Dread Pirate Rob

I love the split piston solution! Is there a technic half width lift arm that long available for side rods? I have never seen one.

Yes, the master builders here will find it hard to believe but I do not posess a single one of those round 4x4 bricks with holes in black:) I might try it with an octagonal black smoke box though... Thank you. I regret I can't put up the LDD file. Last time I tried to build a train in LDD the result looked worse than a 2 year olds minecraft house (actually some of those 2 year olds are rather good) so I do all of my building in brick. I will post some exploded views when I get a chance with some reasonable lighting if that would be helpful. The driver is still smiling though I love how optimistic those old faces are... You are right, I have never seen a german saddle tank. I'll claim it as an Australian tank engine then. We had a lot of little Baldwins and their brothers working narrow guage sugar cane trains over here. That is a vote each way on the light grey... I do like the way it balances the other light grey elements on the chassis. Cheers! Most of the parts you need are in the currently available creator blue jet. All it needs then is power functions, train doors, a locomotive base, lights, tables from an Emerald Night for the funnel.... OK, there isn't much jet in there. The light grey are reasonably cheap on Bricklink. I have done something similar with BBB medium drivers on my little tender engine but I wouldn't use any bigger wheels than that on a standard train motor as it is on the speed vs torque limit now and does not like inclines. Tüblingen individual items by Canvas Rails, on Flickr I start with the power functions first, then build out. It helps to not have a prototype Thank you. With all of that weight over the drivers and no articulation, it can actially pull more cars than any of my locomotives from official sets. Will do, I don't have the bricks for anything bigger Below is a short video of her in action. I made a little display shelf to put it on, then couldn't help myself and I seem to have a new shelf layout growing Oops. She runs quite nicely just on speed setting one. Sorry, struggling with inserting the video from Flickr. Please let me know if this doesn't link. IMG_0864 by Canvas Rails, on Flickr

Incredible detail. Thank you for sharing this amazing train. The wheels and running gear arrangement blows me away. And as Deraven said, it looks like it is held together by sheer willpower but then you see the well thought out structure behind. Wow.

Fantastic, you have captured the feel of the original beautifully. I love the stern and the line of the guns, both very tricky to do in brick. Rob

That brown is really makes this locomotive look awesome. The carriages are a great build too but to my eye they need a detail on the side, sich as a black stripe to tie in with the lines on the locomotive. Outstanding work. Rob

Very nice indeed. I love the cab window. Very neat technique. Do you have plans to add some of Zephyr's CSX stickers? Rob

I love the drive train in this, I have never been able to get a compact drivetrain to work reliably enough so I shall give this one a try on a South Australian Railways F class tank engine I am working on. Thanks, Rob

The awesome tank engine Dutchiedoughnut is assembling inspired me to get stuck into my next project. I destroyed my new dark blue Creator Jet but used the wonderful parts to put together my first Saddle Tank 0-4-0 shunter. Lights by Canvas Rails, on Flickr The Details: Freelance design, there is no DB prototype as far as I am aware (The DB doors were the last ones I had) 6 wide chassis, 7 wide at the saddle tank. All power functions components on board Two working lights Minifig driver (I cheated a bit here, he has no legs on account of the extreme cable situation in the cab) 0-4-0 wheel arrangement of standard Lego wheels fitted directly to a train motor Cranks for the side rods have been kragled to improve reliability at exhibitions Cranks have also been shortened (sorry purists) to work on 12v track geometry Power button activated by pressing the sand dome PF receiver is in the bunker with 1x1 round plate coal LEGO Power Functions Saddle Tank Locomotive in Dark Blue by Canvas Rails, on Flickr LEGO Power Functions Saddle Tank Locomotive in Dark Blue by Canvas Rails, on Flickr LEGO Power Functions Saddle Tank Locomotive in Dark Blue by Canvas Rails, on Flickr LEGO Power Functions Saddle Tank Locomotive in Dark Blue by Canvas Rails, on Flickr I really love this dark blue but it does not photograph well with my lighting setup. The colour in the first photo is closest to how it looks in real life. Does anyone have any suggestions for photographing dark blue? I am considering Bricklinking some more 1x1 dark blue bricks for the cab but then again the black is a nice contrast and is growing on me. I would be most interested in your thoughts. Cheers, Rob

Dr Spock and Deraven you are correct, I should have just gone for the easy option. I just gave the half stud a try on my third broken coupler and it looks quite neat.* Technic half pin by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Now I also have an additional useful stud in a similar position to the one on top of the PF coupler. This was not as drastic as the repair job on my unserviceable 12v point motor:) I still have all of my fingers, but not for long at the rate I'm going. Don't tell the purists but there are two cut pins used on each side of my Emerald Night that I modified to run on 12v track geometry. Even the half pins are a fraction too long for this application so I cut full pins and inserted them from the inside so the cut is invisible. Modified narrow emerald night by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Yes, I'm sure someone must have done it before. It looks too obvious to be a new idea but I can't find photos or instructions anywhere. *Self assessment only, not a peer reviewed comment.

That a good idea. By slowly working up through my drill bit sizes I actually have a pretty tight fit and it doesn't move in the hole (it still rotates freely in the buffer assembly though). If they come loose due to long running at Brickexpo I shall follow your advice and hit it with the Kragle. Cheers, Rob

As there is a thread on repairing 12v motors and one on couplers, I thought the old timers here might be interested in my technique for repairing 12v couplers. I'm sure this must have been tried before but I couldn't find any previous threads. I turned the drill bits with my fingers but a quality drill should do even better. I worked my way up to the correct diameter through three different bits to avoid stressing the plastic, then shaved off the resulting lip with a sharp knife. (Mandated Government Warning: Lego was harmed in the making of this post (but it was only technic) Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Repair of Lego 12v and 4.5v train couplers by Canvas Rails, on Flickr

G'day all, Please find attached a couple of quick photos I took of the trains at Brickexpo in Canberra, Australia today. Back for day two tomorrow. Probably the largest monorail to ever be assembled in this hemisphere. Enjoy, Rob Brickexpo Canberra, Australia 29 August 2015 by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Brickexpo Canberra, Australia 29 August 2015 by Canvas Rails, on Flickr As always, more on Flickr.

Well I think I have my answer: If you want to improve 60052, it is pretty hard to top Zephyr's work: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=108434 If you want to do 7760 in PF, follow Selander http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=55729 or Reinstein http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=59708 Thanks guys, looks like once more its time for Bricklink:) Rob

There was a mention a few years ago of trying elecromagnets on locomotives: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66605 Was there any success? If not, I might turn my hand to Selander's elegant solution. There are also a number of ways to make DCC controlled onboard kadee uncouplers from the clever boffins on the web.

I didn't like the... I don't think the... It doesn't need the... Nope, I've got nothing. That is seriously inpressive. I thought it looked impressive when I saw it on my phone, now I can see all the detail on a big screen all I can say is wow. The stand out for me is the neatness of your joints and connections. It shows real skill to build like that. There are no gaps and spaces where there shouldn't be and it makes it look suitably 'heavy.' Love it. Love your work

Brilliant idea! I'll put a gold stud on the harness and it will match the gold circle on the tram and its gonna look saweeeeet. Brilliant execution: Looks like a headlight on a horse. Gentlemen, you are absolutely right. It looks very silly indeed. Thank you, I gave it a go but i regret in white it looked like the horse was being choked by a skeleton and in black it looked like it was being attacked by a spider. I should have taken a photo but I figured I have provided enough humour with my 'headlight.' In the end I decided that if I couldn't fix the problem by addition I should switch to subtraction: No "headlight" by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Going, going, gone by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Going, going, gone by Canvas Rails, on Flickr Sadly I think the last one is best. It is simple and does not detract from the tram. Thank you for your kind comments, I will have another go at narrow guage soon. The narrow guage Puffing Billy Railway that the Melbourne Lego Train Club is doing in 4 wide is awe inspiring. For now, the EN has reclaimed her boiler plates and the horse has been put out to pasture. Thank you all for your input into this project, your advice, as ever, has been sage and thank you for sharing your experience.

Redcoats get the best backdrops...

The new harness is less bulky but what do you think? Is it an improvement?

Love the taxis and I think you have nailed the 'old building that has been renovated and still in use' look. Your brick railway must be quite profitable to afford such nice refurbishments. (Love the EN in brown too).

Thank you, steamranger.org.au has more information on this particular line. There is a restored horse tram still operating at Victor Harbour but I it is a double decker and I couldn't work out how to do the spiral stairs:) Sorry, yes, should have said. More on Flickr. Yes, fortunately you can only see one side of my EN in the cabinet:) I agree, the harness is not right but I had an idea to use tooth parts that might work. If it does, I'll post an update. Thank you for the advice. For those not on Flickr, here is the back end (with emissions management equipment).

Thank you, yes, some of them were odder than this one. My favourite was the postie bike with the side car that they managed to make alternate models for. I think it only had about 8 parts:) Bwahaha... Cheers, I think that is slighly higher praise than my wife, who said it belonged on Chuggington... This build was bugging me all last night, there has to be a better way of doing it. Any ideas?

Thank you for the links Murdoch, I have been using the circular tiles in the engine intakes from my X-wing but only for temporary builds, then they have to go straight back...

Yes you are absolutely correct. Start them on Pirates first:) Am I right Dr Spock? This little guy decided Duplo was for babies at 2, built his first Racer from instructions without help at 3 and happily shunts with PF at 4. He has a very proud Dad.

I eventually had to invest in a glass cabinet. Trains get the top shelf. The nice thing about one of these is that I can store up to five short trains per shelf and rotate them to the front for display when I do not have a layout up. Yes, I bought the blue jet for the parts to make a dark blue tank engine, but it is too nice and I haven't been able to bring myself to pull it apart yet:)

Wow, that flour mill is impressive. It has been great to follow this build. The whole is greater than the sum of the awesome parts. What I love most is that it is not just a great diorama; it also has the playability Lego should (if you did let kids (or adults) play with it).