Steinkopf

Nice work there Darcaeser I think this is a nice rebuild of the Emerald Night, I really like the way you have tackled the bogies on the tender they look very good.

Hello Hrw-Amen The central bogie sets are able move sideways so the locomotive is able to negotiate curves, this wheel arrangement is used in a large number of Japanese electric freight locomotive designs that have been built for the JR network as well as for the export market, the Swiss have also used this wheel arrangement in the Re 6/6 Class built for the SBB.

When you have a look at what Playmobil has done with their police it would be nice if Lego did something similar. Here are some pictures of what I have done for my police force.

I really like what you have done here, especially how you have been able to compress all of the PF components into such a small space, the fact that you have not modified any parts to do it is a big plus with me as I like the challenge of seeing what can be done brick wise. My only suggestion would be to add some stickers to it to add some detail where you can't do it with bricks, overall it's a really nice little build .

I certainly agree with your comments regarding containers, there needs to be some sort of consistency size wise. I had originally modified the containers from 7994 and 7992 years ago by making more realistic doors that could open compared to the 6 x 5 x 1 panel, for a while I was sort of happy with them but there was two things that really bugged me, one being the short length and the other being the side panels just did not look right. The other day I decided to go for a total facelift of them, I increased the length to 12 studs long and I replaced the panels on the side and end with plates covered by tile cladding to give the corrugated look, I also took the opportunity to tile the top as well to five them a more realistic look. The reason why I chose the 12 stud length is that 2 of them can be comfortably fitted to a 28 stud long train base (as well as 24 stud long train base), another reason is that they are slightly bigger than my tankertainers and the 16 stud long ones would have dwarfed them. Here's some pictures for people to see. The original containers. The new version. Sorry to The Brickster for hijacking this thread

I do like the idea of an industrial siding with a wagon or tanker as it would be a nice addition to train line, the biggest problem with that though is the last 2 freight train sets 7939 and 3677 have had some form of industry/freight loading capability added into the sets as a way of increasing their play value. I would have liked to have seen these sets minus those features as it would have reduced the price point due to the lower parts count, unfortunately in a bid to make the sets more attractive to consumer TLG added them and thus shut the door on complimentary sets being made. I think the marketing strategy behind this is if parents were thinking of buying Lego Trains they would be more inclined to buy one complete set rather than buy a whole host of little sets, complimentary sets such as stations will always sell as kids will want to stop their passenger trains to let off it's passengers. Freight yards on the other hand probably are not as appealing, young kids are more into running trains around in a circuit at speed than performing shunting in the yard, the bulk of freight sets have had their freight facilities alongside the main line and the only freight sets that have had sidings included as part of the track layout were 4512 and 7939.

This is probably the only post that you have made that makes sense. Earlier on you were touting the idea of action train sets that complement a theme and how great it would be, yet when you were given 2 current examples the Monster Fighters Ghost Train and the Toy Story Train Chase you stated you had no interest in purchasing either of them, both of these sets complement their theme well and the Toy Story Train is featured in the film. To be frank if you don't like the trains that TLG has to offer order parts from Bricklink or S@H PAB and build your own, then you will get exactly what you want that's what many of us do, Lego is a creative medium and has a myriad of possibilities as far as building is concerned, all it takes is a bit of imagination on your behalf. I am growing rather tired of this somewhat senseless argument peddled by some that "TLG should do this" and "TLG should do that", TLG is like any company they have a core market that their product is aimed at and makes the company viable, in TLG's case this happens to be children we are we are on the periphery of that market and represent only a small fraction of it. Sets such as the Emerald Night and Maersk Train shows that TLG is willing to accommodate the adult market, but at the end of the day they can only do so much, selling individual wagons was initially good but then lacked followup sales which ultimately deterred the company from introducing any new sets. Another issue that plagues the Trains theme is what too offer the customers, a US design such as the Santa Fe Super Chief will sell well to the US market, yet it will only have a limited interest to European fans and will not sell well there, the same applies for trying to sell a European style train to the US market. Making everyone happy is extremely difficult as there is no one size fits all as far as trains are concerned, everyone one has differing tastes and trying to please all is not only costly it's near impossible.

The days of Trains being a standalone theme are long gone and these days are viewed more as being a complimentary element of the city range this is the only way trains will survive, sure we won't get a new train set every year or individual wagons but at least we will still have some form of trains available. The best path/outcome that we could hope for is a major expansion in the variety of train parts available on PAB, it would be great if we could get things such as train doors, windows and wheelsets especially the steam train wheels in a variety of colours.

Hello Rail Co The Jinty 3F 0-6-0s were used for a wide variety of tasks besides shunting, they were used a lot on small branchlines for passenger and freight trains where there was no need for larger locomotives due to the lower volume of traffic and shorter trains.

Hello Rail Co Gambort made a nice Jinty a while back which he has unpowered, as Frank Stengel pointed out it is a bit small to incorporate a full PF system in the locomotive, with Gamborts train he uses a powered wagon directly behind the locomotive to pull the train. Frank Stengel and Roamingstudio both made good points in that you need to have blind drivers for the middle set of wheels for the train to negotiate curves and points.

I have to agree with Carl that a lot of the problem seems to be due to the overly sensitive nature of the thermal overload in the latter production motors, whether this is due to a production fault or that the specifications had been changed without the consumer being advised it's hard to say due to the lack of any information, the fact that 9v was discontinued 5 years ago I dare say we will never get an answer to that question. During the final years of 9v trains TLG contracted external suppliers to produce a number of components, there are examples where the supplier had changed the original specifications set out by TLG in a bid to cut costs or speed up production. The best known example was the 2878c01 wheelsets for the Santa Fe coaches where the supplier had made changes to the wheel housing that had detrimental effects to the free running of the wheels, the changes made caused the wheels to scrape against parts of the housing the friction created made it very difficult for a single Super Chief loco fitted with a 9v motor to haul a full 5 car set due to the amount of drag. Another issue that we need to look at is the original design parameters for the 9v motors, when you look at the the official 9v sets they all came with a small number of wagons or coaches, this in many respects followed the marketing philosophy of model train manufactures such as Hornby and Marklin where trainsets came with a locomotive and 2 or 3 coaches or 3 wagons, this could then be added too by purchasing additional pieces of rolling stock. The Metroliner was the heaviest of the original 9v train sets produced especially when you added the Club Car to the train, with the bulk of the sets the rolling stock tended to be fairly lightweight, the 9v motor was probably deemed capable enough for the task due to the somewhat limited load that it hauled. When the Santa Fe Super Chief came along 10 years after the introduction of 9v trains it was the first time that the 590 motor got a real workout on a decent length and somewhat heavy train, unfortunately at that stage it was probably too late and uneconomical to justify changing the specifications and making a stronger motor for the 9v range. In many respects I think this is where we come into the equation, the bulk of us are pushing our 590 motors beyond the boundaries of what they were designed for as we tend to want to run longer and heavier trains, add to this the weight and size of the pieces of rolling stock we produce are generally well above those of official sets. I recently rebuilt the 3 coaches I use in my LBB Push-Pull Regional Express to improve the trains running, I originally built the coaches at 36 studs in length and they weighed in at about 460 grams each, I then decided to reduce them to 32 studs in length this in turn reduced the weight to around 400 grams. The improvements in running quality that I have experienced has made it well worthwhile, the train is now able to run faster especially when it comes to curved sections where before the train slowed down dramatically due to the weight as well as the drag issues associated from trying to transfer drawbar power along the longer chassis. On a final note I will add that the overtly sensitive thermal overload could be a blessing in disguise in that it greatly lessens the chances of us burning out our 590 motors, I have only ever seen one motor belonging to member of my train club get burnt out during an exhibition, funnily enough it was an old 590 motor fitted to an original Metroliner.

I agree with your points about building Lego trains, it's more about capturing the look and the essence of a design rather than trying to build a 100% accurate model which in many cases is pretty much impossible to do , that is why I enjoy building freelance models as it gives me the ability to build trains to the style and look that I like . ps: I envy you in the fact that you get to ride on the trains as often as you do, my dream is one day to travel to Switzerland and ride the trains on the RhB network as well as a number of the other great railways you have in your country.

Nice work Roamingstudio its good to see a new take on a classic design, I was tempted to make my own version of the 4551 loco years ago when I bought the 7898 set in the end I went for a mix of design mainly the RhB Ge6/6 Class and the OBB 1189 Class Crocodiles. Don't worry you will eventually become a trainhead as you start looking at more and more places for inspiration you will get thirsty for the knowledge about different classes. With the OBB 1020 Class they were a development of the DR E94 Class which in itself was a development of the earlier DR E93 Class, the Austrian locos had a longer lifespan compared to their German sisters as they received a variety of upgrades over the years, mainly to the electrical components.

Thanks JopieK The locomotive is inspired by a number of designs and is mainly a mish mash of the DB V90, NS 6400 and the MaK G1204 class locomotives. For a number of years I had been using the loco from set 4512 as part of my fleet, I had wanted to replace it with a more realistic looking locomotive to be part of my LBB fleet and at the same pay homage to the original design the end result is what you see here. With the Swiss style classification system I like using it for my LBB fleet as it is more interesting to use compared to the standard wheel arrangement classifications used such as Bo-Bo and Co-Co, plus at the end of the day a lot of my locomotives are inspired by Swiss designs .

Nice work, it's refreshing to see some more modern style architecture like this, I also like the way you have done the scaffolding it's a simple yet effective solution.

Nice work there, you have captured the look of this class loco really well, I also like the fact that you have made it 6 wide instead of the larger widths that tend to be the fashion of most builders these days.

Thanks everyone for the replies, I might be tempted to buy some of the Red windscreens from 3667 and build a sister unit that has been repainted in the current LBB livery, that will have to wait though as unfortunately these http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=45708 are not available in Light Bley and I have already planned the next diesel I would like to add to the LBB roster.

I am really keen on seeing the video of the locomotive in action as well as photos of it showing the side profile, I have always been keen on doing a Tri Bo locomotive similar to the RhB Ge 6/6, but I have never bothered to sit down and spend time working out the articulation, if it does work well the LBB might just acquire a similar locomotive .

Hello Everyone I would like to share some pictures of my latest addition to the LBB fleet the Bm 4/4II Diesel Hydraulic Locomotive, this locomotive was built to replace my venerable diesel loco from set 4512 which I have had since 2003, I have paid homage to the original loco in some respects by replacing it with a similar style off centre cab design as well as using the Dark Grey and Green colour scheme, there is some Dark Bley mixed in as well to give it a slightly weathered look . The main inspiration for the design comes from a variety of MaK built locomotives and is a mish mash of sorts with bits and pieces from the V90, G 1204 and NS 6400 Class mixed in. The Bm 4/4II Class are mainly employed on the non electrified sections of the LBB network which includes 2 Branchlines as well as a number of industrial lines and sidings, besides being used as a branchline locomotive they are also used as a heavy shunter and on construction trains.

Beautiful work there Carl you have captured the look of these tiny loco's so well, it's a pity you didn't have the variety of parts in Dark Tan so she would be in Stroudley's Improved Engine Green livery but I will add she still looks a treat in Umber (Reddish Brown), nice yet cheeky touch with putting Bricktrix for the name. The amount of detail you have been able to lavish on such a small frame is superb, I especially like the more unorthodox parts usage such as the fishing rods for feed pipes it looks brilliant, I think in some respects having this model unpowered has been more of a benefit build wise as you have been able to fit in the brake gear as well as a whole host of other details that would not be possible on a motorized loco of this size.

The expectation for Lego to produce PF equipped train sets for less than $100 US in many respects is unrealistic, Lego has taken a number of steps to make the sets more affordable, such as the new battery box that fits 6 x AAA batteries instead of the PF Li Po battery and charger. The current passenger train set 7938 for example retails for $129.99 US in the United States, when you compare the price of Lego train sets to those of traditional model railway train sets you will find Lego trains are reasonably priced. Another issue you have to look at is the GP (gross profit) margin of these sets to the retailers, in general the profit margin of the larger sets is only half that of small sets, I know this as I have been to quite a number of previews of the next years range over the years, the products on display have two prices one being the supply price and the other being the reccommended retail. Lego has to price these sets to a level that is attractive enough to make the retailers want to carry that product especially when you look at the shelf space that is taken up by them compared to the smaller sets, smaller sets move faster and are more profitable so it is always a hard sell for Lego to put products such as train sets on the shelves. To be frank though complaining about paying $100.00 US for a train set is a bit rich when you compare that with what the rest of us have to pay, in my country 7938 retails for $229.99 AUD this is despite the fact that the Australian dollar has been trading above parity for quite a while now, basically I am having to pay 90% more than someone living in the US. Many of us would like to see the return of the glory days when you could buy extra wagons and lineside structure sets unfortunately I don't think this will happen, in the 1980s and early 1990s Trains could as a standalone theme hold their ground. These days they are seen more as a supplement to the City theme thats probably why they are offered as a more complete set, I can still see the basics such as a train station being provided but that is as far as it will go. The changing nature of play these days coupled to the increase in competition from other products has had it's effect, especially games consoles which in many respects were in their infancy back then has made it more difficult for traditional toy companies to provide a large and diverse range of products compared to the good old days.

From my view point what I want from TLG when it comes to train sets is a good number of usable parts that can be used to make a wide variety of models, making sets that have a specific theme of play such as a fire or forest robbery train may have some good playability initially but that will wear off over time and leave you with a bunch of parts that have limited usability. When it comes down too it Lego is a highly flexible creative medium where we as the user can make a multitude of models too the designs that we desire, I feel at times people seem to be neglecting this point and make comments such as Lego should do this or why doesn't Lego do that. Lego gives us that flexibility where if they don't make what we want we can make it ourselves, I have built a substantial collection of locomotives and rolling stock for my Legodtenstein Bundes Bahn by doing this, the only wagons I have left from official sets are the hoppers from 4512 and 7898 I also built extras of them as I think they are a simple yet nice design, the rest I have scrapped and used the parts to make my own designs. Given the flexibility that we have wouldn't it be more fun for parents to sit down with their kids and work together designing and creating the type of trains they want, rather than tipping the contents of a box onto the floor and following an instruction book, I know which one would develop more interaction and creativity as well as enhancing the concept of playtime.

Top notch work as always Carl, I love to see how far you push yourself with each successive loco with the level of detail that you pour into them, this one really takes the cake and is as good as any O Gauge model.

Thanks LT12V, I always like to look at real life examples and get ideas for detailing from there, http://www.railfaneurope.net/ is a great source for material especially with pictures of rolling stock. Some of the photo albums for passenger coaches have interior views which is really good as you don't normally get to see them on other sites. I will always stay true to 6 wide, given I had to shorten the coaches to lose some weight I don't think going 8 wide will help much there in achieving that goal, to be honest though if I was going to go wider I would choose 7 wide as I think it looks the best proportion wise and you can still fit 2 seats wide. Thanks Peter, I think it would be good if our mythical "countries" shared a common border after all of these years have you come up with a name for your Central European Utopia, if not how about Abstinia for a name. Hopefully in the future we can get a chance to run trains together again, I would really like to see how much progress you have made with your rolling stock and I have always liked your roundhouse and turntable.

Hello Everyone I would like to share some photos of my Regional Express train that I have recently rebuilt, the train consists of a De 4/4II Motor Baggage Car for the locomotive, a 1st Class Coach, 2nd Class Coach and a 2nd Class Pilot Coach which is used to control the train when it is traveling in reverse, this style of Push-Pull operation is very common in Europe. I originally built this train about 3 years ago and decided recently to revisit the design as I wanted to improve the performance of it, when I first built the coaches I made them 36 studs long using a chassis made from plates, the train worked well on exhibition layouts where there was ample track to gather up speed but on smaller layouts with a lot of curves the performance suffered to some extent. The main issues were the length and weight of the coaches, lengthwise the train was suffering from excessive drag when it was negotiating sections of track with a lot of curves in it, they also have a decent amount of interior detail and on average they were tipping the scales at 460grams a piece which didn't help with the drag issues on curves. To remedy these issues I decided to step back in time and embrace the humble 6 x 28 Train Chassis plate http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4093a , this has helped a lot in performance as it has cut down on the drag issue associated with moving long stock through the tight radius of curved track, the coaches have also lost about 60 grams in weight in the process. I have had to sacrifice some seating in the coaches but I am still able to fit a good number of minifigs inside, 1st Class 5 seats, 2nd Class 8 seats and the 2nd Class Pilot Coach 6 seats, each seat is capable of fitting a minifig in a relatively comfortable pose. Views of whole the train De 4/4II Gepacktriebwagen 1st Class Coach 2nd Class Coach 2nd Class Pilot Coach