But a very, very, very cool one. I was previously unaware of this awesome half-up-top Scenicruiser but Henrik Hoexbroe seems to have done it perfect justice.
Tag Archives: Train
Automated points switch
While the immediate use of Masao Hidaka‘s clever device may not be apparent to non train fan readers, I hope that the ingenious basic principles will be. Basically it’s an all mechanical, close to all ‘system’ system for changing which path a train will take, based on the position of the red dot. So much elegant engineering here and I hope it might inspire even better approaches to this and similar problems.
Thanks RAILBRICKS.
Lots of lovely locomotives.
RAILBRICKS 11 Released
The latest edition of RAILBRICKS has just been released and, as usual, it’s chock full of good articles for LEGO train fans and AFOLs in general. You can get a low resolution copy here or follow the picture below for more options.
LEGO Elmore in 1972
At this year’s Brickvention I once again had the pleasure to team up with the very talented Mike Pianta (scruffulous) for a town/train diorama. Like last year’s Ararat we went for a rural Australian town theme, and again set it in 1972 to maximise our building fun. This time we chose Elmore for its distinctive train station.
You can find many more pictures by some wonderful photographers at the convention in the layout’s flickr group.
While we’d learnt a lot from the previous year this one presented new challenges. Not least for me how to bring large buildings in my aeroplane luggage. And for Mike how to assemble large base segments without ever getting a chance to see them all together. Luckily we were able to overcome the challenges and I’m very happy with how it turned out. Apparently the TLG judges were too as we were honoured to be awarded Best in Show.
My highlights of recent town and train
I’ve recently been on a hiatus from TBB due to an excess of real life commitments (work, life and LEGO) and a need to have a bit of a break from blogging. But of course this didn’t stop people (particularly Polish people it seems) posting great models, nor me from filing them away for future use. Which brings me to this four model roundup, presented in the order I added them to my list.
First Maciej Drwięga has a fabulous rendition of the Polish PKP ST43 locomotive.
Second Bartosz Kacprzyk (the oneman) shows off an Alouette.
Third Karwik shows off a Kama3 5410 as driven by his late uncle.
And finally Chris Edwards (cjedwards) brings is an excellent train station.
Well detailed, lovely work by all four builders.
Sava Railways Scenic Tours 2012 Train Calendar
It’s the end of the year which means Tony Sava (SavaTheAggie) has released another of his excellent calendars for sale to help fund RAILBRICKS and his trip to Brickworld 2012. I’ve already blogged a picture from this and it promises to be excellent. A fine addition to any LEGO fan’s wall, be they trainhead or otherwise.
Sava Railways Scenic Tours 2012 LEGO® Train Calendar
www.lulu.com/product/calendar/sava-railways-2012-lego
$17.50Help support RAILBRICKS, the brick railroading magazine, with this gorgeous 13 month calendar. Each month features photos from Anthony Sava’s Sava Railways Scenic Tours photo series, showcasing trains and scenery built entirely of LEGO® bricks.
For 2012, Anthony has taken photos of his LEGO train MOCs based on the Texas State Railroad. From tall trestle bridges to scenes deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas, each photo captures a unique spirit and playfulness that only LEGO bricks can create.
This is not an official LEGO Product, and is not sponsored, authorized or endorsed by The LEGO Group.
————————————————————-
Full disclosure:
Each calendar costs $12.99 to produce, and an additional $1 is collected by LuLu.Of the $3.51 profit, 10% will be donated to RAILBRICKS. This is the same amount I donate to RAILBRICKS from my Bricklink shop. The remainder will go to help fund my trip to Brickworld 2012.
First class speedometer
I would never have guessed that combining a first class compartment coach with a dynamometer was a real idea. But I trust Carl Greatrix (bricktrix) to have done his homework. Although I’m not blogging it for its unusualness but for its lovely looks. There a few touches that purists may not like but it’s a gorgeous old wagon however you look at it.
PS. And no, speedometers are not the same as dynamometers. But the concept is much the same.
Modernist signal box
Signal boxes are one of the most common trackside accessories built by LEGO fans. But I think this beauty by lafabrick is the first time I’ve seen a modernist[1] version done in LEGO. I like it. There’s a lot of clever use of half-stud offset on this one.
[1] I think actually brutalist, perhaps our architecturally inclined readers can inform me.
Fortnight to go for 7777 Redux contest
Just a reminder that there’s only a fortnight to go in the 7777 Redux contest. Enter and you could become the proud new owner of a 10219 Maersk train, 7937 Train Station or 7936 Level Crossing.
All entries must be in by midnight 30th November on the east side of the date line. If your clock says Nov 30th you’ll be fine.
No more DB in the USA!
A little while back we blogged Matija Grguric rail construction diorama and I mentioned that the train it featured was actually a German engine. Matija has now remedied this with his excellent Western Train. I’m glad he waited for after the Eurobricks competition to post this.
Building the West
Matija Grguric has been building American “Old West” dioramas for a while now and they’ve all been excellent. But his latest one is a particularly neat depiction of the construction of a railway line. The workmans’ tents are a beautiful touch. Great stuff.
