Tag Archives: Train

LEGO trains have been for sale since the 1960s, and LEGO fans have been creating their own custom layouts with LEGO bricks ever since. Whether you enjoy 4.5-volt, 12-volt, 9-volt, RC, or Power Functions LEGO trains, and whether or not you have an opinion about 8-wide, 9-wide, or some other scale, you’ll find lots of gorgeous engines and rail cars right here on The Brothers Brick.

How to make current LEGO train tracks backwards compatible with 9-volt trains

It seems to be a slow day for blogworthy LEGO creations, so I went back through my bookmark archive and ran across something we really should have blogged the second we got the link — Chris Meyer‘s how-to guide on making plastic LEGO train tracks backwards compatible with legacy 9-volt and 12-volt systems.

The problem (and benefit, depending on who you ask) with current Power Functions and RC systems is that they’re battery-powered. For LEGO convention attendees and train show participants who may run their trains for hours at a time, this means stopping everything in the middle of their layouts to replace the batteries, over and over again.

But since LEGO no longer produces externally powered trains, the tracks are exorbitant on the secondary market. Chris solves this problem by applying conductive foil tape to easily purchased plastic tracks. It’s a cheap solution, and looks much less time-consuming than sifting through eBay.

Read the step-by-step guide on ChrisMeyer.org.

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Another day at the Bogata Railhead

Keith Goldman is up to his usual large diorama goodness with the Bogata Railhead, a scene of freight transportation in the distant future. There’s lots of action going on, so be sure to check out the gallery either on MOCpages or Flickr.

You gotta love the squidmen workers in their blue hats!

Analogue signals

I’ve added a signal box to my vanity project. There’s also a beer van using the level crossing.

Discussing LDraw on the BBC [News]

The BBC’s Teck Know section currently has an article on the LEGO hobby with a focus on LDraw and virtual building. It includes discussion with Chris Dee who is the man responsible for quality control and library management for LDraw (and who does an excellent job). It also highlights the excellent work of Warren Elsmore, creator of the featured bridge and LDraw-using designer.

One of Warren Elsmore’s work-in-progress St Pancras LDraw sketches as mentioned in the article.

Proudlove’s neon commuter dream

I wish such a beautiful vessel could carry me to work. Simply love this little commuter train by Nathan Proudlove. It also provides so many ideas for a modern section of TBB’s upcoming Big in Japan display at BrickCon 2010.

Yes indeed, the front car is reserved for women to protect them from groping salarymen. Or so Proudlove said to placate me.

My daily grind

I debuted this commuter rake at Brickvention. I’m fairly happy with it. Based on the old compartment coaches used in the late 19th and early 20th century. Photography could be a bit better.

I need to do one last (time-consuming) thing before I can blog the A380 but I’ll get to it soon. ;)

CC72000 in less than 72000cc

Brickshelf user Grrr31 has powered up his graphics techniques to accurately portray the line art on a French CC72000 train (as well as the locomotive itself). With so much focus lately on stickers to do the tricky bits it’s nice to see someone do it the old-fashioned way.

It’s not a real train shed?

I’m not a LEGO train fan, but this creation by Maciej Drwiega makes me want to be one. The features are so realistic, down to the texture on the wall created entirely out of plates instead of bricks! The curved roof made with tiles is nontraditional but looks perfect. I can only guess how it was made.

Even more stunning are the night effect shots, where the realism stands out the most.

Building the impossible

Recently I ran a challenge in LEGO Train MOCs which I and the other organisers considered to be virtually impossible. Mike Pianta (scruffulous) proved us wrong in spectacular fashion with his version of the Class 66 locomotive. The details, subtle angles, stickers and everything are just fantastic. I’m happy to have been proved wrong.

Not quite depressing

I’ve been having big problems blogging here lately due to some strange delays in writing posts making it a much slower process than usual. That’s the main reason why I’ve tended to double up models in my latest posts. To keep with the tradition I’m doubling up my two latest models: my version of a LMS Jinty and an old-style Northern English tram. The `stickers’ are applied virtually but I intend to add them for real.

Railbricks keeps you running on schedule [News]

Railbricks is putting out a calendar for the first time! I’ve gotten a sneak peek of a couple of the pictures and they are gorgeous. Hopefully this does well enough to be an annual event. They are still working out the pricing and other such details, so look for more information to be forthcoming.

Two by two, cranes of blue

I just discovered Maciej Drwiega‘s flickr gallery today and was really impressed by both the models and photography. This railroad support crane struck as particularly nice due to its use of studes out tiles, plates and wings to create a visually interesting monochrome surface. The windscreen is also particularly nice.