Bill Ward's Brickpile » Trains

Gondola Car II

Bill — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:35:23 +0000

When I first saw the new bracket parts found in the LEGO Tipper Truck #4434, I realized I needed to use them to make a train car.

I used parts from 2 of those sets to make this, along with a few parts I had laying about from other sets I’d recently taken apart (mostly the Maersk Train 10219). It was a very simple build – the main part is just two of the tipper parts from the Tipper Truck set with just a few tiles rearranged. The undercarriage is just made of plain grey plates, and the wheel trucks are quite simple.

In 2008, I designed another Gondola car, using 1x2x2 panels with 1×1 bricks between for the sides. This was so much simpler, and arguably more realistic (thinner walls), though the older model has more details on the ends. Instructions for that older model are available, but the new part isn’t in LDraw yet so I can’t make them for this one for a while.

Bulkhead Flatcar

Bill — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:24:29 +0000

This Railroad flatcar with bulkheads was inspired by the NMRA 2011 official HO gauge car for this July’s convention in Sacramento.

Here’s a picture of the prototype I based it on:

A bunch of us are planning to put together a large LEGO layout at the NMRA convention in Sacramento this July. If you want to join the effort, check out the planning wiki and sign up to participate.

BayLTC at San Jose train show

Bill — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:25:20 +0000

The Bay Area LEGO Train Club (BayLTC) just got done with a train show. For the past few years we’ve been participating in train shows over Thanksgiving weekend in Pleasanton, at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, but this year the show was held in San Jose instead. We put together a large train layout as usual, but since several key members weren’t able to participate we had a little difficulty filling the space. Still, I think it was pretty successful over all.

Click the picture above or view it as a slideshow.

Emerald Night is Here!

Bill — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:46:56 +0000

I came home this afternoon (Wednesday April 22) to find a nice box on my back porch… just finished building it at about 2:30 AM and here it is!

I ordered K10194: Emerald Night Collection consisting of the engine, (10194, Emerald Night), power functions parts, and the new flex track. It works quite well with the IR remote control and the track is indeed flexible. But now, bedtime.

Emerald Night Video

Bill — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:34:35 +0000

Last night at BrickFest, the new 10194 Emerald Night train set was officially announced. For the announcement, they played this video on the big screen…

I shot video of the rest of the announcement and will try to get that edited soon!

SavaTheAggie’s #2602 Angus 0-8-8-0 Locomotive

Bill — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:06:11 +0000

I rarely blog about other people’s models, but I wanted to talk a little about the latest work by Anthony Sava (“SavaTheAggie”). It’s the Erie Railroad’s #2602 L-1 Camelback Angus class 0-8-8-0 Steam Locomotive.

This has got to be one of the ugliest pieces of machinery ever built in real life, but the LEGO model is so well done it’s almost beautiful. Well, almost. :-)

But what I wanted to highlight is the way he posted works in progress as a part of the project. People posted comments about the early versions, and he incorporated some of that feedback into the final design, making it feel much more interactive than most LEGO models that are posted online. I think Flickr is particularly good for this, since we can not only post comments on each photo, we can even draw a box on a particular area of a photo and write a comment (a “note”) for that area.

Personally I’ve never posted works in progress (WIP) pictures online. I think partly it makes me feel more pressure to complete the model. There are a lot of LEGO projects that I start but never carry to completion; if they were posted online I wouldn’t feel like I had the luxury of abandoning it if I hit a dead end or lost interest in it. I have worked on a few models collaboratively with others in person but never online. Who knows, maybe I’ll try it. If posting WIP pictures is at all responsible for the quality of this final model, then it’s probably worth a shot.

Oh, and happy new year everybody!

Gondola LDraw file now available

Bill — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:08:23 +0000

I like to make LDraw virtual models of all my MOCs, for a number of reasons: so I can re-create the model if it is ever taken apart, and so I can share the design with others.

However, I’m a little stuck as to what to do with these files. Should I post them online? If so where?

As an experiment I’m posting this one on Flickr. I posted the GIF file rendered by MLCAD for my recent Gondola train car, and as a comment under that GIF I put the entire LDraw .MPD file.

I’ve also uploaded it as an attachment to this post: gondola.mpd

What do you think is the best way to make the LDraw files available?

RoadRailer Trailer

Bill — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:42:25 +0000

This cargo trailer is both a railcar and a trailer for a truck. The rail wheelsets are removable, and the road wheels are then available to be towed down the road. I built this many years ago and it’s been on numerous BayLTC train layouts, but I never put pictures online until now.

I first learned about these interesting hybrid vehicles on the PBS television show Tracks Ahead. They are a real thing made by Wabash National. Each trailer has permanently-attached road wheels, and can have railroad wheelsets attached for use in a train. The trailers are hitched to each other, with the wheelset mounted on the rear of the trailer, and a special wheelset is attached to the front one.

See the Flickr photoset for detailed pictures from various angles, or click for a slideshow.

By the way, when I posted my Gondola car, I said that was my first train car MOC. Technically I guess the RoadRailers are, but the Gondola is more of a “train car” in the traditional sense, whereas the RoadRailers are more road trailers that can be carried as a part of a train in my mind.

Gondola

Bill — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:37:55 +0000

This is my first ever train car MOC, would you believe? I’d done locomotives before, but never a car, at least that I can think of…

This gondola car first appeared at the November 2008 Great Train Expo layout by the Bay Area LEGO Train Club. I made two of these cars with a cargo of coal.

One end has a brake wheel; the other does not. Originally I built it with brake wheels on both ends but was told that was not correct, so I removed it from one end.

Train Semaphore Signal

Bill — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:06:31 +0000

This has been a feature of many BayLTC train layouts over the past few years.

This is an old-fashioned train signal, or "semaphore," which uses lights for nighttime use and an arm at various angles for daytime use. Signals like these were widely used on railroads all over the world in the early days, but particularly in North America they have been phased out and replaced with light signals. Now you mostly see them on tourist railroads or in train museums. Here is an example (from the Wikipedia Railway semaphore signal article) of an Australian version of this:

Update: I make no claim of accuracy for any particular railroad. In my research online I found many different systems for semaphore signals, both “upper quadrant” (such as this model) and “lower quadrant.” Different colors and designs were used on different railroads, and across different countries. There was probably some railroad somewhere that used a signal like mine, but I couldn’t tell you which one. Here’s another article about early railroad signaling if you are interested in reading more.

Great Train Expo Pleasanton 2008, Day 2

Bill — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:02:32 +0000

We finished up the train show in Pleasanton on Sunday. I’ve uploaded the rest of the pictures to Flickr; hope you don’t mind I just added them to the existing photoset. Here’s that link again:

You can also view the pictures as a slideshow.

Great Train Expo Pleasanton 2008, Day 1

Bill — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:19:24 +0000

The Bay Area LEGO Train Club is taking part in the Great Train Expo at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA, this weekend, November 29-30.

My contributions to the show include the “Blackburn Hotel” and the block that it’s on, a bunch of cars and other small scenic details, and a few train models.

We set up the exhibit all afternoon Friday, with some additional setup time Saturday morning before the show opened. If you missed it, you still have another chance to see it tomorrow; the show is open from 10am-4pm. Also, next weekend we’ll be setting up a somewhat smaller display at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, which will be on exhibit until January 11.

Train Show in Pleasanton Starts Today

Bill — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:06:05 +0000

Yesterday afternoon several of us members of BayLTC set up our layout at the Great Train Expo in Pleasanton, CA. The show runs today and tomorrow from 10am-4pm. Watch this space for pictures, and I hope to see you there!

Great Train Expo San Jose 2008, Day 1

Bill — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 05:54:09 +0000

The Bay Area LEGO Train Club is taking part in the Great Train Expo at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds this weekend, September 27-28.

Sorry about the lighting – I didn’t get around to taking any pictures until after they had shut off the main lights, so I had to use a flash. I plan to take more tomorrow.

We have a 25×25 foot layout with downtown, train yard, farm, and other LEGO models on display. If you have a chance to stop by and see the show, please be sure to say hi. I’m planning to be there all day.

Caltrain F40PH v2

Bill — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:02:25 +0000

This is my second attempt at modeling a Caltrain diesel locmotive, as seen running commuter trains between San José and San Francisco, CA. Years ago, I built a model of the Caltrain F40PH locomotive. The trickiest part of this engine to model is the nose, which has a “V” shape and also slopes back. In the earlier version, I mounted tiles at a complex compound angle, but was never entirely happy with that. The relatively new 1×1 “cheese” slope piece offers new opportunities for ways to achieve angles like this. But in order to get a smooth slope, I had to use half-plate offsets. I’m pretty happy with the result.

It is an EMD F40PH, similar to the ones Amtrak used to use for all their long haul trains, used by VIA Rail in Canada, and widely used in commuter lines around the USA and Canada.

This model made its debut at BrickFair, but I couldn’t post about it here since I only finished building it the night before I flew to DC for the convention. I also brought it to this past weekend’s BayLUG meeting in San Leandro.

Other notable features are the windscreens, which are made from 1×2 panels mounted on jumper plates and turned at a slight angle, half-plate inset panels on the sides, and another half-plate offset on the rear door. I’m planning to give a talk on half-plate offsets at BrickCon next month in Seattle. Like the previous version I used 4×4 old style turntables for the roof fans, but in this version there is a Technic gear representing the fan blades. I thought about motorizing them, but haven’t tried it yet.

RIP 9V Trains

Bill — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:17:42 +0000

Well, LEGO has finally made up their mind on the future of trains. Steve Witt has announced that the 9V system will be discontinued, to be replaced by IR-controlled, battery-powered trains.

The only silver lining is that the new system will be based on the new Technic Power Functions system rather than the much-maligned IR trains currently being sold. LEGO is working with AFOLs to design the new system, and I am really hoping they find a way to come up with a battery-powered system that has enough power for the needs of LEGO train clubs.

In the meantime, stocking up on 9V train parts might not be a bad idea….

Technorati Tags: lego, trains, 9v

September 25, 2001: Pedestrian Bridge

Bill — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 03:00:59 +0000

On my old Web site/blog, bill.wards.net, I have a lot of LEGO postings which used brickshelf.com for image hosting. Although I copied all the images to Flickr some time back, I never updated the listings to point to the new image location. Now that ~~Brickshelf is going offline~~ (edit: it came back, but I still prefer Flickr), however, I need to do that. And rather than update them on the old site, I have decided to move them to Brickpile instead. This is the oldest LEGO posting on that site:

Unlike the rest of my models, this was not built using my own LEGO collection. During a trip to Germany in August 2001, I visited with some German LEGO fans and we built some accessories for their train layout.

More pictures from my trip to Germany can be found on my website in the travel section.
Pictures posted by Holger were on Brickshelf – not sure where to link to them now. But I have saved a copy of them, and may post them somewhere if he doesn’t.
LEGO’s official home page.
The international LEGO Users Group Network.
I met these German LEGO fans on the 1000steine.de website (steiene means “bricks”). There is a discussion forum, where I posted: “any German LEGO fans want to meet me?”.

Click the big picture to go to the set page on Flickr, or you can view a slideshow of the photos.

Caltrain F40PH Locomotive

Bill — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 07:50:25 +0000

I keep building stuff and using it in BayLTC displays but not posting them online! Here’s another example. This locomotive was built a few years ago, not long after I first got the Super Chief, which sadly has long been discontinued. Like the Super Chief, the top lifts off and it has a control cab with prime mover motor modeled inside. I also added a head-end unit.

Key features I’m particularly proud of are the cockpit windows (mounted on plate hinges) and cooling fans (made from 4×4 turntables, taken apart – the base is mounted on the top of the roof, and the top of the turntable is placed underneath to represent intakes). The nose is also mounted at a difficult angle; this is achieved by a combination of hinge elements.

The color scheme is based on the Caltrain commuter trains which run between San Francisco and San Jose, CA. The exterior detailing is minimal, and not terribly accurate (for one thing, the real thing has red and white stripes on the nose, not yellow and black), but at most of our train shows people have immediately recognized it as a Caltrain so I consider it a success.

View the pictures on Flickr (or view as a slideshow)

TCA 2007

Bill — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:46:11 +0000

This weekend, BayLTC is exhibiting at the Train Collectors’ Association Cal-Stewart Spring Meet at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara. We have a 25′x25′ train layout with four loops of trains and a monorail. The exhibit is open to the public today from 10am to 2pm.

I took some pictures of the layout this morning which you can view on Flickr (or view as a slideshow)

Technorati Tags: bayltc, lego, tca

BayLUG at MoAH

Bill — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 23:09:23 +0000

Each year for the past couple of years BayLUG has put on an exhibit at the Museum of American History in Palo Alto, CA. This year was no exception. The exhibit ran from December 16 through January 14. I didn’t actively participate in this show, though, as I was busy with holiday madness and illness. But the show went on without me, and I managed to go there last Thursday, when the museum played host to a reception for the local Yale alumni club. While I was there I took some pictures using my new phone (I got a Treo 700P recently) and I just now posted them on Flickr.

You can click the photo to the right to view the photoset or see the pictures as a slide show.

Technorati Tags: lego, baylug, bayltc, moah, trains, paloalto