Tag Archives: RR

About BMR, People

A MODELERS LIFE INTERVIEW WITH BRICK MODEL RAILROADER’S CALE LEIPHART AND A SPRINGFIELD TRAIN SHOW UPDATE

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Last fall I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lionel Strang and the crew of the A Modelers Life podcast. Today that podcast was officially published and is available to download.

If you’re not familiar with the Modelers Life podcast, it’s a show about the people who make up the model train hobby. From the shows website, “All modelers have a life, but what do we know of it. This podcast is as much about the people in model railroading has it is about the hobby itself.”

Lionel Strang hosts the show with a rotating crew of regular contributors from the model railroad community. ​Lionel is best known as the builder of the Allegheny and Lackawanna Southern, a 20’ X 30’ HO Scale layout. He also built two project railroads for Model Railroader Magazine: the Northwest Timber Company and the Appalachian Central. Lionel wrote the monthly column Workin’ on the Railroad for Model Railroader magazine from July 1998 until May 2005, then continued to serve as a contributing editor for another six years after that.

It was a really fun interview to do and I’m honored to help represent both the LEGO® train hobby and BMR to the greater model railroad hobby. I hope you enjoy the interview and let me know what you think of the show. You can download the episode on the AML website, on iTunes, of listen to it on the AML Youtube Channel via the links below.

A Modelers Life Website – https://www.amodelerslife.com

AML on iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/a-modelerslife/id905596672?mt=2

AML on Libsyn – http://modelerslife.libsyn.com

AML Youtube – https://youtu.be/ZlW98JBhwY8

AML Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/ModelersLife/

Amherst Railway Society’s Railroad Hobby Show

As you may have read, I’ll be attending the Amherst Railway Society’s 51st annual Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield Massachusetts January 26th and 27th. While there I will have the prototype model for our upcoming Reading T-1 Steam Locomotive Kit on display at the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association booth in the Young building. The ASR group is currently restoring Reading T-1 no.2100 to operation, and with whom BMR has been working with on our model of the T-1.

I’ll be splitting my time between the New England LEGO User Gorup’s LEGO train layout in the Mallary building, the ASR Society booth, and just enjoying the show. But if you can track me down, look for the guy wearing the Brick Model Railroader T-shirt, I would love to talk about the T-1, other BMR kits or just trains and LEGO in general. Hope to see you there.

About BMR, Events, Products

Our January Show Schedule and Premium Instructions Update

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We’ve got a very busy month ahead of us! We’ll be at several train shows joining the Pennsylvania LEGO Users Group (PennLUG) at their train layout as well as visiting friends. Let’s take a look at what January has to offer.

World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour Show, Oaks, Pennsylvania

A Norfolk & Western duo, A class and a Y6b, are being serviced in the yard before going out a coal drag.

This coming weekend, we’ll be at the World’s Greatest Hobby show in Oaks, Pennsylvania. Public hours are Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th, from 9-6 and 9-5 respectively. For those in the area, it is the same convention center where Philly Brickfest is held every year: the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. We attended this show last year when it was on Monroeville, Pennsylvania (closer to Pittsburgh) and it was one of our favorite shows. There will also be several model train manufacturers in attendance with their own displays, and much more. More information is available on the show website.

Link to Cale’s photos from last year’s show

Continue reading Our January Show Schedule and Premium Instructions Update →

About BMR, LEGO® News, Products

Brick Model Railroader Teams Up With Brickmania

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If you follow Brickmania on their social media outlets, you probably already know what this is about.

Almost two weeks ago now, Cale and Glenn where invited to attend the NILTC show in Cantigny Park. You can read Cale’s report on that awesome event here. We attended the show as guests of Brickmania to be a part of some of the final steps leading up to the release of a locomotive kit designed by us. We’ll be shedding some light on the details of this epic collaboration in this article.

Brickmania

Firstly, you may be wondering what Brickmania is. 
Founded in 1999 by Dan Siskind, Brickmania specializes in high-end custom model kits made with re-purposed LEGO bricks. Their focus is mostly within a military theme, but have ventured outside of this norm to produce space race, sci-fi and fantasy, and pop culture kits as well. They release one new kit every week on Friday morning while restocking older kits and also producing other custom products like books, minifigures, their own table-top game, and a lot more. All production is done in-house at their headquarters in Minneapolis. You can read the full history on their website. Brickmania continues to drive the hobby in many ways and always raises the standard for custom model kits.

Continue reading Brick Model Railroader Teams Up With Brickmania →

About BMR, Events

2018 Cantigny Park Christmas Train Show

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On December 8th and 9th, Brick Model Railroader members Cale Leiphart and Glenn Holland attended the 17th annual Cantigny Park Christmas Train Show in Wheaton Illinois as special guests of Brickmania and the Northern Illinois LEGO® Train Club.

Show Flyer

Cantigny Park is a 500-acre park in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles west of Chicago. It is the former estate of Joseph Medill and his grandson Colonel Robert R. McCormick, publishers of the Chicago Tribune, and is open to the public. Cantigny includes large formal and informal gardens, two museums, a 27-hole golf course, a picnic grove, a playground, hiking paths, restaurants and a gift shop.

Cantigny Park Website

Each year, for the past 17 years, the Northern Illinois LEGO® Train Club has been invited to set up their train display for a special Holliday event the second weekend of December. Over the years the show has grown to include vendors and special displayers in addition to NILTC’s own ever growing display.

NILTC Website

Continue reading 2018 Cantigny Park Christmas Train Show →

Models, People

Santa Fe 4-8-4 No.2926 by Chris Stone

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I certainly can’t recall the last time I’ve seen an Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe (ATSF) steam locomotive modeled in LEGO, though I’m sure I may be missing one.

Chris Stone, known as Narmot on Flickr, has updated his model of ATSF 4-8-4 #2926 into what he is calling his third version. Chris is one of the OcTRAINber 2017 winners with his flexible-boilered mallet steam locomotive and has built several other noteworthy models including a wonderful passenger train to put behind his new 4-8-4.

One look at this locomotive will keep your eyes darting to new locations to pick out all the details. Chris certainly packed it in on this locomotive.

Continue reading Santa Fe 4-8-4 No.2926 by Chris Stone →

Contests, Inspiration

OcTRAINber 2018: The Second Challenge!

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New year, new competition!

Hello everyone, and happy Autumn!

With September drawing to a close, and October quickly approaching, the time has come to announce our latest installment of our OcTRAINber build competition!

This year, the challenge is…

Continue reading OcTRAINber 2018: The Second Challenge! →

About BMR, Events, History, Inspiration, People

Why Am I Here?

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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.

The participating AFOLs from the 2018 National Train Show

Continue reading Why Am I Here? →

LEGO Train News, LEGO® News

Review: 60197 Passenger Train with Powered Up System

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Last week we brought you our review of the new Cargo Train set no. 60198. This week we have our review on the second of the new Powered Up train sets, the Passenger Train set no. 60197.

Box Front

The new Passenger and Cargo Train sets are our first introduction to the new Powered Up System, and also the first new City trains in a few years. Naturally, these new sets are of great interest to the LEGO train community. The Powered Up system in particular has been a very hot topic, and has many potential ramifications to how we build our trains going forward. However, we didn’t want to confuse the new system with the set, even though they come as a pair. We want to review the new trains on their own merit. We will have a more extensive review of the Powered Up system itself, and what it has to offer the more advanced builder, in an upcoming article.

The new Powered Up battery/receiver, controller, and train motor included in the new train sets.

For these reviews we are looking at the new train sets based on how good they are as actual train sets. A train set is really the gate way to the larger model train hobby. It’s where almost every LEGO train fan, and modeler starts. It may be a set received as a present under the Christmas tree or for a birthday, or a set purchased from a store to add to your growing AFOL collection. The train set is where most of us start our LEGO train hobby because all the basic building blocks to creating a running train are there in a single box, and will be the gateway for new builders in our hobby for the next several years. Let’s take a look now and see what the new Passenger Train set has to offer us. Continue reading Review: 60197 Passenger Train with Powered Up System →

LEGO Train News, LEGO® News, Models, Products

Review: 60198 Cargo Train with Powered Up System

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At long last, way too long probably, Brick Model Railroader has built and reviewed the new Powered Up train sets from the LEGO City line!

The complete 60198 Cargo Train set.

Unfortunately, and quite obviously, we are pretty late to the review party for these new trains. While BMR is a Recognized LEGO Online Community (RLOC) and we do have some benefits from that, we were not able to obtain the new train sets before the official release, but we did try. Cale ended up buying one of each anyways so we could provide a decent review for our audience, being the only Train-specific LEGO media around.

Let’s dive into the new 60198 Cargo Train with Powered Up!

Continue reading Review: 60198 Cargo Train with Powered Up System →

About BMR, Events, LEGO Train News

NMRA 2018 National Train Show Report

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Every year, the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) holds an annual convention in order to provide a place for the membership to meet to continue their association with the hobby in a common forum. The convention rotates to a different city each year, and this year the convention was in Kansas City, Missouri from August 5th-12th. In conjunction with the convention, the NMRA also holds a National Train Show taking place on the last three days of the convention. This train show feature operating train layouts, vendors selling model trains and model railroad supplies, and model railroad manufacturers displaying their new products.

For this year’s National Train Show, several LEGO User Groups (LUGs) and LEGO Train Clubs (LTCs) were given 3000 square feet of space to display their LEGO train layouts. This marks the first time in several years that so many clubs were able to come together for a National Train Show. Participating Groups included KC Brick Lab, the hosting LUG, Texas Brick Railroad, ArkLUG, Twin Cities LTC, OKLUG, PennLUG, IndyLUG, CincyLUG, Pewaukee Road LEGO Train Line, and MichLUG. Also represented was LifeLites, CRR Studios, OKBrickworks, and of course, Brick Model Railroader.

BMR team member Glenn Holland being interviewed for an NMRA video.

Continue reading NMRA 2018 National Train Show Report →