Very cool catch-up trains

I’ve got a little time this evening so figured I might as well post some old things from my bloglist.

First up is Caleb Randolph’s Swedish Class B. As though packing in the details wasn’t enough, Caleb has gone where others fear tread and added sound. As for the model itself: I’m particularly impressed by the running gear (the bars that move hypnotically on the wheels) as it’s nice and thin.

Swedish Class B

Secondly there is Cale Leiphart’s “K4s”. This pair of beauties are SNOTtastic in their details, in particular using panels to obtain a nice thin board next to the boiler (the big round bit).

IMG_2246

And last but not least is Peter Norman’s (swoofty) Hiawatha Beaver tail wagon. In case you’ve never noticed I do like me some streamline moderne design.

Hiawatha Beaver Tail Parlor Observation

Modernist signal box

Signal boxes are one of the most common trackside accessories built by LEGO fans. But I think this beauty by lafabrick is the first time I’ve seen a modernist[1] version done in LEGO. I like it. There’s a lot of clever use of half-stud offset on this one.

[1] I think actually brutalist, perhaps our architecturally inclined readers can inform me.

 

signal box-07 

Back on the Rails

Frontal
Courtesy Train Station by valgarise
London, England – (BTT) As airports across the world continue to think of new ways to poke and prod the weary traveler, there is a certain romance to the humble railroad that has seen a bit of a resurgence as of late. A large part of the mystique lies in the stations themselves; relics of another era when travel was a momentous event rather than a bothersome burden. With its grand arched windows and bustling interior, this historic station gives proper respect to the term “first class.”

Train double feature

You might be able to guess I’m going through my recent additions to my blog list. These two steam train pictures look so nice together I’m going to save myself some typing and blog them together. Both are excellent models and showcase the advantages of building trains at 8-wide. Which needs to be showcased since it is a dirty size[1].

First we have Cale Leiphart‘s USRA Light Mikado from World War I as operated by the Baltimore and Ohio railway.
IMG_7270

Followed by this excellent diorama by Tony Sava (SaveTheAggie) from his series “The Texas Brick Railroad”.
Rail In The Sky

[1] That’s a train-head joke. There’s joking banter between 6/7w builders and 8w builders that dates back many years.

Western Trainset

Info PR: n/a I: 2,520 L: 0 LD: 158 I: 75 Rank: 1460493 Age: December 1, 2009 I: 0 whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: yes Rank: 6061142 Price: 1 Density

Western Train

In the past I’ve designed and made instructions for a Wild West playset as Christmas gifts to the community. This year the Spaghetti Western contest at Eurobricks encouraged me to build one for myself. I wanted it to look like a cool toy train that a kid might get for Christmas or a birthday. Hopefully I achieved what I set out to do.

Big Red Train

L&N #295 'Big Red'

Peter Norman (Swoofty) is usually more of a LEGO diesel man. But sometimes he’s a LEGO steam man and this is one of those times. It’s an ugly prototype made well.