zephyr1934

This loco is looking really nice, good job!

Brilliant work!

A great build of an odd prototype

I just have to say that this looks insanely cool...

Wow, that is fascinating to see and very relevant for this forum. And their "Duplo" line of trains used to be compatible with wooden railways (looks like they bumped them down to younger ages now). I like the fact that lego tracks integrate with lego, but the flexibility of an existing gauge (and compatibility) is also a treat. I don't find myself moved with this set though. It looks like it, but they might turn out to be huge for L-guage, but they could be great for building in G-gauge. Here's the instruction sheet, looks like you can get the size from step 30. Does not look like it is motorized though. It has gears between the drivers presumably to avoid any need for quartering. WOW! The engine is 6 wide, that will be a hoot to see going down an HO track. I've been looking for something like that for some time, I'd like to get my 4 wide trains on HO track. Looking through the complementary sets, they even have a disco car. On one of the set pages it mentions that they include bricks from BanBao. Another page mentions that the lights come from LIGHT STAX

Of course (grin) A great build, the wood siding is excellent.

Indeed, this is sad news. Sorry to hear of this outcome. Given all of the hard work you put in, perhaps down the line you could go the route of SWR locomotive works and sell PDF's of your existing instructions on line or via Bricklink. It is unfortunate to lose any source of good designs for the hobby.

I don't know, the super chief had that same windsheld (well, the fixed glass version of it). Should be easy enough to MOD in to a BN F-unit

Great work!

Your call, it is always nice to see "in process" photos, but it is also neat to just be floored by a beautiful build straight out of the gate.

A thing of beauty! (though here too the video links did not work for me) The proportions and details all look to be spot on.

Well, former ambassador really, it has been at least 5 years. I believe I did lobby for a 3 in 1 train set, and I made lots of arguments for trains. That's where I heard of Lego's concern to keep the number of SKU's down. I would think what is the problem with having a collection of slow moving sets that only sell from S@H, but presumably they have run the numbers and figured out the necessary return per sq ft of shelf space in the warehouse. I also argued for Lego to include train parts in other sets, which they subsequently did, but I have no idea if my input had anything to do with that decision (they never really told us what they liked or did not like, in some ways we were a big focus group). One of the biggest problems with trains is the fact that they vary so much from one continent to another, e.g., what sense did the Super Chief make in Europe or the Horizon Express in the US? I liked and bought both, but for random person off the street why would you buy a train that does not look like any trains in your country? If you dig through the EB threads I think I've argued several times that a 3 in 1 set could overcome this big problem, have a US loco, and European loco, and maybe a generic car that someone anywhere in the world might want a dozen of (yes, there are other countries than those found in Europe and America, but many other countries have designs from one of these two sources... and of course next round, pick a design from another region, these are just hypothetical examples).

That is really cool! I did not read all of the comments, so skip this one if it has already been answered, but if not, does the software have the ability to simultaneously turn on both ports on a hub in opposite directions so that a engine can have two motors facing in opposite directions?

Looking good. The interior of the caboose is my favorite bit. As for the coach windows, to my eye they are missing the sashes that were typical of wood sided cars. Did you consider using a 1x2x2 clear panel, topped with a 1x2 (or 1xn) brown plate, topped by a 1x2 clear brick? If so, the 1x1 spacers between windows would likely look best. Otherwise, with the 1x2x3 windows I prefer the narrow spacing (no 1x1 bricks)

That is an excellent build. I like how you got the continuous curve on the cab (only one of many eye catching detailed bits throughout). What is the power, an XL motor or two in the tender?

These are looking real good

That passenger car is really packing them in, great work (though I'd hate to ride on this train, grin)

The tankers are great, and the small elevator in the background might be deserving of its own thread.

YA fantastic virtual MOC

Sadly that was not the case at the launch of the online PAB, it launched concurrently with the hobby train. Since all of the parts were readily available and no one had any need to part out all the red bricks in the set, the set sold dismally. Sigh.

I meant just the bottom of the PUP box, even if there is one or two rows of studs missing at the top that would still allow for the use of smaller tiles.

Very nice little locomotive and I would have thought British from the looks of it (so you did a good job with those details). From an operational standpoint, presumably the pilot and trailing axles are fixed to the frame. This long wheelbase will likely cause troubles in R40 curves and normal switches.

Excellent! Maybe we can start a new O-gauge thread and give those monorail and duplo threads a little friendly competition (both of which are way cool... but my wallet starts growling at me if I spend too much time looking at the monorail posts). Just need a good solution to the technic axle trucks and it could work on a larger scale (as per my earlier comments, roller bearings could be just the trick)

STOP THIS MADNESS, you are knocking out beautiful locomotives faster than I can read the posts!!! That said, looking good (great use of the crowbar)

Five or so years ago when I was an active lego ambassador, they did mention a concern about not having too many SKU's, which is why the number of sets was limited. Never made complete sense to me if they had limited runs of DTC (now Creator Expert) that they would sell on-line only and could just sell a small run until it sold out, but that is likely do to their logistics being less than perfect (I hear tails that their logistics in the warehouses still is not cutting edge, but those may be second hand rumors). If/when lego gets to the point where they can warehouse a small batch item and have a robot retrieve it in three years we might see a flood of cool sets for smaller market niches. I think that is part of what the Ideas project is about, learning what might sell in smaller quantities. In any event, if you can't keep the shelves stocked with the massively produced sets, it makes sense to not worry too much about the niches. Lego isn't foolish either, I'm sure part of the reason why trains are alive is because they know AFOL's will part the sets out for the train components and then the $100-$1000+ train layout becomes the foreground for an even more expensive city/town/whathaveyou The 12v era was a dream, but looking back at the sets from the 1990's, those were a nice selection of 2-3 sets per year (including several trains without track) In fact the last of the 9v era were all single item sets BNSF, high speed locomotive (presumably the latter to turn the half high speed train from the previous year in to a full train), and the matching high speed passenger car (for those wanting a longer train) in 2004. Then the double stack in 2005, and the holiday train (without track) in 2006. As for the selection of track, that is kind of dumb. I had also heard that the mold for the 9v track did both straight and curves, and that lego never understood that they should make more straight than they did curved track. Sigh.