2007 Summer City pics

[Ras 74]

I just love the new trucks!

To bad that the new one is 8 studs wide.

Would much more prefered it 6 studs wide.

But then again, you can

[Commander Wolf]

Well, I daresay I have mixed feelings about the RC cross track... on one hand I've been waiting for an official crosstrack for quite a while now, but on the other, it's an RC cross track which ultimately makes it useless on a 9v layout (Without modding, of course). Maybe we can pray that TLC makes a 9v version as well?

But looking at the picture on the box - because the two switches on each side are controlled by a single lever, does it mean that you can't have two open switches at once?

[exo attack]

I especially like the cement mixer because of the new pieces and the colour scheme goes well.

[ColourSchemer]

My understanding was that the 9v and RC track was connectible. I would think at a reasonable speed, you could 'coast' through the new switch. Just run some wire underneith to continue the circuit.

But the 2:1 switch to throw issue could be a real problem. Maybe there's something else we're not seeing... Here's hoping.

*alien*

[Hobbes]

My understanding was that the 9v and RC track was connectible. I would think at a reasonable speed, you could 'coast' through the new switch. Just run some wire underneith to continue the circuit.

They're connectable, that's right. But I think the new track's too "long" to coast through. Plastic-only has different traction than the metal rails. And if you want to "coast over" to the other track side you'd have two quick changes of direction which slows down the train, too, or else it derails. I'd like to hear some test results, though ;-)

[Axle]

Oooooo.New Train Station looks.....SUPER!I want it!And handcarts cool!

[Skinny Boy]

What has the Big Truck got to do with the Seaport? I say this because It has the same background as the green crane, which we know is for the boat.

[phoinix]

the only down side of these new city sets is that there are no females..AGAIN

what the heck is up with that?

no females at the airport and none at the plane and none at the station!!

i wasnt ecxpecting one at the fire station but come on where are the women?

(at home cooking? do they have a right to vote at lego-city? are they all housewives?)

[kotua]

The octan gas station awakened me from my "dark age".

pretty cool that it has an yellow civilian car! wow...I also like the train station. Its not too big.

I also like the boat and the stuff that comes with it, but I don't think I will be able to get the money to buy it(Looks like it'll be expensive)...:(.

I also like the trash can truck.

Its just a pity I took apart my Lego city....but I'll still try to buy the sets...

[prateek]

i like the garbage truck and the gas station

[Section8]

I'll be getting one of all the city sets in this thread except for the large and hideous dump truck. The gas station, harbor, and new train station are all superb, and the recycling truck and cement truck are pretty decent designs too. The harbor crane is going to be modified to move on a track so it will have greater range of motion (I knew I bought all of those straight rails at PAB for a reason) and the Gas Station likely will be moved onto a baseplate matching my town's road color (old light grey). Other than that, the sets are great the way they are. I'm saving my money now for this summer...

I'm just wondering if they'll make train cars that use the new larger containers. It would be nice if everything meshed together they way the old 4-wide containers did. I'm not happy about the switch, but I don't own anything that uses the old containers so I'm not as mad as I could be. :-/

[Wolf04]

They're connectable, that's right. But I think the new track's too "long" to coast through. Plastic-only has different traction than the metal rails. And if you want to "coast over" to the other track side you'd have two quick changes of direction which slows down the train, too, or else it derails. I'd like to hear some test results, though ;-)

Or you can have a 9V train with 2 9V motors, one at each end of the train, so then when the front reach the plastic track, it will continue on because of the back 9V motor is still on the metal track.

[Commander Wolf]

Or you can have a 9V train with 2 9V motors, one at each end of the train, so then when the front reach the plastic track, it will continue on because of the back 9V motor is still on the metal track.

Or spread out several motors along the length of a train; I'm sure there are ways around this, it's just not terribly "elegant" so to speak. But yeah, some test results would be interesting.

[Freddie]

Or spread out several motors along the length of a train; I'm sure there are ways around this, it's just not terribly "elegant" so to speak. But yeah, some test results would be interesting.

If the motors are connected to each other then that should work perfectly, just as long as each motor has a power-supply, either from the track or from another motor picking up power for it.

You could even lay down the 12V third-rails in the tracks, connect them where the power-rails would not fit, and have trains with interconnected motors run on the same track as the 9Vs. Each motor would provide power for those not picking it up from the rails, and that way it would run (relatively) smoothly.

[lostcarpark]

To keep both motors running over the dead section, you would need a fairly long wire connecting them, otherwise the unpowered motor would stop and drag over the section, so the second motor would have to work very hard. Two connected motors should work quite well, though.

I would be seriously tempted to have a go at modding this into a 9V version. The metal wrapping of the rails should be easy enough. The tricky part would be the wiring that would be needed to carry the current the way it's switched.

I quite like the station. It's small, but that's okay, railways need small stations too. I would have preferred if the building was tan, and the platform could do with lengthening. I'm really glad that they've gone back to brick and plate platforms rather than big ugly platform pieces (BUPPs).

[Hobbes]

I would be seriously tempted to have a go at modding this into a 9V version. The metal wrapping of the rails should be easy enough. The tricky part would be the wiring that would be needed to carry the current the way it's switched.

You could ask him, he's made one ;-)

Welcome to EB, by the way :-)

[lostcarpark]

You could ask him, he's made one ;-)

Welcome to EB, by the way :-)

Yeah, I've seen those, and they are absolutely amazing, but they cost an arm and a leg in terms of both doner parts and labour. I don't feel confident enough in my skills with a dremil saw to attempt one myself, and my current budget doesn't stretch to paying someone else to make them.

But if there's an inexpensive part that's moddable to 9V, it could be the perfect answer. Apart from anything else, the mod is likely to be a lot less destructive, so if it doesn't work out the part should still be more or less intact. And if the worst comes to the worst, and I ended up destroying one, I'd much rather be destroying a relatively inexpensive part than several sets of 9V points that might not be available for very much longer.

There's another possibility worth considering. If Lego brought out a version of the IR system that actually offered benefits for AFOLs, we might start looking at it seriously. Independent control of multiple trains on the same track could be quite useful, but we need the ability to control more than 3 trains. We need IR receivers and battery boxes that aren't tied to a fixed train base. And we need a system that can reliably transmit signals to trains over the distance of a large layout with scenery. If we got this, and a few more interesting track pieces, and perhaps some nice to haves like IR controlled motorised point switches, AFOLs could start looking at IR as a serious alternative to 9V.

[Darthking623]

Lego should start making 1st and 2 nd radius track ,that would be exellent *y* (the current curves would have to be the inner radius track!!!!!!!!)

[Hobbes]

There's another possibility worth considering. If Lego brought out a version of the IR system that actually offered benefits for AFOLs, we might start looking at it seriously. Independent control of multiple trains on the same track could be quite useful, but we need the ability to control more than 3 trains. We need IR receivers and battery boxes that aren't tied to a fixed train base. And we need a system that can reliably transmit signals to trains over the distance of a large layout with scenery. If we got this, and a few more interesting track pieces, and perhaps some nice to haves like IR controlled motorised point switches, AFOLs could start looking at IR as a serious alternative to 9V.

IR isn't suitable for that, you're talking about "true RC", meaning digital controls. That's expensive and would be a real model railway. 12V was a mini version of it and TLC abandoned it. Rumor has it because they deemed it too complicated for kids...

I would have been happy with having the 12V "extensions" (signals, crossing etc.) for 9V. But that most likely will never happen... :'-(

[highlandcattle]

IR isn't suitable for that, you're talking about "true RC", meaning digital controls. That's expensive and would be a real model railway. 12V was a mini version of it and TLC abandoned it. Rumor has it because they deemed it too complicated for kids...

I would have been happy with having the 12V "extensions" (signals, crossing etc.) for 9V. But that most likely will never happen... :'-(

The reason 12v was abandoned is because they wanted trains for the USA and in the USA current on toys can only be as high as 9v.

[Capn Kirk 911]

Yes, finally a new train station, man...I've been waiting for years...*moment* *sad*

[DoubleT]

Well not that many years ago, since they made one the last time he he

But i agree nice station.... are you tranguys buying more then one, to make a big station?

[Hobbes]

The reason 12v was abandoned is because they wanted trains for the USA and in the USA current on toys can only be as high as 9v.

12V trains were never sold in the States?! 8-

[lostcarpark]

IR isn't suitable for that, you're talking about "true RC", meaning digital controls. That's expensive and would be a real model railway. 12V was a mini version of it and TLC abandoned it. Rumor has it because they deemed it too complicated for kids...

I'm aware of digital systems used for model railways, which I know can be expensive, and do generally require current and signals to be carried over the tracks, but I don't think Lego have to do anything quite so complicated. I think they could add a few specialist components that could be manufactured in relatively low volumes and sold through S@H for the hobbyist market, while keeping the current RC system more or less as it is for the kids market.

The first thing would be to separate the battery box and IR receiver from the baseplate, so they can be used for more types of trains. This would allow builders to put them where they best suited the design of their particular train. This would also allow the receiver to be positioned in better places to get line of sight across a layout.

Next, for a big layout you definitely need a lot more than three channels. At least ten would be a must. And a lot more if you want to allow other devices to be IR controlled. If you could have one set of "full" channels that could control the speed of trains, and combine them with a set of "simple" channels that only carried on/off signals for changing points or signals or anything else that people wanted to apply them to, it could be a powerful combination.

Third, you need to do something about the IR range/line of sight. My thought is to have something that looks like a lamppost connected by a wire to a base station to transmit the IR signal. For small layouts, a single transmitter would suffice, but for larger layouts, or where obstacles like buildings or scenery were present, multiple transmitters could be positioned around the layout, all connected to the same base station. The base station could look a bit like the current controller, but would allow multiple trains to be controlled by a single device.

Finally, if we had multiple curve radii and other interesting track options, it would open up a world of new options for AFOLs, and give us a reason to think about switching.

As far as I'm concerned, 9V is still the system of choice, but if Lego gave me sufficient reason to switch, I'd certainly look at it seriously.

[Hobbes]

Those are dreams AFOL have talked about since they heard of the RC system.

I think it was 2005's Brickfest where TLC "promised" to keep 9V as "Hobby Train" next to RC as "Play Train". Well, 9V is still here, but to me it looks like they're phasing it out...

I wouldn't mind an RC system like you described (who wouldn't?) but I'm not too happy with IR. I'd prefer some radio-based system. Since IR is here now, though, they'd have to develop that. But thinking about that announcement at BF '05 I kinda doubt there will be any development since it wouldn't be a "Play Train" anymore...