Subject:
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Guinness 2000 Record Wind-up and original record
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Tue, 31 Oct 2000 20:33:38 GMT
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Hi all,
a soon as we complete our documentation package, everything is submitted to
the Guinness committee. So far, it looks good. A full report and more pics
are also in order - hopefully soon.
Resonding to a request from Sonnich Jensen, here's a transcript of the
article covering the original 1992 record event:
[LEGO REVIEW 1992 (internal magazine)]
"Don't cross the line -- a train's coming!
- Guinness record for longest LEGO railway line"
author Kirsten Vagtholm
Strangely enough, there has never before been an attempt to set a Guinness
record for model railways - either for maximum number of wagons or for
length of track. One possible explanation may be that investment in such a
project - regardless of whether the make is Marklin, Hornby Dublo or LEGO
Train - would be substantial, as it would take m-e-t-r-e-s of track.
So couldn't the track be borrowed? Just this once? The LEGO Group received
such a request from the organisers of the annual activity-weekend for
youngsters in Billund run by the College of Further Education, the Music
School and the Billund Centre. And the reply was 'yes' - after a chat about
price/loan conditions and contact with our nearest train expert, Torben
Plagborg in the product Development Department. Torben was very interested
in testing a railway track more than 500 metres long. He had in fact
already discussed the idea of a mega-railway with maximum rolling stock with
some colleagues. It made sense for Torben to be the consultant for the
project, which came to fruition one weekend early in March as one of the
activities for young people.
At about 3:00 p.m. on of the Sunday afternoon there was a jolly throng of
people at the Billund Centre. Guinness' Danish representative, Henrik
AEgidius (of the Copenhagen publishers Komma & Clausen) was present,
together with the two local 'referees', director of tourism Rigmor Lauridsen
and municipal engineer Poul Laustsen. The 'Station Superintendent' was
Peter Ambeck-Madsen, who lives at Fitting Station, the former railway
station at the village of Fitting - duly attired in stationmaster's cap and
with whistle in hand, as he had been asked to make sure that the train left
on time.*
On the track
Torben and the twenty boys who assisted him laid a 545-metre line - a little
more than originally planned - consisting of about 4,300 LEGO track
elements. The three trains, the 'Austrian Federal Railways' (no.4551), the
Euro Express (no.4558) and the Euro Freight (no.4563) went winding through
eight separate areas in the Billund Centre: the exhibition area, the church
office, the library (where most track was laid), the kindergarten, the music
school, the play group's premises, the theatre and the cafeteria. It took
the trains 18.05 minutes to complete one circuit of the 545-metre long track.
All the figures were checked and noted by the Guinness representative, an
extraordinarily perservering individual who, in his own words, is used to
all sorts. Just as well because, when he had to measure the length of the
track, like a true Guinness sportsman he had to creep, crawl, and edge his
way along walls and under shelves, to a stream of witticisms from many
interested spectators surrounding the track. It didn't make the task any
easier.
Everything was finally in order and, with a slight delay - just like in real
life - the train ceremoniously whistled off on its journey in the presence
of the media, train enthusiasts of all ages and three generations of the
LEGO family - GKC, Kjeld and the children. The presentation of the diploma
to the young LEGO railway engineers took place on the stage of the theatre,
which gave the rock band a break. Guinness representative Henrik AEgidius
took the microphone and announced the result, which will be in the Guinness
Book of Records. That is, if no one else beats the record before the next
edition of the book is published! But that is more likely to happen with
LEGO tower-building, where the record falls a few times a year - most
recently in New Zealand, one week before the railway track project. More
about that elsewhere in this issue.
Train talk...
It is interesting to note that, as we in Billund whistled off the LEGO train
- produced by a company which is often acknowledged as one of the
'locomotives' of Danish business life - Danish State Railways was seriously
considering laying a track from Jelling to Billund and from Billund to
Grindsted. We wish that project success too!
*[footnote]A few weeks later, he was whistling again - this time with a
genuine bosun's pipe - when the yellow LEGO submarine set course for Seville...
** ** **
scribe's notes:
1. pics were very poor quality but we'll try to get them on the PNLTC site.
Not much to see, track in a few hallways, the presentation, and two shots of
trains on the track. It does not appear that an attempt was made to
populate with structures or create a full-layout look. In fact, only one
pic shows one building, the yellow Metrostation.
2. PNLTC's G2K stats: 8022 sections of track reaching 3343 feet or roughly
1027 meters - over 1 kilometer. The record train took 43 minutes to
complete the journey.
dan parker, PNLTC
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Guinness 2000 Record Wind-up and original record
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| (...) Thanks for the update and the article post, Dan. I look forward to seeing still photos. I am interested to possibly see more close-ups (maybe?) of all the MOC rolling stock and locomotives at the event. What a huge stock yard...unbelievable (...) (24 years ago, 1-Nov-00, to lugnet.trains)
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