L-Gauger

Fantastic model! If this were mine, I would use 3- or 4-stud long lightsaber bars, whichever is closer to scale, for the vertical handrail stanchions. The handrails themselves would be pneumatic tube, and there are many length options available, so just choose the combination of hoses that is closest to the right length (this might take some trial and error...) Handrails are a high-wear component of a locomotive, so if you model the handrails in black or any shade of gray it won't be unprototypical.

@sebulba56That makes perfect sense! I don't think I'd care much for the hole, either.

Nice work! This thought just came to me... could you use a 1x1 Technic brick in the top of the "R" as a substitute for the sideways-stacked plates? Wow, I never would have figured out that design. It looks really good, too!

I have to largely agree. I like the s-foils of the new X-wing, but pretty much nothing else. I have to say, though, the TIE Advanced looks better than I thought it would. It looks like it might aesthetically fit alongside set 75300 or 75393. Sure, it's not a perfect model, but there might be some potential to modify the TIE advanced to make it look better, unlike the X-wing...

By all means do! I'm working on how to make numbers in the same approximate size you have made your letters in. So far the number 4 is proving the hardest. I think you could even say you kinda did make a model of Gordon by accident... after all, the official Railway Series lore is that Gordon came from the GNR/LNER so he would have been green at one point... and probably would have had the corridor tender, too.

Excellent model @sebulba56! I especially like the brick-built LNER lettering, I might have to copy it for a future upgrade of my modified Emerald Night. This would be a perfect base to MOD into a representation of Gordon, because the way you've modeled the footplate matches Gordon's appearance as opposed to the A1 (the A1 has an additional dip in the footplate between the cylinders and the first drive wheel.) I have to say, there are some 8-wide models of the A1 I've seen that didn't pack in as much detail as you have here. I look forward to seeing your other train MOCs!

Would 2 of parts 61409 or 5404 work to replace the 5654? It appears these smaller slopes are the same angle as part 5654, and both the 61409 and 5404 come in Dark Bluish Gray.

My apologies for not mentioning the paywall. I included the link thinking that maybe one or two members here might have a trains.com or Model Railroader digital subscription and that including a link would make it more convenient for them. Yes, the print article is an edited version of the online one, I just mentioned this because making the print magazine is a tougher cut than making the website. I'm happy the editor liked an article about LEGO Trains enough to put it in print (and yes I know I wrote it, but I would still be pleased if this was someone else's article... I'm happy about anything that might introduce some new people to our great hobby.) Yeah, this seems like a chicken-and-egg type problem. Conventional train manufacturers aren't even thinking about L Gauge because it's not an NMRA gauge (yes there may be other factors but not being an NMRA standard gauge is perhaps the biggest,) and L Gauge is not an NMRA gauge because basically only LEGO uses it. I do hope L Gauge starts to get a bit more press from traditional hobby publications in the future, though, because I think increasing the gauge's popularity, even if only enough to be on par with S scale or thereabouts, might get some traditional hobby manufacturers and the NMRA interested enough to offer something in the scale, even if it's only flex track, wheelsets, and a standards gauge. But then, maybe that's overly hopeful thinking. Using two-axle trucks to model a six-axle prototype isn't without precedent... the Maersk Train is a great example of an SD40-2 model that somehow came out looking more like a GP40-2. Same here, the body appears to be based on the SD70ACe, but the two-axle trucks and short overall length make it look like it's been hybridized with features from a GP40WH-2 or other "Safety cab" Geep. You know, I'd really like for Lego to make train wheels that clip into the hole of a train motor, just like the ones on the Gray Era 12V motor. Then, they could also make a 3-axle truck sideframe to match. It would make modeling powered SD units and other modern diesel locomotives in 6-wide so much easier.

Check your local newsstands for the January 2026 issue of Model Railroader! Is this the first time our scale has been mentioned in a traditional hobby publication? https://www.trains.com/mrr/magazine/archive-access/model-railroader-january-2026/ I hope you all enjoy the article, and if you do, would you consider writing the magazine with your thoughts? I hope that getting this first byline can open some doors and increase the popularity of L gauge trains.

I like how you changed the color scheme on your X-wing mod. For builders who want this MOD/MOC as a model of a Red Squadron X-wing, do you know if the requisite parts are available in red or dark red? Your MOD/MOC reminds me that I need to get around to sharing my MOD of 75301. It's not nearly as extensive as yours, but I did fix the most glaring issues on the model (nose, engines, landing gear, and wingtip blasters) while using only about 40 extra parts besides those from the original set.

Yeah, I think the primary purpose of R56 is for double-track R40 mainlines... aside from that, R104 or larger tends to make better sense. Do you know if Holger's design produces a polygon with an exact on-the-stud radius? I know the technique makes a 4-degree angle between track sections, which uses exactly 90 sections per full circle, but I don't know the radius for sure.

I noticed you are using an MRC power pack, is that a 12V DC model railroad power pack? I am not an expert on 9V Lego trains by any means, but I remember an N scale modeler who had a similar issue. He had made the mistake of wiring part of his layout to an 18V power supply instead of the N scale standard of 12V, and this caused one of his locomotives to overheat and stall after a short running time. Lego train motors are designed to run on 9V, so is it possible that a 12V power supply is causing your motor to overheat after a few minutes? If the MRC 1400 is a "pulsed-power" pack, it would be supplying 12V power to the track regardless of speed setting. I guess the cheapest way to test this theory would be to replace the MRC 1400 temporarily with a 9V battery. If the problem goes away, the MRC power pack is your culprit. You could either spend the money on an official Lego power pack, or wait until Fx Bricks releases their power pack and buy that.

Don't some numbers have rational square roots, like 4 and 16? If you're right, maybe that could be a path to discovering the right polygon dimensions... So, doing a little quick calculator testing with the 360/n formula, I discovered that a 5-degree angle (produced in LEGO by introducing a 1/2 stud offset on the 6th stud out from a hinge plate) yields a 72-sided polygon, 18 sides per quarter circle. A 4-degree angle produces a 90-sided polygon (this is the Grand Curve technique of @HoMa) but this can only produce a half-circle. Now, I'm just trying to figure out how to calculate the radius of the polygon from the length of one of the sides. (Now I'm starting to think I should have taken Geometry instead of Statistics for my math credit-hours... )

Great idea! Quite probably so. I like your calculations on track geometry - I think you might have discovered a few new possibilities for custom track! In that respect... I have a question that you might be able to help with. I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to create L gauge track from ordinary plates and tiles. So far straight track, flex track, and switches have been simple enough, but the math for making a "curve" (really a polygon) is proving a challenge. So, here's my question - is it possible to have a polygon where the following are all true: - The total number of sides is a multiple of 4 (this will make exact 90-degree curves possible.) - The sides and the radius can both be expressed as whole integers (this will make it possible to build "legal" brick-built curves without stressing joints.) If such a polygon exists, what are the dimensions of the sides and radius? And, what would the angle between two sides be, measured in degrees?

No problem, I'm not challenging your name convention. As you say, it is probably the best choice for your purposes. I like brick-building track, so I'm used to calling L gauge "5-stud gauge" because that's the distance between rail centers. By the way, the thickness of 4.5V rails is different (slightly thicker) than PF rails, so L gauge has only been constant throughout time if you measure over rail centers, or minimum tie length. Interestingly, those are the standards we've independently gravitated towards! Fun fact: if you have a rail thickness of one tile, and set the rail centers 4 studs apart, you get track that is exactly Q gauge, which if I'm not mistaken is identical to Proto:48 in terms of gauge. Cool! This reminds me, one thing I didn't mention is that Lego retractable ladder elements, like the ones used on large fire truck sets, are HO gauge... or close enough that HO trains will run on them. Yeah, right now I foresee 3 problems - 1st, how to manage the spring that lets trains run through it the wrong way. Can it be a 3d printed leaf spring? Suggestion: make switches of the "derailing" type, where no spring is required. Real railroad switches work this way, after all. This may or may not work, but I would have all the ties from points to frog be straight, like real railroad switches. After the frog, all the ties on both the straight and curved paths can be standard. The hardest part for sure, but isn't that the solution used by TrixBrix and other makers of 3D-printed switches?