BMW

Proportions aside, you have managed to really capture some of the characteristic details. Part of the fascination with Japanese commuter rail systems is how incredible dense the traffic is. I'd love to see this moc in a crowded station platform with lots of minifigs. Oh and include the catenary too. The bright colors and asymmetrical front are characteristics of Japanese trains you have captured well. I also seem to recall lots of bright, animated LED sign boards. You are skilled with decals so maybe add something like that too?

I'm familiar with this style on UK roads. Delightful details and striking color. The brake step in particular catches my eye. Would it be prototypical to show a minifig pulling up a corner of the tarp inspecting the wheat inside? - BMW

The suspension is nice but I can't stop looking at the pantograph. Do you have catanery to go with it? If so I'd love to see. The inverted skis are just sweet. I read how they replaced the physical bells with electronics. Sad. They have done this at grade crossing gates over here and it just doesn''t have the same "ring." - BMW

The train in the official submitted contest picture does indeed use 100% pure Lego elements for compliance to the contest rules. The monopods you refer to were replaced with "Bar 1L with Clip Mechanical Claw" elements. However, the expanded set of photos on Flickr uses the monopods as that version is for posterity. Please note that this difference regarding the monopods is clearly stated at the bottom of both the offical contest entry post and the Flickr picture's comments. - Brian Williams

The rules do permit details and cylinders to overhang so long as the basic construction is 8studs. - BMW

ENTERED Ride the Pancho Villa Train and join the Mexican Revolution ! Action, adventure, and spectacle! Join general Pancho Villa and his band of Mexican revolutionaries as they mount a bold attack by rail on the fortified city of El Ciudad Guerrero . This scene was brought to life by the imagination of George Lucas in 1992 for the premiere episode of the “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” television series. Young Indy rides with Pancho Villa’s gang alongside a hijacked train as they push a flatcar loaded with dynamite into the city’s defensive wall. Will they succeed in this brazen attack? Find out by watching the “Adventures of Young Indiana Jones” episode “Spring Break Adventure” available on DVD at your local library today! The full Pancho Villa Train photoset on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_william...57622367315865/ Far from the polished equipment of mainline US railroads; this train is a grimy, weathered hand-me-down rusting in the Mexican desert. Construction highlights include: - Working valve gear (although purists will note that only half the phases are supported and technically I modeled slide gear rather than the prototype’s Walschaerts) - Ray gun suction cup for the lok bell - Handcuffs for the lok leaf springs - SSRS (Single Stud Radial SNOT) boiler (from my Circus Train http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_william...57614731023767/ ) - FAUX tender trucks - 3wide lok domes using BBB wheels - Headlamp and firebox sparks animated using Rob Hendrix elite Jr ( http://www.lifelites.com/products/74 ) - The tender ladder whips (from Carl Greatrix Evening Star) Note that the cheese slopes used for the journals are attached using custom clear stickers which wrap from the top, around the back of the technic plate, to the bottom. Also, I’m indebted to Will at Brickarms (www.brickarms.com) for all the period weapons (which are technically part of the passengers and not the train proper). Having said this, the official submitted contest pics below do have minor part differences from the flickr set to comply strictly with the contest rules. Specifically, the Brickarms monopods used for the lok railing supports and stock car ladders have been substituted or removed.

Wow. What a great concept. The water tower reminds me of the fantasyland water tower in Disney World. Looks like something straight out of a Mel Brooks movie. - BMW

You have picked a darling prototype and really captured the colors and proportions of the prototype. The construction and supporting details are also outstanding. I like the drumhead. - BMW

In Arnold Schwarzenegger's best accent: "THE BRIDGE IS OOOOUUUT !" AKA the True Lies line in reference to a Florida Keys bridge to which this MOC bears some resemblance. - BMW

Beautiful entry. I'd love to see it running. FYI... German dining service cars were often a different color. I believe the dark red is prototypical. - BMW

I like the colors. How much does this car weigh? - BMW

Yes, he certainly has an impressive array of Mindstorms controlled accessories. But I don't see any evidence that he uses MS for actual power control of the trains. Is it burried down on one of the pages? - BMW

Background scenery should not distract from the foreground models. Partly for this reason Lego historically has used a variety of art and illustration techniques for the backgrounds for idea books and cataloges. Painting cardboard clusters of trees works. I've also found success cutting thin sheets of colored foam commonly available at craft stores. These integrated nicely with and extend the Scala foam scenery system for backgrounds. If you like the train idea book look then go this route. Another model railroad item that I can highly recommend is Woodland Scenics Readygrass Vinyl Mats (http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/items.cfm/ReadyGrass) Unlike previous products, these mats don't shed and are used widely for temporary train layouts and wargaming miniature battlefields. - BMW

Several people have used Mindstorms to control 9v trains. Myself, John Gerlach of GMLTC, and Benn Coifman to name three. The upshot is that it isn't practical but I'll try to summarize My experience - In 2001 I wired a mindstorm 1.0 to control a 9v point to point shuttle mechanism. The logic worked fine but I had problems with speed control. Since MS power levels use pulsed with modulation instead of discrete voltage levels like the 9v system, the motors respond differently. My trains would just sit an hum at low power levels until they got to a certain level and would then lurch forward at too fast a speed. I never fully understood this since, in theory, electric motors have higher torque with pulsed power than constant voltage. I attributed it to the choice of power levels (% duty cycle) the MS design team made. My workaround was to wire a MS motor w/ rotation sensor (for indexing) to an arm that drove a regular TechII power pack. Kinda complex, and a major non-lego part, but it worked. Gerlach/GMLTC - Shortly after my experience John wired an MS unit to control a roundhouse turntable. Very clever in that it placed a lok onto the bridge, then rotated to the next open stall, moved the lok into that stall, and then repeated the operation over and over. I recall him saying the logic worked well but he encountered a similar issue as myself with loks "shooting" on and off the turntable bridge. Not sure if he ever worked past this. Benn Coifman - At Brickworld this year Benn demonstrated the most impressive MS train control I've seen to date. It automatically controlled two trains simultaneously, switching them on and off sidings, and I think I recall seeing it even decouple and shunt individual cars. The trains operated at decent speeds too. I think he said he achieved this by pulsing the power in software (which I interprited as looping power on/off quickly.... effectively pulsing pulsed power at a lower frequency). He believed this would eventually burn out the motors and didn't plan to run much past the show. I didn't have time to followup with Benn on this yet so ping him if you are inclined as this would be the place to start. Today you could use Mindstorms to directly control the power functions variable speed control through BT so consider that too. Either with the receive on multiple loks (for independent operation) or wired into the 9V track (for unmodified loks). - BMW

Panda - I am a big user of 12v motors... but I power these usually through a 9v train motor in the tender which has had it's actual motor removed allowing it to simply supply power. So I use 9v track and pwer supplies. Since you run actual 12v extensively a couple questions for you: A) Do you find the 12v track oxidizes more rapidly than 9v? I had heard about this from someone who was very pleased when the 9v system was first introduced as he claims that during the summer when it was humid, his old 12v tracks would quickly oxidize making the trains run poorly for some time until the track became clean. He claimed the 9v system was a big improvement in this regard. B) I have purchased old 12v train motors where the bronze contacts have worn down badly. Can you quantify the lifespan of these? Again, I run on 9v track so my bushings are taped back and never used... but it would be nice to know how long these would last. - BMW

Hooray for building on angles!!! That rubish bin looks remarkably like an old Decauville dump car ;-) - BMW

Crocks are always so much fun to watch run... the clean efficiency of electric with siderods. What I like best about this model are the snotted grey boat slides representing gears, and the use of revolvers to get the tapered ends of the pantographs. Do you have a closeup of the pantograph? - BMW

Alternately use 1x4 or longer technic plates (http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4263) as the center row with additional plates above to secure. This will provide the hole for a standard bogie plate. I've used this for 9 wide which is sightly easier as this permits 4x wide plates to flank it. For 7x wide probably best to flank with rows of 1x plates and then 2x plates on the outside. This will let you secure across using 5x wide liftarms and still leave a row of studs on the outside to attach the walls. - BMW

I like how you included the 1x tiles along the roof ends. It covers the roof slope jaggies and carries the accent color. - BMW

Cale - Nice tea kettle. Funny thing but I didn't notice this was one of the Russian decapods at Brickworld this Summer. Another one of these from the same order eventually wound up at the Illinois Railway Museum as its #1630. I modelled this for a show NILTC did at IRM years ago. I'll have to dig it out and bring it to BW next year so that we can double head them. I'm certain that yours runs better but it would be nice to see them together. - BMW

Hello everyone ! My apologies for posting late but I experienced problems registering in August. Thanks to Mark Larson for helping me get in ! I'm really encouraged to see the new Train Tech forum. As one of those builders who spends countless hours working through design problems, I appreciate the value of having a focused area where builders can share solutions as a community. I became fascinated with LEGO 12v trains at a Chicago LEGO promotion in 1978. This led to a lifelong interest in railroads and 26 years experience building scale HO, Z and military models. In 1994 I came out of my 'dark ages' and built "The Royal Train" Lego train layout which was featured in Railbricks Issue#4. In 2001 I became a founding member of the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club. The last couple years I've been focusing almost exclusively on my Indiana Jones models , partly because of the wealth of period trains featured in the movies and TV series (my Circus Train is featured in Railbricks Issue #6. Why Lego Trains? Well, personally its a great blend of art and engineering. There is great satisfaction when you take a bunch of little blocks and suddenly discover just the right combination to make them look like something real... or fit together in just the right way. But I also like exhibiting at model railroad shows and getting kids/families interested in railroading too. - BMW