of your train you may need to try some flex track bent to high radii this will show you how much speed may be affected and how many motors you will need if you bump up your radii. But I notice you have a 3rd party double crossover so you may know the quality possible beyond flex track with no FDM 3d printed stuff. Bye Bye EveryBody -Coal Fired

I wanted to make sure there is a market before I put in more time and effort. Also, I know BT is most likely using a 3PL (3rd Party Logistics) which as a small company isn't a bad idea because it isn't fun to buy 100,000 of equipment and make it in house. Even manufacturing in China it is pricy to start making new products because a 3PL also makes products for other companies so to make a new product they have to pay for new tooling and for more manufacturing output. But BT is also making a good margin(most likely) and maybe making the products for >$50 a circle but he wants to make a buck out of this and with low volume, it is hard to make any money with low margin. For TLG their volume is so high they can make their margin very small to sell at lower prices but they still make good money because of volume. This product will be able to get a low price, decent margin, injection-molded quality, and a low cost to bring new products to market I know, ME models had the promise of a new system but well.................... you know...................had a fun short-lived business because the promised product was BT quality but when it got into the hands of costumers it was well.......not the........best.......we were..........promised. I will start some development of the manufacturing technique soon with some simple straight track and I will be posting updates on this forum. Again this technique may have a bit lower margin but the time, effort, and money needed to create new products will be inexpensive. Also, I am willing to sacrifice margin for a lower price because I would love to make this hobby affordable for even young kids, I don't want to be at TLG prices but in proportion to them. There are always corporate loopholes. I would agree. We see these same ideas pass through the forum time after time but, this new manufacturing prosses will be relatively cheap to produce new parts without the reliance on FDM 3d printing. SLA will be used to test parts because those prints will be used as molds. And with the affordability of SLA, I wouldn't mind trying 30 prints to get the right tolerances and changing sizes by 1000th of an mm to get clutch just right. These SLA prototypes will be molded exactly to get a final product in the Plastic Like Material(hint it gets hot) so when the proto is right the product will be perfect. Lastly, I don't want to be the big bad wolf when I get this up and running I wouldn't mind telling BT how I did this and share some secrets. Bye Bye EveryBody -Coal Fired PS on the Survey when I say switches I mean switches and crossovers.

BT is cheaper then trix.

The NH lasted for 80 years. Nearly as long as the NYC

Hello Trainheads. I have been thinking about making parts for TLG trains for a long time. Ever since the lookdown started I really got into the idea more and in my head, it gained a lot of traction. I introduce New England BrickWorks NOTE*** Still in development phase looking for feedback**** I have had a lot of time to think these days, getting my degree in mechanical engineering hasn't been eating up as much of my time. And I believe I have developed a new manufacturing method that will create parts with injection-molded quality with a slightly different material than plastic(very close strength-wise) for a fraction of the cost. If I did my math correct I may be able to develop new products for little cost and the overhead will be low. I will be looking to sell circles of r104 at about $60. Here are some future product ideas r56 r72 r88 r104 r120 r136+ Side rods Drivers r104 switches r120 switches r40 switches narrow gauge stuff r56 -136 rails only (me models like) Unpainted products(if you want light gray ballast and dark grey rails) Other(post bellow) ***Please I beg you can you post if you want any of these products and give me feedback**** ****Please fellow trainheads take this survey so I can easily see your responses(only takes one min)**** Still don't know if I want to do this, may start a KickStarter once I see feedback and do some designs Take the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7ZC2YPK Bye Bye Everybody -Coal Fired PS I still aren't sure about this endeavor I will decide if I want to do this after I see the responses to the survey and to the form.

You could put a base plate that is cut down on the sloped section, that could cut down on some of the bricks on the sloped section and a need for fewer supports. Also if you go on BL and find the cheapest part that you want is in the wrong color there is always a can of spray paint at Home Depot ready for some recoloring. Bye Bye Everybody, Coal Fired

As far as making it go faster wider radius curves are your best bet. Looking at the video it really speeds up when it hits the straight sections. If you can find a PF or PU motor try it on only straights and it should have some speed. And as far as wide radius curves if you don't want to go get some Brick train Depot 9v high radii stuff go PF/PU and you could go Trix/BTD/BT/Find some files on Thingiverse(they are freeeeeeeee) or if you don't want to go out of quarantine just bend some flex track at high radii and the should work(I'm doing it for a temporary layout). Bye Bye EveryBody -Coal Fired

Same. Maybe if you lowered the top a bit maybe 2 plates it would look less tight. An overall great model for 6-wide. Love what you did with the doors and the roof looks nice.

I agree though I believe the engine is a bit too tall. Looking at the photos the vents seem a bit high but what can you do, lego has no other options than to go SNOT with grill plates. Also maybe using the train base may make the loco a bit high but you could run a sticker down the side of it and lower the body by a plate. To me, the cars look pretty darn good. If you want to get really down to scale maybe you could find some blueprints/diagrams and try to scale them to 6 wide. https://www.google.com/search?q=via+passenger+car+diagram&safe=strict&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNrae8mqzpAhXYoHIEHSguAHMQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1476&bih=1070#imgrc=yXGW3sQVKxixoM ex. for a diner car. https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&rls=en&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=f40ph+diagram&client=safari&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi7jKmJm6zpAhXDhHIEHaXZCFEQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1476&bih=1070#imgrc=qxQH9TDXyhFXJM ex. for an f40ph (I think that is the train in this model) -Coal Fired

You could put a loop in that is 1/2 scenic by having the track go into tunnels then behind the diorama then to the front again. This may be some inspiration. It is a model of the railroad town for town, building for building. Same, it looks great the way it is. For track planning, you could use BlueBrick but it is only for PC. . -Coal Fired

Nice little mocs. Great scale and proportion. They look awesome. -Coal Fired

Looks Good. May be a bit pricy- bricks wise. To lower cost I would take the grey end caps off and only use them on a corner or when needed. Also as a suggestion you could put transparent tiles over the water to get a more shiny/water effect. -Coal Fired

This is a project I have been meaning to post. After a trip to Montreal, I built this. No buildings are real but are based on buildings you would see on St. Paul Sreet. Sorry for the bad photos. Lego Montreal by Coal Fired Bricks, on Flickr I will post some better photos when I have time. My Flickr -Coal Fired

This is the project I've been working on. Five locomotives of this class numbered 400-404 were built by Schenectady in 1928. They were more powerful than most of the B&A's Pacifics. B&A D1a Wip by Coal Fired Bricks, on Flickr Current Project(2) by Coal Fired Bricks, on Flickr For more pics and for more detailed diagrams go to my Flickr Page. For more pics on the Boston and Albany and other New England Roads go to Boston and Albany RR. Questions, Comments Concerns, and Complaints are welcome. -Coal Fired

Great model. Lots of detail to be packed into 6-wide

I have a part 88002 motor and for some reason, I stopped working. Does anyone know how to fix it without complaining to TLG to give me a new one(I have to do that for a few motors from the Volvo Loader, even the $40 Servo Stopped working)? Bye Bye Everybody, Coal Fired

Well, when I first got the power functions motors after about an hour of running around the Christmas tree one of the motors stopped working. I had a 6 few passenger cars behind it of the EN style (I hadn't gotten into 8 wide-scale yet) and I was wondering if that was too much weight on no roller bearings. And I know full-length passenger cars are heavy even with roller bearings reducing friction (I have a few in the works) so I wasn't sure if you ever burned a motor out because of the weight of some other problem.

Wow, great model! I was wondering how you get the ice cubes out? I would love to see a milk car like this one.

Great build. Is it a good runner. and do you have any issues with the 2 motors you have?

I've been looking around on Flickr and I love Shups E8, Triplex, Empire State, etc. But he hasn't posted anything in years on here and on Flickr. I know he is still running his shop on Shapeways. Does anyone know what happened to Shupp -Coal Fired

Yes, I know this is an older topic and everybody hates when an 'old' topic is bought up but this is only a week old so it doesn't count. Here is what I came up with for a 6 wide dia boiler 6 stud dia boiler by Coal Fired Bricks, on Flickr I'm pretty happy with it and the tiles with grooves (don't know the name) fill in the gaps between sides of the boiler.