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Five years of LLMTC celebrated big at LLMTCworld

2023 marks the five-year anniversary of the LLMTC. We decided to celebrate this anniversary by organizing a huge event for all of our members and all the friends we made in those five years. This article will give you a in depth look at the event, and how the LLMTC came together.

What’s the LLMTC?

The Lowlands L-Gauge Model Train Club is a small group of LEGO train enthusiasts, dedicated to modelling railways in 1:45 scale, or as close to it as (in)humanly possible. While trains are our main focus and what binds us together, several members also build diorama’s, cars, and other landscape elements to the same scale as our trains. We usually aim for 1:45, although the restrictions of the bricks sometimes result in variations between 1:48 and 1:43. Effectively the trains tend to be 8 studs wide.

Figure 1 the well-known logo of the LLMTC

The founding members of the LLMTC first met at LEGO World 2017, and decided to form a building group the next year, with the goal to build both trains and layouts that would be able to connect to each other at events. LEGO World 2018 was their first show together as a group. Standards and rules where established early on, similar to what you see in “traditional” model railway clubs. But LLMTC was entirely dedicated to building in L-gauge and scale 1:45. We’ve always considered ourselves a model railway club, which happened to be building in L-gauge, rather than a LEGO user group who build trains. After LegoWorld 2018, many other events followed. like LegoWorld 2019, NLGM Wörrstadt and Schkeuditz. Along the way, other builders joined the group, and the group became closely in contact and involved with many other LUG’s, projects like open L-gauge and events like the BrickTrainAwards.

The idea of LLMTCworld

The idea of organizing our own club event resonated from back in the long and dark covid days, when a lot of events where cancelled and you couldn’t host a large audience of visitors. Initially, we held a small gathering back in 2020, which was members only. This grew into the 2021 and 2022 ArnhemWorld event, where we would invite a small group of befriended builders like the Noppenbahner.

Figure 2 Pieter Post his station during nighttime driving at ArnhemWorld 2022

For this year, we decided to go big and make it possible for everyone who builds trains in 1:45 scale to join in, and therefore get one of the large gatherings of L-gauge builders in the Netherlands. This show would result in a lot of friends, which made in those five years, to travel all the way to meet up with us again. And for some, it was the first time to meet up with us in real life after working together through the internet for many years.

Looking for a venue

One of the biggest challenges we had for organizing LLMTC-world was the venue. In previous years we would organize our ArnhemWorld event at a high school in Arnhem. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible during the planned weekend for LLMTCworld. And thus, the rebranding from ArnhemWorld to LLMTCworld.

After a long search for possible event locations, we were able to find a hall in a bus depot that wouldn’t be in use for the weekend we where planning to host LLMTCworld. This did provide some challenges, biggest of them all, there weren’t any tables available to use at the venue. We had estimated we needed around 65 tables for all the layouts and the staging yards.

Figure 3 the still empty bus shed, a few hours later L-gauge builders would meet here to start setting up their layouts.

This estimation was followed by a few weeks long calling and emailing renting company’s, looking for the best and cheapest possibility. Tip for others who are considering organizing l-gauge related events, tables are expensive! A venue with tables makes organizing an event so much easier. We spent a lot more time and, quite frankly, a lot more money than we anticipated for getting all the tables we needed.

After this was taken care off, there were still a lot of smaller tasks on our to-do-list. Organizing stuff like diner, layout planning and general stuff takes a lot of time, and we would advise anybody who plans on hosting an event to keep this in mind.


Layout planning.

Tamás & Erwin where in charge of layout planning, and Tamás had spent a lot of time before the event puzzling all of the modules together in BlueBrick. But, as will be familiar to anyone who has planned an event of their own, there will always be things you didn’t consider beforehand. In our case, we found out there was collum for a car lift right where we were planning to build our branch line. But after some re-configuring of the track plan by Erwin & Tamás, we made it work. The layout we ended up with on the day was probably even better than the one we had planned initially.

Merch

What is an event without some cool merchandise? This year Erwin and Raised decided to design a unique T-shirt and logo for the event. This years’ design was a festival shirt with our main logo featuring the one and only Carlos! The front of the Shirts showed Carlos in the special LLMTCworld logo, the back named all the builders who took part in the event.

Figure 4 Carlos approved shirts.

Setting-up

On Friday we gather early at the venue to start cleaning up the place and unload all the tables we rented. We used multiple camper vans from different LLMTC members to drive back and forth between two different rental companies, different hardware stores, and the venue. Ties, our chief Bob the Builder, spent a lot of time making filler sections between tables, so that layouts wouldn’t need to be place above gaps in between the tables. That’s one of the downsides of building all your layouts off grid and in strange angles.

And Ties got another special task on Friday. It turned out that Erwin’s banana yard was right below a small leak in the roof. So, Ties has to be creative on fixing that one. Luckily, we found a scissor lift in the parking lot, and the leak was fixed before any trains had to swim their way across Erwin’s yard.

At the end of the day most of the layouts were set-up and we were able to start unpacking our trains and fill up the yard.

Figure 5 setting up on the Friday evening of LLMTCworld.

Saturday

On Saturday we started early again, finishing the last small gaps in the layout. Builders who weren’t able to get there on Friday arrived early on Saturday morning, to set-up their layouts and to unpack their trains. By around 11:00 the entire yard was packed full, and the layout was completely set-up. Now it was finally time to start driving some trains!

Figure 6 express trains going back and forward on the main line. Picture by Thomas Reincke. Models by Raised, Erwin and Raimond.

We only have one rule when it comes to driving trains, and that you always drive on the right-hand side of the track. Some builders who weren’t used to that had some difficulty with that, resulting in weird situations where you would be driving towards each other on the same track. Beside that, your able to drive whenever you like, taking whatever wagons and route that you would like. Especially when it comes to freight wagons, a lot of the wagons get mixed up when driving. Most of the time you would be pulling or shunting freight wagons from 3 or 4 different builders at the same time. And that’s what makes driving at events like these so much fun.

I personally love shunting in one of the different stations or the big yard, reorganizing the freight wagons and making giant mixed freight trains that others would be able to pick up with their locomotives.

Figure 7 shunting action at Wörrstadt Hbf. Picture by Joop Atkleppie, station by Nick Kleinfelder, models by Tamás and myself.

Evening

Traditionally on Saturday evening, we host special activities. One of these is the traditional A(k)awards ceremony, where the host (Raised), would hand out professionally made award bricks. There was also a quiz with in depth questions, like who has the longest running unfinished project.

To celebrate the first release of the collaboration premium building kits from HA bricks, Raised and Erwin gave a presentation of how they designed the model, and how the experience was to work together with HA bricks to turn the model into a premium building kit.

Figure 8 the host of the A(k)wards Raised with his professionally made presentation.

Sunday

Sunday was the second day of driving trains on the layout. It was quiet in the morning since most the drivers where still hungover from the Saturday evening. But after lunch, most people where awake and present again, and everybody was able to fully enjoy driving their trains on the railway lines. To get a better understanding on what it’s like to operate your trains on this event, let’s step into my SSN 01 1075 with Rheingold coaches (don’t mind the door that keeps falling off, or that buffer, they weren’t important) and let’s drive across the railway line! If you’re wondering how this train looks like when it’s driving on the layout, take a look at this video which shows the combination in action at LLMTC-world:

We start off at the main staging yard. This location is always packed with trains who are ready to go, or are getting some small repairs. This time Erwin is getting another huge container train ready to go on the mainline, so in between his shunting actions we kindly ask if we are allowed to leave, and the switches are kindly set in the correct position. We depart the yard and pass Essendorf station from Thomas Reincke. Since we know Erwin will be leaving the yard soon, we better step up the pace and continue onwards. Passing Raised his polder landscape and Tijn his farm we come across halte Wattenweiler from Thomas Reincke. Since the railway line in this station is in a bend, we are really able to pick up speed.

Figure 10 GTW Herman Brood by Erwin passes the polder landscape by Raised and starts entering the farm module from Tijn.

After we pass some curved NOIS modules Nicolas made, we come by the railway crossing from Daniel and the farm module from Jelle. After these, we come to a slow and gentle stop at Krokant Centraal, the new station that I’m constructing. Since the magnets from Erwin his freight train decided not to work today and leave Erwin looking for lithium magnets, we’ve got some time to stop here and take pictures. After a departure we come through the Banana yard from Erwin, a landscape module by Ties and the layout Tamás built, which uses grand curves to give a nice smooth feel to it. This layout is also the junction for the first section of the branch line (more about that later). After Tamás his layout we enter the Darwin interchange by Erwin, this layout is full of switches and weird crossing and has a triple function. It functions as a return loop for the main line, as a second junction to the branch line, and as the perfect location for spectacular accidents as different train lines cross over each other.

Figure 11 the Darwing interchange is always the perfect location to see trains doing weird things. Like this locomotive from Sergió.

The first junction into the branch line leads into Donát’s station. This has sidetracks for multiple trains to wait before they enter the mainline. The second junction into the branch line has multiple small modules connected to each other. First is a small module I’ve built together with Tamás about a year ago, second is Daniel’s module with a railway maintenance shed and lastly comes Gruninger’s layout where steam locomotives can get fresh coal and water.

Figure 12 our excursion train in the station module Donát built.

After this, both branch line routes join together, and continue up to Wörrstadt Hbf built by Nick Kleinfelder. This station is, like mentioned before, the perfect place for some shunting activities, but is also a great place to take pictures off trains against the perfect backdrop of the classical and historical station building.

Last but not least, this branch line ends up in the tunnel module Erwin is working on. After this tunnel comes the smaller branch line yard which was mostly used to house freight wagons during the shunting activities at Wörrstadt Hbf.

Figure 13 Tamás his SJ B 1289 leaving Erwin his tunnel module.

Line-ups

On Sunday afternoon we decided to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the LLMTC with some line-ups that would show what a diverse range of trains we have been building in the last five years. First was the special LLMTC line up, with some of the most recognizable models built by LLMTC members in the last 5 years.

After that, we wanted to showcase some diversity, and highlight all of the unique colors and shapes we are able to incorporate into the models. So we gathered all the black and red tea kettles together in Wörrstadt Hbf. Can you spot the differences?

Lastly, we gathered all the nez-cassé locomotives that were present at this show, a whopping 15 in total, at the banana yard. Since the entire railway was blocked for these line-ups, others had the opportunity (or where forced to) to stop and take some pictures of their own models at different locations around the layout.

Figure 14 black and red steam locomotives owners club
Figure 15 the LLMTC-line up
Figure 16 all the nes-cassé locomotives together, a whopping 15 in total.

Video

Like always Ties recoded a lot of the trains running on the huge layout and combined this to a amazing video. Nothing shows events better than the talented video’s Ties makes. I highly recommend watching this video!

Looking back

Looking back at the weekend and the months before the event, there were a lot of stressful moments trying to get everything to come together, but it was worth it. Organizing this event took more time than we first anticipated. Both Raised and I spent a lot of evenings calling each other to discuss stuff we had arranged or still needed to arrange. Tamás had the difficult task to plan all the layouts together and spent a lot of time fighting with our beloved BlueBrick program.

However, seeing all these people come together during the weekend and seeing all those trains run on the layout that we spent so much time on, was more than worth it! This even was easily in the top 3 events I’ve ever been too, and was a perfect way to celebrate five years of LLMTC. Let’s hope we can celebrate the 10th anniversary of the LLMTC in an even bigger way!

Figure 17 the entire crew that made LLMTC-world possible!

I hope that every builder who came by or attended the event had as much fun as I did. To see so many friends come together is truly breathtaking. This all started 5 years ago when a small group of similarly-minded train builders came together just do one show. Now, five years later, we’ve done more shows than I can remember, we’ve traveled to other countries just to attend LEGO train events and we’ve been involved in some amazing projects.

Thank you to all that have joined us, worked with us, and befriended us! The fact that we’ve been doing this for five years now is something I could never have imagined. And the fact that we’ve been able to meet and work with so many different builders and friends, is truly a privilege.

I would also like to thank HA bricks for sponsoring this event! It was great to be able to talk to Hein from HA bricks about the latest projects he has been working on. And we are really looking forward to his next products releases! 

Figure 18 the LLMTCworld logo

And I would like to leave with a small story when we attended a “normal” railway show earlier this year. We were talking with some members of a “normal” model railway organization and they asked us where our club house is, we responded that we don’t have one and that we all just built individual modules and models that we bring to events. This already baffled them and we spent a long time explaining what our modular standards where. I proceeded to tell them about our collaboration with other organizations like the Noppenbahner, BrickModelRailroader, BrickTrainAwards, the LNUR, Len Eisenbahner and our work with companies like TrixBrix, HA bricks, PfxBricks, Buwizz and many others. And they just couldn’t fathom it. International collaboration on this scale just doesn’t happen, not in their world at least. What we have in the L-Gauge community is very special, and we are supper grateful to have been a part of that for the last 5 year.

Thank you all for reading, take care and see you next time!

Special thanks to Ties for spell checking the entire article!

-ciao Enrico

OcTRAINber 2022: The Results

After two months of dedicated building, OcTRAINber 2022 saw a somewhat smaller but very high quality set of entries. This year’s challenge was quite a big one, and it’s safe to say that everyone who participated rose to the occasion quite well. Today, I’m quite proud to announce the winners of this year’s OcTRAINber: Rebuilds & Retrofits challenge. 

Last weekend, Cale Leiphart, Matt Csenge, and myself were joined in judging by a staple competitor and many-time OcTRAINber winner: Alexander, also known online as “narrow_gauge”. Together, the four of us reviewed these great entries and picked out the winners. Alexander’s got a keen eye for the LEGO train modeling hobby and his contributions, both to the judging and the hobby, are stellar. Many thanks, Alexander, for participating in the judging this year!

Before I get to the winners, let’s take a quick review of what they’ve won this year, shall we?

The Prizes

BrickTracks has contributed several sets of switches for the winners. Each winner of the four main categories will receive one R104 Switch Track Set, while the Grand Prize winner will be getting three!

BMR Gift Card

Each of the four category winners will receive a $30 Gift Card for the BMR shop, and the Grand Prize winner will receive a BMR Gift Card worth $40!

Without further ado, let’s get to the announcements!

This Year’s Winners:

Winner: Buildings and Structures

Gilles Lessard’s “Heavy Hauling Hearts” Flatcar Bridge

Gilles Lessard has brought us the story of a flatcar that was eventually repurposed into a pedestrian bridge at a Golf Course, and has built both an excellent model of the flatcar in its rolling stock days as well as its later life ‘photo stock’ days after being converted into a bridge; including two seasons in his diorama to represent both the wintry weather in which he skied under it as well as a wedding photoshoot he found in his searches for more reference material.

This is both an excellent pair of models, and a great fit into this year’s theme. Congratulations, Gilles!

Winner: Steam Locomotive

Ts__’s BR05-003

Ts__ certainly seems to have been hit heavy with inspiration and drive this year, having built two physical models and digitally designing a third. This odd duck of a locomotive was initially built as a streamlined cab-forward steam locomotive that burned, of all things, coal dust, before later being rebuilt as a more traditional engine to make something useful out of it after its performance proved unsatisfactory.

Ts__ has captured all three time periods of this locomotive in great detail, but furthermore has managed the impressive task of making them actually run; a feat I was quite honestly not expecting from the streamlined engine. It’s crazy to see just how big of a change this steam engine went through!

Winner: Rolling Stock

Denis’s Pontarlier Rotary Snow Plough

Denis Garnier’s curious little snowplow started life as both a tender and an unrelated electric locomotive, before the railroad essentially kit-bashed them together into this 3-axle rotary snowplow. Denis has modeled both the tender that provided the frame as well as the snowplow created from it, both with an excellent level of detail and a system to motorize the snowplow’s blower. The shapes and textures of both models are exemplary, and do a great job of representing two pieces of rolling stock that look entirely different at a glance – but have their common components clearly represented to those who give it a closer look.

Winner: Other Locomotive

Scruffulous’s Victorian Railways Rail Tractor

Scruffulous’s Rail Tractor is an incredibly well-realized set of models depicting a very interesting transformation of its constituent parts. Apparently a fan of repurposing the frames of their I Wagons, the Victorian Railways solved a motive power need by installing a tractor onto one of these frames to power it via chain drive, and then built a cab around it.

Scruffulous’ models are all amazingly detailed, the Rail Tractor is motorized, and the 3D printed parts he’s created for the handrails really feel like they add to the model. The detailing of the springs and the bearing boxes is inspired, and the shape of the tractor on the front of the locomotive is unmistakable. Fantastic work!

Winner: Grand Prize

Hod Carrier’s Articulated Railcar

Through both his builds and the WIP story, Hod Carrier has shown an incredibly fine example of what serious LEGO model railroading is all about. Two trains, three units each, and an amazing amount of work to faithfully recreate a multitude of complex and subtle curves and shapes. Not content with that, the models are motorized and the passenger version includes an interior; in addition to the fantastic new method of close-coupled articulation he’s developed to keep the space between the cars to a minimum.

The amount of design work and research put into this somewhat obscure bit of rail history is impressive, and the final product seems well-worth the time put into it. Great builds, Hod!

Final Words

As always, thanks to everybody who participated in OcTRAINber this year; be it competitors or those who took the time to encourage the participants. This year’s theme was perhaps a bit daunting, but you all met the challenge well and produced some great models with fascinating histories. 

I’d also like to once again thank Narrow_Gauge for joining us in judging these models. I’ve always loved seeing his amazing entries, and it was really cool to have his perspective involved in our review this year.

And, finally, once more, congratulations to all the winners of OcTRAINber 2022!

OcTRAINber: Polishing the Presentations

With only a week and a half left in OcTRAINber it’s time to make that final push to finish the entries before the deadline. Already the sweet sights of many WIP entries have been coming out to be seen. It’s always so amazing to see the creative and amazing things that people choose to build each year for the competition!

Build competitions are always filled to the brim with very high-quality models, and each year the quality gets better and better and it’s always difficult to choose a winner. Today I’d like to take some time to make my life harder in that regard, and talk about how to make a stronger entry. Some of these things are nearly universal, but I’m also going to have some extra focus on Digital entries. 

In this article, I’d like to briefly discuss a few things to help add a little extra polish to your entries, and after that I’ve found a few links to resources that may be of great assistance to digital builders.

Adding Life into a scene

When building structures or scenery, oftentimes just getting the shapes and the details right is hard enough work on its own. Sometimes the subject of your build is something that would be quite pristine in the real world, but oftentimes in both nature and constructed environments life leaves a mark on the world around it.

Be it cups, boxes, old wheels, tramped-down foliage, or just general clutter, making sure to include these sorts of ‘lived in’ details can help make a model feel less like a model and more like a little picture of something real. As you study your real-world inspiration, keep a look out for these sorts of details and see if you can incorporate them into your build.

Breaking up Repetition

Breaking repetition goes quite hand-in-hand with adding life into a scene, but I find it especially important for digital modeling. One of the nice things about building a digital model is that, if you need to build a five-section bridge you can do almost all the work on just a single section and then copy that as many times as needed to create quite a large model quickly.

With a physical build, the sheer size or magnitude of something made this way could well make up for the repetitious nature of it – you know that though the design of the segments is the same, the builder had to procure and assemble every brick of it. Digital builds can lose a lot of ‘oomph’ that a very impressive physical structure can muster; but they don’t have to suffer this lightly.

Whether it be a large bridge, a multiplatform station, or something as small as a fence, adding details and finding ways to break up the visual repetition of the build can bring a very satisfying depth to any model. Sections of damaged fence, station platforms that are under maintenance, or other ways of bringing a used or unique perspective to otherwise identical or repetitive parts of the structure can go a long way towards making something feel more substantial; digital or not!

Showcase your highlights, show off your clever solutions

Whether you’re building digitally or physically, you may find a situation where you end up spending a significant amount of time solving a build problem that ends up being wildly complicated, incredibly tricky, or just needs a really clever solution… but the end results end up being subtle and something that may be missed.

With so many entries of such high complexity and quality, it is of course possible that these sorts of details or features may end up overlooked (Or it could just be hard for someone seeing only the finished product to understand the hidden depths and complexity!). This is where the WIP aspect of OcTRAINber really can help you show off your entries – take good pictures of your tricky or clever solutions and share them! We’ve had quite a few entries over the years that used some pretty mind blowing build techniques that were well-documented by the builder.

Documenting these also helps serve as a ‘proof of concept’ for certain aspects, especially with digital builds. Even if you have a digital entry, if there’s something complicated involved it may be worth it to include a picture of a test build of the clever solution to show it really works!

Digital Resources:

It’s no secret that digital builders do often feel like it’s hard to get the same attention for their builds that physical builders do. It’s something that we judges work hard to keep in mind, but the fact of the matter is that we can only judge based on the things we see. We have seen many absolutely incredible digital entries over the years, but a lot of otherwise amazing builds end up missing the same level of finesse.

A high-quality LEGO train build, or indeed build in general, can very often be found to have all sorts of extras. Just like a traditional model railroader, LEGO train models tend to go very cross-disciplinary: Well-made decals, custom wheels, custom rods, and other ways of adding those perfect finishing touches. Learning how to add these sorts of finishing touches into a digital model takes both skills and resources that may not be readily available to most people, so one of the things I’d like to do is help provide links to places where people have made these sorts of things available to the community.

LDraw/Stud.io Compatible Parts

There are many digital building programs available, and quite a few which make use of the LDraw Parts Library. If you are using one of these programs, such as Stud.io or LDCad, you can add custom parts to the program using appropriately created files.

BMR’s Kadee Couplers

BMR Knuckle Couplers

For those of you who want to model your trains with the Kadee Knuckle Couplers offered by BMR, we have the digital parts files available for free in the shop:

https://brickmodelrailroader.shop/products/knuuckle-coupler-ldraw-studio-cad-files

Custom Drivers by BigBenBricks

Big Ben Bricks Drivers

Big Ben Bricks has offered a great selection of wheels for a long time, and they offer downloads for the LDraw Parts files for the majority of these wheels. These files can be added to Stud.io as well, though if you want connectivity functionality you will need to add it yourself in the Parts Designer. They are still quite usable without, however.

http://www.bigbenbricks.com/ldraw/ldraw.html

Custom Drivers by HA Bricks

HA Bricks Drivers

In advance of plans to sell injection molded drivers of their own, HA Bricks has made Stud.io files available for a very wide variety of train wheels. These can be found at the link below, and each download has a text file with instructions for how to import the parts into Stud.io using the Parts Designer tool.

https://www.habricks.com/product-categorie/wheels/

Custom Locomotive Rods by Trained Bricks

Custom Locomotive Rods

While there’s nothing wrong with sticking to standard LEGO liftarms for the rods on your engines, I very often see an array of these liftarms used on a model with a note or comment that they are stand-ins for custom rods that the designer hopes to add in later. Trained Bricks is probably the most popular supplier of well-functioning custom rods for LEGO trains, and conveniently also offers a download pack for the digital files for these rods.

https://trainedbricks.square.site/digital-resources

I hope the digital resources come in handy for you! It’s been very amazing to see the WIP builds posted so far, and I’m quite excited to see what else shows up as we approach the final deadline.

Please remember to have everything submitted in the proper entry threads on our Flickr page no later than October 31, 11:59 PDT!! At that point entries will be closed.

Happy building!

OcTRAINber 2022 — Rebuilds & Retrofits

Hello again, everybody! October isn’t quite here yet, but it’s just about time to get rolling for this year’s OcTRAINber. We’re going to be making a couple tweaks to the format this year that I’ll explain later in the post, but for now let’s get into the rundown on this year’s theme: “Rebuilds & Retrofits“.

Railroads have had a long history of taking old cars or engines and trying to use them for as long as possible. Railroad equipment is expensive, after all. Old equipment is kept repaired and patched up as best as it can be, but sometimes these old pieces of stock end up being changed for something very different. Locomotives may be altered significantly to help them better fit in a different role, such as a tank engine having its tanks removed and replaced with a tender. Sometimes old passenger cars end up heavily rebuilt for a non-revenue role and go on to serve as Maintenance-of-Way equipment. Some freight cars end up rebuilt as passenger service cars, or stripped down and turned into a bridge.

That, ultimately, is what this year’s OcTRAINber is all about. We’re looking for models of Railroad equipment that has been rebuilt or retrofitted to serve a different or altered function from its original intent. In addition, we’d like to see two LEGO models, one of both the before AND after – show us how the subject has changed!

Hammond Lumber Co.’s 2-6-6-2t #6 was later converted to a tender engine and sold to Southwest Lumber, where it was re-numbered to #12

The Challenge

Ultimately, we’re looking for major changes in the modeled subjects. While a boxcar with friction-bearing trucks getting an upgrade to roller-bearing trucks does indeed count as a retrofit, it’s not a very large change and won’t score many points. What we’re really looking for is something that has been changed to operate in a significantly different way, or something that has been altered to look drastically different.

We realize that this year’s theme requires building two models – but we’re very open to options. There are several acceptable ways to reach this criteria:

1. Build both versions of the model in LEGO Bricks.
2. Build both versions of the model digitally
3. Build one version in LEGO, and one version digitally
4. Build and photograph one version in LEGO bricks, then actually alter it to the second version and photograph that. Both versions need not exist simultaneously; they just need to be photographed and submitted together in a single entry

Southern Pacific removed the engine components from 9010 and rebuilt the nose, turning it into a camera car and re-numbering it to 8799

Rules

  • Entries must be original models. No stealing. This also means no Mods (thus also no sets), only original MOCs.
  • One entry per person, per category. You can enter as many categories as you like, but you can only enter one model in each category. We want quality over quantity. So pick your best model and make it shine.
  • Third party parts are allowed, clone bricks aren’t. We know this can be a thin line, just walk it wisely, and we’ll do our best to judge fairly on this.
  • We are making no rules for the scale you choose to model in. We are welcoming models of 6, 7, and 8 studs, and anything in between or beyond! However, we appreciate detail and accuracy. Reasonably sized models are usually better for that, but we don’t knock anything or anyone with serious skill.
  • NEW BUILDS ONLY. We are willing to accept anything unpublished or anything that was not published before August 1st 2022 as new. We want to inspire and promote a challenging build, entering an old model doesn’t quite work in that regard.
  • Entries MUST be made on our Flickr group in the appropriate thread. This is the ONLY place we will be looking for entries, nowhere else. Sending photos to us on social media or showing us in person does not count as entries! These threads will open on September 1st.
  • We will be accepting entries from Midnight on September 1st to Midnight on November 1st (meaning October 31st, at 23:59 PDT). Due to the scale of the competition as well as helping efforts to expedite the judging, we’ve opted to start OcTRAINber early instead of having it run long into the holiday season. This also means there will be no extensions this year, so make sure you’re all ready by the end of October!
  • Digital entries are allowed, and will be competing in the same categories as the physical models. As mentioned before, we are accepting “mixed-media” entries due to requiring two models, so you are welcome to submit one Physical and one Digital model to complete an entry.
A second deck has been added to this New Haven flatcar to facilitate maintenance on the electrified lines

Categories

There will be four categories to enter this year, with a winner for each. There will also be an extra Grand Prize winner, as we’ve done in some previous years, for a total of five prizes.

The Categories are as follows:

1. Steam Locomotives

2. Other Locomotives (E.G. Diesels, Electrics, Rail buses, anything that provides its own motive power)

3. Rolling Stock (E.G. Freight, Passenger, MOW, etc)

4. Buildings and Structures (E.G. repurposed stations, rail cars that have been repurposed as bridges.)

If you are building something that could go in multiple categories, for example a flatcar (rolling stock) that has been repurposed into a bridge (structure), then we’d recommend entering it in the category that best fits what it has been adapted into. In this example the flatcar has been turned into a bridge, and should be entered as a structure.

This ATSF Boxcar was converted into a bridge over a canal

Judging and Scoring

Entries will be judged primarily on these three criteria:

1. Accuracy to Prototype — How well do your models represent their real-life counterparts? Proportions, detailing, and functionality all help out here.

2. WIP Story — Include pictures and information on the real-life counterparts to your build, show the build process, and highlight the differences between the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ versions of your model.

3. Transformation Factor — This is focused on how significant of a change took place. Something like changing the trucks out to reflect a bearing type upgrade will score much lower than something that has been changed to operate or be used in a significantly different or unique way; or has been altered to look drastically different.

As always, keep in mind that OcTRAINber is a ‘quality over quantity’ building event. This means that we encourage (and give higher scores for) higher-quality entries as opposed to several sub-par ones. Build your best, and don’t rush yourself to try to hit something in every category.

While we’ve tried to give several examples for things that will fit into the theme, the examples listed are not exhaustive. We encourage you to explore and find some really amazing things to enter, so if you find something that you feel really grabs the spirit of the theme then go ahead. If it’s something really out there that won’t fit into one of the listed categories, feel free to ask for clarification.

Final Words

The last couple years, the judging for OcTRAINber hasn’t exactly been the quickest, and that’s something we would really like to change this year. November and December are filled with Holidays and train shows, and mixed with the growing number of entries it’s been getting quite difficult to find a good time to get through everything once Thanksgiving starts to hit.

To help alleviate that, for all of you as well as for the judges, instead of extending OcTRAINber into November, we are going to start it earlier this year and will work to have the judging taken care of before the big holiday season starts up. Starting September 1st is certainly change, but we still end it in October, so it totally counts, right?

We will have more articles posted in the coming months with more information as needed.

OcTRAINber has always been fun for us, and we’re excited to see what you all come up with to enter this year. Thank you for reading, and we hope you have as much fun with the event as we do.

Happy building!

NYC’s #5344 Hudson has run both with and without the streamlined panels

Great Scale Model Train Show: February, 2022 L-Gauge Modular Standard Layout

On February 5th and 6th, 2022 several LEGO® train builders gathered in Timonium, Maryland for the Great Scale Model Train Show to put together and display a L-Gauge Modular Standard (LGMS) train layout. The layout was planned and coordinated by Monty Smith. Contributors included Justin and Jesica Rupp, Nate Robinson, Eric Swanson, Robert Tebeau, Cale Leiphart, Glenn Holland, Brandon Burt, Robert Douthwaite, Bob Hayes, Jason Miller, and John Albright.

So first, maybe we should review what LGMS is. The objective of the L-Gauge Modular System (LGMS) is to provide a platform for realistic group layouts where a number of participants can bring LGMS modules to an event and assemble a coherent, reliable, and plausible layout suitable for public display, realistic operations and switching, or loop running where applicable.

LGMS uses a carefully designed set of standards for building layout modules so that every one is bringing a module can seamlessly mate up to any other module following the standards. The most up to date standard can be found on the LGMS website.

The Layout

The February show plan.

The show layout measured 67ft long x 15ft wide, with several bridges, sidings, industries, a branch line, and a staging yard incorporated into the layout. Monty Smith, the layout coordinator, did an awesome job working within the confines of the space we were given by the show while still designing an interesting layout with some creative running opportunities.

Here is a video tour of the layout.

February Timonium Show Layout Tour

And here are some of the trains we ran over the weekend.

Trainspotting!

And here are my still photos from the show.

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzRxZZ

Operations

On Sunday morning of the show, we held a mini operating session. What is an operating session you ask? The typical model railroad operating session seeks to model how the real railroads operate on a daily basis. Just like a real railroad, one can perform tasks on a layout such as delivering and picking up freight cars to and from industries, classifying (sorting) cars in the yard from arriving trains, and building outbound trains. Passenger trains make station stops and can be assembled and broken down in the passenger yard. Traffic control, a train dispatcher and signaling can also be involved.

For this op session, we really just wanted to play around and get a feel for what we could do. It was a pretty laid back, made up as we go fair, but was quite fun, and a good learning experience for future op sessions.

IMG_5189
Robert Tebeau and myself staging our locomotives in preparation for the Op session.

Myself, Justin Rupp, and Robert Tebeau took the role of running freight trains and switching on the layout. Each of us controlling our own locomotive. Bob Hayes operated a passenger train, stopping regularly at stations and taking priority on the main line. Monty played the role of dispatcher, instructing each freight train/switcher on what cars to pick up and set out and where they needed to go, while also directing the passenger train schedule.

As I said, it was pretty laid back, and maybe could have done with a little more advanced planning, but we all had a blast and operated for close to an hour before stopping as the show crowd picked up and we went back to running trains normally. It was a great learning experience and we plan to try another op session based on our experience at the 2022 Brickworld event coming up in June.

In Conclusion

This show was a ton of fun. The layout was planned well, and there were some great modules making up the display. We ran a wide variety of trains, from Steam to diesel to moderns high speed trains, and there was no shortage of excellent rolling stock to pull.

A big hand goes out to Monty who was our LGMS coordinator and layout planner for this show. This was not Monty’s first LGMS layout, he has coordinated two previous LGMS layouts the Great Scale Model Train Show and also one for Brickfair Virginia 2021. He is also helping with the track plan for two upcoming shows, Brickworld, and the NMRA National Train Show, coordinating for the Brickfair Virgina LGMS layout, and will be coordinating the October GSMTS LGMS layout. Monty has got this layout planning thing on lockdown and his hard work is much appreciated. And he also builds some cool trains.

IMG_5155
Some of Monty’s Diesel handiwork in the staging yard.

For more information on LGMS and also upcoming shows featuring an LGMS layout you can visit the LGMS website and join the LGMS Facebook group. Links below.

LGMS.org

LGMS Facebook Group

Glenn says Thank you and Farewell

Lego train community, modelers, and friends:

It is with this short post that I must announce my formal departure from Brick Model Railroader. I have quietly stepped away from most of my role at BMR for several months, leaving things in the hands of my good friends and colleagues. My reason for leaving is by no means negative; I have no bad feelings towards any other member of the team.

I have simply decided to more fully pursue my own projects and parts of this great hobby and grow the hobby in other ways. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the team here at BMR and fully believe it is in capable hands. I am happy with what I helped to create and I am looking forward to see it continue to grow this wonderful hobby.

Thanks for the new friends, fun, and memories.

Glenn Holland signing off, but please, play well.

BrickTrainAwards Public vote.

A first for 2021, the Brick Train Awards Public Vote will allow LEGO fans from around the world to vote for their favorite model.

Like previous year, the amount of entries was really impressive. There is a chard, for the amount of entries and which category the most was entered the most, down below. What stands out is that Diesel is the most entried category. But the amount of entries in the TFOL locomotive category is worth mension, the TFOL locomotive category was the most difficult to judge for the Europe and America nations.

Since there so many entries this year, we decided to do something unique and special.

Our judges have provided a shortlist of models that didn’t quite make the cut from the regional and global winners, and the LEGO train fan community will be able to vote on these. Votes will be counted from the Brick Train Awards Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and a select few Facebook groups for LEGO train fans, between Monday 8th March until midnight GMT on Sunday, 14th March 2021.

A total of 8 entries have been added to the shortlist, and only one winner will be announced by Friday, 19th March 2021.

Votes from the Brick Train Awards Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account will be included, as well as votes from these Facebook groups:

Votes will be open from Monday 8th March until midnight GMT on Sunday, 14th March 2021.

Short list:

Here is the short list provided by the judges. If you see any model you like, vote for it!!

Abandoned trainshed
Jörgen Rubingh
Netherlands, Europe

Prussian G8.1 Güterzuglokomotiv with Pr 3T 16,5 tender
Pieter Post
Netherlands, Europe

Maine Central 2-8-0 #501
Dawson Santoro
USA, Americas

Southern Region Signal Box
Owen Meschter
USA, Americas

Hiroshima Electric Railway TYPE 1900

Hiroshima Electric Railway TYPE 1900
5udon
Japan, Asia

Hakone Tozan Railway Class ChiKi 1
hirodori
Japan, Asia

Frisco 4-8-2 Mountain Type (1501)
Bradley Klouzek
USA, Americas

NS1202
UrbanErwin
Netherlands, Europe

Price for public vote.

The price for the public vote has been provided by Trixbrix.

Brick Train Awards 2021 Final Results and Americas Region Winners Review

It’s finally time to reveal the winners of the 2021 Brick Train Awards. Today we’ll be taking a look at the Americas winners, but before that, to see all the winners from around the globe, head over to the BTA website.

Brick Train Awards Website

You can also watch the announcement video here.

Americas Region Winners

For the Americas Region this year, we had three Judges. I returned as judge this year and was joined by BMR contributor Chris Stone, and Cameron Miller from Brick Train Depot. We had over 200 entries across 11 categories for just the Americas region, and the overall quality of the models entered was truly excellent. The work being showcased from the LEGO train community for this year’s awards is a testament to the skill and passion of the hobby’s fans. Of course, this made our task of picking winners all the more difficult, but it we also loved going through each and every model and discovering all the great build techniques and design ideas used, and also just looking at the beautiful, finished models. The Americas Region was definitely on their A game this year as five of the winners also took home the Global Award in their category! 

Now it’s time to take a look at the Americas Region winners and share some thoughts on why we chose them.

Best Steam Locomotive

Glenn Holland, United States
New York Central L-2a 4-8-2 Mohawk no. 2791

Glenn’s locomotive is modeled after the New York Central’s beautiful L-2a class of 4-8-2 steam locomotives, also known as “Mohawks”. The original prototype L-2a was built in 1925, with ninety-nine more production models being delivered in 1926 from the American Locomotive Company, bringing the class to a total of one hundred locomotives operating on the New York Central System. Producing 72,700 pounds of tractive effort and 3,320 horsepower, the L-2A was equally at home leading long coal drags or speeding down the mainline with a fast freight consist.

Mohawk No. 2716 pauses at Wesleyville, Pennsylvania (just east of Erie) in 1946.

Cale’s Thoughts; The 4-8-2 has never been a favorite wheel arrangement of mine, but wow, Glenn has built a 4-8-2 I have really fallen in love with. He has absolutely nailed the look of the L-2a. From the shaping of the boiler, to every little detail (the detail inside the cab on the backhead is crazy!), this locomotive does it right. There was some really stiff competition, but Glenn’s Mohawk does everything so well, and it’s hard to imagine a detail he missed here.

Cameron’s Thoughts; I have been a lifelong fan of the New York Central. When this locomotive was first shown in late 2020, I was immediately in need of it. I have looked at doing my own version many times so to see one so well executed was very nostalgic. There was a lot of debate on this category, but this locomotive really stood out from the pack. There were some great honorable mentions that also stood out exceptionally for me. In no particular order, C&O #2716 Berkshire from Jeffery Fonda, Maine Central #501 Consolidation from Dawson Santoro, and Chicago & Alton #656 Light Pacific from Aaron Burnett.

Chris’s Thoughts; Including “all the bells and whistles” is the usual standard for Glenn’s models, but even with that this engine has gone to levels of detail that stand out. I had to get almost outrageously nit-picky with the top entries to suss out which one was best, and this NYC L-2a had everything I could think to look for and then some.

Best Diesel Locomotive

Aaron Burnett, United States
Chessie System GM EMD GP38 Locomotive #4806

The EMD (Electro Motive Division) GP38-2 is a 2,000hp four-axle diesel locomotive which was built from 1972 to 1986. It is an upgrade of the original GP38, with EMD’s 645E 16-cylinder engine, and new modular electronics cabinets. There were 2213 GP38-2s built, and many still exist and are still currently in service. Aaron’s model is based on the GP38-2s owned by the Chessie System.

Cale’s Thoughts; It has lights, it has sound, and it has that awesome Chessie livery. It’s a combo that’s hard to beat. Add in Aarons meticulous attention to detail and this model takes it to 11.

Cameron’s Thoughts; Thoughts: I have worked with Aaron on and off over the years and this GP38 model is one I have always loved. I have a copy of an older version from our time at Iron Horse Brick Co The updates made since then really set this locomotive up for success. The details and the shaping do a lot to capture the look of the prototype. 

Chris’s Thoughts; Thoughts; The shapes and textures in the brickwork on this engine alone put it as a top contender easily, but the extra work with the lights, sounds, and even running board safety tread decals bring it to a level of polish not many models see. 

Best Electric Locomotive

Michael Ruzzi, United States
Acela Power Car

The Acela, originally the Acela Express until September 2019, is Amtrak’s flagship high speed service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 16 intermediate stops. The route contains segments of high-speed rail where the Acela trains attain operating speeds up to 150 mph (240 km/h). Michael’s model recreates the power car. Each Acela train is made up of two power cars, one at each end, with six passenger cars in between.

Acela Express train #2155 to Washington, D.C. passes CP 217 in New Rochelle at 10:14 a.m. on August 25th, 2004. Photo by David Sommer.

Cale’s Thoughts; America has high speed rail? Yes we do. And Michael’s Acela is a nearly perfect tribute. The nose modeling is inspiring, and the color scheme and decaling are caried out so well. 

Cameron’s Thoughts; When I first saw the renders of this locomotive, I thought there was no way that the front could be attached by anything more than hopes and dreams. Then It was entered and show rolling around the track. It was a pleasant surprise to see. The detail and the shape are very well executed. 

Chris’s Thoughts; The brickwork in the nose of the engine is phenomenal, but the rest of the engine behind it really hits it out of the park as well. It’s a lot of fun to watch the video of this engine running.

Best Other Locomotive for the Americas, and Best Global Winner for Other Locomotive

Rob Hendrix, United States
1:48 scale Narrow Gauge Shay

The Shay steam locomotive was the most well-known and widely used of the geared designs to operate in the country with nearly 3,000 constructed from 1880 through nearly the mid-20 century. Designed by Ephraim Shay, an inventor, among his many, many job titles he held over the years, and built by Lima Locomotive Works, the Shay geared locomotive proved to be an invaluable tool in the logging industry through the first half of the 20th century as it could operate on almost any type of track. Rob’s model is based on a 15 Ton class A Shay.

Cale’s Thoughts; It’s a working narrow gauge Shay in 1:48th scale. What more needs said? Rob just dropped the mic with this one.

Cameron’s Thoughts; Thoughts; A tiny shay that RUNS! The model alone is amazing to get all the gear drive detail but Rob took it a step further and powered it with his Tiny Train Motor. The flat car to move it to its final railroad was a great touch of realism. The entire entry really captured the life of a Shay locomotive. 

Chris’s Thoughts; I loved the detail on this model at first sight. Getting a small locomotive build like this to look this good is no easy task, but then I found out it was powered? Yeah, I needed a moment to process that. Amazing Shay build.

Best Freight Wagon for the Americas. and Best Global Winner for Freight Wagon

Ryan Harris, Canada
Gunderson 40′ Intermodal Well Cars

Lego 40' Well Car 3 pack with containers

This 3 unit Gunderson 40′ Intermodal Well Car set is a multi-unit well car designed to carry two stacked intermodal shipping containers. While its base well is 40′, it can accept larger containers such as 45′, 48′ and even 53′ in the top position, making the car a versatile addition to a railroad’s intermodal services.

Cale’s Thoughts; Intermodal is my modern railroad guilty pleasure. I love a good well car set, and Ryan has certainly provided. The scale is perfect, all the right details are there, and the containers complete the look.

Cameron’s Thoughts; Well cars got me into trains when I came out of my dark ages in 2015. I remember trying to design a set of these and failing hard. Seeing Ryan’s execution of these cars has inspired me to pick up my project again. The details and shape accuracy of this model was a favorite feature. There was quite the debate over this car, Aaron’s Waffle Boxcar and Glenn’s Turtleback Boxcar. All 3 were well executed and were deserving of winning. 

Chris’s Thoughts; Very nicely detailed and proportioned well cars, and I especially love the way the bottoms of the wells have been detailed. Great work.

Best Passenger Wagon

Benn Coifman, United States
Amfleet II Car

Built at Budd’s Red Lion plant in Philadelphia between 1975-1983, the Budd Amfleet family of passenger cars were a fleet of 642 intended to upgrade Amttrak’s elderly fleet of cars, some in service since the late 1940s, Amtrak took delivery of its first all-new Amfleet I cars in 1975 for inter-city service in the close clearances of the eastern US. Based on the Budd-built Metroliner, nearly 500 coach and food service cars were delivered by 1978. Starting in 1981, new Amfleet II coaches and lounges were introduced especially for long-distance trains. Both types are still in service today!

Cale’s Thoughts; One of the best examples of an Amfleet car I’ve seen, and it’s in 6 wide. Benn hit the subtle egg shaping of the body with a bullseye, and in 6 wide. The widows are nicely proportioned and spaced as well. It’s an unmistakable “AmCan”. Did I mention it’s 6 wide? Bigger is not always better it seems.

Cameron’s Thoughts; These cars are an inspiration to car builders all throughout the LEGO world. The attention to detail on the shape and the execution of it made these an instant favorite. I don’t build any passenger equipment but these have me considering some AmCans for my layout. 

Chris’s Thoughts; Benn’s managed to make a 6-wide passenger car set that raises the bar for even larger-scale models. The great, nearly seamless shaping on the sides is perfectly executed and the thought to put in the bricks behind the windows to give an illusion of an interior was a really nice touch. 

Best Special Wagon

Nick Dombi, United States
Nickel Plate Road Bay Window Caboose 423

Nick’s model is based on the International Car Bay Window Cabooses owned by the Nickel Plate Road. This is the Phase 3 variant based on the family of steel bay window cabooses developed by International Car Company beginning in the early 1950s. Over the years the design of the bay windows evolved and each phase features a number of bay window style and other detail variations.

IMG_4049

Cale’s Thoughts; Nickle Plate had one of the nicest caboose paint schemes, and Nick nailed it on this one. Great details on the outside, and a detailed interior inside. Love this caboose!

Cameron’s Thoughts; What Cale said haha! This is a great caboose and was very well executed. It was a tough call between this and JT Batheldoer’s RPO cars. 

Chris’s Thoughts; Very nicely shaped and detailed model, and an interior is always a great addition. Very fine caboose in a very memorable paint scheme!

Best Structure for the Americas. and Best Global Winner for Structure

Eric Swanson, United States
Germantown Maryland Train Station

The Germantown Station, in Germantown Maryland, is a passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a branch to Frederick, MD. It is one of the busiest stations on the Brunswick Line along with Silver Spring and Rockville stations. All Brunswick Line trains stop at this station. The original Germantown station, which was built by Ephraim Francis Baldwin for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was destroyed by arson in 1978, and was reconstructed for MARC.

Cale’s Thoughts; The great thing about this model is how it pulls together all the separate elements so well. The station is lovely, the little waiting shelters are great, and the landscape and platform details tie it all up in a perfect package.

Cameron’s Thoughts; The entire scene on this set it above the rest. There were so many details, I found new things every time I looked over the pictures. It’s a really great diorama of the station.

Chris’s Thoughts; The attention to detail on this station and all the other surrounding builds is fantastic. Looking at the photos of it, I could almost imagine actually being at the real station – stand out build!

Best TFOL Locomotive for the Americas. and Best Global Winner for Best TFOL Locomotive

Jonathan Artz, United States
Strasburg Rail Road No 90

Strasburg no. 90 is a 2-10-0 Decapod type locomotive that was originally built in 1924 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA for the Great Western Railroad. No. 90 was purchased by The Strasburg Rail Road in 1967, and is now one of the last operating Decapod type locomotives in the United States. John’s model of no. 90 is wearing the 1960s era paint scheme from its early days on the Strasburg.

A full side view of Strasburg 90 shows off its “heritage” look, replete with gold striping, white drivers and the iconic “egg” herald, which hasn’t been used since 1983. The former Great Western decapod is Strasburg’s largest and most powerful locomotive. Christopher Pollock photo

Cale’s Thoughts; I have seen this model in person, and it is as faithful a model of Strasburg no. 90 as one could reasonably get. John is a member of the Strasburg Model Railroad club and knows this engine well. He’s even gone as far as to use real recordings of 90’s bell and whistle and programed them into the Pfx brick powering the model. He is one heck of a builder for his age.

Cameron’s Thoughts; This category was full of great entries but the detail and features of this model made it a worthy winner. 

Chris’s Thoughts; I knew there were some very talented TFOL builders out there, but I was truly surprised by how many there were – and how good, too. This model has all the right details in all the right places, and I really appreciated the effort that went into hand-making the decals as well as getting the proper sounds for the model. Amazing work.

Best TFOL Wagon for the Americas. and Best Global Winner for Best TFOL Wagon

Owen Meschter, United States
NER/LNER 15-ton Brake Van

The Brake Van or Guard’s Van are terms used mainly in the UK, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake van and a caboose are very different in appearance, because the former usually has only four wheels, while the latter usually has bogies. German railways employed Brakeman’s cabins combined into other cars. Owens model is based on a 15-ton Brake van used by the NER/LNER.

Cale’s Thoughts; Big models are easy to pack a lot of detail into. You have all the room to do the crazy SNOT and subtle offsets. Small models are a different story where you run out of room really quick. Owen’s brake van is definitely on the small side, but is big on detail. It’s also got some great character too.

Cameron’s Thoughts; This was a toss up between the Owen’s two entries. His plank wagon and brake van are both very well executed. I looked into the prototype of this because UK rolling stock is not my normal location or era. I was impressed to see just how well the detail and feel of the real thing was captured. The rigging detail under the frame really impressed all of us. The animal horn used as a spring detail was a new part usage for me. 

Chris’s Thoughts; Owen’s Brake Van, as well as the rest of his entries for that matter, showcase an incredible ability to do a lot of amazing work in a very small space. The shape and textures of this brake van are all great, but have you seen that undercarriage work? I just can’t get enough of that.

Best TFOL Structure/Layout

Calvin Bramble, Canada
Canadian National Layout

Cale’s Thoughts; Though it may be small, this little layout doesn’t feel cramped. Everything has just the right amount of space to stand out. The landscaping is well thought out, and there are enough little details to add life to the sceme without becoming too busy in such a small space.

Cameron’s Thoughts; This layout is TINY but packed with details. Some of my favorite details were the use of structures and the containers that are not “on grid” but sitting at an angle. The feel of the layout was definitely of a busy rural freight house and surrounding area. The honorable mention in this category is Owen’s signal tower. There was much debate over who should win this category. I even lobbied for adding a category just to accommodate both winners haha!

Chris’s Thoughts; Thoughts; Great attention to detail, with a very good balance in the amount of detail as well. The layout is filled with things that tell a story and bring life to the scene, and to me it strikes very well the essence of what a model railroad should try to be.

Final Thoughts

Once again, it was a great experience to judge and be a part of the Brick Train Awards. And it was a pleasure to work with Cameron and Chris on the judging for the Americas. Thank you to both of them for their work. The models summited this year were amazing, and the TFOL categories were the most impressive. Many TTFOL submissions could have been very strong contenders in the adult categories. To see such skill and talent in the younger community is such a thrill, and if it is any indication of what is to come, then our LEGO train hobby has a very bright future. I’m very much looking forward to next year’s Brick Train Awards.

This was a tough competition this year, and many models came within fraction of winning. While they may not all have won, every entry was awesome.

Cameron’s’s Final Thoughts: 

Cam here, building on what Cale said, I was honored to be invited to judge the entries this year and it was a lot of work but also very fun to talk about all the entries with Cale and Chris. I was very impressed with the entries across the board. There were plenty of builders I had not seen before so seeing their work was inspiring. Pretty soon all the the TFOL builders are going to have to give me a couple “Old Guy” categories to even stand a chance. 

Chris’s Final Thoughts: 

It was awesome to be able to participate in Brick Train Awards as a judge this year, I loved going through the entries. It was a lot of fun, but also very difficult – there were so many good entries that it really wasn’t easy to choose, and we had to really dive into the fine details of a lot of these models to have any hope of figuring out a winner. At the end of the day, though, that’s one of my favorite things about the hobby: Seeing and studying all the ways people approach their models. The skill level and standards have been going up, fast, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. For now, I just want to congratulate the entrants, even the ones that didn’t win – you guys have amazed and inspired me.

FX Bricks introduces FX Track

It’s been a long wait since FX Bricks first teased their metal rails, but finally, the word is out: March 1st, 2021 will see the second coming of the 9V line! 15 years after the official introduction of Plastic Rails (and the demise of the good old 9V track) the one and only plug-and-play track system that TLC ever had is returning to the markets.

In fact, FX Bricks send us a pre-sale package of R72 and S32 rails last week so that we could already experience the look & feel of the product beforehand. In the seven days I had a blast playing with it, but also just staring at it, to be honest.

(p)review of FX Tracks

I’m not going to do a full in-depth review, because I think zephyr1943 over at Eurobricks did a very fine one already. I mean, if you read his piece, there is no need anymore to say anything else. Also, I mostly agree with the points he makes. And I also think that none of these points are big enough for me to actually make a fuzz about it. So, this review will be mostly an Unboxing Therapy. In fact, I’d say it’s more a Preview than a Review, but hopefully interesting to the community nonetheless!

Shiny new thingies
FX Track

First of all, the packaging. When I received it, I was immediately stunned with the high level of quality of it. In the past I did receive ME Models track (ziplock bag with a cardboard banner), Trixbricks (same) and Bricktracks (nice cardboard box, but with a sticker). This however is a totally different ballpark. The design is gorgeous, the packaging feels very high quality, and the rails are even held together individually with cardboard spacers.

R72 FX Track - first impressions

Which, in fact, have different sizes to accomodate the tracks best as possible. Overall, it’s amazing work, and I can see these taking center spot in those good old Brick and Mortar stores.

R72 FX Track - first impressions
R72 FX Track - first impressions

The track itselfs looks and feels pretty high quality. The plastic is just a liiiiiitle bit more translucent then Legos, but from a little distance it’s almost invisible. Thanks to the metal rails the whole rail also feels a lot heavier and thus more high quality then a regular plastic rail. Also, the rails are clamped beautifully around the track. You can really see Michael and his team put a lot of effort into making sure this is engineered to the highest levels of quality.

R72 FX Track - first impressions

A very nice addition is the embossing of the rail size on top of the rails. Both ME Models and Bricktracks also have this in their injection moulded rails, but they have it on the backside of the track. While this is already a great improvement of not having any identifiers, to me it’s pretty annoying to all the time turn around your track to see which radius it is. By embossing it on the top of the studs it really gives you the possiblity to see wich track you are holding with one short look. Which will definatly come in handy if they are really planning to expand to more diffent radii of curves. Also fun: the S32 straight track also has this embossing.

Regarding running 9V trains on FX track I didn’t see any difference at all (yeah the 9V motor is a bit old, have to admit that). I didn’t see any loss of power in this curve, the train just kept on running at regular speed all the time. It did lose a little bit of speed in the curves, but that’s normal due to the nature of curves to begin with. Mostly, I had way too much fun with the power controller, the haptic feedback of it (being an actuall thing instead of an app), and seeing an instant reaction of the train. Something that I haven’t experienced in ages, because of the annoying line-of-sight of the IR controller and the digital experience of a BT controller. In fact, not even the PUP controller (because of the push buttons) comes close to the good old speed regulator. Go 9V Go!

Pre-Conclusions & thoughts

I have to say that I’m pretty excited for this for several reasons. First of all, I was one of the people who invested (OK, fair enough, post-Kickstarter) in ME Models, hoping it would deliver on it’s promise to bring back 9V. It never happened unfortunately, and the products that they did manage to ship out, both plastic and metal rails, were sub-par to say the least. Thanks to Bricktracks this gap was finally plugged for plastic rails and wide radii were finally possible in a reliable and Lego-worthy manner.

And to be honest: I’m still very excited for the Bricktracks R104 switch, and I have two rounds of R104 and R120 laying around here. I think a lot of Trainheads who never grew up with the 12V or 9V system, and who have been using plastic track for all their Lego-lives, will be still very much interested in getting Bricktracks products.

However, for people like me, who grew up in the 9V-era (I’m not old enough that I had to go through that horrible period of 12V to 9V luckily), and who still have a decent amount of 9V motors, 9V track (mostly curves, obviously…) and about 10 power regulators laying around, the new FX Track really gives some interesting possibilities.

FX Bricks actually explains the three most important ones in the video, but for me one really, really sticks out and that is the plug-and-play part. To be fair again: I love the PF system, because I can decide on wheelbase length, motor power and everything else. However, the more shows I do, the more fed up I get of that annoying control and power system that both PUP and PF have. It’s so irritating to have a train going out of range, a dropping BT connection, a non-functioning IR remote, or even worse: Batteries dying on me. In fact, I’d say that 75% of the time I’m running trains at a show, I’m busy with the absolute horror of changing batteries, charging them, or trying to reconnect a BT controller, or even worse, trying to find out where I left my IR remote this time around. It just really destroys a lot of the fun of running trains. And yes, I know it’s cheaper. But it’s just not worth it anymore if you ask me.

So, long story short: Yes, I really look forward to this! And yes, I really want to thank FX Bricks for sending us this pre-sale package. I had a ton of fun and feel pretty special to have this product on my desk already a good 2-3 weeks before it actuall hits the shelves.

Baureihe 01 and Baureihe 01.10, the pacific’s of the Deutsche Reichsbahn made in LEGO

The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft’s BR(Baureihe) 01 steam locomotives were the first standardized (Einheitsdampflokomotive) steam express passenger locomotives built by the German railway. The BR 01 10 was also a part of the standardized locomotives, but it was a 3-cylinder version of the BR 01. Both the BR 01 and BR 01 10 where used right up to the end of steam service in both West-Germany and East-Germany. In this article both Enrico and Simon Jakobi (Dr Snotson on Flickr) will take a look through the history and use of the BR 01 and BR 01 10 and show their models which represent these iconic locomotives.

DRG Class 01

The Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft’s BR 01 steam locomotives were the first standardized (Einheitsdampflokomotive) steam express passenger locomotives. A total of 231 locomotives where built by German company’s across Germany. They were of 4-6-2 “Pacific” wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2′C1′ h2 in the UIC classification. The idea behind standardization is to reduce cost and make repairs easier and quicker.

Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg, 3 September 1972. Loc 001 180 with a sister locomotive at the Schiefe Ebene, photo credits to Nico Spilt.

The BR 01 is a 2-cylinder locomotive. As a test 10 locomotives where built with a 4-cylinder configuration, these where renumbered in BR 02. The 2-cylinder version was favored after long testing because it was easier to maintain running compared to the 4-cilinder version. The main batch of the BR 01 were delayed in the 1920’s. The reason behind this was that the infrastructure of the DB wasn’t ready for these locomotives. Turntables needed to be lengthened and railway lines needed to be strength to be able to support the 20-ton locomotives.

Since 1938 there were 231 BR 01 locomotives available for the prestigious express train duties across Germany. The 10 four-cylinder BR 02 locomotive version (01 111, 01 233–241) were converted to two-cylinder BR 01 models between 1937 and 1942. Since there were so many routes that still had axle load restrictions, which were too low for Class 01 service, in the early 1930s, a third variant was produced: the BR 03 designed with a two-cylinder engine and axle load of 18 ton. A total of 298 BR 03 locomotives where built. Launched in 1939, the three-cylinder DRG Class 01.10 was a further development of the 01.

The 03 098, a version of the 01 with a lower axle load. The 03 098 is preserved in the Technic-museum Speyer.

In 12 years, a total of five series or batches were delivered, each with minor variations:

  • 01 001–010 (1926)
  • 01 112–076 (1927–28)
  • 01 077–101 (1930–31)
  • 01 102–190 (1934–1936)
  • 01 191–232 (1937–1938).

Stats

Originally, the BR 01’s top speed was restricted to 120 km/h(75mph). In order to raise this to 130 km/h(81mph), the diameter of the leading wheels was increased from its original 850 mm to 1,000 mm on locomotives from operating number 01 102 onwards and brake effort was increased by installing double-sided working of the brake shoes on the coupled wheels and by braking the trailing wheels.  Each locomotive was able to produce a respectably 1,648 kW. The driving wheels where 2000mm (78.74 inch).

Tenders

The BR 01s were equipped with 2’2 T 30, 2’2′ T 32 or 2’2′ T 34 tenders. Their coal capacity was 10 tons of coal, and the water tank held either 30, 32 or 34 cubic meters of water. The prototype locomotives, 01 001 to 01 010, were supplied with the smaller 2’2 T 30 tenders, because there were not enough large turntables around. Later these tenders were only used if they were absolutely necessary, e.g. in cross-border services with the Netherlands. From the second series (01 012 et seq.) on, the Class 01 was furnished with rivetted 2’2′ T 32 tenders. The welded tenders, class 2’2′ T 34, appeared only by way of exchange (mainly from brand new Class 44) locomotives. Thereafter they were almost the only ones used during the war years and after the Second World War, because they had a larger water capacity.

Rebuilds:

Multiple locomotives where converted in their life spent. From a complete overhaul to a small parts change. Here 3 categories that stent out the most:

Henschel mixer preheater rebuilds

In 1950 and 1951, the Deutsche Bundesbahn converted locomotives 01 042, 01 046, 01 112, 01 154 and 01 192. They were enhanced with a Heinl mixer preheater by Henschel and a turbo feed pump. In addition, combustion chambers were installed in the boilers. This increased the power to 1,802 kW. Finally, the conversion was rounded off with the replacement of the original smoke deflectors by Witte deflectors, which in spite of their considerably smaller size were just as effective as their larger predecessors. Four of these five modified locomotives remained in service until 1968.

New DB boiler design rebuild

From 1957 until 1961 the Deutsche Bundesbahn rebuilt a further 50 vehicles. These engines were given welded, high-performance, steam boilers, which had already been used on the BR 01.10’s. In addition, a new mixer preheater system was installed in the smokebox and numerous friction bearings were replaced by roller bearings. Changes to the cylinder block, running board, a shorter chimney, front apron (Frontschürze) and locomotive frame, as well as the missing feedwater dome, all gave the locomotives a different external appearance. The power of these rebuilds where increased to 1,714 kW.

Koblenz, 12 Augustus 1970. Loc 001 150, with a new boiler, ready for departure to Trier, credits Nico Spilt.

DR Reko locomotive 01.5

The Deutsche Reichsbahn (the East-Germany railway’s) rebuilt 35 BR 01 locomotives which were on their part of Germany after the split between East and West. All these locos were fitted with new Witte smoke deflectors with tapered edges, a new driver’s cab and a new boiler, positioned higher on the frame. The boiler had a combustion chamber, a mixer preheater and a continuous cover for the dome. All this gave these locomotives an entirely different look compared to there West-German versions.

The 01-514 in Technic museum Speyer. This locomotive was rebuilt in West-Germany, and currently preserved in the Technic museum.

The end of the legends

Class 01 locomotives remained in service with the Deutsche Bundesbahn until 1973. In West-Germany, they were still working up to the early 1980s, largely in their original state with large smoke deflectors. They were legendary in their last years for hauling the D-Zug services on the Berlin-Dresden route up to autumn 1977. Only when the large Soviet DR Class 132 diesel locomotives arrived, the Class 01 express train locomotives were finally forced out of scheduled services in East-Germany after almost 50 years.

Survivors:

The list of preserved BR 01 is quite impressive. All the locomotives mentioned bellow very in state and condition. Some are still in there rebuild version, how ever there a few preserved in the state they came out of the factory.

  • 01 118
  • 01 066
  • 01 202
  • 01 116
  • 01 150
  • 01 005
  • 01 008
  • 01 111
  • 01 137
  • 01 164
  • 01 173
  • 01 204
  • 01 220
  • 01 509 (ex 01 143)
  • 01 514 (ex 01 208)
  • 01 519 (ex 01 186)
  • 01 531 (ex 01 158)

DB BR 01 „Blue Lady“ – SIMON JAKOBI

Inspiration

In late 2017 I met Julius Theißen a.k.a. “Dampfstein” on a meeting of LEGO Fans at our local LEGO-Store “Steinchenbrüder” in Hannover, Germany. Like me Julius was totally into 8 w LEGO train MOCs. On this evening he brought his excellent model of a German Baureihe 03 to the store. His solution concerning the golden boiler rings is outstanding. On both hands they are slim and round with a diameter close to the boiler, but brick built. On our first exhibition in early 2018 we decided to plan a team layout with turntable and roundhouse to showcase our MOCs. Up to then I had only designed electric and diesel engines.

But now I was wondering which DB steam prototype would reveal an interesting contrast to Julius` 03 on our future “Bahnbetriebswerk”. Deep down in my stuff in the basement of my parent`s house I found the first part of the answer – a 20 years old MINITRIX model (12617) of the German Baureihe 03 in a special dark blue livery with silver boiler rings. A few days later deep down in the dungeons of the WWW with the pictures of a KM1 model of the 01 1087 I found the second part of the answer: It seems that not only a few of the 03 were painted in steal blue, but also one Baureihe 01 received this elegant color scheme which gave these so called “blue ladies” a perfect match to the blue coaches of the “F-Zug-Netz” in those early days of the young DB.

The award winning Bahnbetriebswerk Julius and Simon built together.

Challenge

First of all, I don`t scale. That`s not my kind of approach to a locomotive. In the end all of my MOCs reflect a balance between form and functionality. Usually, I start to design several characteristic details of a prototype to get a first idea if I achieve a satisfying recognition factor in LEGO. In case of the Baureihe 01 I began with smaller sections like the boiler sections, cab or rear and top of the tender and checked if I could carry out my drafts in the desired color. Some items are rare or not available in dark blue, so I decided to stick to regular bricks and plates whenever possible.

Again, and again, I checked if the required bricks were available in dark blue for a reasonable prize. But as mentioned before, the BR 01 was my first steam locomotive and what is even more important my first articulated steam locomotive. At a certain point of my fast and enthusiastic progress on both details and arrangement I had to look the devil in the eye and face the bitter truth: Moving further on doesn`t make any sense without solving the critical issues concerning articulation of such a type of locomotive (pacific, 4–6–2 or 2`C1`) when it comes to negotiation of R40 curves and TLC switches. Because I don`t own any curves bigger than that, the ability to take such small radii was one of my prior goals. On the other hand, I wanted to keep the gap between engine and tender as narrow as possible.

The front profile of the amazing Blue Lady.

References

I was wondering if I could realize both of these wishes or if I would have to abandon one of these desires. Long story short: once again I had to dig deep in the common digital archives. Sooner or later, I stumbled upon another excellent executed Baureihe 01 on Flickr. On his account the creator Johan van den Heuvel [Johan van den Heuvel | Flickr] shows us smart solutions for the articulation of the front truck and both the rear truck and the coupling of the tender to the engine.

Based on his concept I connected the center pivot of the first boogie of the tender with a long towing bar as close as possible to the last main axle of the engine. The rear axle of the engine is swimming underneath the towing bar. The tender is not connected to his first boogie as one would expect but to the middle of the towing bar as close to the cabin as possible. The result is some kind of virtual pivot point pulling the tender close to the engine to a minimal gap on a straight track and providing enough clearance for turnout of the cab on curved and even S-curved track like switches.

The distance between the tender and locomotive, is impressively short.

Result

Apart from the close coupling of engine and tender and the ability to negotiate R40 curves and TLC switches on the same time I was able turn a lot of other ideas or major goals from my list into reality: The special livery in dark blue with flat silver boiler rings gives my creation a very unique look. There is a real gap between the round boiler and the frame carrying the main axles enabling you to look through the spokes of the huge XXL-wheels from Shupp`s.

To eliminate the LEGO specific raster of plain brick-built sidewalls most of the tender is done in snotwork with regular 1 x 1, 1 x 2 and 1 x 4 bricks laying on their side and betraying our LEGO brains. Only when it comes to motorization, I have to admit one big sacrifice. I really would like to see the drivers of the engine be powered. But unfortunately, the 6 wagon wheels split up the boiler in 7 short sections and there is not enough space left for one (or even better two) PF-motors and a reliable drivetrain.

Due to the fit of extreme snotism space in the tender is also very limited. Keep in mind: snotism and other extravagant design techniques are nothing but cruel and relentless space killers! The only solution left is the use of PF-train-motors underneath the tender. Luckily, I managed to store and hide a PF-battery-box (6 x AAA) and a SBRICK in the coal bunker of the tender above. Recently I have equipped my V60 and my Baureihe 81 with 3D-printed rods from bricks-on-rails.de to put these new items to a test. I am very pleased with the quality and will definitely upgrade my Baureihe 01 and my upcoming Baureihe 50. Last but not least I have to mention the custom decals from modellbahndecals.de. Please note: the number my locomotive is fiction. It is the birthday of my beloved wife.

BR 01 10

Launched in 1939, the three-cylinder DRG Class 01.10 was a further development of the 01. They were 2’C1’h3 2’3′ locomotives, there was a need for faster locomotives for express trains between mayor cities in Germany. To achieve this speed, the 01.10 was designed with a three-cylinder layout. Furthermore, they were equipped with a streamlined casing to reduce air resistance. Frictional losses were minimized by the use roller bearings on the driving and coupling rods. Originally 400 locomotives where ordered. Because of the Second World War only 55 where delivered, all made by Schwarzkopf.

Emden West, 12 July 1971. Loc 012 063 ready to depart to Rheine, credits Nico Spilt.

After the war al the BR 01 10’s where left in West-Germany. All these locomotives where in a bad shape, a lot of parts of the streamlining was removed to be used in the war machine. Secondly and the major problem of the BR 01 10 was that their boilers where made from bad quality metal. Which resulted in them ageing much faster compared to other locomotives. Due to a locomotive shortage a number of BR 01 10 got a quick refurbishment after the war to get them back in action.

In 1949 all the locomotives (accept the 01 1067), got a major refurbished, in this refurbishment what was left of there streamlining was removed. The boiler problem was later fixed in 1953-1956 which also saw a number of locomotives converted to oil-firing instead of coal. On 31 May 1975 the last BR 01 10 where decommissioned in Bahnbetriebswerk Rheine, one of the last strong holds for steam locomotives in Germany.

Stats:

Because the BR 01 10 has 3-cilinders it’s able to reach a much higher top speed compared to the standard BR 01. The top speed of the BR 01 10 was 140 km/h (87 mph) for coal powered and 150 km/h (93 mph) for oil powered. There driving wheels where the same diameter as the standard BR 01, 2000mm (78.74 in), which resulted in the top power of the locomotives being around 1,728 kW for coal powered and 1,817 kW oil powered. All the locomotives where equipped with a 2’3 T 38 tender which was able to carry 38.0 m3 of water and, 10.0-ton coal or 13,500 L oil.

Survivors:

Of the 55 locomotives, 10 survived. Just like the BR 01 there in a range of states.

  • 01 1056
  • 01 1061
  • 01 1081
  • 01 1082
  • 01 1063
  • 01 1066
  • 01 1075
  • 01 1100
  • 01 1102
  • 01 1104
The 01 1102 got it’s streamlining back which represented the streamlining which the locomotives came out the factory with. The 01 1102 in Hilversum, credits Nico Spilt.

BR 01 1075

A side profile of the SSN 01 1075 in LEGO

History of the 01 1075

To better explain why the 01 1075 is my favorite locomotive, we need to go trough a quick history lesson.

The 01 1075 was decommissioned, like many BR 01 10, in 1975 in Bahnbetriebswerk Rheine. Around that time a number of steam enthusiast in the Netherlands where looking in the possibility to buy steam locomotives in Germany, and to bring these to the Netherlands to preserved and restore them. 4 of these enthusiasts decided to join forces and create a steam heritage organization, this would from then on, be known as SSN, Stoom Stichting Nederland (Steam Organization Netherlands). There goal was to preserve and restore steam powered machines.

The first 2 locomotives that the SSN bought were the 23-023 and 01-1075. The 23-023 was a locomotive from the BR 23 class, this was still operation when the SSN bought it. It was therefore used to collect the 01 1075 from Bahnbetriebswerk Rheine an get both locomotives to the Netherlands.

The SSN 01 1075 beside their small platform, a perfect place to take pictures.

The 01 1075 wasn’t operation until 1991, then the SSN decided to restore the locomotive at the Reichsbahn Ausbesserungswerk Meiningen, which was located in West-Germany. Besides getting the locomotive operation again, the locomotive was converted back into coal power. Therefore, it’s the only preserved 01 10 which is coal powered, and operation. The 01 1075 is equipped with both the Dutch and German safety systems, and it’s therefore able to operate in both the Netherlands and Germany. It is currently the fastest steam locomotive in the Netherlands.  

The SSN is located in Rotterdam, near where I live (about a 15 min drive). I literally grow up with the SSN, my first visit was back when I was just 1 year old, and I have been a regular since then. The 01 1075 has been my favorite as long as I can remember. It’s speed, profile and looks just speak to me!

The SSN 01 1075 on the turntable of the SSN during one of my visits. The locomotive just barely fits on the turntable.

From 2016-2020 I had another version of the SSN 01 1075 in LEGO, this was 95% HaBricks 01 202 model, whit some changes to colours/parts. Back at the end of 2019 I equipped the model with a Pfx brick with a XL speaker. Since the tender was to small, and the model wasn’t really scale acquired, I decided to complete redesign the locomotive from scratch.

The tender has increased in size compared to my old model; therefore, all the electronics are easier to fit in.

A rough and strange 9 months later, and the locomotive is done. It still has the Pfx Brick with XL spear, with a led board for LED’s which are programmed. The Pfx Brick has original sound files that I got from the ESU lokprogrammer system. All these sounds are from the real BR 01 10, programming the sound alone took me at least a week. The LED’s which are used on the locomotive have been provided by UrbanErwin, which was kind enough to spend his free Saturday afternoon helping me out. For power the locomotive has 2 XL-motor’s inside the boiler which power both driving wheels. The driving wheels are XXL wheels from Big Ben Bricks. The costum prints are provided by BrickPrint, and the costum driving rods are provided by bricks-on-rails.

Lights, let there be lights!

Since most German locomotives look so much alike I tried to capture the real look of the locomotive as much as possible while still building in the right scale(1:45). For this I printed scaled dwarings ,where Raised was kind enough the rescale them for me, and massure the lengt/with of all the little nots and pieces. I also highly recommend serials scale program!

The scaled dwarings, provided by the-blueprints.com.

Wagons:

The SSN has their own wagons to use when organizing events trough, the Netherlands and Germany. The bulk of there fleet are Bm 238 wagons. I have built 2 of these with great help from UrbanErwin (and with great help I mean he made most of the design). One of their most recognizable wagons is the Mitropa wagon, a WRm 130.1 wagon from West-Germany. This wagon is painted in the recognizable dark red paint scheme with yellow logos on the side. I made both these wagons in scale 1:45 for my SSN 01 1075. I’m planning to add more including the blue water wagon, dark blue Bm238, and the Bm 232 in dark green and white. These are all somewhere on my “to build” list. Both the Bm 238 wagons and the Mitropa model have lights, one of the Bm 238 has red lights at the end of wagon, these are made by UrbanErwin as well.

The locomotive in action:

Since there aren’t any shows currently to visit, I haven’t been able to make a proper video of the SSN 01 1075 in action. However, I do have a video of it running with all 3 wagons inside my house. The quality isn’t perfect, and I hope to be able to properly film the train soon!

if you’re interested in seeing the real locomotives in action there a few great video’s down below. Some are in German and Dutch, but hey, steam locomotives speak a universal langue.

Ciao

Enrico

Simon