L-Gauger

@FGMatt, that's a good thought! The track looks great, is simple, uses only common parts and legal connections. I just prototyped the design in real life though, and there was one slight issue: the gauge is 1/2 plate too wide for L gauge, just wide enough that the trains fall between the rails. However, I figured out a very simple fix to this problem, shown below: I have to say, this looks like it might be a really good idea. And while we're on the subject of panel elements, the 1/2 plate width of the top part of the 30143 panel makes it a great element for building switch points. That's what I've used on both my prototype brick-built switches with excellent results.

@XG BC That makes perfect sense as a building philosophy. I'm exited to see both your model as it appears in real life and how you will go about motorizing it. I've made one similar model to a 2-stud gauge (you can see a photo in the initial post of the "Brick-Built Lego Railroad Track" thread) and fitting the motor was the biggest challenge in the design process.

@Feuer Zug I can say for sure this gear setup will not slip. In my testing, I think the gear teeth would break before slippage could occur. I say that because I've actually held the drive wheels still with my hand while the motor was running (obviously not for long, I was just trying to force the gears to slip for testing purposes... and the motor just came to a stall. No gears slipped) Now I just need to get in some rubber bands and test how this locomotive can handle two un-modified Orient Express coaches over R40 curves and switches. The engine might not be heavy enough to successfully manage the train of that radius, but we shall see!

@XG BC assuming the Kof II is 8 feet wide, your model should scale well with 1:48 scale models. Have you considered modifying the model to to run on Q gauge (4 studs between rail centers) track? That would be the most accurate to scale. I'm exited to see how you motorize this thing, if you can get that to work I think it would be super cool to make a little Q gauge shunting layout, maybe 4 baseplates wide and 2 baseplates deep, for this engine.

It appears that previous discussions on improving the Orient Express train set have focused on motorization like in this thread: However, it appears there isn't yet a thread specifically for upgrading the locomotive. I know there's been discussion on the deficiencies of the Sapphire Star in the thread for general discussion of the Orient Express, this thread isn't for re-visiting that discussion. Instead, this thread is for showing off what you've done to remedy the deficiencies in the Orient Express locomotive as you perceive them. In my case, I desired to correct the following matters: - Add Power Functions equipment to the locomotive. - Increase the width of the pilot/footplate. - Improve the running qualities of the locomotive. - Equip the locomotive with magnet couplings. I considered re-working some of the details on the locomotive to better match a Swiss Federal Railways class A 3/5, but realized that doing so would involve more effort and parts than the result would be worth, especially given the fact that I'd need to build a new tender from scratch to be truly accurate. The result: Expanding the width of the pilot to 8-wide from 6 was the easiest change, involving only a few part substitutions and replacements. The running gear took a bit more time to figure out, but eventually I realized that replacing the technic cross-axle piston rod from the original set with a 6-stud long antenna would completely eliminate the problem of the "piston" binding on its shaft. The coupler was a bit more intensive, but in the end I discovered a means of attaching the magnet coupling to the pilot truck, similar to the coupler on the Emerald Night. Though it's a pity that the red bufferbeam is gone, the presence of a functional coupler on the front of this engine makes up for it. As for the motorization: The tender only needed slight modification. The coal load was raised by 2 plates to clear the PF cable on top of the battery box. The engine was another story altogether. I had to completely re-design the inside of the boiler to accommodate the PF L motor and IR receiver. The IR receiver is mounted sideways, with the actual receiver "eye" peeking out of the firebox. The arrangement works reasonably well, and completely hides the IR receiver from external view. Building the firebox around the IR receiver was a major challenge though, and I did have to settle for some minor changes to the outside appearance. Let me know if you can spot them! The motor is geared very simply at a 1:1 ratio to the middle pair of drivers, using two pairs of bevel gears. However, I had to get creative when bracing the top pair of gears, making use of this element: So far, since adopting this method of bracing I have encountered no issues with gear slippage, no matter how heavy the train's load is. I have yet to properly test this series of modifications with rubber bands applied to the Sapphire Star's drive wheels. However, I suspect it will be able to manage an un-modified pair of Orient Express coaches over R56 and greater curves. If the coaches are equipped with the old PF or 9V-era wheels, maybe this locomotive could even pull the train over R40 curves. Is there anything I could be doing better? What have you done to improve the Sapphire Star?

@XG BC Quite impressive! I can tell it took a lot of SNOT work to accurately render such a small locomotive in 6-wide. I'd be interested to see how you modeled the back wall of the cab, do you have a render of the locomotive from that side? It's hard to tell, but it looks like the bottom half of the cab wall is built upside-down. Once again, impressive!

Yeah, the tall fences wouldn't be the best choice for track. I wonder if the short fences might work when turned on their sides... I'll have to try that. @zephyr1934 a brick-built switch is something I've been working on. Currently I have a functional prototype of a no. 4 switch, but the part I'm not yet satisfied with is the frog. Currently it's just a tile mounted at a height sufficient to support the wheels of the train as they roll over the frog, but I think the lack of side-to-side support will make that design prone to derailment at high speed. Oh, and on the subject of curves, so far I've used an adaptation of @HoMa's technique from Railbricks issue 1 hidden in brick-built ballast to make curves, like this: However, building such curves in a manner that permits 90-degree turns which align exactly to the stud grid of Lego is proving a challenge. Still trying to figure out all the math for that...

@djm your work on that crossing is impressive! I might have to study your design and see if any of the principles could be applied to making a frog for a railroad track switch... @TeriXeri I never considered using 1x4 fence elements as rails... have you tried doing so before? It seems like it might make a good stable track. @JopieK thank you! Although I'm still early in the prototyping phase, I think brick-built track could have a lot of promise to expand the horizons of track geometry without the need for third-party parts (thus keeping the purists happy...) So far it seems like the most cost-effective track can be made by inserting tiles between the studs of plates using the "pony-ear" technique, like below. Personally, I think track made this way looks fairly realistic... I've successfully built some sectional and flex track using this technique (the pictures shown are of flex track,) but its primary disadvantage for L gauge is that the crossties must be 7 studs long, not 8: The seven-stud ties means that at least four parts must be used per crosstie: Plus the odd dimension means this system differs from the standard eight-stud length for crossties in Lego track. What other brick-built track systems are out there? I know the Logging Railway set included a brick-built track for its trestle bridge... but what other building techniques make a useable, realistic-looking track?

Thank you! It does! To me, set #60052 looks most like a GP30 because of the cab roof shape... as for the Orient Express locomotive, I think it's a model of the Swiss Federal Railways class A3/5, specifically the preserved #705. However, the Orient Express Locomotive has the cylinders in the wrong place, a minor detail error on the whistle, and the wrong tender compared to the A3/5. Plus, like the Emerald Night the pilot of the Sapphire Star is too narrow compared to the prototype. @XG BC I think you might be right! The snowplow really changes the appearance of the Arctic Explorer locomotive but in many other respects it resembles the Charger. In that case it looks like a "proto-freelance" engine like so many other Lego trains.

This thread concerns a building project that I'm only in the very earliest stages of prototyping... but for some years now I've wondered whether it was possible to build a track for Lego trains that was made from only non-train specific Lego elements, preferably common parts. So, this thread is for discussing all things related to brick-built Lego train track. Topics can include, but are not limited to: Have you tried making a brick-built track before? What technique do you think is most detailed? Most economical? How would you build a curve with a radius that lands on the stud grid? Should we AFOLs try and develop a modular standard for brick-built sectional tracks? This might also be a great place to discuss the gauge possibilities that brick-built track provides, like Q gauge (1/48 scale, 4 stud gauge) Ln2 gauge (2-stud gauge) and the broadened horizons of S gauge/Ln3 gauge (the normal Lego narrow gauge/rollercoaster gauge.) Here's a photo of one early prototype I made on top of a MILS module, with two tracks. My model of Railway Series "Rusty" is parked on the Ln2 track, and the unoccupied track is triple-gauge (Standard L gauge, Ln3/S, and Ln2.)

@zephyr1934 Thank you! That was basically my goal, to build a model that was highly detailed but also would be an excellent workhorse for model-railroad style operating sessions. I'm sure you noticed that the drive rods are your Trained Bricks drive rods... aside from those, everything else is 100% un-modified Lego. On that note, I remember back when I ordered the drive rods that you would only offer a particular rod size for sale after hearing confirmation that it worked reliably. So, maybe now's a good time for me to tell you that the custom 3 hole, 13-stud long side rods you made custom for me have met and exceeded my structural and operational expectations. May I offer my long-overdue thanks?

Thank you for pointing this out! I missed it completely, my bad.

Thank you! Because I built my prototype in real life, I decided to do a little strength testing. It will hold up to usual handling but not to being dropped on the floor. As you noted though, keeping the weaker joints near the ends of the logs makes a big improvement for strength. I wonder if there's a way to modify my design and make the 1x2 plates with rounded ends look like straps holding the logs down? That would permit the use of Dark Bluish Gray or Black 1x2 plates with rounded ends instead of the harder-to-come-by Reddish Brown ones.

@Murdoch17 do you know if any of the previous PUP, PF, or R/C trains were likewise 100% freelance? I'm not well-versed in modern European locomotives so I can't conclusively say... Basically, I'm wondering how long it's been since Lego has released a train set that wasn't based on anything in the real world.

Wow! Excellent work on these coaches, @-DoNe-! I can't quite tell from your photos - are these coaches 7 studs wide or 8? If they are 8-wide, you might have interest in making the Emerald Night locomotive 8-wide. I've figured out a way to do it with minimal part swaps. My mod also makes the pilot/bufferbeam up front a true 8-wide, which I thought was one of the areas lest convincingly modeled on both the Emerald Night and Sapphire Star. Why does The Lego Group keep making steam engines with pilots that are narrower than the rest of the engine?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the new Arctic Explorer Train is the first train set since the 9V era that is 100% freelance, right? Even though I can't name the prototype for every R/C, PF, and PUP train up to the Arctic Explorer, all of them at least looked like they were based on something in the real word, if possibly inaccurate or "proto-freelance." This Arctic Explorer Set seems like a departure from that trend... but maybe that's just me. It's also interesting to see how the Arctic Explorer locomotive doesn't use a traditional train base element. That's a major departure from precedent.

Okay, thank you for that explanation, @Toastie! That makes perfect sense now. And don't worry, jargon isn't a bad thing. I have to constantly remind myself to explain the jargon I use whenever I talk to someone who isn't a historian or a train nerd.

@Lonestar, welcome to Eurobricks! I had no clue that Cobi was offering brick-built train kits... I have to say, their straights and curves look really nice from photos. I wonder how the build quality compares to Lego track, and whether the two brands of track are compatible with one another.

Thank you @zephyr1934! I've appreciated your work for quite some time, I look forward to sharing a few MOCs here. The one from my profile photo is a model of the original Texas State Railroad #7, built by Baldwin in 1915. The model has since been rebuilt with greater detail, but a few years ago I submitted it for the Brick Train Awards 2023. The entry has a few more photos of the model as it looked back then: https://www.bricktrainawards.com/entries/ozark-mountain-railroad-1-andrew/. And here is a photo of the locomotive in its present state:

@idlemarvel, thank you for this information! I'll have to check out your handbook on Powered UP. Didn't know it was possible to link the remote to the app... I'm guessing that's the best way to control a PUP Crocodile Locomotive (or similar) with the remote? Also @Toastie, would you mind explaining the meaning of "BLE" and "ESP32" to a person with minimal Bluetooth skills?

Sorry about that, @zephyr1934! I'm working on that, hopefully the photos will be up and working within the next few days. EDIT: I think I got it figured out... the photos from my first post should be visible now, and here are two more: This is the less-perfect side of my prototype at the moment, but I think I have a way to get rid of the 1x1 round plates. I just have to find where I put my half-round 1x2 "jumper" plates. And here's a view from below. As you can see, it is necessary for the bottom middle log to use two 1x2 bricks.

Hello all! This appears to be the place for new people to introduce themselves, so here goes... I've been a fan of Lego ever since I got my first DUPLO set as a toddler. Although I do build in other themes, most of my MOC work has been in the Trains theme. I'm especially partial to 10-wide models based on U.S. prototypes, such as the 2-6-0 steam engine visible in my profile photo. However, I also have built some 8-wide models of British prototypes in addition to a 2-stud-narrow-gauge British diesel locomotive in 6-wide. All my locomotive MOCs are equipped with Power Functions equipment, I never really did make the switch over to Powered UP. A fun fact about me is that my introduction to Lego trains was with the Passenger Train set from the R/C era. Sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't have such happy memories with that set if I had known about the 9V trains I'd just missed out on... So, that's my involvement with Lego trains in summary form. I look forward to being a part of the online community here.

For those who are familiar with the Powered UP system, what capabilities does the Powered UP app have that the Powered UP remote lacks? I know there are more control possibilities with the app, but have never quite learned what the limitations of the app are as they pertain to Lego train enthusiasts.

Hello all! This is my first post to EuroBricks, so forgive me if the photos don't work properly this first time, still figuring things out. However, after a few tries I have a solution for this Reverse-Engineering Challenge. In my solution, each layer of logs is connected to the others by 1x2 plates with round ends, and the bottom layer of logs is connected by a 1x4 plate. I'm still finding the best combination of plates and tiles to better hide the connections, but the prototype I presently have is surprisingly stable, and mostly hides the fact that the logs are connected together. Please excuse the random brick colors, as that is the nature of prototyping...