Duq

What they call 'a reliable source' ;-)

That's a great little model. Looks like the V60's Danish cousin. I like how you've managed to make it modular to make is easy to change the battery. Have you tried running it? I built a KoF that's using the same 9V battery but it doesn't last very long...

Apparently it's already being built: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail At only twice the cost per kilometer of similar projects in Europe it should connect LA to San Francisco by 2029...

Are you in the US of A? Here in Yurp trains are still gaining in popularity, partly thanks to increasing congestion.

This won't fit exactly but maybe you can use the technique and adapt it to your loco? 6-wide front windows by Duq, on Flickr

Send Gary Istok a pm; I'm not sure if he reads the train forum. He's an expert on old sets. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showuser=1550

And yet that's exactly what you've just done. You could have started a new thread about this particular part... So what is special about the 6152003 form of 6152? What other versions are there?

That whole theoretical piece about gaps and measurements is totally irrelevant. Yes, a 16 stud brick is longer than 16 1x1's in a row. Unless you put both on a baseplate in which case you get 15 tiny gaps between the 1x1's that make up the difference because the baseplate makes everything line up again. 1x1x3 bricks to reduce the effect of accumulated tolerances? Bollocks. The effect is too small to notice. And if it was noticeable then it would mean you couldn't use that 1x1x3 beside a wall made of regular bricks because the height would be uneven. Those bricks simply exist because it's cheaper to produce; fewer pieces, less plastic. And they look better than a stack of 1x1's that may not be nicely aligned. Anyway. Yes you can strengthen large mocs very effectively with Technic bricks and plates but 6 48x48 baseplates is BIG. Very BIG. It'll be heavy and difficult to handle. So if at all possible, go modular. My station is close to 3 32 baseplates long and even that is modular as is the platform it sits on. And both are reinforced with Technic.

But those kids have a big vote in what the parents spend the money on. I've made this point many time on this forum: AFOLs think they're very important to TLG because an AFOL spends more than a child. Problem is, for every AFOL there are 1000 children. Yes, the AFOL market is much bigger now than it was ten years ago but it will never overtake the childrens market. Aiming a train at both adults and children is not easy; it'll either be too simple for adults or too advanced for children. Exactly. And with most train projects on Ideas failing to reach 1000 votes, nevermind 10.000, and the disappointing sales of the Horizon Express we're not exactly sending the right signal to TLG. The cold hard truth about Lego trains by Duq, on Flickr In the 68 days since I posted that picture the featured projects have received an average 1.2 votes per project per day. At the current rate the turntable would reach 10k votes in August 2017. The Super Mega Steam Power Train Builder would reach the target in April 2023.

I guess I'm the only AFOL who couldn't care less about monorail...

Bubble-wrap is nice but it wouldn't have saved the building from the original post. You can't beat proper engineering. If you know you're going to transport a building then make sure there's some structural support inside. You either spend a bit of time setting up a building from transportable modules or you spend time rebuilding your MOC from the pile of rubble you find in the box... My trains are wrapped in cling film (I think 'mericans call it Saran wrap) for transport. That way any small bits that do come off don't go missing.

Ooh, the Bike Burner, from the bad old days of Technic...

I suspect this is not a Lego sticker. Lego tend to make their stickers close to the size of the part they are meant to be applied to. This sticker is obviously too short for the 1x3 piece it's on but it appears to be too long for a 1x2. That would of course leave 1xN slopes but I couldn't find anything there...

You could also see that as "there's no schedule for these trains". Pessimist? Me? Never. I'm a realist with experience.

A few tips: Don't get intimidated by the incredible builds you'll find on the internet. Maybe you'll get that good maybe you won't. The main thing is to enjoy yourself. Start small. Don't make your first house a castle, don't make your first train a steam engine. For a lot more information about trains there is of course the Train subforum: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showforum=122 For inspiration on trains and layouts try Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/groups/legotrains/ https://www.flickr.com/groups/1281622@N20/ Find your local LUG and join them. You're bound to meet a bunch of nice people and being a LUG member has its benefits. Oh, I almost forgot: welcome to a fun new hobby!

No, because it won't be in the shops until 2018. How long have you been into trains again? In 2001, 2002 and 2003 they released a large airplane so you could expect another one in 2004 but no, the next one came in 2006. Then there was a 6 year wait until the next one in 2012. Yes, there have been three Creator Expert trains and yes, they were released two years apart. That doesn't guarantee anything for future releases.

I don't have a permanent layout at home. My trains spend most of their time between events wrapped in cling film, stored in crates. In the next house I'm hoping to build a shelf around the Lego room for trains.

It helps to put the pictures in your post, makes it a bit easier to read. Ever noticed that arrow icon in the bottom right of a Flickr page? Click it, choose BBCode and Medium, 500 x nnn. Copy the link and paste it here: 7760 (10) by M_slug357, on Flickr The Brickshelf folder isn't public yet so I can't see your window solution. Why not put your LDD project on Flickr? Just take a screenshot and upload it, then you can put it into your post the same way as the photo.

You're right, it's entirely pointless but I love it!

Build them? Are you nuts? Those sets are MISB! Do you know how much the value drops when you open them?

I don't think there's a best way, there's no good or bad. It's all down to personal taste. While I'm a great admirer of Carls models, for my own stuff I'm with Tony; the challenge is to see what can be realised within the constraints of the Lego medium. I too make exceptions for key elements that Lego does not provide, such as Big Bens drivers, Other Bens rods and now ME Models' wider track curves.

Yup, Holgers BR080 is brilliant! On my todo-list... He's got pictures on Flickr too and is working on instructions: BR 80 PowerFunctions cable loom by holgermatthes, on Flickr This is my mini shunter: KoF front by Duq, on Flickr Full PF but using the old 9V battery box in red. It works but doesn't have a lot of power and doesn't last very long on a single battery. It's using this trick to save space: PF with old 9V by Duq, on Flickr I just didn't have anywhere to stack 2 PF connectors on top of eachother...

This doesn't make sense. You say you hear a squealing noise from the motor. That means it's getting power. You say when you turn the wheel on the remote a few times it does nothing. How did you get the train to turn on in the first place? A few things to check. Wheels. As mentioned above, make sure the wheels are not tight against the motor. Leave a millimeter space - just enough to get your fingernail between motor and wheel. Channel. Set remote and receiver to channel 1 (orange slider to the top). Batteries. Are all the batteries the right way around in the battery box? If you've built the train according to the instructions then the blue wheel (right hand one) should control the train. Turn the wheel to the right. The train should move. Turn the wheel further in the same direction. The train should move faster. Now turn the wheel the other way. The train should slow down. Keep turning. The train should stop and then move in the other direction. If your train doesn't do any or all of the above: change the channel on the remote and the receiver. See if this makes a difference. If it still doesn't work: open the train and change the motor wire to the other connector on the receiver. Now the left wheel on the remote should control the train. If changing the channel or swapping to the other connector fixes the issue or if the train still won't run properly then it's time to call customer service. If you have other Power Functions elements you can try to work out whether it's the remote or the receiver (does the remote work with another model? Does the train work with another remote?), otherwise they'll probably replace both. If all works well the train is fast enough (on fresh batteries) to fly off the track...

How does poor design make it a waste of money? A poorly designed set can still be a good parts pack...

I've a few of these, they used to belong to my dad: