Following the AWESOME events of NMRA 2018 in Kansas City last month, there’s been a lot of discussion about what people are trying to get out of the hobby, defined as “LEGO Trains”. Put another way, why are we (you, me, etc.) here? What kind of reward do we seek from this niche hobby within a niche hobby?
Allow me to offer a few of my own thoughts and experiences which remind me why I’m doing what I am.
Continue reading Why Am I Here?
With the release of the Brick Model Railroader Northeastern Style Caboose, I thought I’d give a short photo tour of a couple of vintage vans that plied their trade in the the northeastern states of Vermont and New York along the old Rutland Railroad.
First up is Rutland Caboose #28. Currently on display at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, #28 is a fully restored piece, varnished in Cherry Red, that I was able to visit while traveling to BrickFair in Virginia back in 2009. According to the National Park System’s documentation, caboose #28 was built in 1920 by the Rutland car shops. Built to the New York Central design, the caboose features a cupola that is offset to one end of the van, with a comfortable interior for the crew. The caboose was assigned to the lines between Rutland, Vermont and Ogdensburg, New York. It ended it’s working life as a bunkhouse in Bellows Falls, Vermont before being donated in 1961 to F. Nelson Blount for display at the original Steamtown site in Vermont. The restoration of #28 took place in 1995. The caboose was on display inside of one of Steamtown’s buildings, which made getting exterior shots difficult, but did provide for a look at the roof line.
The second caboose is Rutland #45, currently on display outside of the Center Rutland Depot just outside of Rutland, Vermont. The Depot is home of the Rutland Railway Association, who have both a museum and model railroad club on site. This caboose actually lives just a few miles from where I live, so I’ve photographed it a few times over the years, including a couple of days ago to show its current state. Though the caboose is off-limits to the public, in the summer of 2016, a couple of the Association’s members allowed me a look inside the unrestored caboose. While it’s a bit run down (it *is* almost 100 years old), it was quite a treat to see the original floor, paint, and layout. Most interesting to me were the beautiful cast-iron seats up in the cupola which allowed would have allowed for a great view for the train crew.
#45 was built in June of 1924. Originally numbered #95, it was renumbered a few months later along with the rest of the 90 series. Like Steamtown’s #28, it ran on the Ogdensburg sub-division of the Rutland lines. With the end of the Rutland Railroad in the mid 1960s, Rutland #45 become Vermont Railway’s #45 when the state of Vermont bought the former Rutland’s assets. VTR #45 was retired from use in the mid 1970s, and moved to Center Rutland by the the early 1990s. Members of the Railway Association are currently restoring both the caboose and the Rutland Depot that is their home.
This German idea leaflet is from 1965 and features a wonderful illustration of a construction site with a narrow gauge (known in German as Feldbahn) engine in view. The reverse side of the sheet features an artistic rendering of the train, presented in such a way as to aid those interested in building it.
The rough translation of the German text is as follows… “Dear girls and boys, take a close look at this construction template. It’s that easy to build the construction site. Just start right now! By the way, do you have enough LEGO bricks? You know, you can get them in every good toy shop. I wish you success.”
Would any of our readers like to have a go at building this?
Lately on Social Media platforms, there has been an uptick in “Can I have building instructions for…” type requests. While some of these requests are very specific, and the answer from other builders is usually “You’ll have to design it yourself,” there are sources available for a number of train related building instructions.
Following other designer’s instructions is a great way to learn different building techniques and trends. While it’s sometimes frustrating to see an amazing build and immediately want to build one yourself, it’s often better to step back, assess your skills, and start small. I’d wager to guess that most of us who currently design our own models started by following official LEGO instructions. After a while, we would modify those builds, adding our own touches (my first “designed” train was a modification of the My Own Train line from back in 2001). After modifying official models for a bit, we’d start experimenting with the techniques we’d learned, and we’d begin designing our own builds.
The following are some sources (other than buying sets) of train related building instructions that may help builders get started. Some of these are older resources, but the techniques displayed are as valid today as they were when they were originally assembled.
First, of course, is our own Brick Model Railroader Premium Instructions. Designed by Cale Leiphart and Glenn Holland, these models are in the 8-wide scale, designed specifically for builders looking for prototype realism in their models. Instructions are printed in book form, and include any custom parts needed for the builds.
Next, The LEGO Group, on their Customer Service website, offer Downloadable Instructions for official sets. Not all sets are available, but this is a great resource if you are looking for just the instructions for current or recently retired sets. Some older sets are also available, but again, not everything is there. Instructions are provided as downloadable PDF files.
Two other sites also offer instructions of official LEGO models. These sites include some of the company’s older sets, which may be of interest to builders wishing to delve into the history of LEGO trains and building techniques. Brick Instructions.com includes downloadable PDF files of instructions, or onscreen image files that a builder can scroll through.
The second site, Peeron.com has scans of instructions from as far back as 1955. Peeron was THE fan-created database of LEGO sets twenty years ago, and still contains a huge amount of information, including set inventories and catalog scans.
On the fan side of things, there are a number of resources for building instructions.
Back in 2004, Jake McKee, who used to liaison between the LEGO Group and the fan community, wrote Getting Started with LEGO Trains. Published by No Starch Press, the book included a history of LEGO Trains, as well as building instructions for a diesel locomotive and a number of freight cars. Though out of print, Getting Started with LEGO Trains can still be found at a number of used booksellers.
No Starch Press also publishes a number of other LEGO related books, including the new The LEGO Trains Book by Holger Matthes. Available in both print and PDF form, the book includes tips for different building techniques, as well as some step-by-step instructions. Glenn Holland reviewed the book for Brick Model Railroader back in October.
A third publication, this time in magazine form, was started back in 2007 by Jeremy Spurgeon. RAILBRICKS published 6 issues, in PDF and Print On Demand format, through August of 2009. In 2010 the magazine was revived with Jeremy passing editorial duties to Elroy Davis. The volunteer team of authors and content creators that made up the RAILBRICKS team published another 9 issues, ending publication in July of 2014. Each issue of the magazine included building instructions for things like locomotives, rolling stock, or scenery. An archive of the RAILBRICKS magazines is available here on the BMR website where each issue can be downloaded in PDF format. Print issues of the magazine can also still be purchased from MagCloud.
In addition to publications, a number of builders offer instructions of their designs via their BrickLink shops.
A search for “Custom Instructions” on BrickLink turned up shops selling instructions for locomotives, rolling stock, scenery, and modular buildings.
One of the largest offerings of instructions is Anthony Sava’s SRW Locomotive Works. His designs includes steam and diesel locomotives, as well as passenger and freight cars. I just recently finished building his Light Mikado, and can recommend his instructions as clear and easy to follow.
Bricks Northwest offers a number of diesel locomotives, including CSX, Canadian National, and Conrail liveries.
For the fans of the Emerald Night set, Zac’s Brick Place sells instruction sets for custom coaches in the Emerald Night color scheme.
For those who like high speed rail, LT12V in Italy sells instructions for three different passenger trains.
Next, Brick City Depot has a nice offering of rail buildings, trains, and maintenance of way equipment.
The BrickLink shops listed above are by no means the complete list. They are just a few of the instructions available from fans that I found with a little searching.
Finally, there are a number of fan sites out there that offer instructions as well.
One of my favorites is the L-Guage wiki. Instructions for ballasted track, roads, viaducts and more are available as downloadable PDF files.
A similarly named site, LGauge, offers a large amount of instructions for freight cars, as well as few diesel locomotives and small scenery pieces. The instructions can be followed online in HTML format, or downloaded as PDF files.
Michael Gale, of the L-Guage wiki, also has custom instructions for sale on his Brick Dimensions website. These include both passenger and freight models.
Like BrickLink, this small list of sites was found with just a quick search on Google. I’m sure there are other sites out there with similar offerings
Instructions are awesome, and while there are many available, nothing really beats just sitting down and experimenting. Don’t be discouraged if your initial builds don’t work out they way you think they should, and don’t compare yourself to builders who have a couple of decades of experience. Remember that we all started at the same point. Follow the instructions for a while, then have fun striking out on your own design path!
Since we are one day away from the big day, I wanted to share a very special piece from 1984. This one is from another Christmas card that the UK LEGO Club sent its members. It really captures the spirit of this time of year and is a wonderful scene…There are so many details to soak in.
The main reason I chose this one for day 24 is that the toys in the window display celebrate the early history of LEGO. That’s right; a number of toys in the window display are representations of LEGO’s wooden toys! And yes, one of them is a train. Read on to find out more, and have fun comparing the illustrations of the wooden toys with their brick-built counterparts in the window display!
Images come from my collection, the website miniland.nl and the collection of Richard Bintanja.
1993 was a good year for LEGO…I have fond memories of the Dragon Knight sets. Today’s image comes from the front cover of a 1993 UK Christmas catalog. This one gives Duplo trains some love. Meanwhile, Majisto the wizard has hijacked Santa’s job this year, complete with a sled pulled by three monstrous dragons. Who needs eight tiny reindeer anyway?
The second image is from a French advertising insert. It is a slight variation on the first, but is void of any trains. Still, I thought I’d include it for comparison.
Today’s catalog comes to you straight from 2000. The cover art of this U.S. holiday catalog prominently features the engine from “Freight and Crane Railway” (set 4565), originally released in 1996. This time, Santa takes charge of the controls and ditches Rudolph in favor of everyone’s favorite little astromech droid, R2-D2.
A lot of memorable characters are here, including Johnny Thunder (aka: Joe Freeman & Sam Grant). Emperor Palpatine uses force lightning to shake a package, while Darth Maul is left with nothing but coal to sort through. The Sith may be causing trouble, but Steven Spielberg is calling all the shots.
This week’s “blast from the past” comes to us from Germany in 1989. In this comic book/magazine advertisement, an SUV narrowly escapes what would have been a deadly collision with the High-Speed City Express (#7745). This train set debuted in 1985 but still would have been available for purchase in 1989. #7745 had appeared in various pieces of advertising up until this point, but this was perhaps the most unique scenario within which it was placed.
Background Information on the Article: The following article originally appeared in the March 1984 issue of LEGO Review, the English title of the LEGO Group’s house organ (employee magazine). The article, titled “On the track,” provides an analysis of a review on LEGO trains that appeared in the November 1983 issue of the Stiftung Warentest. Stiftung Warentest is dedicated to objective reporting on consumer goods and serves a similar function as Consumer Reports in the U.S.
On the Track… (By Preben Peterson):
TEST: In the November 1983 issue of their magazine ‘test,’ the German consumers council ‘Stiftung Warentest’ took a close look at toys, as a sort of preview to the on-coming Christmas shopping.
Among the products tested were various LEGO products: our train programme was evaluated against others, even bigger and well-known brands.
We have tested ‘test’…
INTRODUCTION: In Germany, and just about all central European countries, model trains are a subject which occupies a lot of children and adults in their leisure time.
For many of them the game is to acquire or construct precise models of existing or historic, characteristic or famous trains, stations, landscapes, etc.
WATCH THE FORMAT: This test did not concentrate on that side of model train sports, but on model trains as toys. Here one begins, soberly, by pointing out that although it is not an unimportant part of play to build and rebuild, some of the excitement is lost if one, owing to size is forced to build and dismantle the construction at the end of every day’s play. Or if the dimensions in relation to the available space are such that there is little room for variations, details and the finer points of the game. Here the LEGO train scored its first point, since, all in all, it was described as very handy.
For instance, the LEGO locomotive in the train in question measures only 153 mm and weighs 367 g. While a similar version of the otherwise so popular brand Märklin with its 335 mm and 1850 g is described as a somewhat ‘overgrown’ item, especially for smaller children.
IDENTICAL…?: Our track width – that is the distance between the rails – is a little outside the standard which a number of the other trains use. Three of the five trains tested, namely Lehman, Märklin and Playmobil use standard ‘G’ (45 mm) which corresponds to a 1:22.5 ratio. The fourth train, Faller, uses the standard ‘O’ (32 mm), which corresponds to a 1:45 ratio. As many of you already know, we use a track width of 38 mm. This adherence to the non-standard did not give rise to criticism. On the other hand one wonders, naturally, why the components from the three ‘standardised’ trains are not compatible…
PRICE: The magazine pointed out that price was not without importance when the decision of which brand of train was to be made.
Here again, our products were praised – perhaps to the surprise of some people. For instance, if one buys a LEGO train set comprising a steam engine, some carriages and goods wagons and a modest, little beginners’ set of rails, one is in business for 70 DM (about 25 US $). That is only a couple of dollars more than one would pay for a Faller engine – alone. And that is the cheapest of the four competing engines whose prices topped at nearly 80 dollars. Add to this carriages costing between 5 and nearly 25 dollars – each.
And, the magazine reminds us, who will remain satisfied with a mini railway with one engine and two carriages forever? Hinting to the cost of expanding the set…
PLUS AND MINUS: After this a ‘dive’ and then more praise to those of our colleagues who have worked with the trains and their ‘accessories.’ It is rather difficult to connect power to our rails, they complained. However, our constructors’ and users’ guides got through unscathed when very sharp, critical words were passed about nearly all the others.
MOST IMPORTANT: Finally, and absolutely of greatest importance the toys’ play potential are evaluated. A test-panel (I think that’s what they call it) of children between 6 and 14 years old was asked to play with the trains – under the appropriately watchful eyes of experienced analysts. Here too, the trains and their accessories were exposed to special trials and tests which we also know from our product tests here in the company (- but which, to judge by the results, could lead us to believe are not known, or perhaps not used in all the other companies).
Not surprisingly, it turned out that our train performed extremely well during the long-term tests. The speed matched amply that offered by the others, and on the matter of pulling power our train, as the only one of the five, was characterised ‘very large.’ Some of the others could not cope with load i the form of cargo on the wagons and gradients in the terrain/landscape which one was tempted to give them.
Our rails, points, signals, carriages and driving capacity received praise, while one could have hoped for a somewhat more popular passage about sidings (Is this noticed during play? we are tempted to ask. Ed.).
And the LEGO train was the easiest to work with – that is, to get on the tracks, shunt, etc.
ALL IN ALL: The conclusion is:
“The LEGO train is constructed upon the same principles as the other boxes and models from the same company and the elements can thus be combined freely. Construction of the engine and carriages feed children’s creativity. Once in a while things fall apart during play but that doesn’t disturb or annoy. This train is particularly good fun to play with, thanks to among other things, its powerful pulling capacity and speed.”
Upon this background, the LEGO train got the evaluation ‘very good,’ together with Playmobil’s train, while the others were placed lower.
“Upon the basis of their wide range toys in general, the two companies probably have greater experience to build upon,” concludes the report.
And that’s not untrue – neither is it at all bad…
*NOTE: First two illustrations come from the March 1984 issue of LEGO Review. All other illustrations come from various examples of LEGO train advertising for the year of 1983.
This week’s piece of LEGO train advertising history was published in France in 1971. This is probably my favorite example of LEGO train advertising. The stylized drawings and explosion of color make this a feast for the eyes.
There is also some creative storytelling going on here. If you look closely, you will notice a Darwinian depiction of trains. The 4.5V train moves into the world of 12V, is transformed into a monorail, a boat and a supersonic jetliner. All of these illustrations lead your eyes to the final focal point, which is a space-bound rocket. From trains to spaceships, “LEGO is a new toy every day.”
P.S.: Be sure to take a second look at that monorail. You might find that it bears greater resemblance to more recent fan designs than LEGO’s official monorail system of the 1980s & 1990s.
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