Subject:
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Re: The Future of Trains
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego
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Date:
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Sun, 7 Oct 2007 02:02:33 GMT
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Viewed:
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22317 times
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In lugnet.lego, Steve Bliss wrote:
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In lugnet.lego, Rob Hendrix wrote:
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Hm.. how much to make metal rails, and then have LEGO-compatible pieces
that can
snap onto the bottom of the rail?
Scott
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An AFOL already made some headway on that one, way back in ‘05..
http://users.erols.com/kennrice/flextrack.htm
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Wow. Now, if LEGO did decide to throw 9V a bone, they could manufacture a
sleeper like Ken’s modified 2x8 plate, bundle it with the 3rd party connectors
and rail stock, and voila - hobbyist track kits!
All things considered, this won’t happen, for a lot of reasons. But an AFOL
can dream...
Steve
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I am sorry to hear the news, but I am not surprised. There are two things Lego
can do to help the transition on those of us with a large investment in the 9v
system.
1) the most consumable element in the 9v system is the train motor. But in many
cases I suspect it is the electric motor inside that burns out. And the actual
electric motor is likely a standard model produced by a third party vendor. So
provide us with information on the third party vendor and the motor model so
that we can crack open the lego case and replace the motor unit when it burns
out.
2) produce a single specialized lego element that would enable flex-track at the
right gauge. Like many of the other posters, originally, I had thought of it
being a tie or sleeper, similar to:
with the tabs being formed such that it would slip on one of the standard stock
of model rail available from hobby suppliers. It would allow us unlimited
straight and curve tracks, supporting the 9v line at the cost of producing a
single new part (no, I do not envision lego supplying the rail, just that they
make the clips compatible with something we could find on our own). With all of
the ballasting that clubs do, I suspect it would be relatively easy to build up
semi-permanent assemblies for shows.
Thinking further, if we were going to have a single part, it might be nicer to
have a 2x2 plate or tile with the clips, and thus, require a conventional 2x8
plate to connect it all together. The logic for 2x2 is that with turntables, we
might be able to cobble together complex switches using the stock part.
(Alternative sizes might be 1x2 aligned with the rail, 1x3 perpendicular to the
rail, or 2x3 perpendicular to the rail)
Back at NMRA 2006, I walked around and spoke with a few of the model railroad
track manufacturers. All expressed hesitation to setting up new molds for a new
gauge (they would have to make all track geometries). I think it makes more
sense for the lego community to provide the sleepers, and the conventional model
community to provide the rail. Let each side do what it does best. I think lego
could more than break even on the part if sold for $0.10ea (on the order of Ben
Fleskes’s estimates). The profit margin on such pieces might not be huge, but
they will go far to keeping those customers with a large investment in 9v trains
happy and buying more lego. The parts could even be used as detailing on
non-train sets.
If the lego group does not want to pursue such specialized parts, they should
bring in the top third party producers (such as Ben Fleskes) and coordinate so
that the third parties can decide whether or not to proceed without fear that a
year later lego will come out with a similar part.
Benn
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: The Future of Trains
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| (...) Talk to Ondrew Hartigan. He's already tracked down a company that can provide an replacement, even if they're not the company that manufactured the original units. (17 years ago, 7-Oct-07, to lugnet.lego, FTX)
| | | Re: The Future of Trains
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| (...) I did some research on this several years ago. At the time it was to pursue the idea of wider radii curves. But now it's of even more interest with the 9v track going away. I drew up several different ideas, and even contacted someone in a (...) (17 years ago, 8-Oct-07, to lugnet.lego, FTX)
| | | Re: The Future of Trains
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| (...) Benn- In my experience keeping SCLTC trains running for the last 6 years (including a 10 week, 6 day a week show every year), what kills the train motors is erosion of metal contacts that pick up electricity from the rails. The contacts wear (...) (17 years ago, 10-Oct-07, to lugnet.lego, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: The Future of Trains
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| (...) sleeper like Ken's modified 2x8 plate, bundle it with the 3rd party connectors and rail stock, and voila - hobbyist track kits! All things considered, this won't happen, for a lot of reasons. But an AFOL can dream... Steve (17 years ago, 4-Oct-07, to lugnet.lego)
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