NEW MEMBERS TRAIN TECH Registry

[WesternOutlaw]

Welcome Niels. It's nice to have you join us, and even if you don't have a huge collection of LEGO Trains, just the thought of a future layout tells me that you're a train fan. If you get that place and bacement built, you are always welcome to share the progess of your future railway. Just a thought: if you are limited in space where you live now, you could always add a train shelf to a wall to display a single train/locomotive (or more). My layout has been down since last summer but I kept the trains on the wall so that I could appreciate them.

You could always create a small table-top with a single loop if you've got a little space. This was my last Table Town before taking down to make room for a Playmobil Pirate Lagoon and current military dioramas:

Good luck!

[Steinkopf]

Hello Everyone

My name is Dave from Sydney Australia, a number of members here would know me by my Flickr moniker Brickhead given that name has already been taken here I had to adopt a rough German translation for that name. I have been an AFOL since 2001 when I started collecting sets for my son when he was born, I had been apprehensive about collecting Lego trains as I already had a substantial OO gauge collection and the price as well as the quality of trains (4561) available at the time put me off. Then in 2003 my wife and I came across the Santa Fe Super Chief 10020 at a heavily discounted introductory price of $30.00 AUD at Myers, I couldn't resist we bought one and built it and went wow this is really good let's buy another one. Later in the year I purchased the World City train sets 4511, 4512, 4513 and 4514, that was it I was officially hooked, I then started to scrounge around and purchase what 9v track I could find in stores locally as well as purchasing parts from Bricklink.

In 2006 after years of having train running session with a friend David Parkin known on Eurobricks as Mr P we started the first Lego Train Club in Sydney the SLTC with some other people who were interested in forming a group, that year we attended our first show the AMRA Sydney Model Railway Exhibition, we won the Children's Choice Award and came 2nd place in the Peoples Choice Award. Since then the group has been displaying at AMRA in various guises, last year (2011) we finally achieved our long term goal by winning the Peoples Choice Award under our new group name the Sydney L Gauge Group (SLGG).

My personal interests in trains is the building of the LBB (Legodtenstein Bundes Bahn)which is a freelanced railway that services the mythical nation of Legodtenstein, my trains are heavily inspired by trains from Austria, Germany and Switzerland in particular those of the Rhatische Bahn (RhB) in Eastern Switzerland, the long term goal is to build a home based layout that will travel from a harbour city and then out into the countryside.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Steinkopf

[WesternOutlaw]

Welcome to Train Tech Dave. Thanks for sharing that nice introduction re. your LEGO Train interest. I happen to be a big fan of German trains as well, esp. the old steam locomotives. I'll have to check out your FlickR images. If you'd like to share any of your MOCs, please feel free to start a topic within the forum.

I hope you enjoy the forum.

[R1chstr!]

Hello everyone! I live in Manitoba, Canada and have been following EB for a number of years now and decided to finally become a member. I was into HO scale trains during my dark ages until I noticed the larger scale and well detailed Lego trains. I have around 16 different sets ranging from 9V to RC and now PF trains. I just entered the collecting phase when 9V trains where made obsolete. Some of the sets that really stand out are the Santa Fe, BNSF and Maersk trains. I haven’t been into MOCing or MODing, but maybe one day I will start.

I am slowly setting up a city layout that incorporates a railway.

I am also trying to start a LUG in my area.

[Konrad]

Here is another pic, my 7735, 7715 loco on 12v with 7710 cars. Thats three sets I have ( not enough room to display all) + 7722, 7745( soon) 2 lego city green cargo trains, two emerald nights and red PF commuter train for now. More to come :)

Oversized image removed by moderator -TheBrickster

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi R1chstr. Welcome to our LEGO Train community. I wish you luck on getting that LUG started. Hope you enjoy the forum.

Here is another pic...

Please be aware that our image posting guidelines are 800x600 max. You're welcome to share your pictures as long as they are within these guidelines. I love those 12V sets!

[Konrad]

Hi R1chstr. Welcome to our LEGO Train community. I wish you luck on getting that LUG started. Hope you enjoy the forum.

Please be aware that our image posting guidelines are 800x600 max. You're welcome to share your pictures as long as they are within these guidelines. I love those 12V sets!

Noted! and thanks! I don't have the room to lay anything out, but i would love to get a layout shot one of these days!

[spanks_4]

Hey everyone I'm John from Louisiana... I've been a lego fan for years and have wanted to make a train layout for an extremely long time!

Well about a week ago I cleared out my house, started rebuilding all of my legos, and have been designing a nice sized layout for my stuff.

Last night I grabbed the red cargo train (3677) and the train station (7937) which are my first lego trains sets. I'm hoping to get around to building them as soon as I finish my back log of other lego sets to rebuild...

Will post pictures as everything starts to come together and I get further along with my layout.

[eurotrash]

Hi all,

Let me introduce myself. I'm an ex-pat Brit living in deepest rural Missouri and I'm finally emerging from the dark ages. The gateway set for me for this re-emergence was - of all things - 7051 'Space Tripod Invader'. It looked so much fun that I had to treat myself to it. That brick-on-brick action stimulated some long-forgotten senses and then I started to rebuild the Lego 9V trains that had packed away in storage since the mid 90's. Of these the 4558 Metroliner remains my favourite - although the 4551 Crocodile Train is currently getting more use on my layout.

I'm slowly adding to my collection via Bricklink and the post-Christmas markdowns at the big box stores has been useful in rebuilding my reservoir of bricks, but I know I have a long way to go to reach the standards that have been set in this forum. I'm impressed by the MOCs, the dioramas, and - like most of us - I've already experienced the 'Lego is not a model train set - it's a toy' mentality in the real world. I got that from the owners in a deserted local model train shop (that attitude was probably why it was deserted). I say "Stuff them" :)

Anyway thanks already for the help I received from the forum - it's been an inspiration and while I'll never be in a position to have a gigantic layout with hundreds of pieces/track etc. I know that at least for now there will be a part of Missouri that will be running Gauge L.

[WesternOutlaw]

Last night I grabbed the red cargo train (3677) and the train station (7937) which are my first lego trains sets.

Hi Spanks. I see that you've already been around the forum for a while and hope you are enjoying Train Tech. Let us know how you like the Red Cargo Train. I haven't picked one up yet - it's a bit pricey. I really like the boxcar.

Hi all,

Hi ET. Sounds like you've got some "oldies but goodies". Many would love to have a Metroliner. Please share some pictures of your layout down the road. I hope you enjoy Train Tech and don't be a stranger. Welcome!

[Pencil_42]

Hi, all!

I've been lurking for a couple weeks now. I'm coming out of a roughly 20-year dark period, as my kids are starting to become interested in LEGO. My interest is mainly 1860-1870's US trains. I've been working on and (mostly) off to convert the Toy Story locomotive to a Mogul with less toy-like proportions; I'll post pics when I actually have something to share.

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi Pencil. Welcome to EB and to Train Tech. Many of us share similar experiences is coming out of a long dark age period (for one reason or another). It's always great to get back into the hobby after many years. I hope you have a great time building with your little ones and feel free to share any of your LEGO Train MOCs with us down the road. Enjoy the forum!

[Danger19]

Hello everybody!

I always enjoyed LEGO as a kid, mainly the town sets. From 1986 - 1994 all i could think about was LEGO. Like most, i had to give it up as other life things had come up. Fast forward to Christmas of 2010, it all came back. My girlfriend bought me a Ferarri set and i was amazed at the amount of detail it had. Over all it was a nice set but the scale seemed to be a little off. I started looking at LEGO.com and came across the Grand Emporium... all i can say is WOW!

2011 was a busy year for me. I became addicted to buying old LEGO sets on ebay that i couldn't afford to get when i was a kid. Anyways as a kid i was never able to get a LEGO train. Well things changed and i can now afford the trains, i bought a few. I picked up the Emerald Night+ PowerFunctions, Maersk train 10129 + PowerFunctions, Santa Fe Super Chief, Red Cargo Train 3677, Cargo train 7939. I also picked up a few 9v sets but i cant think of them at the moment.

I will never step away from LEGO again, i love this stuff!

Edited February 7, 2012 by Danger19

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi Danger. Welcome to Train Tech. Sounds like you picked up some of the best all-time LEGO Train sets. Looks like you've got a supportive girllfriend as well, which always adds to the enjoyment.

Having most of the newer trains, I now find myself looking at the old 12V stuff. The sets are completely out of the ball park in price though. I still check Ebay and BrickLink periodically.

I hope you enjoy the forum and feel free to share an image of your collection, a MOC, or your layout any time.

[JupiterTwo]

Afternoon peeps!

I've been perusing these pages for a while now, watching and trying to learn. I've only come back to lego as an AFOL in the last six months, so finding sites like this are great to see all the goings on and read about what folks have been creating.

After picking up a yellow cargo train at the turn of the year and then a Maersk train a couple of weeks back, I succumbed to a good deal on the passenger train today. Picked up two as it seemed *that* good, so I'll be trying my hand at MOCing to come up with a longer commuter train.

My rudimentary plan is to try to stay focused on trains and modular buildings to create a little diorama, but all the discounts flying round seems to make that quite a challenge!

With all that I felt it was time I introduced myself, if nothing else to make me feel less conspicuous if ask a question

Hopefully I'll be able to contribute too, be it with a MOC, advise or positive comments

[kyphur]

I succumbed to a good deal on the passenger train today. Picked up two as it seemed *that* good, so I'll be trying my hand at MOCing to come up with a longer commuter train.

A little kit-bashing and you can easily turn the two engines from the second set into another passenger carriage to give you a total of 3 carriages between the two engines. IIRC when I did that I needed somewhere around 6 to 8 parts but they were pretty common.

Then you'll also have all of the PF stuff for your Maersk as the Passenger train is lightweight and a single PF motor can easily pull 3 carriages & 2 engines.

Oh, and welcome aboard!

Edited February 15, 2012 by kyphur

[JupiterTwo]

A little kit-bashing and you can easily turn the two engines from the second set into another passenger carriage to give you a total of 3 carriages between the two engines. IIRC when I did that I needed somewhere around 6 to 8 parts but they were pretty common.

Then you'll also have all of the PF stuff for your Maersk as the Passenger train is lightweight and a single PF motor can easily pull 3 carriages & 2 engines.

Oh, and welcome aboard!

Thanks Kyphur! I think you just answered my first question too - whether the single PF could pull those carriages :)

[WesternOutlaw]

Afternoon peeps!

Hi JT - welcome to Train Tech. Not a problem in the least if you ask a question.

[lyzech]

Hello everybody !

As a kid, I always wanted a Lego train, but they were too expansive. I came out from my dark ages just after Christmas, and decided to get a monorail and a train. I bought a lovely space monorail (6990) in January and a wonderful metroliner (4558) yesterday (its previous owner selled it with additional tracks, points, etc... so it was cheaper than a current cargo train (80 euros) + bonus tracks, furthermore, I was jealous of a friend of mine who owned this marvellous train when I was a kid).

For now, I m trying to 'moc' my monorail and to learn how to design layouts woth computer. I m following this forum for inspiration (ok, maybe plagiarism :P) and knowledge (now, I know that I shouldn't buy new tracks, because 9v and PF aren't compatible...)

[WesternOutlaw]

Hello everybody !

Welcome Lyzech. I'm glad to hear you were able to find a Metroliner - they're pretty pricey these days. I can completely understand you wanting one after all these years. One of my friends as a kid had a few sets/toys that I still think about to this day.

Hope you enjoy our LEGO Train community.

[Frank STENGEL]

Hello,

I have been a lego fan since my first set il the early 70's. After a lengthy pause (grown-ups don't play with Lego so they said) I'm back. After years of playing with the son I eventually came to Lego trains las Christmas with the 7939 cargo train. Since then, there was no turning back.

My first attempt at MOCing was this WIP: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=492598 It's not really that good: it looks too much like the red loc from the 3677 set.

For now, I am working on a complete steam train modeled on those I saw as a kid when vacationing with my grandparents: a BR64 with 3yg type carriages (3 wheeled). The engine is nearly finished...

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi Frank. Welcome to Train Tech. It's always great to get back into the LEGO hobby. I look forward to seeing your steam train. Enjoy the forum.

[Sjuip]

Hi all,

I've been active on Eurobricks for a couple months, but as this activity has mostly taken place in the LEGO Digital Designer Forum, I haven't taken the time to introduce myself here. I definitely consider myself affiliated with Trains, so here's my (short) story.

I started with LEGO in the late sixties. My father was a huge train fan, both the real stuff (going to Germany to see and hear the big steam engines) and miniture trains (H0-size). So I got a LEGO train - the old one with the blue rails and the big box with three batteries in it. Over the years, my sister, my younger brother and I collected a steadily growing amount of LEGO, including a lot of Legoland sets as well as the early Technic sets. Of course, dark ages loomed and after high school the LEGO got out of sight.

The first sign of light at the end of the tunnel appeared when I saw a set that had everything I had dreamt of as a kid: Technic 8880 Super Car. After that, it still took some years (and some offspring) to bring LEGO fully back. Amidst the City and Belleville sets for the kids, there suddenly was another must-have: a Maersk Container Ship! But still it was only build and amaze, not much play. That all changed with the set that I still view as one of the best ever: 10183 Hobby Trains.

Again I was sitting at the table, devising all kind of trains I knew, I had seen or found interesting. The LDD program, which you needed to build the other 29 models from the set, gave it an extra dimension. Since then I have been building MOCs in LDD - just with contents of the Hobby Train set. Such as this version of the BNSF and this MAK.

(I built the MAK in 2008 and had it uploaded to the LEGO website - I still suspect them of stealing my MAK MOC for the present set 3677 Red Cargo Train )

Anyway, last couple of years there was no way of stopping me from acquiring the terrific Emerald Night (big wheels, yeah!) and of course the Maersk Train. Somewhere along the line I also managed to buy the already out-of-production 10027 Train Engine Shed. With the new Power Functions, I made motorized versions of a much of the Hobby Train models as possible.

Interested? Here you can find the LDD file for the main Hobby Train 'Cocodrile' with built-in PF motor, battery and receiver.

Last November I stumbled into Eurobricks and found that that there was an Extended Version to the LDD program! With all the bricks! And in all colours (so even transparant pink train wheels )!

Since then, I have been busy helping to populate the "Official LEGO Sets made in LDD" part of the forum. First with all the sets that we have at home, but gradually focussing on Trains sets.

And I am happy to announce that you can now access LDD-files for most of the Trains sets from 1991 to the most recent ones!

This work learned me a lot about brick part numbers and design numbers and the like. I consider myself one of the train-guards of the LDD forum. The present version of LDD still contains some bugs with regard to train parts (rail tracks, chassis plates) that need to be corrected.

Lastly: my avatar - it's a MOC of a "Sik" (Dutch for 'goatee'), which was a very common shunter ('locomotor') owned by the Dutch National Railways. Of course, the MOC is build purely from Hobby Train set parts and the picture is made in LDD!

[WesternOutlaw]

Hi all,

Hi Sjuip. That's a great introduction. I like the addition of the links taking me back to some of the nice sets and/or topics you mentioned. I picked up one of those Maersk Container Ships upon the initial released that I never even opened. I am still disappointed that I can't add it to a train layout because of the scale. I've never been a real fan of the non-minifig scale sets, even if the model is a nice one.

I'm going to check out some of those LDD trains - great resource. I don't make it to that part of EB very often, so thanks for sharing.

Sounds like you have some fine sets, especially the Train Engine Shed. I always liked that set a lot and while my Table Town/layout is not currently set up, I have the Shed with my modulars on a bookshelf - couldn't bring myself to breaking apart (just in case I want a quick set-up again).

Feel free to share any of your MOCs in the forum, a set review, or other topic.

[ShaydDeGrai]

Hi All,

I've been lurking about for some time and recently signed up for an actual account so I thought I'd stop by and say hi.

I've always been a fan of trains in general. My grandfather was a railway engineer in Scotland so engines and rolling stock were always cropping up in the backgrounds of the family album. As a child I lusted after big spiffy train sets that, in hindsight, I realize my folks could never have afforded and Lego kits that, while also pricy, offered a bit more versatility. My Lego collection grew one modest stocking stuffer and birthday present at a time. My first Lego 'train' was a pathetic little MOC that ran on little rubber wheels (scavenged from kits like the Legoland Tow Truck #601) on a strip of masking tape that I'd declared to be the 'track'.

Over time, of course, things changed. Eventually, I had a disposable income and as luck would have it, Lego was introducing some really nice kits that caught my eye and awoke a long dormant addiction. The Technic Space Shuttle 8480 was really the turning point for me. After that one I became an unabashed AFOL. When the "My Own Train" line came out (about a decade ago) I gobbled up the entire including multiple engines and extra rolling stock; likewise for the Santa Fe line, several Hogwarts Express variations, the BNSF locomotive, the Maersk train and, of course, my favorite of the official train kits, the Emerald Knight (which reminds me of my grandfather and the Flying Scotsman as I romanticize an image of him stoking the boiler on the 10am London to Edinburgh run).

As for Lego train related opinions (feel free to disagree with me):

* Diesels are nice, but I think steam engines have a lot more character.

* I've been slow to switch from 9v to Power Functions but the new motors and smaller battery boxes are starting to grow on me (and metal track is getting harder to find).

* For compatibility with most of my rolling stock I tend to favor 6-wide construction though I've seen some really great 7 and 8 wide MOCs and recognize that their body to rail gauge ratio is a lot more realistic.

* In general, I'm not that into street cars and subway lines but I'm happy to be wowed and inspired by people who've tackled these; the Lego City kits along these lines (no pun intended) not so much.

Anyway, thanks for reading this. I hope to see more from all of you.

-Shayd