NEW MEMBERS TRAIN TECH Registry

[WesternOutlaw]

This is a little belated, but better nate the lever..

Hi Veeb0rg. I'm glad you came around. This gives the train fans a chance to know you better. Belated welcome!

[SONIC883]

Hi

Can you add me to the List?

I am a new collector. At the moment I own only the Ememerald Night ant the 4708 HP train, the Maersk Train comes next.

The both PF Cargo trains Looks good, too, but I have only limited space in my Hobby Room :-/

-Kai

Edited September 20, 2011 by SONIC883

[WesternOutlaw]

Welcome Sonic! Added you to the Train Tech registry. You've off to a great start with some of the best LEGO trains made in recent years. Enjoy the forum.

[kyphur]

I guess I should have checked in a little sooner myself. I've been hanging around in Train Tech since about April. My Signature image is a little outdated (I've been otherwise busy lately) but it will get caught-up in the next few weeks...

Here's a link to my flickr set with images of some of my Trains.

Edited September 22, 2011 by kyphur

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi kyphur. Glad you took some time to introduce yourself here in the Train Tech registry. You've got a really nice collections of trains, but you might want to trim your signature a bit (maybe remove the text list). It's a pretty BIG signature. In any case, a late welcome and I hope you continue to enjoy our LEGO Train community.

[Laura Beinbrech]

Hello, This here forum was the reason I finally registered at Eurobricks... I've been interested in trains since I was little (one of the few remaining narrow-gauge railroads in the US, the East Broad Top Railrod, is not far from my house, and I first rode it when I was 4 years old), and when I was 11, my parents got me the 7722 4.5v battery-operated train, for which my dad made some custom Pennsylvania Railroad decals :D Unfortunately, I ended up giving it away when I went into my first dark age.

More recently, I got back into LEGO trains when I discovered that they were actually CHEAPER than most N and HO scale stuff, not to mention more mod-friendly. ;) I bought one of the latest Hogwarts Express sets at the local Borders at a significant discount (should have probably bought two, but oh well), and the Toy Story train... Both of those are currently undergoing significant revisions (I'm designing new/improved rolling stock for the Hogwarts Express, and trying to turn the Toy Story Train into something more realistic looking to serve as my "Wasteland Express" for my post-apocalyptic dieselpunk setting), and thus far, I've only managed to get three cars done on the Toy Story Train revision.

Elsewise, I've been taking major advantage of Pick A Brick's availability of train parts to design/build custom trains...

The first one that I've completed was my Balin & Sons Mining Company RR narrow-gauge Heisler locomotive and Ore-Hopper car (made by combining the two ore carts from the Indiana Jones set):

NGTrain2 by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr

...and my next major project is to place a PaB order for parts to re-build the Hogwarts Express coach into a First-Class/Dining car and build an additional Coach as well as to build this:

LDD GG-2a LEGO Locomotive by Hikaro Takayama, on Flickr

My GG-2 Electic Locomotive (it's supposed to be in the Norfolk-Southern livery, NS being one of the few major corporations to survive the Final War), which I came up with as a retro-futuristic re-vamping of the Pennsylvania RR GG-1 locomotive (i.e. additional headlights, modern-style pantographs, etc)...

I'm happy to find a forum for fellow LEGO Train enthusiasts... I recognize Sava the Aggie from Classic Castle, though. ;)

[WesternOutlaw]

Welcome Hikaro. Glad to have you join our LEGO Train Community and Classic Castle fans are certainly welcome as well.

[campbjj]

I recently discovered the EN in the lego store, and I have become hooked again on lego. I am currently working on my own take on the EN inspired by the CPR 2816 I rode on last year here in Calgary.

Here is a Picture of the Locomotive with a completed box car in the background.

[mattman]

Hello, I'm Matt!

I've been building with lego for a few years now, in the last 12 months or so I've gotten more specifically into trains. I'm not very good at doing normal moc's and stuff but trains I find much better :)

Current collection is:

High speed train (parts broken up and spread everywhere through our collection :P)

Railway express (currently half built, not that pretty as a set but plenty of trainy parts in there)

Passenger train (again, not a very pretty set, but broken up for parts)

+ have picked up a stack of track, a couple of spare 9v engines.

Parts, most of which come from my wifes collection which has been running for 10 years now, really handy as for most moc's we basically have what we need unless a build calls for alot of a rare part.

I've had a few trains run with BLTG (my local LUG, has a heavy city+train focus) in the past and thought I would do something different. My first *real* train build has been in the works for about 6 months now and has been displayed a couple of times with varying levels of success. Just recently I started giving it a major overhaul in terms of additional cars and also new power supply. I've made a

following progress and it's currently nearing completion! I'm hoping this one will get people thinking outside the brick a bit ;) It's certainly not something I've seen alot of in the lego train world.

Anyway, just going to hang around and read some more train stuff, get some more ideas for future mocs ;)

Matt

[Tarby99]

Hi All,

I am new to the forums.

I have the pleasure of reliving my childhood with my little nephews as they 'come to age'..

So 1980 - 1986 I was a lucky chap and was given almost all the later 1980s sets. I was able to save them from being sold off and last weekend a couple of big plastic boxes revealed how I had left them on that last 'I have had enough of this' day back in 1986.. Its amazing how its all survived many hot summers and cold winters in my parents out building.

Anyway.. Back then the sets were purchased as various birthday or Christmas presents and I was able to save some pocket money for some of the extras.. Many extras I simply couldnt afford and so were left as memories of what some of by better of child hood friends had...

I am now currently building a set in my house that my little nephews can play with and also for me to buy those cool additional items!

I am enjoying rebuilding everything and seeking out the odd piece that I have some how missing...

How expensive is some of this stuff? I see some of the accessories - the signals, the lights, the motorised points... Is Lego plastic really gold?

Are there any other 12v fans on here?

Also how do I make up those cool little train signatures I can see people using on here?

Tarby

[Sokratesz]

There's plenty of 12v fans out here - like me :) And price levels depend greatly on the set. Some of the more common ones, like 7725, 7735 and 7745 can be had for under 150 complete and in good condition, while others, most notably 7760 and the trains with red motors, are much more expensive.

- Sok.

[harnbak]

Hello there,

A lot of prices can be found on bricklink:

12v trains http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=S&catString=124.318 and

12v supplemental http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=S&catString=124.397.318

Sometimes you can sell for more, sometimes less. Try eBay as well. If you have the complete set with all lego, box and instructions you can expect the highest prices.

Edited October 25, 2011 by harnbak

[vgsprites]

Hi All,

I am new to the forums

.....

Also how do I make up those cool little train signatures I can see people using on here?

Tarby

Hello and welcome!

You can find the little train images here at the (new) Lego train depot.

The Grey area (12 volt) page should suit your collection needs.

Good luck and fun making your sig!

[Mr Benn]

Am very much in your position - have relatively recently dug out all the 12V stuff that I amassed as a lucky child...

I tend to get most of my stuff from Ebay. I am assuming that you are in the UK what with using words like 'chap', which makes life a lot easier (as 12V was never actually sold in the USA), as Europe is still awash with 12V fans!

Everything to do with 12V is quite expensive though, and as soon as you start getting in the the electrically operated parts such as points and signals, the cost really tends to ramp up. Track can be easy to come by but prices on Ebay really fluctuate - sometimes you can get a great deal on Ebay, but check out bricklink and make sure you know what the general price of track is on there first.

For trains I've found that the 7745 is often going to be the best bargain on Ebay - you can often get it complete and extra coaches are easy to come by and replace parts for. Also, as it was one of the later trains, the motors often aren't quite as done in as some of the earlier trains!

In terms of prices past trains and track, you're looking at about £30-40 for a set of remote controlled points, £40-50 for a remote signal, and loads for one of the (rather pointless) decouplers. The 12V transformers can often be found quite cheaply but beacuse there's a huge chunk of metal inside them shipping can often cost!

One thing to bear in mind is that the new PF trains will run on 12V track - the gauge is the same - so you can run your 12V and PF trains at the same time (and this has the advantage that you can control trains independently rather than all via the main transformer). If you're looking for new trains this may make your life a lot less expensive - it means you can just take any train from 9v, RC or PF and chuck a PF receiver and motor inside it and you'll be good to go! The only disadvantage is that your PF trains wouldn't automatically stop at the 12V signals, but it's a small price to pay...

[WesternOutlaw]

A big welcome to our most recent members, Campbjj, Mattman, and Tarby! Hope you guys enjoy the forum.

Tarby: I've merged your topic here as this is a place to introduce yourself and share your LEGO Train interest. Welcome.

[Tarby99]

Thanks all!

So I have sorted out, cleaned, rebuilt all my old stuff.

I have bought a few things on eBAY.. There is this one guy that keeps sniping me by 50p and the like.. Most annoying. Ive made a rule that I will never pay more than the lowest price on BrickLink. I think that safe guards me a little.

Thanks for the advice on prices - this pretty much confirms what I have already seen.

I am fortunate to have a faily large foot print of a house and the track can basically follow a huge loop around the full are of the house as our stair case to upstairs is in the middle.. The kids are loving it and apparently after last weekend keep asking their mums when are they coming back to Uncles!!

I dont want to over do it. I think I have a good set up and know what extras I want.

Thanks for all the advise so far - its very good.

Tarby

[eliminator]

Well, I guess you can say I got bit by the Lego train bug. Last week I picked up the the current Passenger Train set 7938 and Train Station 7937. After a quick visit to the Toronto Lego store today, I walked away with an Emerald Night. I probably would have picked up the Maersk Train, but I didn't want to miss out on the Emerald before it's discontinued. I'm hoping to get some major work on my layout done over the winter.

Edited October 26, 2011 by eliminator

[WesternOutlaw]

You'll love the Emerald Eliminator. It's a fantastic engine, and I'm sure the Maersk will be available for a while longer. Welcome to Train Tech.

[Sokratesz]

You'll love the Emerald Eliminator. It's a fantastic engine, and I'm sure the Maersk will be available for a while longer. Welcome to Train Tech.

'The Emerald Eliminator'

Man that sounds like an awesome DC comic

[WesternOutlaw]

Man that sounds like an awesome DC comic

I knew that looked sort of strange after typing.

[Sokratesz]

I did it today, shelved out 300€ for a complete 7750 with box, instructions and some track.

Will be selling the box and instructions to recoup some of that money ;)

- Sok.

[Brinstar]

I'm new here so I thought i'd introduce myself. I've been a fan of Lego for many years but have only recently got into Lego trains. I was inspired to do so after having seen my friends metroliner in action. I decided to buy my own train set and with the old sets being so expensive I looked at the current line and purchased a 7938 passenger train along with some extra track and switching tracks. At the moment my layout is quite small but I do intend to expand it and hopefully acquire an Emerald Night in the not too distant future.

[WesternOutlaw]

Welcome Brinstar. The Metroliner would inspire me to get into LEGO Trains if I saw it running - great train! I remember my first train well, and in no time, you'll build a great collection I'm sure. There's much to choose from right now which can help build your collection. Hope you enjoy the forum and maybe even share a custom train down the road. Welcome!

[kyzr44]

So after coming out of the dark a few years back, I jumped into the train head first. I just picked up my 4th PF train and must confess. I need help. I just bought a 7996 for $60. This may lead to uncharted water and heavy spending on LEGO. I love plastic bricks!

[WesternOutlaw]

Welcome Kyzr44. Go easy. There will always be future sets available.