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Back when Bricklink allowed you to sell custom instructions, I bought some plans for a small 2-6-2 Prairie-type steam loco from @SavaTheAggie in January 2014. I devoured them, used the techniques shown to make me a better builder. Now, exactly ten years later, I've revisited the model: I built it in LDD, (with some stand-ins for BBB parts) then went to town making it into my style, and now it's done in the real world. You can see Sava's original MOC on his Flickr page here. I changed the boiler to be studs-up instead of SNOT, and removed the squeaky old tiny wheels from the model, and made space for XS Big Ben Bricks wheels instead. (this actually was easier than I thought it'd be!) I added a bigger headlight, and a different stack along with heavily revising the piston / side rod assembly. As for the tender, different wheels were added and a 'painted' box put on the sides. The engine is numbered 119 and lettered for BRS (Brick Railway Systems), my original LEGO railroad that I began when I was in late-stage elementary school nearly 20 years ago. (Man, how time flies!) I also gave it the original black-and-red paint scheme of my first train MOCs from the early 2010's, as a nod to my past. This loco was my third set of instructions I purchased from Sava back in the day, although I had never built this one until now. (I did build the 4-6-0 and Berkshire I bought in 2010 and 2012 respectively, but oddly not this one from 2014) The inside of the cab. Thoughts? (Updated with new 7 wide tender 1/29/24)

(Please note: I could not remember making a topic for this train. I looked through about 15 pages of train topics and couldn't find anything like this... sorry if I missed it or something.) This four car passenger train was inspired by LEGO sets 10015 (Passenger Wagon) and 79111. (Constitution Train chase) The color scheme is based upon the one seen in the movie "The Lone Ranger", although that film takes place in the 1870's and this train is from the 1910's. The locomotive is a 2-6-0 (two leading, six driving, and zero trailing wheels) steam locomotive. The piston design was taken from Benn Coifman and his instructions for adding pistons to set 79111's locomotive, while the tender was inspired by the one attached to Anthony Sava's 4-6-2 steam engine, with SNOT (Studs Not On Top) stripes from his 4-6-0 engine's tender. The rear of the engine features a ladder for access to the cab from the train along with a red tail lamp. The coaches were originally designed to look like set 10015, but the design evolved to it's current form through a combination of expensive parts shortages, guessing and inspiration. The rear of the train is supposed to have "BRS" (short for Brick Railway Systems) in black printed 1x1 tiles situated on the back railing. These letters also go on the sides of the tender, while the number 4613 go on the locomotive cab sides. The LDD file is here if anyone wants it: http://www.mocpages....1421791760m.lxf Here is the pictures of the train in real life: The locomotive is a 2-6-0 (two leading, six driving, and zero trailing wheels) steam locomotive. Engine number 4613 usually pulls the Emerald Express. Combination baggage and passenger car for the Emerald Express. Two identical passenger coaches for the Emerald Express. The observation car of the Emerald Express. The letters BRS stand for Brick Railway Systems, the owner of the train. Comments, questions, & complaints welcome!

These buildings were inspired color scheme - wise by set 7222 and the steam locos of the 12v era, which later became Brick Railways Systems main colors. This model was originally built by my father around 2005 / 2006 for an old-style MOC steam engine we built together based off set 7722. It was three tracks long and one track wide at first, but recently I reworked it to be five tracks long and two tracks wide, and with a completely new removable roof. This model can hold any of my steam engines (okay, maybe not the western one, as it is pretty tall), although it is probably too short in length for my diesel units. The rear of the shed. The building is 5 tracks long, which is 80 studs in length. The maximum side clearance is good enough for a 10 stud wide model while the trains can be no more than 11 bricks tall. The original model's roof is permanently attached, while the remake features one large removable section. My father built his original old grey water tower way back in the 1990's back when 9V was king. When he built my first LEGO train (it was a set 7722 inspired steamer, which gave me the idea for my red & black color scheme) in 2006, he built me the water tower to go with it. It wasn't until 2014 when I built myself a long-awaited coaling tower using inspiration from the website called LGauge (link: http://lgauge.com/ ) Anyway, these models are built to be sat the correct height for most official engines, such as the My Own Train series, along with all my custom engines such as my 4-8-2 "Mountain", 2-8-2 "Mikado", 2-6-0 "Mogul", 4-4-0 "American", and so on. The coaling tower features a movable chute to load the (imaginary) coal into the engine's coal bunker or separate tender. The Forgotten Daylight 4460 is a oil burner, so it does not use this particular tower. The girders on the rear of the coal tower are supposed to represent real-world idea of housing a bucket-conveyor system to load the bin inside the tower. Here, in LEGO, it is just for looks. The water tower features a movable spout to fill up the engine's tanks / tender. Here are the LDD files for the buildings so far: LDD file for the double track shed: shed with doors ldd file LDD file for both refueling towers: refueling towers file NOTE: This thread is a W-I-P: the shed parts have been ordered as of 2/3/16, but the switch tower is a ways off into the future. I should have the shed built by this time next week or the week after! EDIT 2/22/16: The shed is finished, while the switch tower is pushed back some.. it won't be built for a while. EDITED 1/14/17: As of January 2017 the shed now has opening engine doors which are colored to match the red stripe on the walls. They will be added to the real life model as soon as funds allow, but there is a sneak peek in the latest post! (The LDD file has been updated as well with the doors.)

This is for discussion of train storage systems (or lack thereof if you are unlucky). I'll start with my storage / transport solution: If anyone has wondered how I get my trains to and fro all over the place, here is my secret: cardboard paper boxes. Fourteen (14) of them from all different places and companies. I tried asking for the empty ones at the Office Max / Office Depot stores (They are all owned by the Staples company now, believe it or not!) but they can't sell or give them away due to some corporate policy. I had been getting them from my dad's work, and more recently, different offices I have been to / worked at. They are them cut-down by Xacto knife and hot glued back together with opening lid and section dividers, which allows for me to store trains a number of different combinations. Most of the passenger cars are 24 studs long, with 1 studs of overhang over each coupler. However, the Spirit of Legoredo is an older 28 stud long design, and most steam locos are longer than 30 studs. Nevertheless, I have maximized space whenever possible. Below you will see several variations on these boxes, and maybe they will help you with your train storage problems. Forgotten GS-6 Daylight 4-8-4 and Meramec river Runner passenger train Alco FA / FB (not shown) and Spirit of Legoredo passenger train Generic six car freight train (not shown - on display on my layout) Mikado 2-8-2 steam freight loco and EMD E-unit cab + booster units American 4-4-0 and early passenger train Now how do YOU store or transport your trains?!?

Here are my American -style trains, in real bricks (NOTE: lots of pictures!:) ENGINES 2-6-0 Mogul #4613: Built 2014 2-10-4 Texas #6297: Built (as 2-8-4 Berkshire #6221) 2012, finished 2014 FA (diesel A-unit) #7996: built 2013 FB (diesel B-unit) #7996: built 2013 GG1 electric: Built 2012 TRAIN CARS (PASSENGER) Legoredo Limited - streamline combine: built 2011 (yes, it's missing a magnet, but I fixed it after this shot!) Legoredo Limited - streamline coaches: built 2011 Legoredo Limited - streamline observation: built 2011 999 Limited - heavyweight combine: Built 2012, finished 2014 999 Limited - heavyweight coaches: Built 2012, finished 2014 999 Limited - heavyweight observation: Built 2012, finished 2014 TRAIN CARS (FREIGHT) Generic Boxcars: Built 2011 Depressed Center flatcar: Built 2014 Drop-side Gondola: Built 2013 Water Tanker: Built 2013 Rock hopper: Built 2013 Branch-line Caboose: Built 2014 I have more, but they are a mix of UK & US trains, plus I have my streetcars. I am getting 4 more passenger cars (they are dark green vintage ones for engine #4613), plus a 2-6-2 steamer engine for Christmas. Railroad Buildings will be posted here, but the non-train buildings will be posted in the Town forum sometime.

Background info:Brick Railway Systems (BRS) was constructed in the early 1870's from pieces of other roads. It began small, with only 120 miles of track laid as of 1873. (Note: Only 57 of those miles were actually constructed by BRS, not by the former component roads) By 1910, BRS had rose through the ranks of the other roads to become the top freight hauler in the country. However, In World War One, the railway was was run into the ground by government control via the Imperial Railroad Administration (IRA), which took over control of all railroads in 1914 and kept them until 1920. Upon return of the company to it's civilian owners, the railroad itself was in shambles The company responded by trimming the unnecessary trains that had been kept running during the war years even though they were practically useless. By 1928, the company had remade itself so much so that it had electrified most of it's main line between Glencoe, Ironwood, & Fort Legoredo. This cut back majorly on some of the costs of steam engine fuel and maintenance for the railroad. The benefit of this was not evident immediately, but later payed for itself when the Great Depression hit. By the the Second World War, BRS was even better off than had been projected in the depths of the depression The war traffic barely affected the system, as the 1920's upgrades had unexpectedly prepared the system for the surge in goods and soldiers. In the late 40's, while several other roads had started getting rid of their steam engines for diesels, BRS was resisting the flow by building more steam, and experimenting with more advanced designs such as duplexes, triplexes, & Garrett’s These efforts never payed off, but the they did give the BRS engineers valuable advice on what to do and what not to do with steam. Meanwhile, diesels were on the railroad from starting around 1936, but not in great numbers until the late '60's. 'The System' (as she is sometimes called) was doing fine at this time, while other roads were struggling. By the '70's, diesel fuel prices had put a stop to the diesel takeover, and optimism was high. This feeling continued right up until 1987. The main competitor, Federal Railways, had gone up for sale and Brick Railway Systems was getting a ring-side seat on what could happen if a road got out of hand. Before their eyes, the road was torn apart by lack of leadership, (not helped by the fact the Federal Railway / Brick Railway Systems merger was denied) lack of funds and working motive power. Then, in late 1992, the railway was finally gone, eaten up by hungry debtors and rival railroads alike. (some of it was eventually bought by BRS) The other half of the '90's & the early 2000's had Brick Railway Systems wondering if the same financial breakdown would happen to it. By 2010 the shock had worn off, and the optimism had returned, albeit with a little more caution.Present Locomotives:2-6-0 "Mogul" Steam locomotive Built in 1917 by Zephyr Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS for short), engine #4613 was one of a class of 44 locomotives numbered 4610 to 4654. They were the last class of BRS engines painted in dark green & black with gold highlights. They were also the first class to feature modern tenders with increased water & fuel storage capacity. These two traits created a oddity in the BRS loco department, as it was both old and new. They have all since been repainted except for 4613, which proudly still wears in “Green and Gold” as a testament to the first 50 years of the railroads existence. 2-6-2 "Prairie" steam locomotive Built in 1919 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS for short), engine 4754 was one of a class of 110 engines ranging from number 4749 4859. They were built at the time when the Imperial Railroad Administration was running BRS due to World War I. These engines proved themselves good freight haulers, but the a severe side-to-side swaying motion kept them from passenger service. They are all painted black with the usual red box on the tender 0-4-0 "Yard Switcher" steam locomotive Built in 1923 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS), engine #4990 was part of a 250 strong class of switchers made for the tight industrial & dockyard trackage of Brick Railway Systems. The class spread from number 4860 to 5110. They were painted in classic BRS black with a red stripe with a little red ring surrounding the funnel. 2-8-0 "Consolidation" steam locomotive Built in 1926 by Lima Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems, engine #5775 was the second to last engine in an order of 30 engines. The engines were numbered 5746 – 5776 and were painted in the traditional black and red paint scheme. This consists of a red box on the tender surrounding the letters BRS, which stand for Brick Railway Systems. 0-6-0 "Mixed Traffic" steam locomotive Built in 1929 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS), engine #5972 was supposed to be part of a 75-strong engine order, but the Great Depression startted, causing BRS to cancel the last eight engines, leaving 5972 the last of it's class. The type has been painted in standard black with a red stripe with a small ring of red around the funnel. 2-8-4 "Berkshire" steam locomotive Engines 7221 – 7235 were built in 1933 by Lima Locomotive Works for Brick Railway Systems. These fourteen 2-8-4 (2 leading, 8 drivers, and 4 trailing wheels) locomotives were intended for heavy freight service on the mountainous 'Southern Division' of Brick Railway Systems. (BRS) However, it was discovered that these engines could pull long passenger trains better than the usual locomotives assigned to that route. The engines were given control over crack express trains such as the '909 Limited'. (known for going 900 miles in 9 hours, at about 100 miles per hour) These engines performed wonderfully for over 25 years. However, the cost of running these fleet-footed engine became so great in the early 1970's that BRS seriously considered getting diesels to do the steam engines work. Thankfully, the oil embargo of 1974 put a stop to that by restricting diesel fuel consumption by just enough to put the steam engines in a more favorable position. Safe from the threat of a diesel takeover, the locomotives run like clockwork to this very day. 2-10-4 "Texas" steam locomotive These twenty four 2-10-4 (2 leading, 10 drivers, and 4 trailing wheels) locomotives numbered 6394 – 6418 were built in 1939 – 1940 by Lima locomotive Works. They were based off the very successful 2-8-4 Berkshire type Lima had sold to Brick Railway Systems (BRS) in 1933. One of these engines was 6398, which was painted in the BRS standard black with a red box on the tender and red stripe on the funnel. Number 6398 served well on the heavy freight duties it was designed for, though, as with the Berkshires, the engines proved equally adapt at handling the passenger trains as well as the heavy freights. GG-1 electric locomotive This GG-1 electric locomotive was built in 1943 by Altoona Works as unit 4939 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. When that railroad merged with New York Central in 1968, the ensuring legal nightmare concerned with the merger (& the subsequent bankruptcy of Penn Central) caused the engine to be "lost" in the paperwork. After being stored for 20 years in a shed on a branch line in New York, the engine was located by a local railroad club, and restored to working order. As the engine was owned by a defunct railroad, it was sold at auction by the club to Brick Railway Systems, who had bought 12 other GG-1's from Altoona in 1943. The engine was taken apart into 3 sections and shipped to Brick Railway. It started work in 1989, was repainted into the classic Brick Railway black / red color scheme, and was renumbered 8620, to better fit with the other GG-1 locomotives. FA (A Unit) & FB (B unit) diesel locomotives In 1947, Brick Railway Systems (BRS) bought seven PB-1 & seven PA-1 series locomotives from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). They were numbered 8666 - 8673. Both units carried the same numbers and were semi-permanently coupled. The fourteen engines were delivered to Brick Railway but were slightly modified when they arrived. They were then painted in a variant of the famous BRS black-with-red-stripe paint scheme and had the front coupler removed. The engines were used on the non - electrified sections of main line to pull many named trains that couldn't be pulled by steam. This started in 1948 and continued until 1963, when the whole main-line system of Brick Railway Systems was electrified. Regulated to freight traffic & branch line work, the engines worked until 1982 when the engines were finally pushed back to "reserve" status. As such, they are not run often, but are kept in operating condition to this very day MRS-1 (Military Road Switcher -1) diesel locomotive In the early 1950's the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) was considering what would happen to an enemy railroad if another European war broke out. If the native locomotives in said enemy country were destroyed or rendered inoperable (as they likely would have been) what would pull the US military trains on their soil? The answer was not easy, as many countries have different gauges, loading clearances and couplers. The USATC decided on specific set of guidelines for it's Military Road Switcher (MRS) and waited to see which companies would offer the best design. American Locomotive Company (ALCO) beat out Electro-Motive Division (EMD), and won the contact. Engine #8945 was built by ALCO in 1954 and stored until 1970, awaiting a European war that never came. It was sold, unused, to Brick Railway Systems in 1971. It was immediately put to work along with another MRS-1 unit (#8946) on slow freight trains, though #8945 did pull a passenger train in an emergency in 1988. The engine remains in operable condition to this day and has been painted in the Black & red paint scheme. SW-1500 switcher Built in 1966 by Electro-Motive Division for Brick Railway Systems, engine #6715 was the first engine in an order of 15 engines. The engines were numbered 6715 – 6730 and were painted in the traditional black and red paint scheme. This consists of a stripe near the bottom of the loco and letters on the cab sides which say BRS. RS-2 Road switcher This RS-2 road switcher was ordered from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in January 1949 for Brick Railway Systems (BRS). It was delivered in July 1949 with 19 others of its type, and was given the number 6505. (The other RS-2's are numbered 6500 - 6520) This type wears the famous “Black with red stripe” that most BRS engines wear. 4-4-0 "American" steam locomotive This 4-4-0 (also known as an American type) was built by Rodgers Locomotive & Machine Works for Brick Railway Systems (BRS) in 1876, and features a bright red-yellow-&-black paint scheme. Number 210 pulled passenger trains for 10 years before being reassigned to Freight duties in 1888. By 1900, the engine was worn out, and sent to a scrapper, who sold the engine to a museum for $100. Eventually, the museum was reorganized as the Imperial Rail Museum, where the engine rests today in non-operable condition. There were plans to get #210 in working order for the US Bicentennial in 1976, but nothing ever came of it, and the engine has remained cold and silent to this day. This is the oldest surviving BRS loco in existence. 2-6-2 "Prairie" steam locomotive This is locomotive #263, of the 2-6-2 Prairie type. This one was built by Sava Locomotives Incorporated in 1883 and was designed for slow freight trains. (It has smaller diameter wheels than faster passenger engines) It served until 1902, when the engine suffered a boiler explosion near Golden Gulch in Legoredo County. The engineer and fireman died in the explosion, but the engine was salvaged and repaired. Loco #263 was retired in 1925 when it was bought by a Hollywood film company for use in a Western movie. After filming ended, the engine was donated to the Imperial Rail Museum in the city of Legoredo, where it rests today in operable condition 2-6-0 "Mogul" steam locomotive The locomotive is engine #272, a 2-6-0 Mogul type. It was built by Zephyr Locomotive Works in 1885 and was a passenger engine, usually only in fast, named-train passenger service. (Thus the large driving wheels for greater speed) It was last used on the faster passenger trains in 1909, when it was painted in the new black & red paint scheme and sent into regular freight / local passenger service. It was supposed to have been scrapped in 1921, but was saved along with late 1800's passenger stock and a caboose. It was sent to the Imperial Rail Museum where it is stored in it's original dark green & black paint scheme. Engine #272 is operational, but is only steamed on special occasions. Present Rolling Stock:1930's streamline coaches These are not really based on any one prototype, but I was going for a Anthony Sava (Tequila Sunrise) meets Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Super Chief look. It looks more like a early 1930's consist to me, like something Pennsylvania Railroad would have done in brown or dark red. 1920's Heavyweight Passenger Cars Again, these are not really based on any one prototype, but I was going for a Anthony Sava (Polar Express coaches) look. It looks more like a early 1920's consist to me, though. 1950's Blue & White passenger consist I based this one off of two sources: the Wabash Frisco & Pacific Railroad (a 12 inch gauge ride-on steam line in Glencoe Missouri, near St. Louis) and the coaches formerly owned by the Museum of Transportation (also in St. Louis) before they were sold in 2012. Express passenger cars (2003-style) In reality, these cars are modeled after set 4511 (2003's High Speed Train) and the Carolina Train Builders passenger coach instructions available at the Railbricks website.-Express Coach (x3)-Cargo / Express Coach (x1)There is one part missing from this picture: http://www.bricklink...sp?P=44572pb005It is not in LDD as a decoration but the basic part is. 1950's Freight Cars In the real world, the modified tank cars are originally from set #7939, (Cargo Train), while the boxcars are from set #3677 (Red Cargo Train). The rock gondola was my own idea and the caboose is a mashed up Toy Story Caboose #7597 (Western Train Chase) and the vintage 10014 (Caboose) from 2001. Wide Vision / Bay Window Caboose I made this model about a year ago from instructions for an Bay Window caboose mixed with instructions for a Wide Vision caboose. I recently rediscovered the photo I posted to Flickr at that time and I wanted to make the model better. I removed some expensive parts (the red train base-plate, for one!) and replaced them with other, cheaper parts. 1920's Commuter Cars These cars consist of 1 baggage / mail car, while the other 3 cars are coaches 1910 Dark Green clerestory passenger train This wonderful train comes with one steam locomotive, one baggage car, two passenger coaches and one observation car. Comments & Critics welcome! I currently own (in real life) the PA / PB set, the 2-8-4, the 1920's heavyweight train, the GG-1, the streamline consist, some of the freight train, the 1920's commuter cars, and the 2-6-2 & the 2-6-0 Western trains.Most of these are modified versions of Anthony Sava's wonderful designs. He has a a Bricklink store from which I purchased everything but the two far left models. (Here is his store: http://www.bricklink...asp?p=AggieSava ) The LDD files or copies of the models I made from his instructions are NOT for sale... so please don't ask. The GG-1 was inspired by this builder from Brickshelf: http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=301802 The FA / FB models were inspired by Flickr user valgarise & his train called the "Invencible": http://www.flickr.co...ise/6238331351/ The SW-1500 is from LGauge, a LEGO train MOC site. (Link: http://www.lgauge.com/ ) The Alco RS-2 was inspired by memories of a diesel creation my Father & me made when I was 7. The LDD file for the GG-1: http://www.mocpages....1395173382m.lxf The LDD file for the RS-2 & SW-1500: http://www.mocpages....1395678142m.lxf The LDD file for the ALCO PA & PB units: http://www.mocpages....1395680308m.lxf The LDD file for the 0-6-0 steamer: http://www.mocpages....1398707791m.lxf The LDD file for the 0-4-0 switcher: http://www.mocpages....1398707178m.lxf The LDD file for the 2-6-0 Mogul steamer: http://www.mocpages....1401200779m.lxf The LDD file for Black & red 30's stream train: http://www.mocpages....1395862145m.lxf The LDD file for the brown 20's heavyweight cars: http://www.mocpages....1395861942m.lxf The LDD file for the white and blue 50's train: http://www.mocpages....1395862516m.lxf The LDD file for the modern white & green train: http://www.mocpages....1395860545m.lxf The LDD file for the Freight train: http://www.mocpages....1395860725m.lxf The LDD file for the Wide vision / bay window caboose http://www.mocpages....1395936808m.lxf The LDD file for the black and red commuter train: http://www.mocpages....1398787896m.lxf The LDD file for the 2-6-2 Prairie (black and red, large): http://www.mocpages....1406727379m.lxf The LDD file for VERSION 2 of the 2-6-2 Prairie (black and red, large): http://www.mocpages....1412537572m.lxf The LDD file for the 1910 Passenger train & Updated 2-6-0 Mogul: http://www.mocpages....1407852914m.lxf The LDD file for the 2-10-4 Texas steam locomotive: http://www.mocpages.com/user_images/80135/1413678781m.lxf

(Logo for Brick Railway Systems, or BRS for short. Railway rolling stock color scheme is black with a thin red base stripe) Background info on the Company: Brick Railway Systems (BRS) was constructed in the early 1870's from pieces of other roads. It began small, with only 120 miles of track laid as of 1873. (Note: Only 57 of those miles were actually constructed by BRS, not by the former component roads) By 1910, BRS had rose through the ranks of the other roads to become the top freight hauler in the country. However, In World War One, the railway was was run into the ground by government control via the Imperial Railroad Administration (IRA), which took over control of all railroads in 1914 and kept them until 1920. Upon return of the company to it's civilian owners, the railroad itself was in shambles The company responded by trimming the unnecessary trains that had been kept running during the war years even though they were practically useless. By 1928, the company had remade itself so much so that it had electrified most of it's main line between Glencoe, Ironwood, & Fort Legoredo. This cut back majorly on some of the costs of steam engine fuel and maintenance for the railroad. The benefit of this was not evident immediately, but later payed for itself when the Great Depression hit. By the the Second World War, BRS was even better off than had been projected in the depths of the depression The war traffic barely affected the system, as the 1920's upgrades had unexpectedly prepared the system for the surge in goods and soldiers. In the late 40's, while several other roads had started getting rid of their steam engines for diesels, BRS was resisting the flow by building more steam, and experimenting with more advanced designs such as duplexes, triplexes, & Garrett’s These efforts never payed off, but the they did give the BRS engineers valuable advice on what to do and what not to do with steam. Meanwhile, diesels were on the railroad from starting around 1936, but not in great numbers until the late '60's. 'The System' (as she is sometimes called) was doing fine at this time, while other roads were struggling. By the '70's, diesel fuel prices had put a stop to the diesel takeover, and optimism was high. This feeling continued right up until 1987. The main competitor, Federal Railways, had gone up for sale and Brick Railway Systems was getting a ring-side seat on what could happen if a road got out of hand. Before their eyes, the road was torn apart by lack of leadership, (not helped by the fact the Federal Railway / Brick Railway Systems merger was denied) lack of funds and working motive power. Then, in late 1992, the railway was finally gone, eaten up by hungry debtors and rival railroads alike. (some of it was eventually bought by BRS) The other half of the '90's & the early 2000's had Brick Railway Systems wondering if the same financial breakdown would happen to it. By 2010 the shock had worn off, and the optimism had returned, albeit with a little more caution. Background on the building: Built in 1977 - 77 after a tornado destroyed the vintage 1899 headquarters for Brick Railway Systems, this building has been modernized several times in it's long life. The first section or "Building A", as it's now known, is shown here and was finished in 1977. A copy was added in 1991 and another in 2010, forming the identical buildings B & C. The rear of the building. The first floor (top right) is the reception area, where visitors wait for the person whom them are visiting to come and get them. The second floor (bottom right) features an area of cube-less cubicles. In the 1970's, it was thought that an open floor plan would encourage free thinking and higher productivity. The idea never caught on outside of BRS, and has become a hallmark of the company. The third floor (bottom left) is the executive level. It contains a very large model railroad showing the humble beginnings of Brick Railway Systems back in 1869 through 1879, when the line ran from Glencoe to Barretts Station and on towards Washington, Missouri. Builder's notes: This model is based off of set 60047 (The 2014 Police Station) and has been modified to an extreme extent. The billboard is a modified and enlarged Grand Emporium sign, which is supposed to say the words BRICK RAILWAY SYSTEMS (in printed 1 x 1 tiles). The LDD file is avalible, and can be downloaded here: LDD file: http://www.mocpages.com/user_images/80135/1428872293m.lxf Comments, Questions, & complaints welcome!

This building is inspired by 2011 Harry Potter set 10217 (Diagon Alley), specifically the Borgin and Burkes shop that is technically not on Diagon Alley in the HP universe. (it is instead of a neighboring street where evil wizards / witches dwell) Here is the front of the building. The number "1887" goes on the four studs above the middle second floor windows using printed number tiles. That year was the year the building was built, by the way. The new rear half of the building features a back door and a couple windows. This model will serve as my fictional railroad's headquarters on my town, and as such has a miniature model railroad inside. (just for the heck of it) The building also features a tower, two story fireplace, and staircase to the upper floor. The lack of other interior furnishings is intentional, as I haven't been able to think of a single piece of early to mid 1900's furniture for the offices of the railway president and the accompanying secretary. The building has hinges to allow for it to open up to 90 degrees, but no further due to the wall ornaments being in the way. As usual, the building is locked together by a friction-less Technic pin to allow for easy opening and shutting. The original building from set 10217 has 14 dark green windows I need for a updated train (seen here: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=138020 ), so this building will be built sooner rather than later, probably next month, if possible. (I really don't know, as I'm juggling about five possible next-builds at the moment. All will be built eventually, but whatever's next I don't know for sure!) Comments, Questions, and Complaints are always welcome, plus the LDD file for the entire model is available here: http://www.moc-pages.com/user_images/80135/1471631763m.lxf Thanks for viewing! UPDATE 8/19/16: The buildings was an odd number of studs long, which was causing problems. I have since fixed that, and as such the LDD file and pictures have been updated.