Subject:
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Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 22 Nov 1999 15:16:49 GMT
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Viewed:
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1158 times
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Some thoughts of mine:
A few people have weighed in that no matter what, we should promote
_pure_ LEGO modeling. I think this is a wrong opinion. So long as we
promote a monopoly, we will get the service a monopoly creates. If Mega
Bloks were to start selling trains, I would buy them. If they were
absolute junk, I would return them, and write them a letter explaining
why I returned them.
My biggest dream is for a model railroading cottage manufacturer to
decide that LEGO compatible trains are a wonderfull niche market, and to
start manufacturing a small selection of special pieces which would
enhance our hobby.
Once we get a strong hobby built up with multiple vendors, THEN think
about being LEGO exclusive if you want to honor the company which
founded the hobby (the reason Lionel and American Flyer have devoted
collectors groups is because these were the dominating brands at the
birth of commerical model railroading).
What we do want to promote is maintaining a LEGO feel to our efforts.
This means that we should not go out an use non-LEGO track and scenery
in general (I'll make an exception for outdoor railroading, I'd like to
have a permanent outdoor layout, and I'm not going to risk my LEGO
track, nor spend a million bucks to cover my yard in LEGO bricks). I
would prefer to see automation done with LEGO solutions, but if someone
wants to put DCC into a LEGO train - great! If someone comes up with a
non-LEGO solution to power their huge display layout, great! The last
thing you want in a display is unreliable power - if LEGO controllers
are not up to the task, we would be doing LEGO trains a disservice by
trying to use them - people will come away saying "gee, LEGO trains are
pretty, and they are more rugged for my kids, but they keep breaking
down", and attitude we know is wrong, the reliability of the LEGO
controller and motor seems very good for a small layout such as most
people will have at home.
If other manufacturers get on the bandwagon, so long as their products
follow the ideals of LEGO, I would say feel free to use them. Things I
would accept (all must maintain LEGO compatible geometry and colors):
- curved track at different radii
- turnouts with different geometries
- longer and shorter straight sections
- some new pieces to make making technic truss bridges a little easier
- printed bricks
- different types of windows and doors
- electrical pick up wheelset
- components to build steam engines (1)
- a DCC unit in a brick
- a smaller computer unit (preferrably 4 wide)
- a 6 wheel motor (w/jumper so that it can be
run as is, or combined with the DCC unit)
- a new 4 wheel motor with the same jumper
- above motors to have replaceable gears so
we can chose a toy rocket train gearing, or
a modeling slower gearing (2)
- a quality controller with accessory power,
momentum etc
- some very long, large guage feeder wires
- american style knuckle couplers, suitable
for automatic uncoupling
- uncoupling unit for same
- a set of lighting units at a reasonable cost
with replaceable bulbs
Things which I might accept:
- different colored bricks (imagine buckets with colors themed for your
favorite railroad)
- an extensive arrangement of Tyco style plates and tiles at 1/2 brick
thickness
- pieces which significantly extend/change the geometru
- flex track
- 12v or 18v components for better electrical performance
- other electrical accesories (3)
Things I would not accept:
- one (or a few) piece body shells (ala the Mega Bloks Nascar series)
- components which are poor quality (Mega Bloks is going to need to come
out with something pretty impressive, or really improve their quality if
they are going to actually catch my attention)
---------------------
(1) what I would love to see here is the following parts:
- one or two sizes of large drivers which fit on technic axles
- decent looking valve gear and rods
with these components, and the electrical pickup
wheelset mentioned above, we can use existing
technic parts to make the rest of the drive system
Another way would be a 4 wheel and/or a 6 wheel motor
with large drive wheels.
(2) This should also give us motors which will be able to pull larger
loads
(3) I can't think of too many automated devices which couldn't be built
with existing LEGO components.
--
Frank Filz
-----------------------------
Work: mailto:ffilz@us.ibm.com (business only please)
Home: mailto:ffilz@mindspring.com
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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| Great post, Frank. I'm a purist but if someone came out with the stuff on your "things I would accept" list (1) I would fall all over myself to get scads of them... I wish I had time right now to weigh in on this thread in more depth but in general (...) (25 years ago, 22-Nov-99, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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| (...) I disagree. We are all here because we enjoy LEGO. Trains just happens to be one theme in the LEGO family. Why should we rush out and bring in non-LEGO material? For instance, I hear plenty of grumbling in .SW about the lack of blasters, but (...) (25 years ago, 23-Nov-99, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | LEGO trains...The Future of Model Railroading?
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| Hello fellow railroad buffs, I just thought I'd share a little story with you that occurred to me today. Earlier today I went to a model train hobby shop to look for some decals to add to my recently completed EMD GP15-1 union pacific diesel (...) (25 years ago, 21-Nov-99, to lugnet.trains)
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