Duq

Apologies if there is an existing topic about this, I couldn't find one. Every now and then a number of topics get the red 'Unread post' icon. When I click the icon there appear to be no new posts in the topic. Is this a known issue? I'm reading the forum in Firefox on Windows XP.

Not an easy choice... Being a Yurpian I don't have much affinity with either of the prototypes. The Chief was the first of a new breed of Lego trains in terms of detailing and the use of SNOT. The BNSF fits better into the existing train series. It's easier to build for children and can be used for a wider range of trains. The colour scheme is a matter of taste but red/yellow/grey for me wins over orange/yellow/green. So... my vote goes to the Santa Fe.

It's been around a few years. Hopefully this means there'll be a new station with the new train series....

Thanks to everyone who voted for my tram! And congratulations of course to BMW, a well-deserved win.

There should be printed instructions for the Crocodile as far as I remember (which by the way is no switcher). LDD has an option to export to .ldr but it has problems. LDD 3 seems slightly better but there are still missing pieces and odd colours. A while ago I've cleaned up the export for model #5, James Mathis' eLoc. The .mpd can be found here. I'm working on doing instructions in LPub now.

Thanks Captain! I'm afraid it won't be at Legoworld. The problem with Zwolle is like they sing in that famous song: "It's a long way from Tipperary..." ;-)

I have indeed made a cad version. I'm putting the finishing touches to the instructions. Watch this space as they say ;-)

Slow? I've never been busier!

This should have been my category 2 entry for the Train Tech Contest but I didn't get it finished in time... I actually started working on this months ago for the second challenge on Flickr (the 2-4-0). That's also the reason my first steamer ended up being a BR70 which I think is a bit of an ugly duckling. The proportions just don't seem quite right. For a first steam engine I'm quite happy with it, even if it's not perfect. Unfortunately I didn't have room for a motor in that tiny boiler so it will need a motorised car behind it. My next steamer should have a PF motor though.

I've only one Emerald Night and it hasn't been recycled yet. I've a small selection of BBB wheels and I'm about to upload pictures of my first model that uses them. I think both have their pros and cons and for the moment I can't decide between them. I really like the real spokes on the small BBB wheels but I also really like the counterweights on the Lego drivers. Growing up near Germany (and with a dad collecting N-scale trains) means that for me steam engines have red wheels so I'm glad BBB makes red wheels. I can't say much about traction as I don't have a layout at home and I haven't run the E.N. or my own model on a show layout. As MrP noted above the BBB wheels are slightly thicker than one brick and I find that problem for two reasons. It means the driving gear has a slight offset so it won't line up with the cylinder. It also means the top of the wheel won't fit in a 1-stud wide slit. (let me know if this doesn't make sense and I'll do a picture to show what I mean)

Totally agree with Sava: start small! Get your hands on a train set to get some wheels and couplings. The 10183 Hobby Train is great but probably hard to find. Right now I'd get an Emerald Night (get two, chances are you'll want to keep one on the mantel piece ;-). Have a look at instructions. Again, the 10183 instructions are great if you can find them because of the diversity in building techniques. Problem is that they were only ever released as LDD files. I've converted James Mathis' eLoc to mpd, maybe there are others? For inspiration have a look at Railfan Europe for European trains.

Here's a picture on railfaneurope: Remember real life curves are nowhere near as tight as Lego ones...

Thanks guys! Initially these trains had red sliding doors but at their first revision these were replaced by a different type. These new doors had been bought in grey for their electric cousins of 'Plan V' and 'Plan T'. While in real life they only appeared for a short while in red with the grey doors (before being painted yellow) I thought this would make it a more interesting looking train. The train that's been restored for the national railway museum also has this colour scheme: [picture linked from Railfan Europe]

I've just uploaded some new pictures of an old MOC: the Red devil. This is a Dutch mdu that was built in the early 60's and remained in active service until 2003. An earlier diesel had the nickname 'Blue angel' so when these new trains appeared in their red livery they received the nickname Red devil. A few of these trains were sold to a railway company in Slovakia but have never been used. I built this train after my post train. The design of the front of these trains in real life is related but the models are very different. The post train was a 7-wide, this one is 8-wide. At 50+ length per carriage it's quite a beast...

Thanks Otters! I love the way different people pick different standout features; for some it's the pantograph, for some it's the sloped side or the skirts. The main thing for me was to get the face right...

Each to their own, but I'm missing the point here. For me the challenge in using Lego for a model railroad is in trying to get as close as possible to the real thing within the limitations of the available pieces. If I wanted to do exact scale modelling I would be using different materials. And yes, the typo in the over-sized sig kinda stands out...

I guess catanery is the overhead wire? If so I don't have one. I don't even have a layout at home to run it on... And no, it doesn't scream around corners like they're killing a pig ;-)

I had one in mind, then had a good look at some other entries but in the end I came back to my first pick. It's a real shame you can only vote for one entry and not give a 3-2-1 points vote...

When will the voting commence for the other categories?

Now now guys. That's not the old Train Tech spirit at all. As much as I like this entry, there are a number of other entries that stand a very fair chance. The other builders have put a lot of work into them, and we don't want to discount them just yet. Let's see what happens when we vote. Until then, let's focus our comments on the quality of this entry (what we like about it) vs. prizes or winning. Err... When I say "Let's hand over the prize and go home" I don't actually mean "skip the voting and give this guy the prize". What I mean is "Wow, this is awesome! No matter how good the other entries are (including my own) this one is a winner"...

Yup, let's just hand over the prize and all go home... As if the train wasn't brilliant enough the presentation delivers the knock-out punch.

Funny that. This being Eurobricks you'd expect the deadline to be in CET or maybe GMT...

;-)

Now that is one good-looking Croc! And all in brown... Seriously, can't find a fault with this engine, it's brilliant!

Thanks for all the compliments guys. To me opening doors wouldn't add anything to the model, but that's just what you want from a model. For me it's looks over functions with trains. I guess you're a fan of container trains? :-P