Subject:
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Re: Full Report: PNLTC unofficially breaks Guinness Book Record for longest rail line.
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Fri, 25 Aug 2000 17:43:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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1308 times
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In lugnet.trains, Dan Parker writes:
> Not to upstage my comrades here, I've been asked by many to provide a full
> report including many detailed notes of the event.
>
> 12:45PM, Saturday, August 19th, 2000: PNLTC broke the official Guinness Book
> World Record for Longest LEGO Train Line of 545 meters (1788 ft) set in 1992.
> Clubmembers operated a train over a 3343-foot continuous length of rail which
> took 43 minutes to complete (vs. 18 minutes previously). Hence, the old
> record was nearly doubled.
>
> A secondary record, the Longest Freight Train, was set with 3 locomotives
> pulling 68 cars for 5 complete laps around an approximately 250 foot loop
> (loop size not claimed but to be conservatively confirmed by math).
>
> Static features of the 89'2" x 39'6" full layout to be submitted as 'World
> Records' include:
> 1. Largest complete layout outside a LEGO theme park: 3522.1 square feet
> 2. Number of bridges used: 28 spanning a total of 90'10".
> 3. Longest single bridge span: 16'10".
> 4. Longest elevated railline: 249' at 6" off the ground.
> 5. Number of skyscrapers: 15 w/ minimum height of 24 inches.
> 6. Largest multi figure-8: 15 loops.
> 7. A total of 565 pieces of rolling stock at the event. (full yard - ed.)
> 8. Longest monorail circuit: 277.5 feet.
>
> Event Summary:
> Setup took the equivalent of 2 12-hour days. The final solution to powering
> track was to use a few controllers, and jumpers at many locations. The record
> train was equipped with the new odometer. The main record was a little touch
> and go: a child walked onto the track minutes beforehand, the first start
> derailed a few feet into the run, and we nearly lost all power due to a switch
> set wrong!
> The final leg of the run consisted of the train tracing the red-backed
> initials P-N-L-T-C with the crowd chanting these. Stacked 5-deep, they
> erupted into a cheer as we reached the last dot. The judges checked the odo
> before we touched the train.
>
> Descriptive features of the layout:
> at 3500 sq ft, twice the size of your average american home. A wildwest
> scene, expanded european city, sprawling space colony, 4.5v circuit, bustling
> airport (20+ planes, 2x8 foot runways), the biggest switchyard you can imagine
> (no, bigger. BIGGER! Now double it.), and a show-stopping metro skyline that
> took your breath away. Lots of misc structures, 6 minor-parent guest-teams,
> and a burgeoning Kid's Building Area showing off their creations. We had a
> colossal Duplo train circuit for awhile but we needed the 200 sqft area to lay
> more 9v. The 3x80 foot river provided a home for watercraft of all sizes, a
> Navy fleet, and many dockside industries. Aside from walkways, it was a
> packed and lively layout. I'll corroborate Dwayne's or Tony's claim of 32
> trains running at one time.
> The switchyard contained another 100+ feet of track not counted in the main
> record, and we had boxes full of curve track that went unused. Had we used
> everything including plumbing in the remaining 2 circuits belonging to the
> minors, we could have added another 200+ feet.
>
> List of guests and/or contributors (in abstentia):
> Dean Husby, Kevin Maynes and his friend, Sharon (regretfully, I've forgotten a
> last name), Mark Sandlin, David Schilling, Kevin Wilson, Brian Wong, and
> Zonker Harris. Larry Pieniazek lent much track and rolling stock. We shall
> be posting a separate list of the Ambassador cars.
>
> The most impressive aspect of the show, however, wasn't a physical feature or
> record. It was the way everyone worked together. This was remarkable in the
> fact that most of these people had never met and we experienced several
> changes to the original plan.
>
> If folks are interested, I can paraphrase the original GBWR article which I
> obtained from Denmark (internal company newsletter LEGO REVIEW).
>
> thanks to all the contributors and well-wishers, it was a spectacular event.
> We shall be returning all loaned materials and assembling the documentation
> for Guinness.
>
> d/PNLTC
This is quite impressive! How were you guys able to run three engines on the
long train? I'm assuming that all wheels were powered, I've been told that the
standard LEGO train controller can safely handle four motors at the most.
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