Brick Town Talk Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) My Flexible Track arrived this morning. The track can also flex up and down as well as side to side which would be ideal for a roller coaster. Edited July 20, 2009 by TheBrickster Quote
Skipper 24 Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Due to the tracks flexibility we should be able to make hills and dips in train layouts right? Nice mini review . Quote
DaCheese Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 I got a box with the Emerald Night Collection and was impressed by the length supplied, but it's a bit noisy and the engine rocks about on it at speed. I'll use what I've got, but won't be buying more. Quote
Brickimad Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 I got a box with the Emerald Night Collection and was impressed by the length supplied, but it's a bit noisy and the engine rocks about on it at speed. I'll use what I've got, but won't be buying more. To tell you the truth, I'm not impressed with the new flexible track, looks wierd, not scale at all and am not sure it its compatable with the 9v/rc tracks. Also people say it's noisy and unstable at speed. I won't be bothering with it. My new Emerald Night runs on 9V track. Quote
ACCURATEin Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 Will the flex track be available in the Lego stores? Quote
DaCheese Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 In the catalogue it says "Hard to find", so I think that's online, Lego brand retail and some other places. Quote
MetroiD Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Yeah, I checked out your review @ Brick Town Talk. Thanks for posting that! Obviously, the flexible track is really a nice addition and not just an ugly unrealistic unballastalbe new part, as some train fans have called it. I shudder at the thought of the G-force horrors minifigs will have to endure after the introduction of these... (think rollercoaster tycoon ) P.S.: I just noticed that these new rails' size also makes them PERFECT for tramway layouts... I guess I should really consider investing in some of those. Edited April 25, 2009 by TheOtters Quote
CP5670 Posted April 25, 2009 Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) The flexible track is a great addition to the usual tracks. It should get around the one limitation I've always seen in the train system, the inability to make ramps and spread out the track layout in all 3 dimensions without using a ton of space (this is actually why I preferred monorails over trains many years ago). At the same time though, it's no replacement for the existing track. If used exclusively, it would indeed look ugly and unstable. Edited April 25, 2009 by CP5670 Quote
Brickimad Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 The flexible track is a great addition to the usual tracks. It should get around the one limitation I've always seen in the train system, the inability to make ramps and spread out the track layout in all 3 dimensions without using a ton of space (this is actually why I preferred monorails over trains many years ago). At the same time though, it's no replacement for the existing track. If used exclusively, it would indeed look ugly and unstable. Looking at the flexible tracks, I absolutely hate it! Apart from the asthetics, not very stable. Sort of going into Duplo area - making it easier. Give me the 12v and 9v track anyday. Quote
CP5670 Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 Looking at the flexible tracks, I absolutely hate it! Apart from the asthetics, not very stable. Sort of going into Duplo area - making it easier. Give me the 12v and 9v track anyday. Well, as I said, the issue is not with the flexible track itself, but how you use it in a layout. An entire layout made of flexible track would look terrible, but using it only for ramps is ideal. You cannot make proper 3D layouts with traditional track without filling up an entire room. Quote
dhaas06 Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 Well, as I said, the issue is not with the flexible track itself, but how you use it in a layout. An entire layout made of flexible track would look terrible, but using it only for ramps is ideal. You cannot make proper 3D layouts with traditional track without filling up an entire room. I don't understand what you mean by proper 3D layouts when it comes to traditional, full-scale trains. Regular track never has steep grades, except maybe for the hump in a rail yard used for assembling trains. In mountainous terrain, for example, changes in altitude are not solved with ramps but rather large spirals to gradually increase height. Quote
yetihunter Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 The only thing I might have a problem is the radius of turns I'll make and the grades of the hills for my longer trains can make it up. Quote
CP5670 Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 (edited) I don't understand what you mean by proper 3D layouts when it comes to traditional, full-scale trains. Regular track never has steep grades, except maybe for the hump in a rail yard used for assembling trains. In mountainous terrain, for example, changes in altitude are not solved with ramps but rather large spirals to gradually increase height. That depends on what exactly you are trying to build, a realistic train layout or something more futuristic or Space oriented (or maybe an elevated light rail setup). I'm just saying that the monorail system allowed you to do this easily and let you create very nice and intricate 3D layouts (this is a simple but neat example), and that these flexible tracks should let you do the same thing. Actually, the 9V/RC tracks don't "officially" support elevation changes at all, and any MOC implementations of ramps with them rely on the slack between the connections. I believe the old 12V tracks had small notches on them that were meant to let you create ramps over long distances. Edited April 26, 2009 by CP5670 Quote
VBBN Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 Due to the tracks flexibility we should be able to make hills and dips in train layouts right? Nice mini review . Well, It depends on what kind of hill we are talking about here. Seeing as it is unstable, I don't think I would make it a hill as steep as the track will go, or all those emergency services may come in handy. Nice review, I might get some just for display with my Holiday Train. Quote
Asuka Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 A very nice and pretty cool new device. San Francisco, here we come... Quote
Brickthus Posted April 26, 2009 Posted April 26, 2009 A very nice and pretty cool new device. San Francisco, here we come... San Francisco might be modelled with hill tracks from the Indy Mine Chase! According to model railway books, tracks on a model railway should not exceed a slope of 1 in 30. Very few places on real railways exceed this slope, but one in the UK is the Mersey rail tunnel between Birkenhead and Liverpool, which is 1 in 25. The well-known Lickey incline is only 1 in 37 but used to need a banking engine for most goods trains. Steeper tracks are for a rack railway or roller-coaster. The track on my layout are 1 in 30, which is 1 plate height for every 12 studs long. I put opposite slopes alongside each other in orde rto do a looped-eight layout. The front track is 1 in 30 down to the right, the 2nd track becomes flat in the middle and the 3rd and 4th tracks slope at 1 in 30 down to the left (red train). The 5th track becomes flat again (crane) and the 6th-9th tracks slope to the right again. It takes quite a long track for trains to swap places vertically! Mark Quote
Asuka Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 San Francisco might be modelled with hill tracks from the Indy Mine Chase! I´m not sure if those would allow the same amount of flexibility... Ah... Lisboa... Quote
green dewback Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 Looking forward to see more rollercoaster MOC. Quote
Brickthus Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 Looking forward to see more rollercoaster MOC. Have you seen the one on my YouTube? (link below) It's made with Bulldozer tracks. I wonder if anyone will be able to make a barrel roll track with 8867 tracks? Mark Quote
green dewback Posted April 27, 2009 Posted April 27, 2009 Yes Mark, I seen it on youtube weeks ago while I was bored and searched the keyword "lego coaster". Its so big that it looks like a train locomotive climbing rollercoaster rails. Very unique idea of twisting the tracks. Quote
Cardinal Brick Posted April 28, 2009 Posted April 28, 2009 It looks interesting and I’ll probably pick some of it up, I do agree with the general consensus that an entire layout wouldn’t look great but I can certainly see its uses. Quote
Cavannus Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 For those who haven't tested these flexible tracks, you should . Quote
Section8 Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks for that video, Cavannus. They are definitely louder. How easily do they bend? I can envision them shifting over time as a result of the momentum of the engine when entering the curves if the track is on a smooth surface and the train is run for a long time. Quote
Captain Zuloo Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 It's a damn shame that these don't come in 9v. I wonder if trains would have enough momentum to bridge 1 or 2 of these between 2 peices of 9v. I might have to BL a few pieces and find out... Quote
Cavannus Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks for that video, Cavannus. They are definitely louder. How easily do they bend? I can envision them shifting over time as a result of the momentum of the engine when entering the curves if the track is on a smooth surface and the train is run for a long time. Indeed they bend very easily, but this is not an issue though. Their intrinsic conception in rigid plastic implies that the rail is crenellated instead of continuous (so that you can bend it), which makes the wheels shake. It's a damn shame that these don't come in 9v. I wonder if trains would have enough momentum to bridge 1 or 2 of these between 2 peices of 9v. I might have to BL a few pieces and find out... I can't try, but I assume that 9V engine breaks in a few centimetres when not alimented, due to internal resistance. Quote
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