Stoney Vale - L-Gauge/Lego BLT/Shunting Puzzle

[Twentieth-Bagginess]

L-Gauge

L-Gauge is used to describe the modelling of trains and railways in LEGO. LEGO have produced a number of different train systems over the years, including 12v and 9v powered track and more recently 9v remote controlled battery power, mostly using a 37.5mm gauge. LEGO's range of track is very restrictive but there are a number of 3rd party sources of wider radius curves, points and other track pieces. Models from the majority of official LEGO train sets are 6 studs, or 48mm, wide making them rather narrow compared to the track gauge. Many L-Gauge modellers build 7 or 8 wide models to a more realistic scale. 

 

My background

I bought a LEGO train set a few years ago to run around the Christmas tree. I then started to read more about model railways and learnt about running trains and shunting wagons. I didn’t, and still don’t, have the space for a permanent layout, nor much space for storage. I did think several times about getting into a smaller scale but I stuck with L-gauge and now have a modular shunting puzzle that I pull out regularly for sessions. I am in no way a prototypical modeller, not when it comes to scale, location, railway or time period but I do like to read about how the railways worked and I do incorporate details that I like. Modellers license, selective compression and a lot of imagination applies.

 

Index

• Track plan
• Session operations/JMRI
• Class 08 - Design, 1:1 gearing, scale speed
• VEA
• BR Standard Van

Edited January 25 by Twentieth-Bagginess

[Twentieth-Bagginess]

Current Backstory

The Stoney Vale branch line brings goods and passengers into the town of Stoney Vale. The unique geological features of the area attracts tourists, made building a large station impossible and doesn’t allow road access. Many short services, such a loco and three wagons, DMUs and wagons running as tail traffic, are required to keep up with demand.

 

Track Plan

It's an inglenook variation. 3/3/3+3&loco

Trains come into the station from the east. Passenger trains pull into the upper side of the passing loop, goods trains pull into the lower side. On the far left is a head shunt and two goods sidings. The head stunt and the goods sidings can hold up to 3 cars each (shown as grey/tan plates). The lower side of the loop can hold three wagons (grey plates) and a loco (black plate). After the loco from a goods train has runaround to begin shunting, the trap point is thrown and the upper side of the loop is cleared for a MU passenger service.

 

The 6 spots can accept different cars: 1 takes fuel tanks, 2 takes fuel tanks and mineral wagons, 3 takes mineral wagons. 4, 5 and 6 take vans and flat cars.

 

 

The track is placed on five 48x48 stud, 38.4x38.4cm, baseplates, for a total size of 192x38.4 cm. The track joints line up for me to split the baseplates and stack them for storage.

 

Edited January 15 by Twentieth-Bagginess
Spots

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Operating

Sessions begin and end with 4 of the 6 spots in the goods yard occupied, shown here with tan plates.

An inbound train arrives with 3 wagons, shown in blue.

The loco, in black, runs around and the trap points are thrown.

The inbound cars are placed where specified for unloading and the loco waits with the outbound cars for departure.

 

JMRI OperationsPro

I used JMRI OperationsPro to keep track of cars and generate switchlists. I took me a long time to get it working correctly but I’ve recently started adding extra details like custom loads.

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Parts have arrived for new rolling stock.

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Class 08

Currently the only loco running on the Stoney Vale branch line is a Class 08, based on a popular design by Masao Hidaka. I have added rear lights and adapted it to run on LEGO’s newer Powered Up control system.

 

The battery/control box and motor take up significant space internally, but there is room for cab detail. Side rods are a common part produced by third parties but LEGO has recently produced their first example with the release of the Orient Express set.

The motor drives the centre and front axles (in yellow) through a series of bevel gears. The rear axle (in red) is driven through the side rods.

The model’s scale varies:

 

 

Control

LEGO’s Powered Up system can be flashed with a custom firmware, PyBricks, and python scripts can be run locally on the hub.

 

I wrote a script that communicates with a physical remote control and allows 8 speed steps in forward and reverse.

 

 

Scale speed

Some of the motor’s in LEGO’s Powered Up range include a rotation sensor. This allows the control script mentioned above to calculate the real speed of the model.

 

Angle

 

At full power, the loco runs at a real speed of 0.3m/s around a Radius 40 loop of track. Considering the scale, gearing and size of the drivers, that is a scale speed of nearly 40mph, which much too fast, even for a Class 09. In the control script, I limit the 8th and final speed step to 0.137m/s, or a scale speed of 15mph.

[5BarVT]

LEGO weren’t like that when I were a kid!  Had it been, I could easily see myself having got into doing your sort of stuff with it.

Enjoy the journey.

Paul.

[Dagworth]

I like the 08, not sure my HST or class 86 would fit on your layout but the class 20 definitely would! (Photos may be added if you want but I don't want to disrupt your topic) 

 

We need more Lego trains on RMweb.

 

Andi

Edited January 17 by Dagworth

[Twentieth-Bagginess]

Thank you 5Bar and Dagworth 

 

I would love a class 20, but only if I can squeeze 2 motors into a 1:50ish frame (around 35 studs). LEGO designing can be surprisingly complex but it’s very forgiving when you want to change something :D 

[Dagworth]

11 minutes ago, Twentieth-Bagginess said:

Thank you 5Bar and Dagworth 

 

I would love a class 20, but only if I can squeeze 2 motors into a 1:50ish frame (around 35 studs). LEGO designing can be surprisingly complex but it’s very forgiving when you want to change something :D 

I used power bogies on my 20, the only thing I don't like about is is that the battery box is a different grey to the rest of the body. It uses the older infra-red control system.

 

Andi

Edited January 17 by Dagworth

[Twentieth-Bagginess]

5 minutes ago, Dagworth said:

I used power bogies on my 20, the only thing I don't like about is is that the battery box is a different grey to the rest of the body. It uses the older infra-red control system.

 

Andi

I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were talking about LEGO. Do you have a thread? 

[Dagworth]

5 minutes ago, Twentieth-Bagginess said:

I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were talking about LEGO. Do you have a thread? 

I don't, I don't have a layout as yet, just a lot of track, (blue, grey and 9v metal). I haven't decided what to build as yet, too busy with the OO layouts.

 

Andi

[Ben B]

I like the look of this- that 08 is terrific :)

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Sorry for the poor photography

 

Three TTA variations, two VEA liveries and a VAN are on the layout today

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TTA (still waiting for parts for the ladder to arrive) and VEA running as tail traffic

 

EDIT: I don't know what happened when I was designing the molasses TTA livery, the blue stripe should be wider.

Edited January 20 by Twentieth-Bagginess

[Twentieth-Bagginess]

I believe it is generally considered easier to model in larger scales but the nature of LEGO limits modelling smaller details.

Lego dimensions
Cmglee, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

VEA

Many parts of my railway are the result of a series of happy coincidences. The VEA van was the first piece of rolling stock I tried to model on an existing prototype and was done by eye. I have built one in Railfreight red and grey and one in Railfreight Distribution grey and yellow.

I have included renders because of my lack of photography skills

 

The body ended up being 1:48 long, not far off of the Class 08. If anyone has the true width and height of the body, I’d be interested to know.  The measurements I’ve seen online only give an inside and an overall width.

 

Working retroactivity, here is a technical drawing with scale measurements laid over the top. Each unit refers to 1 LEGO stud. The tool is provided by Sariel, a LEGO Technic builder.

 

And here are a couple of renders of variations with wider doors that are somewhat more true to scale.

 

I would like to build some more, maybe with one with a darker shade of red and one in Departmental olive. Were they any other special liveries? 

Edited January 23 by Twentieth-Bagginess

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BR Standard Van

 

A ply sided, standard van was built in a very similar way to the VEA vans (also without external bracing).

 

[Rivercider]

That looks a lot of fun, you have certainly captured the prototypes.

At exhibitions I sometimes come across a couple of Lego built layouts, they always attract plenty of attention.

Well done

 

cheers

[Twentieth-Bagginess]

TTA

I've built three TTA wagons, all are variations of PsiborgVIP's design.

They represent the fuel, CO2 and molasses prototypes. 

 

I've seen TTA diagrams vary between 7200 and 7400mm.

 

[KTM]

Great to see more Lego trains appearing on RM Web.  I think the subject puts a lot of railway modellers off, thinking it is a toy for junior modellers and whilst that is true, there are plenty of extremely skilled adult modellers out there using Lego as a medium.  I'm a member of a Lego train club and many of our menders exhibit at conventional model railway shows.  These universally go down well with the public and one chap has built a replica block signalling system that the public can operate, complete with working semaphores and instruments.

 

Once you get into the really detailed side of it, with 7 or 8 wide models, the cost escalates closer to RTR O-gauge, though.  I have built models of Class 08s with built-in remote uncoupling devices, a tube train  and class 37 with working lights, double motored etc. and A4 Pacifics with working firebox glow, to name a few.  With one exception these are 100% Lego (my exception is the custom wheel size for steam locos, others diversify further into the non-Lego world).  The control systems changed over the years but that does provide flexibility; one can run express trains on the old 9v system (metal track) whilst also using the latest 'Powered Up' battery driven locos on the same track.  This isn't DCC as such but it does provide some of the advantages of DCC,

 

The elements are robust enough to be used as a train set on the floor if required which enables temporary and varied layouts that can more easily be accommodated in the home. 

 

So, you see, it is a very interesting area of railway modelling that provides creative and mathematical challenges whilst appealing to those of us who prefer larger scale models but don't neccessarily have the space for a permanent O gauge layout.  It's also a lot of fun and crashes are a joy rather than a disaster!

 

Jon