zephyr1934

If you build "S" curves or other 'unsupported' geometries in real track they only work because the track flexes at every joint. So to deal with these in BlueBrick you just need to make an "expansion joint" where the track is correctly placed approaching the "expansion joint" on both sides but then a small gap or overlap to capture the micro flex from the real plastic.

Interesting endeavor and a handy tip to keep in mind (wrt the compressed air)

If you know you are going to get the locomotive (or you have it already), why not give it a try. It probably will not cost any more in shipping to order the locomotive now and the motor later. However, with all of the tecnic axle wheels on the locomotive, my hunch is that you'll need the L

Aw! It's so cute!

The prototype looks like it was built out of lego, with 1x1 round tiles on a roof of 1x3 curved slopes above a bunch of 1x2x2 windows and a flat base

That is an amazing layout, its as if it were a pure model railroad layout only realized in Lego (if that makes any sense). The locomotive is over the top. I never thought the Daylight could surmount such grades. Then all of the customization you've done is incredible. My favorite part is the pump for the smoke.

You mean like a battery engine? (grin) But seriously, I could totally see Lego going for that nudge and wink, "we've had battery engines for 60 years and the real trains are only now catching up to us." Briefly wandering off topic, Bricktracks curves are great, the production quality is indistinguishable from Lego and the range of radii is far superior... but any further discussion about BT should probably fall in a different thread, e.g., this one. Or if you are looking for general insights on third party track you can start a new thread and I am sure you will get a lot of insights.

Great work

A good looking build to begin with, and to think that you just built it out of parts on hand. Only 8 wheelsets though, you need to ask Santa for more

Could you show a better picture of the axle connector? Is the motor powerful enough for those little engines to pull 2 or 3 cars behind? That would open up whole new world of small trains if it did. So the controller has an IR receiver on it? Does it speak PF? Does it have any sort of discrete housing? What about the power supply?

Oh yeah, figure out the big picture before you start building this, it would totally suck to build it and then discover that you can't run trains on it because there is no room to set it up or have a minimum a bare bones return track to loop back to the start. Still, with all of the detail in these modules, it would be great if you were able to display them at shows, so joining a LUG would be great in that respect too. Of course building the modules for transport is a whole extra level of complexity. BTW, LUGBulk for 2021 has already started so if you want to participate to receive parts this spring or summer you should look into your local LUG anyway.

That is an incredible build! You've knocked it way out of the ballpark. The diagonal lines cutting through vertical lines are impressive on their own, but all of the curvature you've captured on the nose and the gentle sloping on the top of the sides is some amazing engineering. Do you have enough straight track to test it on without curves to see if the motors are powerful enough? If you haven't tried yet, you might also want to look into roller bearing wheels, they make a huge difference on heavy trains. I was able to convert my heaviest trains back to PF IR after going to roller bearing wheels.

Apparently Lifelites has been up to all sorts of goodness. @Electricsteam pointed out in a different thread that Lifelites also introduced an enticing little micro-motor. I've updated the topic name accordingly

Ah, okay, yes, that looks a lot more prototypical. I was not familiar with the original units. Though comparing your model to the original, did you try making the small side windows 3 plates tall instead of 2? You would have to drop to 5 windows instead of the 6 but the windows on the prototype look to be wider than they are tall. I think that is brand new, but that question probably belongs in a different thread. I'll add it to the ongoing thread on studly parts, probably best to move the discussion of the third party parts there.

Looking good!

Exactly this with the addition that if you like one of the older train stations, you should be able to replicate the whole construction using parts off of bricklink. Figure out substitutes for the hard to find (i.e., expensive) parts unless you really like those features. The instructions for just about every set that ever was are on line, if you have any problems finding the instructions for a particular set post back (probably in a new thread or the pinned Train Tech Help) and I'm sure someone here will point you to the current location.

You've invented the lego torture chamber! Is that what you do to your megabloks? Back on topic... Brilliant solution

I'm pretty sure these have nothing to do with what Lego might do in the future. I have no connections to Lifelites, but I think these have been in the works for a while due to dissatisfaction with the current magnets. There is a lot of demand for the old style magnets because a lot of builders do not want buffers, need stronger magnets, and/or do not like the newer sealed magnets.

I definitely agree, while some of us might want to discuss non-lego supplements, a thread on Lego Trains 2021 is not the place to do it. But it is kind of sad that Lego hasn't given us much to talk about beyond, "I wish Lego would ..."

Just omit the middle wheel for now. No one will notice when the train is running and they have to look very close to spot it when the train is stopped. Even many O-gauge locomotives use this trick. As for the speed, the simplest solution is to use train motors to replace the brick built trucks. It might not look as good, but it it is probably the simplest fix.

I heard rumors that these were coming and now they are here, Lifelites magnetic couplers. I have not tried them yet. They are a couple of $ cheaper than bricklink new, reportedly stronger than the normal magnets, and look to be available in quantity.

You've done some amazing work here! Possibly too good as it looks so natural many spectators will not realize how "unnatural" the form is for lego. You worked some real magic with this parts intensive scene.

Beautiful! Great little set

What about the couplers? Mimicking the current design or are they a throwback to the older design, or something completely different? Now that is interesting, if the battery box does not burst in to flames. Even when the clones replicated the look and feel of the PF lego train wheel sets they did not appear to get the needle bearing right. The new lego train wheels are definitely a step down from PF wheels, so I bet there is some hope to get the train moving with older lego train wheels. As point of reference, my 7 car train of 52 stud long superliner cars (or 9 units counting the engines) would move when it was on normal wheels but it wasn't happy about curves. It only had two train motors in it. A lot of us are curious about what compatible elements are out there that Lego is not offering us. There are clones of several discontinued elements in this set that I miss: the LiPo PF battery box (a very valuable component discontinued a few years ago and now the PF standard has just been retired, I have a lot of PF in my builds), the train weights that lego discontinued 15 years ago, the black bogie plates that lego discontinued several years ago. I'm not sure I would jump on clone products like this, but it is certainly of interest. There is another issue with Mould King, at least some folks report that they are also ripping off MOC designs from rebrickable.

What about this for above the doors