Ashi Valkoinen

Actually, the six tracks seem to be not enough anymore, a seventh track is under construction...

Fortunately @Vilhelm22's Instagram comment reminded me to post the photo of full assembly here, so there it is: IMG_8025_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr One step closer to complete the layout I dreamt about since 2010. This is my LEGO train station, an average Hungarian mainline station somewhere in the suburbs of the capital, Budapest. This is not the replica of an existing station, but a station built in the mood of Hungarian renovated mainline station and a LEGO-creation, which supports my needs when it comes to play with my trains. The station has six long tracks, each one has a platform and a storage yard (not shown on image, bottom left corner) and a branchline track is attached to the double track mainline. I have this station for a long time by now, but since December of 2023 I replaced all TLC's R40 points and curves to FX Bricks R104 switches and curves for better and more aesthetic operation - and all of the switches are now motorised and controlled by the software I created to manage the train routes and corresponding signals at my layout.

So, on the 23th of December, 2023. this topic became 14 years old, and as time is going on, finally I'm getting closer to the dream I kept dreaming of since I started the LEGO Train hobby. Some years ago I started a new topic called "Waiting for 9V R104 switch - a case study of station geometry" about the developement of my LEGO train station with 9V R104 turnouts, as @michaelgale and his team made FX Tracks P40 switches available for everyone to buy, I started the last big rebuild of my LEGO train station. My goal was always a nicely renovated, Hungarian mainline station, with useful track connections and keeping it available for drivers who arrived with track powered trains. I drive no more 9V trains at all, but for me it was an important issue to grant backward compatibility to those, who owned many train at the times I started this hobby. And since no 9V switches were to buy until last autumn, my station had always genuie LEGO tracks, the R40 points (note: LEGO R40 refers to 40 studs radius, FX P40 refers to 40 studs length of the straight direction, but FX P40s' radius is close to R104). The first photo shows the current, final layout of my station, inclusing two (left and right) switching yards. The upper layout is the new one, the bottom one is the last version of R40, which also featured some prototype FX P40 switches and one TrixBrix R104R on the left switching yard. MLVK_RaabDonat_ACTUAL_FUTURE_2024-01-30_v2 by Donát Raáb, on Flickr The last month was busy at my workplace and at home with the train station, I started the rebuild process on the 31st of December, ignoring some Happy New Year parties I was invited. :) I finished with the renovated modules on the 30th of January, so it took one month to complete. I started with the "right" switching yard for first - the following photo shows the part close to the platforms. The building wasn't easy, since I needed to leave space for cables leading to the motors switching the points and enlighting the signals, and everything should kept modular so I can fit the whole 11 meters long stuff and the train to a single car I'm using to participate events. wip_01_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr And this is the "right" switching yard in full length - 8 motorised switches, which make connection between the two tracks mainline and the branch line connecting at my station to the main loop. wip_02_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr Left part of the "left" switching yard - this yard features 10 points and it is quite larger - I had no space to build it all together, but in two major parts. This following photo shows the easier part - switches' straight directions are paralel with stud grid so easier to motorise. wip_08_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr And this is the hard to build part of the "left" switching yard - the two switches placed in an angle compared to stud grid needed a big table to put together for ballasting. For this part I rented a place from a friend, because I have neither the tables not the space (and patience from girlfriend) here at home to house this. wip_05_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr And for the six tracks, the platform modules, starting with track 1 & 2: wip_07_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr track 3 & 4 (two, 72 studs long ÖBB cars for size reference): wip_03_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr and track 5 & 6: wip_06_sm by Donát Raáb, on Flickr And next Friday I'll see if I planned well, because there will be an event in Hungary and I can see, how all the modules fit to each other I've built last month! All of the switches are now motorised and included in the software I created in SBrick Pro to make a fully working signalling and train detection for my station, it will be so easy now that we don't need to take care of switching the points to the right direction but the software will do it also making sure, no trains can collide if drivers play according to the appearing signal aspects!

Finally I made a single R104 turnout using FX P40left switch and two pieces of FX R104 track. As peviously told, the incorrect alignment for this setup is so small, that the full R104 turnout can work and it is not necessary to use the tight R64P return curves. Of course, the track joints are little stressed, as they are not fully connected, but since tracks built in Holger-curves survived over a decade, I don't think it may damage the joints on long term. 20240204_115858 by Donát Raáb, on Flickr

I'll share it soon as I'm progressing with the building of my station. There is a topik linked in my signature which I use to share all my MOCs, I'll post it there mid-February, based on the experiences collected at the event held 10th-11th of February.

I motorised the switches back in 2023 at Bausipebahn Treffen - I designed the motorisation without having any switches, just the photos of them and Michael lend me 4 switches for the show. Ties' wonderful video shows them at work, too: https://youtu.be/ih4UUo-5cOE?si=G_w3Y_btvb5-joaT&t=456

I would like to add my 50 cents to this conversation, too. I got yesterday part of my order, including two pairs of switches (I ordered a really big batch and to four different adresses to avoid the hungarian post completely losing the order) and I inspected the tiebar on my switches, too. Unfortunately I got them from the latest batch, which have the wrong tiebar. I found it really pleasing, that a dozen hours after the problem was revealed, @michaelgale (and his team) wrote a tutorial, how to inspect your switches and made a refund/repair process to let people know what will be next. As many products we use daily in our lives, when we discover a minor issue, we just go on and don't even expect the manufacturer simply taking care of it. So for me it was really nice feel to read the post "We are sorry", because this team has respect for the costumers. The other part of the story is how we can access the tiebar itself and how we can pull the moving parts apart. This tiebar issue also highlighted that the P40s are a good products for the customers - we can disassemle, repair, rework (with 3D printers at home?) and inspect the product, and I'm pretty sure that later we can order replacement parts for our switches, too. If you loose a switching rail, the pin breaks off, a tiebar spring break off, later these can be replaced instead of buying a full new switch. There is also space for FX's first 3rd party manufacturers - a tiebar with stronger/weaker springs, ballast plates, etc, may be available in the future. So this issue (however it is issue for both the manufacturer and the customer) also has shown us how problems like this shoud be discussed.

That was a long time before planning and building. Do you consider to revise you old plans according to better parts available by now?

I totally forgot about my second Stadler KISS unit - after finishing the Stadler Citylink for Stadler Trains Hungary I started to build and deliver the static KISS unit for the company. I mage minor changes on Stadler's unit - and later, when I was building the interior lights to my KISS I applied the changes to my unit, too.

Thanks, already forwarded your comment to her. :) There was a double track loop this time. Point-to-point traffic is the best I prefer, but turning around the trains requires some time, and the visitors - mostly the kids - may get quickly bored with realistic frequency of trains. So the last year we turned for the double track mainline, which forms a big oval, hosting two mainline stations (mine with the signalling and Máté Dömel's one), and there is always a single track branch line with two or three additional station, splitting from the mainline at my part or Máté's part. The branch line is a nice place forthe point-to-point and shunting traffic, and the mainline has a nice capacity to feature trains for the visitors. We are also thinking about leaving the big oval and use return loops at the "end" of the mainline, like traditional model railroaders - this option might giving a better use of space at different locations where we are used to display our layout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q27JYEC3Po This video shows most of our trains and the parts of the layout as well. :)

Hello to all of you reading my topic, For today I brought some pictures from our latest event held in a small town in Hungary. Honestly, this is the best part of the LEGO-year, the last show of each year where the locals are always waiting for our train layout. This year I managed to take some photos of my train layout and gathered all my trains except the swiss Traverso and some old and not so good cars for a photo. And the locals... our show was scheduled to open at 10 a.m., but the major wrote accidentally 9 a.m. to his facebook, so this photo was taken half an hour before we were officially open. We started the trains and let the kids enjoy them. In front of us my good old Stadler FLIRTs passing by, the middle part owned by Máté Dömel and his father, András Dömel, right side is mine and the branchline belongs to András Pécsi and Donát Szüts, all from Hungary. These are my GySEV/ROeEE coloured EMUs - finally I can have them on the same photo. From left to right - Siemens Desiro ML "Ventus", Stadler FLIRT and Stadler FLIRT3. And my latest project fully finished - I was really unhappy having my Stadler KISS EMU without interior lights for three years. On the other hand, anyone who built a double decker train before could know that it is not that easy to squeeze any electronics to both decks aesthetically. Yes, I used the original Power Function ledlights to do so. I put all the connectors under the stairs of each car, the power from the cars with drivers' cab are provided through DC-conducting magnets, so lights lit up when the cars are connected with the magnets. Night time at the event location - after everyone left we switched the lights off. Only my poor Stadler CityLink tramtrain has no lights - it will be a hard task to equip her with lights, too. Another side, featuring my freshly rebuilt, modular main street of my village. The lights are unfortunately non-LEGO, but simple 3 mm diameter traditional light bulbs, but the sidewalk of each road baseplate hides a 36 stud long original 9V cable - the neighbouring baseplates are connected with the lamps, which have 2×4 electric plates on the bottom. The wires of the lamps are connected to the top of these 2×4 electric plates - but instead of soldering and modifying the expensive LEGO-parts, I fixed the wire ends on them with 1×2 electric plates. So they are easy to dismantle and be repaired, but it provides also a quick install of the street with working lights. LEGO did a great job with the 9V-system, in any aspect... Closer image of my modular electrified street. What makes this LEGO train hobby better, if your girlfriend also decides to participate in your hobby. She built this small lake into my R104 9V ballasted corner and it helps a lot not to have only tracks and trains! The alpine cabin fits this scene really well, she bought that LEGO set for herself, now that cabin is an accepted guest on our MOC layout. :) She helps me also a lot with the details - installing my working signals, trains and the station takes 10-12 hours for me at each event. While I'm setting all the railway thingies up, she helps me with the details and flora - at this event my branchline connection wasn't used at all so she made it abandoned. And this is her own MOC train - a small maintence vehicle with two small cars. The workers on the real life train cut and collect wood which could endanger the trains next to tracks. ...and a small scene done by her - the Spectre figure from the Minifigure Series 14. enlighten by a single SBrick ledlight. I had one free port of the 24 given at each SBrick Light Hubs there, so next to the shunting signal she used the remaining slot to add this detail - the kids loved it!

According to FX Bricks Instagram story, first batches of P40 products arrived to US/Canads/Germany and they started fulfilling preorders in the order of they received the preorders.

Some FX P40 switches in action in the wonderful BSBT 2023 video from Ties: https://youtu.be/ih4UUo-5cOE?si=DE-TTwguFyAoWdNN&t=456

No, it is not a problem. I guess all the people who preordered these switches are waiting for them by years, some people for more than a decade. Now I think it is better to get a nice product with on more month delay. Just imagine, getting your switches yesterday and something is not working perfectly in it!

@Vilhelm22, when did you visit Hungary? Are you planning to return in some time again? Thank you for all of your nice comments. For me, it seems, building new trains is a little over, at leas, I hope, no Hungary-related railway operator will by Stadler units in the following two years. :) This article picked my interest tho, after selling my Railjet train in the first months of pandemic I would be really happy to have a train with this colour pattern again - a Stadler KISS unit in dark red!

I am really happy to present a new MOC train to you again. The Siemens Desiro ML train was bugging me for a while, I found LDD-attempts on my computer from 2018, too, when my electric motor unit fleet was way too tall. I got stuck with the curvy front of the Desiro ML unit - the GySEV/ROeEE version has a biiig yellow front, curved in two directions. The big corner slope piece worked nicely on my fictional "Velo" train I designed only in LDD, but unfortunately this piece and it's relatives doesn't exist in yellow. This year I made an another, finally succesful attempt, when an idea came to my mind while playing with rigid 3 mm tubes used on my IC+ cars. The other useful piece for this was the 1×2 inverted curved slope - if I remember correctly, they weren't available back in 2018, especially in yellow. This was the test piece for the front cone: When I built this I realised I can do this and completed the design mostly in LDD, including this front. However I knew due to the forces induced by a curved, stress tube it will be surely different in real, the LDD-design worked in most of the train. This is the entire train in my garden after first fully assembly. As usual, it has front-tail lights and indoor lights, using - of course - LEGO power function led lights. The train is driven with two of PF train motors, lights and motors are controlled via SBrick (which is sadly currently out of prouction). For the lights to work I cutted some light transmitting cables for the desired length: Since this EMU doesn't have shared bogies and I didn't want any wobbly cables on the roof which look ugly on R40 curves (on these curves normal 4-axle car ends can be really far away from each other), I used an experimental magnet coupler here. I bought some 10 mm diameter, DC conductive magnets from China, and cut PF-cable were soldered on their outputs. Except the magnet and the halved cable all structure is pure LEGO, including putting the 10 mm diameter custom magnet into old fashioned LEGO magnet holder. The old magnet holder can turn on plate 1×2 with bar - with 6 mm long horizontal part. This is an old part design, the longer horizontal bar allows enough space for the cable and magnet holder to turn. The new part design with 5 mm long horizontal part doesn't work here, So the power for indoor lights and other ends front-tail lights are connected throught the bogies. It allows also quick putting together of the full train. Since this technique worked nicely, I plan to update my Stadler KISS with these to finally add interior lights to that train, too. Some further images: Front view. I think, it is quite remarkable! The front once again with roof details. The completed train. A photo taken right after it was completed. Note the "Ventus" pattern - it is brick built. Honestly, it should be done with a sticker since the letters can't be proportionally higher than 3 plates, but firstly, I hate stickers, secondly, I wanted to include it with brickbuilt pattern. So, bigger, but we are still playing LEGO-bricks here. :)

And a creation I totally forgot to post here - my second Stadler Citylink tramtrain unit built on the request of Stadler Trains Hungary Ltd. Fortunately - similarly to their previous orders - they requested a stationary modell, so for the bogies and joints it wasn't necessary to make them turning - resulted in easier build and cleaner surfaces. Stadler delivered 123 FLIRT units, 40 KISS units and 12 Citylink units for the Hungarian Rail Operator MÁV-Start, and Stadler Trains Hungary (who is responsible for maintence and train body manufacturing in Hungary) ordered LEGO-replicas from me of each different trains. Currently I am working on the KISS unit which will be delivered for them next month.

I think you can share the same thoughts about your MOC what you have written in my topic previously. Before spending too much money on bricks for the MÁV-Start version, I advice you to step back and think, what you really want to build, what are your future plans. Your Eurobrick account says you are from the USA, so it is little suprising you started with a European FLIRT train (okay, German trains are well-known) and then you switched to an Eastern European train, like the Hungarian FLIRT. It is okay, I mean, it is cool if people build our trains, but give some thoughts to your project. 1. Why are you building trains? Seems an obvious question, but worth a shot. For your own fun? To run it at home? To participate later shows? 2. Do you plan to build another one? You need just this one train to your LEGO City, or you build more? You build a region (Germany, Hungary, Europe), or you build mixed, all trains you like, and do you plan run them mixed on your layout? If you have nearby an LTC (LEGO Train Club) to meet up in person, or attend their shows, I'm pretty sure that adults of those groups can give you more advice to go on. Keep building, you have nice start, and between two BL-orders think about the points above. It will be worthy! :)

Replying to @Duq about the R64P elements. Basically I needed 17 switches, but no R64P curves at all. It would be really unhappy for me to buy 18 switches and 18 R64P curves, what I would never use. And since R104 is becoming some new standard in scaled lego model railroading I guess many of us will never insert the sharp R64P into layout and will use the non-perfect but working P40 + 2x R104 curve solution to come paralel. (Since divergent route is 22,62 degrees instead of 22,5, there will be a little stress on the R104 curves but they would surely work.) Maybe you need a box of R104 for your siding (4 pieces you need), so you may spare a box of R64P and the special straights. However P40 switches haven't arrived, I was wondering if the developement and tooling for a crossover version could be the next step using all the experience you got from the P40s. I mean, only the end of diverging route and the middle crossing part (which is electrically a hard part) must be designed, while the switching mechanism and jumper under the P40 switch base can be used with no modification at all. :)

UPDATE: Items are available for pre-order again at FX website.

About the price tag and the people's need for these switches: All NEW elements sold out in pre-order in one day (my local time is + 6 hours compared to EST). In Europe JB-Spielwaren already sold 50-60 boxes of 1L+1R, 120-140 boxes of 2L; 2R boxes, in total approx. 300 boxes. In one single day.

JB-Spielwaren preorder active: https://www.jb-spielwaren.de/suchergebnis/?query=Fx tracks 170 EUR/pair in Europe, each box contains two switches. 2 right, 2 left and 1-1 in each bix. R64P alignment special curves sold separetely (80 EUR for 8 pieces). S1.6 and S3.2 alignment straights sold separetely (90 EUR for 10-10 pieces). As far as I have seen, touched and used in my layout the prototype switches at BSBT2022, I find this price totally fair. Not cheap - I know, but this is something I waited 15 years for. I'm sure quality will be superb as by previous products. Three long months waiting for my order, will be an eternity. :)

For first, I guess you need to open a new topik for your creation, because you posted into mine. It is no problem for me, but you can get more attention and help, if you have your own. Navigate here and click the brown "Start new topic" button on the right: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/forum/122-lego-train-tech/ Giving a single image won't be enough, tell us something about your creation. How long it is, how did you plan it (virtually or just starting with real bricks at home), etc. For me it seems you are quite young and you built your FLIRT train from whatever bricks you found at home. Your build is a good start, but surely you can do better if you can order some additional LEGO-bricks to build every part with right colours. For the doors (they are 4 studs wide) I recommend to use SNOT (studs not on top) technique to get more detail, like this door (just buidt it taller).

S32 straights, injection molded, 2,3 EUR/piece at TrixBrix S32 9V straights, injection molded + 9V ability, 9,375 EUR/piece at JB-Spielwaren. Costs four times more compared to injection molded product currently. And since FX S32 gets out of stock quite quickly when a new batch arrives, I guess, them same will happen to P40 switches, even for the estimated price written above.

Wow, thank you! :) Fortunately I have good communication with the two Hungarian raiwlay companies (MÁV and GySEV), and also participated with my LEGO-trains on some of their events. And it is not even an unique power - I summon @Sérgio to give us some fresh photos of his portugese trains! :)