“Set Up Running” Welcome to Brick Model Railroader

Hello and welcome to Brick Model Railroader. If you’re a fan of LEGO trains, then we hope you will like it here. So what is Brick Model Railroader? Well let’s start with a little bit about where we started.
 BMR (Brick Model Railroader) started out with the idea that this could be a sort of hybrid blog for LEGO trains. We wanted to take what was great about the old RAILBRICKS, the in-depth articles on the LEGO train hobby, and give those types of articles a new place to be read, free of the constraints of a bound publication. We wanted to take a little bit from the New Elementary’s focus on new parts and building techniques from and apply them to trains. We wanted to to borrow from the brothers brick  and showcase all the great train builds that we see out there. And we wanted to sprinkle in some of the BrickNerd’s love of LEGO artistry, because we believe LEGO trains are an art form, and that should be celebrated. We want to create a place that will funnel all the great aspects of the LEGO train hobby into one convenient place for fans to explore. And we want to do what ever we can to build and grow the hobby that we love. So here now is Brick Model Railroader’s mission.
 

Brick Model Railroader’s Mission
A BMR boxcar has been offloaded at the Ma&Pa’s freight house in Red Lion PA, and is now being switched out for return.

BRICK MODEL RAILROADER
“Building the LEGO® train hobby”

Our mission at Brick Model Railroader is to serve the LEGO Train Hobby as an online news resource, and to help promote and grow the hobby of LEGO Trains in all it’s forms. From the casual fan to the veteran collector, and from the beginner, to the serious scale modeler. We want to provide train fans with articles on LEGO Train news, building techniques, layout planning and operating practices, LEGO train events, building inspiration, and highlight the best LEGO Train creations from around the globe, and the builders behind them.

LEGO Train News – We at BMR (Brick Model Railroader) want to provide LEGO Train fans with the most up to date news about what is going on in the community. New sets, new parts, new technology, and any significant happenings in the hobby will be covered by us. We want to highlight the history of LEGO Trains, the culture, and great community that exists.

Building Tech – There is great community of train builders out there with expertise in all areas of LEGO Trains. We want to be a place where that experience and knowledge can be shared with all. BMR will provide in depth articles on building techniques, calculating scale model dimensions, and the like.

Layout Design – For the hobbyist planing a home or club train layout, BMR will offer articles on how to plan a layout, layout styles, features, and operation.

Events – BMR will provide news of upcoming train shows, fan conventions, and other gatherings of LEGO Train hobbyists. And we will report on the events when that we can attend.

Building Inspiration – Sometimes you just need a little inspiration for the next building project. We at BMR will from time to time highlight interesting railroads, locomotives, rolling stock, buildings, and locations from the real world that we come across, and that we think would be excellent subjects to model in LEGO form. We’re not just into the brick built trains, we’re fans of trains in all forms. And we want to use that to help inspire your next build.

Models and Builders – There are so many wonderful LEGO train models out there but it can be hard to find them sometimes. There are train builders who can stand with the best that Space, Castle, and any other theme has to offer. There are train clubs who work harder, put in longer hours, and pour more thought into their layouts and displays, than any other group out there. And the results of all this are amazing. There are fans who build trains that are mechanical masterpieces, with all the intricacies of the best Technic model. And these train fans are building more than just models, they are building worlds. We at BMR want to find
fans are building more than just models, they are building worlds. We at BMR want to find ent builders, and clubs behind them. One of the best ways to become a better builder is to see and learn from what others are doing.

The staff behind Brick Model Railroader is wonderful group of both veteran, and new train hobbyists. We love LEGO Trains. They are our passion, our creative outlet, our toys we play with, our history we collect,  and the catalyst of many great friendships over the years. This Hobby has given much to us. Now we want to give back. We want to be a place where train fans can come and learn about the hobby, and connect with other fans. We want to do our part to help the LEGO Train hobby grow. Because the more this hobby grows, the more there is for all of us to enjoy. We love LEGO trains, and we want to share that love with all.

A brake man assists the engineer in coupling up to the BMR boxcar in Red Lion, Pennsylvania at the Ma&Pa RR station.
So let’s get on with this!

We already have several articles ready for your reading pleasure, and will be working to add more on a regular basis, you’ll find new articles on our home page as well as listed under recent posts. So please check back often. You can also catch up on all past articles though our Archive, or narrow down your selection by Categories. And for those of you who follow social media you can keep up to date with everything happening here at BMR. Just head over to our Follow Us page to find out how.

I’m sure by now you are wondering, just who are the people behind Brick Model Railroader? Well you can find out all about us on out BMR Team page. If you see us at event, don’t hesitate to say hello. We would love to meet our readers and talk trains.

And lastly don’t forget to check our Useful Links and Event Calendar, both of which we will be working to add to in the future. If you have something that you think we can add to either of those, please contact us.

We hope you like our site so far, we are still tweaking things and finding our groove, but we think we have a good frame work to start with. We welcome any suggestions on what we can improve and maybe add. And thank you taking this journey with us.

 

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I’ll bet you’re wondering what “Set Up Running” means in the title of this post? Well it’s an old railroad term from one of my favorites, the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was used by train crew to denote a fireman being promoted to engineer, “he was set up running” they would say. I thought it was a nice railroad way to start things off, as well as it being the title of one of my favorite railroad books. But I’ll elaborate a bit more on that in a future article.

Robert Fulton 01

Cale

 

10 thoughts on ““Set Up Running” Welcome to Brick Model Railroader”

  1. Congrats on a great start! This is long overdue. I’m especially looking forward to seeing instructions for building realistic Lego freight cars economically. They can only be so inexpensive because of the train components required but I’m always on the lookout for ideas to get a bunch of cars built quickly. I designed a gondola that is dead simple, has some details but not too many, and can be cranked out quickly and (fairly) cheaply. Also, the plans for the boxcar in your cover picture would be great to take a look at. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this effort goes, and maybe one day being at a level to contribute. Thanks!

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