Cale

Good thoughts, thank you. While we at the museum last Thursday night the gentleman who does most of the electronics for the other layouts was there. We talked to him and he will be helping us out with installing the control system in our display. The system he's used for the other layouts is pretty slick. It can be adjusted for whatever voltage we need, it has soft start and soft stop, where it slowly ramps up the voltage from 0 to what ever running speed we want and then slowly backs down again to 0. It has built in timers, and he can set it up to run as many loops and accessories as we need. He can even work in a point to point trolley line type set up. Pretty much covering anything we might plan to do. It's really impressive. This will help immensely in prolonging motor life. e'll also be using our own truck designs on cars, with axle in brass tube, for the least amount of friction and wear. However we still expect to eventually wear our out motors. It's just a reality we have to face. Fortunately we do have a small stock of new motors available. Cale

We have discussed this as an option. Our main concern with this set up is reliability of the custom track pick up. The display will need to operate with minimal intervention from us so we would need a solution that will work reliably for weeks, and better yet months on end reliably. Going out to the museum on a daily or even weekly basis to maintain the train pick up is not a realistic option. Converting a dead 9v motor to pick up is maybe a more proven option. But we would need to source a supply of dead motors. Also there are other components in the train motors besides the actual electric motor that still wear such as the wheels, axles, springs, etc. These would eventually wear out as well so it's not a perfect fix. We would be interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with either of these options. Cale

Thank you very much for the information. I will be contacting them soon. Cale

Hello Our club, PennLUG, is working with the National Toy Train Museum, http://www.nttmuseum.org in Strasburg, Pennsylvania to install a new LEGO train themed display in the museum. In the past we've had a smaller display case at the museum that has proved very popular with visitors. Our club took over this display in 2013 from WamaLTC, and for several years prior to that we had worked with WamaLTC to help provide content for the display while in their care. We change and maintain the display annually to provide new content for returning visitors each year. Here are the past displays PennLUG has done. 2013 Display - https://flic.kr/s/aHsjEszyM3 2014 - https://flic.kr/s/aHsjYtqwo8 2015 - https://flic.kr/s/aHsk4Y5iD5 This year the museum has approached us about upgrading the display to a new, larger, and more prominent display. This I'm sure you will all feel is a wonderful opportunity to showcase LEGO trains, and the LEGO train hobby, in front of thousands of museum visitors each year. This new display will be much larger than the previous small case, the new display is 8ft x 12ft in size, and will have multiple levels for display purposes. On the main 8x12 display level we will be working to set up a full custom LEGO train layout similar to what we do with our own club layout at train shows, and LEGO conventions. This will be similar to several other displays in the museum showcasing layouts in various model train scales. Besides the main 8ft x 12ft display area, the display case will have several smaller display areas, and display shelves for us to use. We plan to use these to tell the history of LEGO trains, and the LEGO train Hobby, using vintage sets, catalogs, and other materials. This new display area will become a permanent feature of the museum, with PennLUG helping to maintain the display and refresh elements on a yearly basis, to keep visitors coming back to see what is new. The display case is still under construction and planing has just begun on this effort. We are planning to visit the museum this evening to see the new display area, and to start coming up with a plan for the main display area and the smaller displays. We are very excited to be working with the the National Toy Train Museum on this project and hope that it will help further promote the LEGO train hobby. However there are many challenges that will come with a project like this so we are turning to the greater LEGO community for any assistance they may provide. Probably our biggest challenge will be funding. As with the other train layouts in the museum this display falls largely on a group of volunteers to donate time and materials to create and maintain it. PennLUG will be assuming the responsibility for this new LEGO train display. We will need to acquire bricks to build the main display and other materials needed to create the smaller historical displays. Our club does have a small treasury and we are willing to donate funds and material from the club and from our individual members toward this display, however we would like pursue funding sources outside our group as to lessen the burden on us and to help provide the best display possible for museum visitors. So we would like to reach out to all of you in the community for ideas, advice, or experience in this matter. Our next problem is making the main display a functional train layout with, 1 to 2 loops of track with running trains, as well as other animated features, and lighting built into the models. Since this will be a permanent display it's not feasible to have the trains and other moving parts running continuously. So our plan is to have the layout set up for push button operation. Visitors will be able to push buttons on the display to start the trains running and other animated elements, they will run for a few moments and then come to a stop again until the next time the button is pushed. This will save significant wear on the 9v motors, hopefully prolonging their life. This system is used for many of the other displays in the museum, and we have even used our own take on this for another LEGO train display we set up every December, for the America on Wheels museum. So we have some experience with it, and we will be working with the museum to learn about and hopefully adapt their system to suit our needs, but we are also interested in hearing from those of you in the LEGO community who may have dealt with something like this before. We of course have many questions to answer in regards to creating a running display of this type. For the running trains on display to work, we will need to rely on power from the track, and use the older, out of production, 9v train motors. 9v motor longevity is a concern as they are expensive to obtain now and supply is limited. We hope that the push button system will help keep motor wear to a minimum and plan to construct the layout in a way that eases strain on the trains while running. We are interested in hearing from any one who has dealt with the issues of a long term running display before. What are the pitfalls, what can we do to get the most life from each motor, and what is the expectant life span of a 9v motor in this kind of situation? What can we do to maintain the motors, track, and other components? As stated earlier, for the smaller display areas in this new display we want to tell the history of LEGO trains, and also the story of the LEGO train fan community. So we are of course interested in any information, or resources that we can obtain for this. So if any one here has anything you may feel would be of value to this goal we would be most interested talking to you and appreciative of any help. Cale Leiphart PennLUG, the Pennsylvania LEGO Users Group http://pennlug.com

We used around 14,000 tan 1x2 plates in the roundhouse. Our best estimate on total parts is somewhere north of 100,000 parts total for the roundhouse, turntable and surrounding landscape. As for future projects, we have a couple of improvements we want to make to some of our current club layout sections before attempting a new forested corner. Beyond that we hope to add a large train station in the future. Cale

I've had the pleasure of seeing this model in person a few times and can say it is a wonderful locomotive. Nicely detailed and runs great. In my opinion this would make an excellent set. I encourage every one to support this project. Cale

Thank you. Cale

So far this year our club will have our big train layout set up, with the roundhouse, at Philly Brick Fest in April, Brickworld in June, and the Greenberg Train Shows in Harrisburg PA, and York, PA next October and January respectively. We may also do Brickfair Virginia in August but that one isn't a definite yet. Cale

We hear that a lot at shows. The SP Daylight that was parked on the turntable was from Anthony Sava. SP4449_05 by Tony Sava, on Flickr Thanks. The welder was must have for us. We wanted to portray this as more than just a pretty place to park engines. That it was a lively place where locomotives were maintained and repaired daily. Thanks. Getting the lighting right for the 1940's era we were building to was key for us. Cale

Thank you all for the kind words. I has been awesome sharing this with fellow train builders. Cale

The PennLUG Roundhouse and Locomotive Service Terminal ​A collaborative build by Cale Leiphart, Nate Brill, and Glenn Holland I haven't unveiled many finished models of late. I have been building though, I've been building big. 2014 was all about me finishing my Red Lion project. But 2015 brought an equally large and ambitious project. One I have have been dreaming of for years. Unlike Red Lion though this was no solo adventure. This was a collaborative build for my club, PennLUG. Specifically three of us train builders in the club, Nate Brill, Glenn Holland and myself. I present to you the PennLUG Roundhouse and Locomotive Service Terminal. This was a really fun build, and fills a big hole in our rail yard. It's not just a stunning backdrop to view our locomotives against, but is packed with little details that bring the whole area to life. Countless long hours, an untold amount of parts, and a lot of love has gone into this project. This has been a very special project for us. It's a tribute to our love of trains, and LEGO, as well as monument to our insanity. IMG_9846 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr IMG_9850 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr Oh yeah. We also lit the roundhouse up. IMG_9561 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr IMG_9751 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr It also has a full interior. IMG_9973 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr IMG_9980 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr With a few cool effects. MVI_9744_1 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr But wait, there's more. We have a full engine service terminal. IMG_9893 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr Also lighted. IMG_9564 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr It's taken me a while to upload photos of this. There were a lot of photos to go through and I get really picky over details so it took me some time to get just the right ones sorted out and edited. It was one of the most fun and challenging projects I've been a part of. I was a joy collaborating with my friends, fellow LEGO train builders and fellow club members, Nate Brill and Glenn Holland to create this part of our layout. IMG_9717 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr There are far too many details to capture here in the photos I've shown. I'll be working on photographing more in the future. I hope you enjoy seeing this project. And as always I'm happy to here your comments and answer any questions. The full gallery can be found here. PennLUG Roundhouse There are a lot of photos here in this set. With something this big there is a lot to cover and a lot of small details to capture. I hope you take the time to view them and get the full scope of this creation. Cale

Thank you every one. This project has been quite the labor of love. I had a lot of help from family, friends, and fellow PennLUG members to get here. And I've drawn a ton of inspiration from my fellow builders in the LEGO train community. I hope it serves as inspiration to other LEGO train fans about what can be accomplished in this hobby and how far you can take your fun. And really that is what matters, the enjoyment of LEGO trains. And despite a lot of challenges, overcoming the obstacles and building this layout was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had. I'm glad to see others enjoy it too. Cale

Welcome to Red Lion in the 1940's. My model of the Maryland & Pennsylvania RR's train station and surrounding operations in Red Lion, Pennsylvania in the 1940’s. My largest LEGO build to date and several years of work, and more parts and money than I want to count. A serious attempt to produce a true LEGO model railroad. Red Lion Station in LEGO 004 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr You see before you North Main St. and the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad's Red Lion train station. The large white building is the old Red Lion Hotel. The gray building is a duplex home and the red brick building beside it is Young's Store. Stretching out be hid the station is the Ma & Pa's small Red Lion rail yard faculties. Red Lion Station in LEGO 005 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr Here is the Ma&Pa's Red Lion station. The main focus of the layout. Your are looking toward the passenger platform at the front of the station with the main line passing in front. The freight rooms are to the rear, the freight dock visible to the right of the photo. This was the heart of the Ma&Pa's operations in town. Ma & Pa Red Lion Station 01 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr The real red Lion train station station. Full flickr gallery can be found here. https://www.flickr.c...57651100121668/ Photos from Red Lion. https://www.flickr.c...57650788396267/ So why choose this station, and this era to model? Well it started a few years ago when I was looking for a new project to build for our club’s train layouts. I decided I wanted to build a train station and since i’m very interested in my home town history I started looking at all the train stations that populated York county for the right one. Red Lion stood out to me for many reasons. It combined both passenger and freight operations so there was plenty of opportunity for variety in modeling. It’s also a simpler station architecturally. This allowed me to also model the interior as I didn’t have to waste space inside on complex structure for exterior details. And it was a Maryland & Pennsylvania RR station. A local railroad for which I’m very fond of. And I chose the 1940’s era since it gives me the greatest range of options when modeling Ma & Pa trains. Steam, my favorite subject, was still heavily in use on the Ma&Pa but diesel locomotives were starting to appear as well. Passenger operations were still going strong and freight was as always very plentiful for the RR in the town. It also was a chance for me to concentrate my modeling on bringing to life a single area from a particular era in a fully relized train layout. Something not common in the world of LEGO trains. I hope you enjoy. Cale

For those fans of trains and aerospace engineering. Variable Density Tunnel by NASA on The Commons, on Flickr Cale

I wasn't thrilled with the new passenger train either at first. However I started warming up to it after spending some time with it on another clubs layout late last summer. I'm with you on the big molded nose, I liked the brick built nose of the previous train better, but its pretty well done. I think you could probably come up with a few simple modifications to make the whole train really nice. And of coarse LEGO's passenger trains always look to short to me. So why not buy two and make a proper length high speed passenger train. I probably will. Cale

My trains have had encounters of the feline kind as well. Blooper04 by Cale Leiphart, on Flickr Cale

I'm happy to here of the good performance so far. Looking forward to getting my hands on the new rails. I already have plans of how PennLUG can integrate them into our layout. Cale

I've never had a problem with ME in the past. Considering I backed for one of the larger packages, 2 full loops of each radius and each size of straight (no metal track though), I'm not surprised it may take a little longer to fill mine. I know my order will ship eventually. It's just a matter of time. No need to bother Mike and Eric yet. Cale

You're not alone. I know I will get my rails eventually. But the wait is killer. I want to start playing with them. Cale

I agree on the windows. To get the look right window frames are worth the extra investment. The car will look so much better for it. Windows aside however this is really nice model with some good attention to detail. It definitely captures the unique look of the prototype. And now I'm going to put on my OCD train geek hat to pass on some Pennsylvania RR history. There was no P54 class on the Pennsylvania RR. The official PRR designation for the "locomotive hauled" cars was MP54, but the PRR used "mP54" and "mp54" variations in official paperwork as well. All MP54 class cars were initially constructed as unpowered locomotive hauled coaches for suburban commuter operations, however the Pennsy anticipated converting many of these cars into self-propelled MU (Multiple Unit) cars as they electrified more of their routes so the cars all carried the M designation (for MU) even if they were never converted. As non powered MP54 coaches were converted into MU electrically powered cars these coaches were given an "E" suffix at the end of their class designation to denote conversion to MU status thus becoming MP54E. Did the T1's ever haul MP54 coaches? Generally no. However you can never say never and as they say in model railroading "There is a prototype for everything". The T1's like many PRR locomotives could on occasion turn up in some pretty weird assignments, I haven't seen photos but there are stories of T1's even turning up on freight trains. Usually such odd occurrences happened as locomotives were coming out of the shop after major repairs, the engine could be assigned to any available train so that it could be given a test run before heading back out to it's normal assignment. In regular service though the T1's wouldn't have pulled MP54 cars as they were ill suited to the short, suburban commuter runs that the MP54 cars were assigned to. The T1's would have been assigned to the PRR's big name trains like the Broadway Limited and the Red Arrow early in their careers. Later in the T1's short life they often found themselves assigned to express and mail trains as diesels took over on the premier passenger trains. Cale

I honestly had my doubts but I'm glad I was wrong. ME reached their funding goal with hours to spare. This is a very good thing. I consider it not just support for new rails but as support for the whole LEGO train community. More options can lead to a more active and growing hobby. Maybe this will open the doors to more projects like this being developed in the future. New 9v motors, track power pick ups, new switches automation, what will some one develop next? Cale

Only 24 hours left and the total stands at $63,547. The time to jump in on this is now. We may actually have a legitimate chance of reaching the $79,000 goal. It would suck to come this close and not make it. Cale

Quite a jump since yesterday. Now up to $35,389. Hope this surge continues. Cale

Almost $22,000 now. Cale