Tag Archives: LEGO

OcTRAINber 2021 “Critters”

Hello train builders. October is here and you may have noticed that we’ve been a bit quiet on our annual OcTRAINber build challenge event this year. Life as, it sometime does, has kept us busy with things other than LEGO® trains. However, we didn’t want the community to miss this years OcTRAINber. So, we decided that for the fifth year in a row, OcTRAINber must go on!

Last years OcTRAINber, “Dioramas, Dioramas Everywhere”, was a big one. Both in scope, and work for builders and us judging. Since we have not had the big pre announcement of theme, and run up to October allowing builders to plan big projects ahead of time, we have decided this year to head in the opposite direction and pick a theme much smaller in scope.

This years theme will be “Critters”.

“Sweet Toot” a critter style locomotive built by Plymouth for the Domino Sugar co. Now preserved at the B&O Railroad Museum.

Loosely defined, a critter is a light-duty or industrial switching locomotive between 300 to 1000 h.p. weighing less than 100 tons, although most tip the scales at less than half that weight. These small locomotives are usually built to fill a specific need for each customer. This results in these tiny engines often having an odd look about them. They can be found in most industrial settings, such as a steel mill, but can be seen hauling coal at a power plant, clay at a brick factory, as well as junk yards and lumber mills. Some are used by the railroads as shop switchers to move dead locomotives around for maintenance or repair. Critters have been manufactured in standard or narrow gauge. Critters can be diesel electric like their “big brothers”, some are pure electric running on trolly poles or even battery power, and others are gas mechanical with a transmission.

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Reading shop switcher 1251 certainly fits the spirit of the critter locomotive.

While smaller steam locomotives are not typically thought of as “Critters”, there are abundant examples throughout the steam era that fit the critter mold perfectly, so we’re going to throw them in as well.

A battery-powered shop switcher at the Chessie System/C&O terminal in Huntington, West Virginia is seen here during May of 1984. The little critter was built by General Electric in 1917 for the Chesapeake & Ohio and today resides at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. Rob Kitchen photo.

But wait, there is more. Locomotives are fun, but rolling stock can be great too. And what use is a locomotive if you have nothing to pull with it? So we adding small rolling stock categories in as well. This can be anything from a mine cart, to a small caboose. Any type of rolling stock that is a bit smaller than usual.

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Lehigh Valley 2606 is a classic “Bobber” style caboose. Short in length and with only for wheels. These cabooses were not the best riding cars, but they are iconic of early 20th century railroading.

Like the previous installments of OcTRAINber, the idea of this building challenge is to actually challenge builders. To get us out of our comfort zones. We Trainheads build a lot of trains, but we too often focus on the big fancy trains. The big freight locomotives and the first class passenger trains. But there is a whole world of interesting railroad subjects that while smaller in stature, are just as hard working and important. This is your mission, to build the little unsung heroes of the train world. Unleash the Critters!

Rules

Ok, we do have some rules to go over first. Our intent is to keep things simple here and let you have as much creative freedom as possible, but do have to keep things orderly and fair, so bear with us.

  • 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 2021 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 do not count as entries! These threads will open on October 1st.
  • We will be accepting entries from Midnight on October 1st to Midnight on November 15th (meaning November 14th, at 23:59 PDT). That’s right, you have six weeks of OcTRAINber. Why the late deadline? Well in the past we’ve announced the theme ahead of time, giving builders time to plan and order parts if needed. Since we did not have a pre announcement this year, were giving you all an extra two weeks bast the end of October to get your entries in.
  • Digital entries are allowed. Keep in mind though that digital entries are competing in the same categories as real physical models. So to be fair we will be looking at digital models as if they are genuine physical models. Ask yourself, can this be built in real life? If not, then it may not fair well in judging. This is where showing your “work in progress” will really be important.

Categories

This year there will be six categories you can enter in. Three for locomotives, and three for rolling stock.

Locomotives

Any locomotive weighing less than 100 tons and producing less than 1,000hp, not typically used in main line revenue service. Think industrial, mining, shop switcher. Think small.

  • Steam – 0-6-0 or smaller. Usually a tank style locomotive. Sometimes fireless. We are also accepting compressed air powered locomotives here.
  • Internal Combustion – Anything using an internal combustion’s engine for power. This can be gasoline, diesel, propane, distillate, etc.
  • Electric – Any locomotive using straight electric power, either from 3rd rail, overhead wire, or by on board batteries.
0-4-0 No. 1 is a compressed air locomotive built by the H.K. Porter co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Rolling Stock

Any non mainline revenue equipment, typically shorter than 30ft in length, and often running on less than 8 wheels. If it’s big and carries freight or passengers, then it’s not what we’re looking for.

  • Bobber Caboose – Bobber cabooses were short 4 wheel cabooses.
  • MOW – Maintenance of Way equipment. The rolling stock used to maintain the railroad. And yes we know some MOW equipment can be huge, but that’s not what we’re looking for. Think speeder car, track tamper, dump cart, tie crane, etc.
  • Industrial – Any car used in an industrial setting such as a factory, mill, ship yard, mine, etc.
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Used in Maintenance of Way “MOW” service, this Central New Jersey speeder car would transport work crews around the railroad to help maintain track, signals, and other line side items.
This industrial style car was used to transfer coal to coke ovens in a Coke Plant.

Best Motorized Model

We will have a special award for best motorized model. This can can be from any one of the above categories (we can’t wait to see how you try to motorize a bobber caboose), so all entries are automatically entered for this. Assuming of corse you have some type of motorization. Motorization is not a requirement though for the main six categories.

Some Notes on Entries

Keep in mind that OcTRAINber is a ‘quality over quantity’-building event. This means that we rather encourage you to build one amazing build than several sub-par ones. Build your best, not the most.

We’ve also tried to give you a wide berth in the definitions for each category. We want to encourage you to explore as much as possible and come up with some really interesting stuff. But we also know that it could be easy to stretch those definitions into something not really in the spirit of the theme. Sure an EMD SW1 could technically fit the letter of the rules, but is it in the spirit of the theme. Remember to think small. The theme is critters, and we want to see your best, small modeling.

Just like previous years, we want to encourage you to show off your Work in Progress or “WIPs”, so we can make OcTRAINber a month that is all about trains within the Lego community. Therefore, extra credit will be given to the best WIP stories and/or pictures during the event.

Points

Points will be awarded in three categories: Credibility, WIP Story, and Build.

First of all, credibility of the prototype. This means we will be looking at how much the build represents the real life prototype. If you are sending in a fantasy model, we will look at how credible the build is; would it fit in, does the backstory make sense?

Second of all, the WIP story. This refers to both showing off your building process, but also to how and why you decided to model a certain prototype. The better the story and the more updates you give and the more elaborate your building story is, the better.

Third and last but no less important, the build itself. How detailed is it, how accurate is it, does it look like what it is intended to look like. Does it use pieces in a clever way. Does it use clever build techniques. Does it make every ones jaw drop in amazement.

Prizes & Winners

We haven’t finalized on prizes yet, but since this is a building challenge, we will for sure have some, just like in previous years.

We will pick the winners after we have announced the official close of the competition and have stopped accepting new entries, which will be some time after November 15th. Once the judges (who, just like last year, will be announced in an upcoming article) have come to a sound conclusion regarding the winners, we will post one final article announcing them, and then we will be in contact with those winners regarding their prizes.

Final Words

For the past four years, OcTRAINber has been organized by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, a.k.a. Raised. Unfortunately due to a growing family life and career commitments Gerbrand felt the need to step down from organizing this year’s event. We are extremely grateful here at BMR for all the hard work Gerbrand has put into OcTRAINber and we will miss his presence in this year’s challenge. With out him, OcTRAINber would not be what it is today. So let’s all give Gerbrand a big thank you making OcTRAINber the event we all know and love.

Thank you Gerbrand, and we hope some day you find the time to once again have a hand in this challenge. Until then, we will do our best to continue what you started and keep it awesome.

So, that’s it for now. OcTRAINber has officially started. Now the only thing you have to do is start building, and unleash the critters! Happy OcTRAINber!

Gerbrand on the left , and Cale Leiphart on the right, visiting the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in 2019.

LEGO® FAN EVENTS ARE COMING BACK AND LGMS NOW HAS A WEBSITE

Hello everyone. The world has spent the last year in lockdowns and isolation while we’ve been fighting a global pandemic. All our favorite LEGO® Fan Events have either been postponed or moved online. And while we have made the best of the situation and persevered, we are happy to say that in the United State at least, public evens are starting to return. Today we’re going to highlight a few of those coming in the next few weeks.

L Gauge Modular System

New official LGMS logo.

Before we get into the events, we wanted to make a quick note of what is going on with the L-Gauge Modular System, LGMS for short, since the standard will be featured in several of the events coming up.

LGMS now has a dedicated website!

https://lgms.org

On the LGMS website you will find the latest updates to the standard, information on upcoming events where an LGMS layout is being organized, links to various LGMS resources, and articles on LGMS. Of course we will still cover important LGMS info here on Brick Model Railroader as well, but the LGMS website will be a great tool as the standard continues to grow.

Nebraska Brick Days-Omaha 2021

Brick Days – Omaha is a family friendly event featuring 15,000 square feet of amazing custom creations, games, and interactive activities, all built from LEGO bricks by LEGO enthusiasts from across the Midwest. With this being our flagship event, Brick Days holds nothing back. You will see the newest creations from many different builders, the best prizes, and the newest up-to-date swag from the most popular vendors within LEGO® community. 

https://brickdays.com

This year Brick Days-Omaha will be held on July 24th & 25th, at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA.

Photo from the 2019 Brick Days event.

BMR attended this even in 2019 and had a really great time. I will be raveling back there again this year, though I will not have the PennLUG layout coming with me. I still very much look forward to seeing the event, catching up with old friends, and meeting new train fans. Look for me to be hanging around the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club layout with a few models to show off.

BrickFair Virginia 2021

BrickFair Viginia is one of the premier LEGO® fan events in North America, bringing together hundred of LEGO builders and their creations. Held every year in Chantilly, Virginia, the event returns this year on July 28th to August 1st.

https://www.brickfair.com/VA/

Monty’s Trains layout from Brickfair 2019

This year will be the first time an L-Gauge Modular Standard (LGMS) collaborative layout make an appearance at the event.

Final LGMS Layout Plan for BrickFair 2021.

Several clubs and individuals will be participating in this layout, including myself with my Red Lion Station layout. A big shout out goes to Monty Smith for organizing this for the 2021 event. I’m really looking forward to running some trains on this.

Brick Slopes 2021

BrickSlopes is proud to return to the Mountain America Expo Center for their 2021 EVENT. After being forced to cancel the 2020 event, they hope you are too. The event will be held on August 26th- 28th 2021.

http://blog.brickslopes.com

Brick Slopes is excited to announce that it is putting on its first LGMS train display this year. Don’t have a train? No worries, buildings, scenery, and just about anything city can be displayed next to some train tracks! Just as long as its made to the LGMS standard.

HOW DO YOU JOIN IN THE FUN!

When you register your MOCs on the BrickSlopes website, select city and train as the theme. Then feel free to reach out to Brad Rowley so they can find the best place to put your layout on the loop! If you have any ideas, suggestions, or just want to share, send Brad a PM! The time is closing fast, so get those MOCs ready!

BMR Store Shipping

One final note. As the BMR Store shipping department (that would be me) is going to be on the road the next two weeks attending Nebraska Brick Days and Brickfair Virginia, I will not be shipping orders until I return. The store will remain open so you can place orders, and download our Knuckle Coupler Cad Models and Knuckle Coupler Conversion Instructions, but any orders requiring shipping will not be shipped until I return on August 2nd.

Thank You, and I hope to see you at Nebraska Brick Days or BrickFair.

Cale Leiphart

BMR

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.

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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.

Contests Contests!

Hello readers. Today we have two quick little items on some current contests going on in the LEGO® train community.

Brick Train Awards

If you haven’t been following, the Brick Train Awards is back for 2021.

The Brick Train Awards is a global virtual competition to showcase LEGO train builders around the world. The Awards where founded in 2020 and with a surprising 732 entries last year, the organization decided to run it again this year. Like previous year, the Brick Train Awards is a collaboration between LNUR, Bricks McGee and BMR. The awards are free to enter and judged by members of the LEGO® train fan community worldwide. The entries are op from 1st – 28th February 2021. The winners of this year’s awards will be announced on March the 5th.

You have one week to still get your entries in. For more info on the Brick Train Awards, follow the link below.

Brick Train Awards Website

Funny Freight Contest! Sponsored by Texas Brick Railroad

The Texas Brick Railroad is sponsoring a “Funny Freight” contest. You have nearly six months to design and build your entries – judging will take place at Brick Rodeo (Houston, TX) on Friday, July 23, and all 12 winners will be announced Saturday night.

What It’s About
    Create a LEGO railcar (or string of cars) that is . . . funny. It’s funny if it makes us laugh. Or at least grin. That’s the only definition. Parody, satire, weird historical rolling stock, plain old absurdity . .  . whatever floats your boat. Just keep it rated G or PG, since Brick Rodeo is a family event.

Prizes!!
    FIRST PRIZE – an 8-wide TBRR tank car kit designed by Edward Chang, with custom award printing. (And maybe more – we’re open to prize sponsorship, and some has been tentatively promised.)


    SECOND PRIZE – A new-in-box Brickstuff animated Metroliner billboard for your town. (And maybe more.)


    THIRD PRIZE – A LEGO “Charles Dickens Tribute,” 40410, new in box. (And maybe more.)


    BUILD BONUS – $100 in booth credit at the Brick Rodeo “Too Many Bricks” booth – for the best physical entry that is actually brought to the show. That is: If the first place winner is an actual build at the show, it will get the build bonus. If the first place winner is not at the show but the second place winner is, the second place will get the bonus . . . and so on.


    AWARD BRICKS – We’ll create a dozen “2021 Funny Freight” 1 x 8 bricks, and give one each to the top dozen people who enter.

Details
    Who can enter? – Any living human being. But no more than two entries per person, please. Judges will be asked not to vote for their own entries.


    Required info – We need the name of each entry, your own name (or a screen name), and a means of contact if you win. We will not share your info with anyone, or retain any info after the contest except the names of the winners. We do ask that if you run your entry on our track, you put an identifying sticker on the bottom so we can get it back to you.
    Scale – From 6-wide to 10-wide, as long as it runs on standard LEGO track.


    Judges – The contest will be judged by the TBRR members displaying at Brick Rodeo.


    Format: Your entry may be an actual build brought to the show (preferred!), or a photo/video of a real build, or a virtual build. Virtual images or photos should be sent to texasbrickrr@gmail.com, and should arrive by noon on Friday, July 23rd.


    Rights – You retain all rights to your entry, but we get to display images of it, and to build one for our layout if we love it.


    Awesomeness – When choosing between equally funny entries, the judges will favor real builds over any other format, and will take into account technical excellence, light, sound, and movement effects.


    Novelty – Entries must never have been displayed at a Brick Rodeo before. But this is the first Brick Rodeo, so bring out your best!

Questions?
    Send questions about the contest to texasbrickrr@gmail.com.

FAQ

Q – Can one entry be multiple cars?
A – If the joke requires multiple cars, sure, that’s one entry.

Q – Tell me more about Brick Rodeo.
A – Ten years of awesomeness, now with a new name. www.brickrodeo.com.

Q – Should I explain the joke?
A – That’s up to you. Many good jokes don’t need explaining. If your entry embodies a witticism about court intrigue in the days of Louis XIV, you’d better explain it. But often the title of the entry will be enough additional explanation.

Q – Do I need to include instructions?
A – No.

Q – Can I do a funny locomotive?
A – What do you think pulls all the funny freight?

Q – Do you have a disclaimer?
A – LEGO is a registered trademark of The Lego Group. This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by TLG.

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.

TRAINS AT BRICKWORLD VIRTUAL Con, OCTOBER 31ST

Feeling a little down that there are no in person LEGO® Fan Events this year? Do you miss doing train stuff with fellow hobbyists? Us too. But while we wait for the world to return to a more normal state where we can all attend shows safely again, we can gather together with friends at the Brickworld Virtual Con this October 30th, and 31st.

October Brickworld Virtual Con

LEGO Train Community Roundtable

There will be many activities going on over the two day schedule which you can find here, and we encourage you to take part in as many as you can. But we know you want to here about what train things thee will be. Fortunately there will be two sessions devoted entirely to LEGO trains. The first of which is the LEGO Train Community Roundtable scheduled for 11am central time, 12pm eastern on October 31st.

The Train Community Roundtable is a tradition for Brickworld. It’s a typically laid back session where train builders gather to discuss new products, hobby news, techniques, and many other LEGO train related topics. This time we hope to steer discussions toward trackside scenery and landscaping two tie in with our OcTRAINber contest on BMR. We’ll also devote some time a train builders to show and tell. If you have a model or project you’ve been working on, join in and show it off. BMR will be there with our own Cale Leiphart as host with the help of several other LEGO train fans.

L-Gauge Modular Standard Discussion

At 1pm Central/2pm Eastern October 31st we will have an hour long session devoted to the L-Gauge Modular Standard. For those new to the LGMS we’ll have an introduction to the standard with the what why and how. We also hope to discuss expansion of some of the standard’s definitions, such as overhead track clearances, new module types, etc. And lastly we would like to touch on future shows and events where LGMS style layouts are planned.

So join us on October 31st and let’s talk trains.

Railroad Track Maintenance Part One; The Tie Gang

By Sal Ciofani

So you’ve decided to step beyond just laying LEGO track on baseplates, so you have added ballast and reddish brown or black ties to really make your track come to life.  You might even say it is starting to less like a toy train track, and a little more like realistic model railroad track.  But even the nicest looking high speed mainline track needs good maintenance to keep it in tip top shape so trains can run quickly and safely, without risking catastrophic derailments.  We will take a look at how track is maintained to keep it looking realistic and to keep trains running safely and reliably.    

Continue reading Railroad Track Maintenance Part One; The Tie Gang

Track Detailing for Light Rail

Article by Conrad Schlenker

In the past, we have seen great and highly informative articles from Hod Carrier and Matt Csenge on simple but good-looking details anyone can build to add detail to their track. Today, I’d like to do the same, but for a relatively unexplored genre of L-gauge modeling: Light Rail!

Light rail is a very important mode of public transportation in a lot of major cities throughout the world. Although I will be covering details that aim to replicate things found in America, hopefully this article is helpful to anyone looking to model a rapid transit railway. 

Before we get into the larger details, lets look at some simple details that don’t take many parts, but can add a lot of detail that is sure to catch any spectators eye. 

Tie Choices

            I 100% agree with the things Matt said in his 2nd article about USA Track Detailing. Ties are everything. Concrete ties are quite common on light rail systems, so here are a few ways to do them: 

Concrete ties left to right:

  • Dual block ties with no fasteners
  • Dual block ties with 1×1 plates for fasteners
  • Full concrete ties with no fasteners
  • Full concrete ties with fasteners on both sides
  • Full concrete ties with fasteners on outside only

Its also recommended that you put ballast in between a double track mainline as well. 

Trackside Signs

Whistle Board. Used at grade crossings, it alerts the driver to use the horn in order to warn motorists of the incoming train. 

Absolute speed board. Tells the driver the current or absolute speed limit of the track.

Upcoming speed board. The slant of the board indicates that the speed listed on it will be in effect when the next board arrives. 

End of Track Bumper

There are many different types and designs of end of track bumpers out there, but this one is modeled after the one used on the DART system, which is the closest light rail system to me. Rest assured, this detail will look great on any layout, and looks general enough to match other designs seen all over America. The end of track bumper is obviously used to stop a train from going too far off the rails when its going too fast. Sometimes it works better than others, as seen in an incident in a Chicago Metro station a few years ago. The bumper is attached to the rails, which is modeled by the 1×4 plates in between the ties, and the 1×2 jumpers hanging over the rails. Also modeled are the rubber pads, which are meant to soften the impact, but don’t really help much if the train is going fast enough to hit the bumper in the first place. I used 1×2 grills for these. Since these bumpers are so common on light rail / rapid transit lines, this detail will bring a lot to any layout, and is sure to catch the eye of any spectator. 

Next, we have a simple line side signal that can be found pretty much anywhere on a light rail system. Signals are necessary not only to light rail lines but any type of mainline anywhere in the world. Their job is fairly simple and works much like a traffic light on a road. It tells drivers weather or not it is safe to proceed, and if anything is occupying the right of way in front of them. The most common aspects seen on such signals is as follows: Green or clear = proceed at line speed, flashing yellow or approach medium = proceed  with caution and be prepared to stop in the next 2 signals, yellow or approach = proceed at a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour, and be prepared to stop at the next signal. There are many more aspects, meaning lots of different things, but that should give you a basic understanding on how they work. Light rail signals appear more box-like than signals found elsewhere. It is important to make sure the signal looks like it is set in concrete, hence the LBG bricks at the bottom. This also goes for crossing gates and catenary poles. Some signals have two ‘heads’ on them, which means they display two aspects at one time. The second head can easily be built under the first one if you need it.

Don’t worry, this detail is compatible with the PennLUG style of track ballasting found on L-gauge.org. Light rail lines often have to weave through small spaces to get where they need to go, so on especially tight corners an inner 3rd rail is used to make absolutely sure the train stays on the track. It’s not like the 3rd rails some of you may have heard of; it doesn’t provide power on the outside of the track, it provides stability o the inside of the track. These can be seen in maintenance bases, yards, and on the mainline, as well as be attached to either the inside or outside edge of the rail. 

            That was my last detail for this article, and although it was a short one, I hope it gave you some inspiration and jumping off points if you ever take on a project involving light rail. If you’re wondering why I didn’t talk about a catenary pole, its because the height usually changes depending on the scale of the train, and I didn’t want to create a size limitation for people who don’t build the same scale as me. 

             To all who read this far, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this brief look into the world of light rail. 

               Play well,

                       Conrad.

Introducing the Modular LEGO® Intermodal Standard

I Can’t Contain Myself!

Hello, dad joke of a title aside, I am very happy to be writing this article! My name is Cameron Miller. I founded Iron Horse Brick Co. (https://www.ironhorsebrickco.com/) with Aaron Burnett in September of 2018. I have been out of my dark ages since 2014 and have jumped head first into the world of LEGO® trains. Since the closure of Iron Horse Brick Co., I have become an owner of Brick Train Depot (https://www.bricktraindepot.com/) and that is what ultimately brings me to writing this article. 

A couple months back, Cale from BMR, approached me about defining an intermodal container standard for the 1:48 scale (8 wide) trains that Brick Model Railroader and Brick Train Depot sell. I have had some free container and truck instructions published since my time at Iron Horse Brick Co. and have moved them to Brick Train Depot. Cale wanted to ensure that we could offer compatibility between our brands, much like model train manufacturers do with other scales. 

The original Maersk Tain containers formed the starting point for the Modular LEGO® Intermodal Standard..
Continue reading Introducing the Modular LEGO® Intermodal Standard

10277 Crocodile Locomotive: A Review

Last year, Lego gave us one of my favorite battery powered train sets, 71044 Disney Train and Station. This set, while expensive (but worth it) and at times a challenging build, is still marketed with younger audiences in mind. It’s a proven formula: some kids like trains, but MOST kids love Disney. Put those two things together and you end up with a very desirable product.

I shared some thoughts on that set in an article linked above, and now I have the task of writing about Lego’s newest train again: 10277 Crocodile Locomotive. This new set is the polar opposite of the Disney train; it literally says 18+ on the front of the box, but I’ll touch more on that later. I should also say that once again Brick Model Railroader was not offered a set to review. Again, I went to my local LEGO store (with a mask and practicing proper social distancing, mind you) and purchased the locomotive, Powered Up motor, and Powered Up hub to review.

A sweet box.

10277 Crocodile Locomotive sold out very quickly online and is now backordered for a couple months. However, if you’re lucky and able to, you may still find a few on store shelves.

Let’s dive in.

Continue reading 10277 Crocodile Locomotive: A Review