Locomotive Annie

Yes the wonderful 4.5volt Ideas Book. I remember that picture too now that you've mentioned it Zephyr. The 4.5 and 12volt rails are just so darn useful and lend themselves to so many projects. I find myself now with all my RC and PF track packed away and I'm using these older track parts exclusively. I'm not so keen on up in the air monorails myself, but I've seen some highly imaginative monorail MOCs that use this system .http://www.flickr.com/photos/34338074@N06/6936221336/in/photostream/ http://cyclopicbricks.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/moc-imperial-steamguard-suspended.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/captainsmog/6621872615/in/pool-24604222@N00/

Oh wow! - what a great station. I love the colour scheme and there are so many great details. I particularly like the fountain in the station foyer, - a new and original detail I haven't seen on any other station MOC before.

Good to see the details of the coach after the single teaser picture in my own thread. It's fascinating to see the three wheel method used by the Lisbon Tramway on their coaches as compared with the Ewings system. And you provided a stove to keep your passengers nice and warm! I'll have to keep that one quiet or my lot will be demanding a stove in their coach

Update: A further refinement. If you take one of these wheels........ http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=3482 and fit three 12volt traction tyres on it one on top of the other you will end up with a very much more tidy blind driving wheel. How you actually get three traction tyres onto this wheel is entirely over to you, but I will warn you, - it will involve swearing

'I did it with this', says Olivia. After a lot of fiddling and adjusting I've got my Ewings monorail loco to go around 12volt curved rails without flange binding. Yes I know the rubber tyre is a dreadful cheat, but it works fine with the two flanged wheels acting to guide the loco around the curve while the rubber tyre on the driving axle can act like a wide blind driving wheel as well as supporting the rear of the locomotive. Next job on the list is to start in on building the goods wagons for carrying the refined and finished postholes down from the mine. Fortunately I've got a copy of the original Ewings patent drawings to guide me.

Great minds must think alike ES; - do you have any more pictures of it? I thought my loco looked lonely sitting all by itself on the track I've laid so far so I built the green passenger coach to keep it company. The posthole mining co only owns the one coach anyway so it was an easy choice. At the moment it's sitting on a pair of wheels as I only had two spare ones of the type of wheel I'm using, but I've ordered more and when they arrive the coach will be converted to riding on two two wheel bogies as well as two balance wheels. I'll most probably make the coach about four studs longer as well. One item of rolling stock at least has to be articulated just to prove it can be done One thing I've found though with the wheels I'm using, they can't be spaced at more than seven studs between axle centres or else they flange bind on 12volt curved rails. Putting the coach on bogies should improve its general running whereas the loco seems to be quite happy with its driving wheels adjusted to 7 stud centres (remember the centre driving wheel isn't there and is only represented by an axle and the outside cranks).

The camping ground by the lake is wonderful Matthew. So much activity going on and I love the tents. The 3D sculpted landscape is an amazing piece of work and I can appreciate just how much work must've gone into it. With my own layout and having come from a traditional model railway background I said at first that I wasn't going to do it all in Lego and that I'd use the usual model railway scenic techniques instead. So much for that! Yesterday I made a start with covering my layout baseboard with baseplates because after a tentative start with being traditional I found I just wanted to do it in bricks. Last night I ordered 1000 green 1x1 round plates, - something tells me they aren't going to stretch very far One thing though, after building a layout in Lego will you be able to go back to N gauge? I used to work in finescale 4mm and after I got the taste for '0' and 16mm scale I found that I simply wasn't interested in the smaller gauges anymore. Now that I'm building trains in Lego I can't really be bothered with scratchbuilding in '0' and 16mm either. Lego has a way of clinging on and not letting you go I'm afraid.

Well the Kotanga Valley Posthole Mining Co. might pass for a collection of ramshackle huts Hrw-Amen Inspector Grumpimann is rendered speechless by the sight of the posthole co's new coach.

Unfortunately the only answer to the track problem is to get yourself a good razor saw and modify what is available into what you actually need.

Almost all of my blue track came from ebay. Provided you're careful and watch out for traders who think their old blue track has a gold content it's possible to find some good deals on blue track on ebay. I'm looking forward to seeing your passenger coached btw This is a test layup for what will be the transhipment area of the goods yard with the monorail track on one side and the Kotanga Tramway's track on the other. The only road plates I own are four modern city road plates which I've found to have a too wide road space for what I want. I've just put in an order for some of the older style light grey road plates which will be more suitable and will make it easier to get the track alignments closer to how I want them. The older roadplates just look better anyway and are more suitable for a country town. Anyone want to buy four modern city roadplates? Eventually the monorail track and the road will cross via a curved bridge to the next baseboard which should make for an interesting feature.

I spent quite a while yesterday evening trying to find a way to neatly lay tiles in curve when I was working on the Ewings loco's servicing area. Then I discovered that BBB XL blind drivers don't mind rolling over a studded baseplate so I took all the tiles away and everything was just fine. I may yet make up some wheel track stickers to lay over the studs so as to capture the general appearance of a permanently laid Ewings monorail track, but they won't be essential to the good running of my loco. Further along my layout board (no pictures yet) I've laid the monorail track along the edge of road baseplates and the blind balance wheel runs on the road surface which is entirely prototypical. And as to the sad state of your blue rail ownership I'm appalled, - only FOUR! Go and buy some more at once, - no excuses now

I said it in my own thread and I'll say it again, - well done ES!

Oh well done ES I like the outside cranks for the driving wheels and the way the coupling rods fit neatly over large balance wheels. I didn't think to try using the standard RC motor bogie wheels like that either. So when will we be seeing a layout based on the Lisbon Tramway? - go on, you know you want to do it Thanks Kivi I wanted this loco to be chunky and a complete contrast to my other locomotives so that's why it's so short and wide. Originally I had the idea to build it more as an experiment than anything else, but now the strange wee thing has become very much a favourite MOC. My layout is in a big mess at the moment while I rebuild the goods yard area and move the township buildings to make way for the new station building, but as you can see my Ewings system loco has at least got its own piece of track to stand on. This small space will become a basic loco servicing area for this strange wee engine of mine. The posthole mining company only has the one loco so everything is done in a much more simple fashion as compared with the Kotanga Tramway next door. When I first started to set up my layout I said I wasn't going to use the 'everything-covered-with-baseplates' approach, but now I've come to see the usefulness of this method. I'm going to have to get a lot more baseplates though as it's amazing how a layout just swallows them up

That had crossed my mind Zephyr since my Ewings loco nicely straddles L gauge track. I'm working on the transhipment sidings at the moment and I may need to use that particular trick up my sleeve before it's complete. Yeah it is a pretty insane prototype, but the system was used with success for contractor railways during the Victorian era. Great, you've based your model on the Lisbon tramway, I was tempted to try that, but the Ewings system was my first love when it comes to things like unusual railway prototypes

Oh yes of course I know the one you mean now. It was just that I hadn't heard it called a tri-rail before.

Oh my word, - so many 12volt trains! Thank you so much for sharing these pictures of your collection.

Oh my, - your railway station is amazing. I love the way that the older station buildings, signal box and station surroundings have been so tastefully updated for the modern era. I used to be a keen modeller of the LSWR in 'O' Gauge some years ago so I still get a thrill from seeing British railway models that are nicely presented. Lovely work; - are you intending this to be a part of a larger layout, - or will this be a stand alone diorama?

Yes I forgot that one Spitfire One major advantage of the Ewings system was that very tight curves could be used without any problems. Thanks LGB If you do a search for unusual locomotives on the internet you'll find all manner of amazing and peculiar prototypes I'm going to build a coach fairly soon ES. One problem I have is that I've only got two more of those wheels I'm using so I will have to find some more before I can put together a proper train of wagons for my loco to haul about. What's a Tri-rail tram way btw, - I haven't heard of those before. Update picture. The permanent way gang are hard at work.......discussing the best way to lay, 'these damn fool monorail tracks'. I'm sure they'll sort it out

Just a further note on laying track for my Ewings system loco. With the aid of a much bemused band of permanent way dept staff a few lengths of light grey 12volt rail without notches and an assortment of 2x something plates the conclusion was reached that 2x6 plates look best. The 2x3s that I was planning to use don't look very good at all and 2x4s aren't much better. I will take some more photos tomorrow, but I will leave you with this thought; - 12volt rails go twice as far when used as monorail track. That fact could end up making a serious Ewings monorail fan out of me and the planned short branchline could end up being the mainline!

Thanks Alaineke I had a lot of fun with this build and eventually this loco will have its own branchline and interchange siding to run about on. When I came to take the photos I had a look for some 2x3 plates in either tan or brown for making up a piece of display track, only I couldn't find where I'd put them. Most probably tomorrow when I'm not looking for them at all I'll find them

Being such a large diameter wheel it rolls over quite easily and as well as that I suspect that the rail is partly inset into the wheel track to minimise the bump.

Olivia is delighted because the special tank car for carrying water from Heart Lake in her home town has been delivered. The water from the lake has special properties and must be transported with care as folk who have never been exposed to this water before can suffer the effects of 'extreme friendship syndrome' should they come into contact with it without the appropriate protective clothing. The tank is suspended on special shock absorbing rubber mountings and supported by a cradle assembly that is designed to retain spillage should the tank start to leak while in transit. Special biohazard rated discharge valves are fitted at one end of the tank car to ensure the safety of railway staff during the unloading process. Even though the warning signs have yet to be sign written the tank car's bright colour scheme serves as a warning in the same way that certain insects have bright colouring to advertise to predators that they aren't nice to eat. Of course the problem with Heart Lake water is that it is too nice rather than being too nasty and for those who haven't grown up with it from a tender age the effects of exposure can be sudden and quite startling. 'Extreme Friendship Syndrome' is not a condition to be taken lightly and those who suffer from it will require special supervised care for the rest of their days to ensure they aren't shamelessly taken advantage of by the dishonest members of society.. Ok tell the truth Annie, - I found all these girls set bricks while digging about in my storage containers and I thought I'd have some fun. If I can find my sheets of decal paper I might even make some 'Heart Lake' stickers for it, though I haven't any ideas yet for a warning sign design.

I forgot to mention that this battery box takes 'AA' batteries and is of a size and shape that will fit into train MOCs without too much trouble. I have one fitted into a tender. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=2847c01

Yes the problem with the 8881 is trying to fit it into anything. I have one and I've yet to find a use for it.

It's actually surprisingly simple Spitfire