@playingwithechoes
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Working on a side module to go with the bridge while I’m at it. The columns supporting the counterweight above were shifted out by a stud past the track baseplate to make it LGMS compliant (they want 16 studs clear instead of 14 for each track so basically no columns on the main 32×32 baseplate and no platforms higher than rail elevation). So designing a side module with a 1 stud cutout for the columns and provide a nice train shed and three gas silos. Going to articulate more details into the architecture of the model. The truck unloading dock has a little road. Let me know if that’s the right way to build the roads per the group MILS.
Fortunately, the columns are connected with technic back under the main baseplate with a little foundation system to make it all rigid. And reinforcing other areas of the design.
For anyone using social media for the LUG, here’s the youtube format of the video tour for PG Home and Garden Show. It should embed in your web pages.
It might be able to test at least the connectivity of parts. Though, it’s all heavily reinforced technic frames so it’s not so much the bridge frame I’d be concerned about.
I have a knack for designing rigid frames and designing modules. The bridge part is a hefty six pounds of technic and reinforcements. The sheer depth of the upper and lower frames should prevent significant deflection and the inherent load limits should far exceed whatever Glenn or I roll on the outer loops. If built IRL, I have my means to physically test the load bearing capacity prior to use at train shows.
I haven’t thought that far. It still needs a couple rounds of revisions on the details before I would look into building it. Other than a couple tons of 1×1 plates to fill the counterweight, it’s an otherwise relatively small project in terms of parts. Just mostly large parts and technic connector pins. It’s not anything super fantastic like a 50k parts life size sculpture of a famous person or anything like that which would warrant project support.
Thanks. Here’s the completed go at the initial design, complete with a mechanical room (with PF battery box, motor, and switch inside). Ideally, there’ll be enough ballast in the counterweight that it’ll only need a single motor to effortlessly move the bridge up and down.
My Schnabel car clears it at all relevant checks so @emperorofthenorthpole trains and my trains on the outer loops can safely navigate the bridge with no fear of collisions with any of the structural members.
Without ballast, it’s about 3900 parts, which isn’t bad. Just big yellow technic parts and some 9v dark bluish gray track which will have to be filed at the ends for the bridge to work and still carry the electric current.
I plan on publicly posting this on my PTW page on Monday (April Fool’s Day) as another of my absurdly large builds. Joke’s on the them as I will continue to develop the design and refine details for future use. 🙂
Got a start on the articulated counter weight. Have to design the frame better but it’s a start to work with in Studio.
Gentleman talking about trains… did he have a mustache? Then it was me, LOL.
Welcome to the club, fellow train enthusiast.
I design all sorts of real life unusual locomotives and hazardous cargo cars in Studio and then build them IRL. I’m not an expert on Studio but I have a methodology that makes it work efficiently for what I need it for in train designs and publishing my instruction books on AMZ. So if you have a question, ask me and I can try to help out. Playwell bricks on Youtube has some great vid tutorials too.
What kind of train consist are you looking to build?
Yeah, yours was better than that, though I’m impressed at the triple track. They’re using that one truss piece that came out like a decade ago in a truck hauling bridge parts set. The truss part came only in that set and it’s be snapped up by the bridge builders for trains and cars like crazy as it’s rigid and doesn’t require calculating angles to align parts. Yours was all entirely Technic beams/liftarm parts put together in a logical manner. If possible, I’d like to see your bridge kept as a design study and as possible use maybe on a high elevation track as I’ve seen some layouts have tracks on different levels with mountains/hills.
Currently worked out some curve sloped interlocking end caps on the yellow drawbridge that will align the bridge with the farside landing when it lowers. So we won’t have to worry about the modified track end alignment for keeping wheels on the rail or power transmitting when the outer loops are someday electrified. 😉
Now the bridge is taking shape with sloped ends. XD
The counter weight and tower frame is gonna be massive to balance it.
@joshhall, take a screen shot. I’m not a member of that group so I sadly can’t see the vid. 🙁
Here’s the video tour I made of the layout, if anyone wants to share it for the LUG.
Tour of CSC 2024Should be able to embed on blog sites, etc. And it features almost all the trains that rain on all the loops. Pardon the sound effects but I rather enjoy editing all the reverberating noise to be more realistic. It’s so fun playing with echoes. 😉
So I just got notification about making stickers, probably because of all the stickers on my Lego train rolling stock. XD
They were made in two ways. First, the locomotives had UV ink printed on the parts by Millionprints.
The rolling stock livery were handmade by yours truly, using ink jet friendly paper from Amazon. I printed that on my printer, let it dry over night, and then sealed it with three coats of gloss sealant meant for drawings and artwork. Once that aired out another day or so, I cut them out with an exacto and a metal straight edge. Peeled off the backing and stuck them on. There’s a color chart online that lists the Lego RGB or HSL value so you can match closely on your computer and adjust as needed. The tan was pretty spot on, based on my Bhutanese Butter Tea refrigerated box car.
I used illustrator but you can use photoshop, paint, or whatever you have to make graphics and size to fit. I know even MS word has rulers in inches. What you print is your own liability. I know in the train world, Union Pacific and others don’t seem to care if you print their livery for custom trains. There’s quite a few home printers on Etsy, Ebay, etc. I guess they consider it free advertising? And our dear local PRR is defunct, as are a few other railroads.
LUG Doug has been around for years with the SCL logo laser etched on it. If you’re uncertain, you can always contact Lego in Denmark and give them the details about the project.
I wanted to say thanks for everyone putting the display together and getting things operating. Once again, it was a blast to be rolling trains with the LUG. Between @emperorofthenorthpole cargo trains and my own STEM/Industrial trains, the crowds were loving the giant consists and all the amazing details packed into the outer loops. And the little trains on the R40 loops were wonderful and charming. The Mr. Rogers trolley is always a favorite. So thanks again for everything.
At one point, I heard some visitors singing the “Roll on Big Boy” song. Quite a few retired steel workers and nuclear energy engineers were happy to see their trades represented by Lego bricks and they told old tales of working with those torpedo and flask cars.
Special thanks to Glenn again for lending the battery box for the Challenger to help stretch its run on rechargeable power.
I look forward to rolling trains again soon.
For Home and Garden, I’ll of course bring back the giant blue Schnabel car but I should have the little retro 6w Circus train ready if anyone has or wants to build a circus display. (It will fit on a R40 loop.) And as requested by John, I think those secret agents may have their spy satellite launch car ready by then too. XD
As a heads up, I will dropping off my trains Saturday morning long before the show starts. I’ll arrive quite early with my brother. Train set up for me will only take a few minutes and I’ll use the rest of the time to help with anything that needs worked on before the show starts.
For people using the Power Function controllers, watch your frequency.
Glenn Holland on R120 likes to use Channel 1 “aka Player 1”.
I on R104 like to use Channel 4 “aka the unlucky channel”.
Inner small loops, Channel 2 and 3 as needed.
If we need to, we can split between “left and right” to have up to 8 power function trains running.Be ready to press the stop button if an emergency happens, like if catzilla attacks. LOL
If you use the Powered Up Blue Tooth, they sync to the single train so that’s not a problem of cross interference between trains.
@rcgrier3406, will there be a secondary display table for static trains like last time? Do we need to provide our own straight tracks for that?@joshhall, and @rcgrier3406, I’ve attached a render showing the widest point of the Schnabel car, along with red/white bricks to visualize the exact size. Good news is that it’s a typical 8w base up to the platform with the control arms. So low boxes near the track won’t be a problem.
Then it’s 12w at the upper shoulders. The cargo platform swings over (hence why I will be using the R104 loop this time to avoid hitting Glenn’s trains running on the R120 loop) but the platform is at least 5 bricks over the ground plain, plus a few plates when you calculate the track raised by ballast plates. Like the Home and Garden show, I can tear off a portion of the shoulders so it’s a 10w in case there’s any points it may rub against the bridge sides or crossing. Main thing is to make sure the draw bridge or crossing is in the middle of the long straightway to avoid the overhang hitting anything inside the curves.
The cargo platform is a generous 8×32 platform if you want to try something other than a flask cargo. Or I can see about putting the LUG logo on the flask with my printer and sticky paper. 🙂
Also received the Winner’s Brick from Brick Train Awards (US, Best Consist of Danger) so I can add that to the display or on my name badge. I figure Glenn got his too for his category if he wants to show it off at the CSC. His engine (Best Steam Locomoitive, US and Global) definitely earned it.
Added my availability. @joshhall, if you’re adding the draw bridge, do you want me to send you a Studio file mockup of my Schnabel car extreme width/height points to check clearance with your bridge design? We got it to work at Home and Garden but I think I had to remove the shoulder pistons, which I can gladly do again to make it work.
Thanks. I agree they look better than just standard black wheel bogies. Only thing better would be if they came in that lacquer silver finish. LOL
Thanks. I design in studio and then do test builds, adapting details as necessary. Then I update the studio model into an “as-built” version as we call it in architorture.
I go on to “dna” sequencing the final model parts/components in steps, and then layout the instructions according to my templates.When I model in studio, I look at reference photos of the trains and I build with parts in the available colors. I don’t do all white models because I focus on using parts realistically available in a range of colors and reasonable cost for those parts in selected hues, even when doing the initial formwork and proportions. It may be easier to model in white to see the contours but then I get frustrated when a part isn’t available in other colors.
@timf, I would love to see an Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile modeled in Lego. That would be hilarious in the city street layout. XD
@joshhall, sorry to hear you had to have your appendix removed. I hope for a speedy recovery.
If on the chance you’re still under the weather in the coming weeks and it’s too much trouble to move the sneeze guards and tables to CSC, I will happily play defender to protect our trains and layout at the CSC. I’m running my Schnabel and the “Consist of Danger” on the R104 loop anyway so I can patrol the perimeter and protect both the 120 and 104 loops from stray hands since they’re the first line of defense. The crowds at the CSC last year were generally polite about it after a gentle reminder to not touch the trains.No sneeze guards unless we use LUG tables? Duly noted. If we use their tables, I will gladly help protect Glenn’s trains and my own when we run the outer loops. I noticed the crowds were generally well behaved with only one minor incident that was easily repaired.
Also as an update, I did order the Orient Express so there’s a chance I can get that modded and running in time to showcase Lego’s latest train set. If not, I still have my big four beautiful steamers, Croc, and GP35 diesel so no shortage of trains. If anyone has a Detective Poirot minifigure, I’d love to put that on the train. LOLOL
More than happy to see you there, Glenn! Looking forward to seeing your latest and greatest.
I’ve got some new giant models too. My Schnabel car will certainly need the R104 circuit for safely clearing adjacent tracks, LOL. Maybe we can roll our BTA winning trains/consists on the two outer loops for LUG photos. 😀Hope we can use the sneeze guards this year. I think Josh liked how it turned out at the Home and Garden show and I plan to staff both days entirely to help with the crowds and keep the trains running. Will have spare parts (x37 rubber bands) and recharge AAA batteries in case you or other members need to borrow some.
Don’t know if I can attend but will at least try on Twitch. It’s not easy speaking up on Twitch so as a heads up if CSC Locomotion is on the agenda and John or Bob or Kirsta want to pass this on, I will certainly have a bunch of highly detailed trains improved and ready to go the full distance without slippage, etc. Even reshod all the wheels with Lego x37 bands. Currently working on updated livery so the rolling stock will have all those professional looking labels and graphics. Will get my own recharge batteries. I plan on being for both Sat and Sun full staffing hours so I can keep the outer loops running. Will make sure the stickered Steel City Lug box car is on the main train so it shows the LUG logo in visitors’ photos.
Still waiting on the BTA winner’s brick for Americas Best Consist which I will share with the LUG at the display.
