Andy Glascott

That does work, but it adds extra wiring which then needs to be hidden etc.

Oh yes! I bought the same motor to power a MOC steam loco, and decided to put the motor in a separate coach/wagon rather than try and cram the motor and battery box into the tender. I ended up trying all sorts of combinations of long (28 to 32 stud) wagons with the motor and a bogie and to avoid the snagging issue have settled on putting the motor in one wagon with the battery box above it to help with traction and the IR sensor in another unit. I'm not impressed. I'm also a bit miffed as this has highlighted the uneven nature of my 9v track on my 3-level layout, and the PF motor isn't all that happy with the gradient changes, but that's my building fault..... Andy

Hands up who saw that one coming! Nope, I don't see many hands at all.... Much as I like it, given the narrow clearance I have on my layout if the wagons are 8 wide it might be tricky. I'd seriously look at buying a couple to double head them. Andy

I'm going to go totally the opposite way - I never really liked any of them and didn't buy a station I'm not a spoilsport, just that to me the platforms were never long enough to even get a basic 7740 (loco and 2 carriages) "in" the station completely. I don't see the point of a platform that's only long enough for one carriage. Sadly that philosophy now means I have platforms 160 studs long..... Andy (ready to take the stick!)

Hi Staalis, yes, and that was me. Here's the again. Why stop at two levels on a pizza display when you can have three? (I plan to re-film the layout now that it has been more or less finished, you can spot gaps in the video. Will post when I've done it.)The main reason for it is simply space. I like to run as many trains as possible at the same time, and on this can run 4: 2 x 12v on the bottom, passing in front of the station, 1 x 12v on the middle level (these two are connected by a ramp, rarely used) and 1 x 9v on top. As well as the 2 at the bottom which can either run in the same or opposite directions, trains inevitably pass over each other, so there is always something happening at the front of the layout. From above the layout looks like this and the three levels on their own are fairly simple: I've only used blue track in the diagrams to clarify which level is which! The drawback with this layout is that with two hills for tunnels and support, a large viaduct at the back and a very dominant station (minifigs can walk to every platform!), there isn't room for many buildings. Ironically for this thread title, the only building in it at the moment is based on the Pizza Parlour, 6350 Andy PS - It is all Lego, there are no wooden supports for the mountains.

Very occasionally a bit of cotton wool gets stuck, but it's only a tiny bit and usually it gets knocked away fairly quickly. As for a rail rubber, I don't think so. I have used a standard pencil eraser occasionally (I think it was another TLG recommendation a long time ago....) but it got very dirty very quickly so I've stuck with the cotton wool and meths.

Afternoon. I've been running 12v for about 25 years, though with gaps as I move house etc. I've only ever used Methylated Spirits to clean the track - put some on a cotton ball and rub that along the track and the motor contacts. I seem to remember it being recommended by TLG when I bought my 7740 all those years ago... It works brilliantly. I've also recently come up with a simple method of attaching a cotton ball to a basic wagon to run around the loops on my layout as it's very inaccessible. I'm off to take some pics of it and will post them in a few minutes. Andy I've just posted a basic selection of images on Brickshelf, hopefully the deeplinking works... The cleaning unit itself Underneath. The 1 x 8 plates are important, they help keep the cotton ball/cotton wool in place. The unit placed between two freight cars Once in a train like this the cleaner can be pushed or pulled by a loco with a motor, but I find it better to push it by hand as the cotton wool does cause derailments, particularly when going over points. I've got a long Lego "stick" for doing that made up of technic beams. The reason for using the cleaning unit... I simply can't get at the power rails at the back of my layout (more pics here) because my table is surrounded on three sides by walls of the room...

Hi Rob, and welcome to EB! I've had 12v motors for pushing 25 years and never once done any maintenance to them, though they did only have sporadic use for a few years. Mine have the same issue occasionally, taking a few minutes of pushing to get going. I put it down to dirt collecting on the conducting rials and/or pick-up shoes that wears off after a couple of minutes. I aim to run mine at least once a week for 10 minutes or so, and by doing that it generally eliminates the need to push etc at the beginning. There are others on here with far more wisdom and knowledge than I, so they may well offer other advice Andy

Just one word - WOW!

Great bridge, and I love the understatement... Andy

I just bruised my chin as my jaw hit the floor looking at this! It is simply amazing. The smoothness of the curves and the changes in elevation etc make this so much more than 2 ovals of track. Oh to have that much space..... Andy

I don't know the specifications, but if you are looking to use something instead of it, I use bell wire from my local electrical supplier. It comes in rolls of 5 to 10 metres, so can be cut to length. It saves me from linking lots of cables and using up plugs.

Basically, I build 6 wide, but.... This is a slightly out of date pic of my take on a 4-6-2 LMS loco, the Duchess of Sutherland. The boiler is 5 wide, the frame is 6 wide, the cab 7 wide, and at the pistons it's 8 wide. So is this a 6 wide, 7 wide or 8 wide model? In my view it's 6 wide, but others may differ.... The reason I go for 6 wide is to allow my 12v trains to pass each other on tracks running next to each other, which is one reason the wider Duchess was converted to 9v after the pic was taken and my layout developed.

I also don't get why Andy thinks the trains are "designed" to be 8 studs apart. There's no reason they couldn't be four or any arbitrary number, and if there is some valid reason, I don't see why it's only applied to 9V/PF. My comment was based on the gap between tracks when you add points/switches to a layout. With the 9v and PF tracks, the gap between tracks becomes 8 studs, whereas with the 12v system (I'm happy to admit being biased towards the 12v system) the points give you two tracks that are side by side. Here's a 9v/PF version and here's a 12v sample . Andy

I'm still running 12v, I've got 5 motors, and still think it's the best system yet (though I haven't tried either of the newer incarnations). I've also got 9v stuff, but would buy more 12v if I could. Raising the layout on a table doe make sense, I reckon I have about 80 ft (25 mtrs) of wiring to run my layout, but most of it is invisible. That said, in a loft space by raising the layout you lose building area. I mananged to persuade my wife to give me space in the spare room last time we moved rather than use the loft, and although it is smaller that I would have had up there, it's warmer and easier to get at. I can also fit the boxes under there when the spare room is pressed into service for guests....

It's one of the drawbacks of the 9v/PF era that the track is designed to be spaced 8 studs apart, very few railways have that distance between the different lines. To make this set 2 tracks wide, there would have to be 24 studs between the platforms, and that takes up a lot of space. There are bits of it I like, but I certainly won't be buying it. Apart from anything else, I like the platforms I build to be long enough for the full train, up to 160 studs....

Very impressive. I'm determined to have a crack at building one of the Irish GM Class 071/141/181 locos at some point, and this is a very good representation of it.

Then I end up on my side with my arm stretched inside the tunnel! Despite running trains to test clearances etc during the build, they still derail occasionally, and Murphy's Law of Lego Trains is that they always derail at the most difficult spot to reach! Andy

When I decided I was building on multiple levels, mountains with tunnels through them became essential, as did viaducts/bridges linking them. This pic shows the layout in progress with 7 portals easily visible. I thought about making the tunnels longer, but despite numerous test runs while building, can't guarantee the layout to be derailment proof, so access of some sort is possible to even the deepest corner... The viaduct at the back means I can access the points linking the two loops on the bottom, but because there is track running below it, I could only fit one support in along its length, so both mountains/tunnel sets needed to come around the corner to act as support for that as well. Equally, with the third level of track coming into play, the tops of the hills/mountains play a supporting role. The main one, here, is as planned, though the right hand side one went through quite a rebuild, coming forward and round the bend half way in the finished layout. (Compare the first pic of the layout part built with this one and see how it moved.) Otherwise I was going to end up with a lot of posts and pillars to hold the third track up. It's not massively realistic, but it works in the space I have.

Yeah, I agree about Irish trains. I grew up there, but with an eye on the more varied British system. Now living in the UK, I mix them up! Finding orange parts can be a bit pricey, and in 6-wide, the corners and angles on Irish locos can be very tricky. I've had a go though, and there are some other builders examples on this thread. Andy PS Voted High degree btw....

Time to register. I'm a 12v fan mainly, though I did get some 9v when it came out. I might get some PF stuff, it space and funds allow. Gallery here I currently have a corner of the spare room, so have crammed 7740, 7745, the Metroliner and 5 MOCs into a three level layout, along with a few rolling stock sets mixed into the trains. Andy

As requested. It's old footage, some of the locos have been updated since I shot it. Here's the link on Youtube. There's a video of the general layout and featuring a cab ride on all three levels.

I agree on the roof, sadly funds were limited by that stage so it was made from pieces I already had a lot of. Once the next viaduct is in place I'm aiming to replace it with something more subtle. At the moment I have no freight plans, there isn't really space. The freight train "just passes through" so to speak. Andy

My layout is confined to 8 feet by 4 in the spare room (guests have to use the room occasionally....), so to make the most of it I've crammed in 3 levels with therefore plenty of bridges/viaducts/hills/tunnels and 1 incline - the 2 12v levels are linked so trains can be swapped over. There are pics on Brickshelf here. (Some of the pics have just been uploaded for this post, so are awaiting moderation.) Getting the long grey viaduct/bridge at the back to stay solid with one main post was quite a challenge - there are multiple plates and technic bricks underneath, and the solid walls definitely helped. The station building plays it's part in supporting the top (9v) level, with "arms" being built into the building and extending to take the main running line. The siding is currently supported by a series of columns of 2x2 round bricks until I can buy the pieces to build that viaduct! Much of the rest of the top level is supported by the two mountains and tunnels at the ends of the layout, as is much of the second level. The incline is fairly solid, and was reinforced with a series of 1x8 plates running in between the track and conducting rails. Doesn't look much like ballast, but as there is another 12v line running right next to it, space on the inside was fairly limited, so all support is underneath and in the embankment. The points behind the incline connect the two loops on the bottom level, meaning any train on the bottom can get to the middle loop and vice versa. Hope these comments and images help others with their building. Andy