Aaron

I'm trying to decide if I want to order my first piece to test in black or white. Does anyone know if it's difficult to spray paint black parts to the desired color? I picked up some cans of spray paint today, but I only have experience painting lighter elements. I feel that if any paint chips at some point, having black showing would be less distracting than white. I just hope it's as easy to paint.

Actually that looks like it would work perfectly. So from the way it looks the single crossover can be split into two switches? I really like that. I think I could make very good use of what you're showing me there, and I'd say the versatility of the single crossover would work for many different applications if I buy multiple units. I could just resolve the flimsiness of the 3d-printed track by gluing it down to the base.

It does seem like it would be the most realistic, given the 7.5 track length figure you gave me. I visualized the length and number of ties it would have in my head, then compared it to HO scale #8 and #10 switches made my Atlas and Walthers: http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/bh0AAOxyuR5TbSgF/s-l500.jpg Having it in 3 sections is fine, since my layout is modular and built on pretty sturdy bases. Again, I'll take pictures of some of the modules as soon as I can. I'm just tweaking a few things and waiting on BrickLink orders to make some slight design changes. I guess we could start with a left hand switch, similar to the one I linked above, since there's one on the Norfolk Southern line that runs through my town and it would be neat to model it. The price you mentioned is very fair and reasonable, and if it comes in a color such as white I'll paint it to match the rest of my track. If you can add metal to the surface for an extra cost, that's a plus for me (since I like the aesthetics of rails with shiny surfaces) and I say go for it, but if not I'll buy it regardless since I use power functions anyway. I fully endorse what you're doing, and will demonstrate its functionality to the best of my ability. Eventually I'll probably be looking to buy more from you, and then I may be ready for single/double crossovers since I plan to do a full double mainline in the future. Edit: I'm also curious about another thing. What are the possibilities that an R328 switch could be made in a more skeletal form, similar to the old 4.5v switches? http://img.brickowl.com/files/image_cache/larger/lego-light-gray-train-track-4-5v-switch-point-right-with-dkgray-ties-25-717263-66.jpg It seems like this design would cut down on printing/manufacturing costs by quite a bit. Since I'll be mounting these down to rock solid modular foundations built from multiple 16 x 16 plates with layers of bricks sandwiched between, initial flimsyness isn't a problem, as long as they clutch nice and tight to the foundation in the end. I can just build the ballast and ties using standard lego parts. Another possibility would be to have the ties built into the rails, in a more linear configuration similar to the Walthers switch, assuming we can go with the me models/4.5v profile. This would leave a height of 1 plate sticking above the ties, which is how it would end up if I added tiles as ties. I could just add support plates, me models universal connectors, and whatever else is needed beneath the rails and ties.

R200 or R328 would probably be the best. I'm making an indoor 1:38 scale modular layout with 10-wide trains, so some of the coaches are 85 studs long. Since I want them to be as realistic as possible, the underbody details are fixed and the couplers are not attached to the bogies like they are on most lego trains, so I need very large curves and switches in order for everything to function. Whatever switches are used on my layout are going to be single and double crossovers, or lead into parallel sidings. I don't intend to have any switches leading directly into curves. The distance between my parallel tracks is the standard 16 studs between the centerpoints, or 8 studs between the edges of the ties. I'm adding 1x1 and 1x4 tiles as ties, in the same fashion as PennLUG and others do. Everything is fairly standard, and similar to most LUG displays. I'll provide pictures and more specific details as soon as I can.

The old Santa Fe sets were decent for their time, but still had a lot of room for improvement. I'd personally remove the buffers, since the real cars are American and didn't have them, and the fluted bricks will look cleaner and still be structurally fine if you double stack them and don't overlap. Also, your doors are already infinitely more accurate than set 10022 since 10022's doors were backward.

I like the way you designed these. I'd definitely support this on kickstarter, and if it's ever possible for you to make custom switches and/or curves with radii of 200+ or 300+, I'd gladly buy them even if they could only be 3D printed since the minimum radius I need is like 210ish for functionality, but preferably around 240+ for aesthetics. I'm not too picky about how they're made, or how much they cost, since this takes a lot of time, effort, and money on your part.

Still awaiting my two full loops of R104 curves from my initial KickStarter pledge, although the add-on kit arrived about a year and a half ago. And I like having the rails separate from the sleepers as it's the only way I can use light gray ballast on some of my track segments without having to use paint. If people really want single piece tracks they can just use glue. Also, any idea on when orders will be fulfilled? I placed one for a few packs of half length track segments last month, and I might end up ordering a lot more soon.

I build in 10-wide. Sure, there are a lot of challenges to overcome, and the cost alone means that it can take years just to complete a few cars, but now that I'm getting closer to finishing some of them the effort is finally starting to pay off. It may still be slightly off (by a few inches) from the gauge of the track, but it definitely looks pleasing to the eye. Adhering to the "1 stud equals 1 foot" rule also simplifies a lot of things and makes scaling much easier. I find that a lot of pieces seem to be designed perfectly for this scale, such that compromises are minimal.

Couldn't you just use an upside-down jumper plate instead of the modified grille tile for the detailing on top of the head? It would look much better, since the studs wouldn't show through.

I think I have a solution for this. Keep the ties single-spaced, as your original plan was, without offsetting them. In order for people to save on jumper plates, you could simply slot the bottoms of the ties, similar to the newer jumper plate design. This would allow people to "jump" the sections of track that are offset from the curves, using just using normal plates underneath. It retains the aesthetics of the original design, eliminates any need to do anything wacky with the ties, saves on jumper plates, and allows people to ballast as they normally would.

I received some old LEGO pieces from relatives, and built my first MOC (a small, multi-colored caboose) at the age of two. It had tires for wheels, as did every other train that I built, until I received my first proper train set when I was nine years old, which was the #4561 Railway Express. Growing up, I also had Thomas the Tank engine toys, wooden Brio trains, and an HO scale layout, passed down to me, that my great grandfather had built himself. I always had an obsession with freight trains (especially hopper cars for some reason) and used to count how many cars passed by at each railroad crossing. Eventually I got the full (5 cars + the diesel) Santa Fe Super chief lineup when that was released, which is when I really started to take interest in streamliners.

I use those same couplers. Where do you get the thin metal filler plates for the back of the gear boxes?

You could just design and build your own MOCs...

360 would probably work. What material would they be printed in? I don't mind sanding and finishing them. ;) When I have the chance later today, I'm going to measure the space to see if an r360 setup would fit, but an r240 might possibly work if there isn't enough room. You'd probably be able to sell a lot more r240 than r360 anyway.

Not buying another set unless they produce a 10-wide, full 1:38 scale replica. I'll be waiting patiently for that day!

This is sarcasm, right?

Enlighten rips off MOCs now? ;)

What are the chances that you'd eventually make track with a radius of around 312 studs? Plastic works.

Sets: 4560 Railway Express 10002 Railroad Club Car 10020 Santa Fe Super Chief 10025 Santa Fe Cars - Set I (x2) 10022 Santa Fe Cars - Set II (x3) All of my mocs are 1:38 scale (10-wide) but I've refrained from presenting them until they receive proper decals.

Man, those custom switches are insane!

I always manage to fit XL motors in 6-wide sections. ;)

Reddish brown rails would be amazing.

I understand this, however, it is my preference to offer practical, working solutions to problems rather than reiterating the impossible aspects. Plates provide enough flexibility to hollow out the center so that the battery box can be straddled partially above and below the base.

You could always just build the base out of normal plates.

I actually prefer the look of mismatched passenger trains. They're much more exciting, especially when each coach has an interesting history.