"O" gauge trains and LEGO

As for scenery and structures I'm hoping to have a 2 x 2 or 2 x 3 area on the layout with rotating dioramas so that I can get all the different things I want on the layout. I'm planning on a zoo, a waterfront, Cape Not Canaveral, an intermodal yard...  LEGO looks like it'll be helping with the waterfront,Cape Not CanaveralI've also got a space shuttle and mover to go with these launchpads. a transload crane to go with the intermodal yard, a hangar and helicopter for the airstrip/air museum that may get posted if this thread generates enough interest.

Coach - you are speaking my language!  I love legos mixed with o gauge.

Main street (in the background) is a mess right now from the kids playing there but you get the idea.

The backside of main street, normally diagon alley and the Halloween haunted house, currently hosting the Steelers station in the middle.

My main lego project right now is trying out regauging brick built rail cars for o gauge.

I am waiting on a pile of brick link orders to keep this one moving, but the chassis is just about figured out.

JHZ563, you're doing some wonderful stuff with LEGO rolling stock.  I've seen some LEGO buildings like the ones you've got on Main Street in a LEGO store at the mall.  They look very good and I thought they would make a great little section of town but the prices kept me from trying it.

Is that Steelers station LEGO?

Wow, guys... Lego has come a long way from the ones I had when I was a kid!!! Before the pandemic, I went to a Lego store in The Westchester (don’t dare call it a mall - they still charge for parking!!!). As long as the sticker price doesn’t cause a coronary conniption, some of the building kits were amazing. Look forward to see your new layout Joe.

No, the Steelers station is Mth.  It was part of a static display in the living room until a recent spectacular debacle that ended a mildly promising football season.

Back to Lego.  The buildings are all lego kits.  Some of the smaller Hogwarts ones are actually my wife's.   They have collected over 7 or 8 years. The firehouse was definitely my favorite for one large structure.  One of the other really fun builds was the detective office.   There's a pool hall and a barbershop on the first floor that I really enjoyed.   Back when I was part of a modular o gauge display group I would bring the building and set up a real city block.  It was always a big hit with kids and parents.

I am quite fascinated with starting to make O gauge compatible lego rolling stock.   The big issue is of course the gauge.  I think I have a solution for rolling stock worked out like I said above.   Eventually I would love to making a full working locomotive from lego for O gauge.   There are lego motors but they are lower voltage and not cheap!

I did get the latest lego crocodile,  because at just under $100 it was too cool to pass up.  The motor / battery kit is close to another $100 I think.  I passed on that.  I think I am just an early adapter.  Brick model railroader's bearing selection and new Kadee mounts are a game changer.   

I've got a decent collection of modern LEGO trains.  It's a pity they are just off O gauge or I'd run them on my layout too.  But as for my layout, all the rubber tired vehicles will be LEGO.

The bridge abutments and overpass on which the railing sits are Lego Bricks:

As is the underpass:

@sinclair posted:

I've got a decent collection of modern LEGO trains.  It's a pity they are just off O gauge or I'd run them on my layout too.  But as for my layout, all the rubber tired vehicles will be LEGO.

grab some mpc era trucks, drill out the center hole to 3/16".  Add a technic pin (and a washer if you need one to prevent rocking if the car is sitting on the technic pin collar) and you are good to go.

this car was built with a gap for the shoulder on the pin so it rides nice without a washer around the pin.

Nice work on the Gondola.  Pittsburgh colors by design or were those the bricks you had laying around?

John Sethian, what did you do to the abutments and portals to make them look so realistic?

@coach joe posted:

Nice work on the Gondola.  Pittsburgh colors by design or were those the bricks you had laying around?

Totally by design!  It was meant to be a Rail-Gon theme but I actually like running it with my MTH Steelers equipment

Making progress on the hopper.

Got the truck design locked down for this edition.  Always room for improvement but I am pretty happy with them.

I will post pictures of the hopper as the rest parts come in.

Is that all LEGO with "O" gauge wheel sets?

Here's a LEGO helicopter next to a die-cast Canada Air Rescue copter that I believe is 1:60.  I imagine the LEGO chopper as being a commercial commuter type, 6-10 passenger capacity.  That accounts for the size.

Looking good Guys - keep the photos coming!

John Sethian,

THAT is one incredible photo!  When I see layouts like yours, I want to just go downstairs and trash my layout with a sledge hammer.

What girder bridge did you use in that photo please?

Thanks,

Mannyrock

@coach joe posted:

Is that all LEGO with "O" gauge wheel sets?

Yup.  Wheels out of a set of older plastic trucks, bearings and lego compatible bracket provided by Brick Model Railroader, actual coupler by Kadee.   All the actual parts by Lego.

Coach Joe and Mannyrock,

Thanks for the kind words

Coach Joe: cover one face of each brick with spackle, do not smooth.  Stain with diluted craft paints.  Use a full strength light color craft paint as a mortar during assembly

Mannyrock

Please don't take a sledge to your layout, just keep rebuilding it and it will get better and better. If by the bridge you mean the truss bridge, that is a Lionel Postwar #317 Trestle Bridge

Some more views of the truck assemblies, including the underside. As you can see the base of the assembly is now 3 wide.

And here's some views of the hopper in progress. I was hoping my last couple orders would have showed Saturday but no such luck.

Got some more parts and some time to spend on the hopper build last night.

Observations:

1.  Assume all the parts you didn't order because "of course I have tons of those" will be buried in the bottom of the bins.

2. Lots of interesting techniques on this model, but it makes some of them rather delicate during construction.

3. The final width may be a problem.  8 wide studs looks pretty good with O gauge, but the ladder details hanging off the sides pushes this out to nearly 10 wide, which is more than I bargained for.  This will need to be reconsidered sometime after this model is done.

4. Only Batman and people who are suckers for eyestrain work in all black, and I am not Batman!

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Oh God where do I start!?

Vrmm Vrmmmm....

What way does this go again?  Oh Jezz don't tell me I put the last four on upside down!

Break time!

Okay, starting to look like something here.

O I am going to need more coffee more this...

To be continued....

I recently assembled a Batmobile from when my son was younger and trying to follow black in those LEGO instructions is incredibly difficult.  I had my jewelers magnifying visor and a flashlight working just to see where the "new" bricks were being added to the existing.

Legos and O gauge trains. That's an interesting idea. Lego bricks or small models do make great loads for the trains. You could use small, black Lego pieces as coal loads in hoppers or gondolas. Brown cylinder pieces attached end to end and rested on a flatcar with stakes or a Lionel log dump car horizontally make could make perfect log loads. I like the submarine and generator loads. That picture with the bridge on Lego bricks looks amazing. I thought that the bricks were foam or something. Mind blown! Maybe I'll find some ideas for my layout. One of my ideas (not while the trains are running) is to have Lego Star Wars figures having a battle on top of the train. Superhero characters could work, too.

John Sethian,

How did you get spackle to stick to the face of the plastic lego blocks?   I know that they make a synthetic, plastic base spackle, but I don't even see how that could stick?

Mannyrock

JHZ, 

What brand of ballast did you use for the roadbed?  It really looks great, and has that slight bluish tone I am looking for.

Mannyrock

@Mannyrock posted:

JHZ,

What brand of ballast did you use for the roadbed?  It really looks great, and has that slight bluish tone I am looking for.

Mannyrock

Manny that was chicken grit from my local Agway, Ephrata PA. Sometimes also sold as a traction aid winter time.  It came in woven plastic sacks that unfortunately fell apart over time sitting outside at a former house.  I always thought it was some of the best looking stuff I had every seen and the cost was really good too.  It's not quite O scale, but I am not the guy who cares, after all this is the Lego thread!

I brushed it into place with a cheap paint brush, put some tape over the rails, and drizzled a 50/50 mix of white glue and water on it.  That section is actually on a 2' x4' module I made years ago for use with a club to which I no longer belong.  It has been transported several times without any problem of the ballast falling off.

Well, I got time to finish everything but decals I haven't ordered yet.  Overall pretty cool.

From left to right, mth, lego, weaver, I hope the picture is big enough to see.

So this lego model is a little higher than the mth and weaver.   The overall body proportions are pretty good.  The length is about the same as the mth, the weaver is longer.   The Lego model breaks down when you compare the ladders which are neccessary clunky for lego. 

The width of the body is pretty good, but again the ladders really stick out.  There are other ladder options,  but these are probably the best looking compromise. 

It did make a couple loops on a mixed train with 0 72 curves.  I will take a video after I get some decals applied.  Overall I really like it,  and consider this to be a successful full lego build.   There's always room for improvement,  so I am sure I will build a few more later this year.   

Let me know if anyone else tries something like this.

Are you planning to design a Lego O gauge locomotive? Seems like an interesting challenge - I can help if you need it.

Maybe you should see how it looks without the handrails - might look better. These may also look okay:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/c...tem.page?P=32028#T=C

I am thinking about it.  I am not sure right now about getting power to wheels with 3 wide trucks,  but an outside truck frame could work for a diesel.   I was originally thinking about how hard it would be to use track power but for lego battery power is a viable option.   A steam engine may need to be tender driven.

Like I said though,  I want to experiment with other rolling  stock build ideas.  I have made much of my living at coal fired power plants so I really like working with hopper cars.  There are some internal features of this build I want to tweak if I build a second copy.

Personally, I don't like tender driven locomotives; it's much cooler if you can power the drive wheels. I can imagine a couple ways it can be done. The largest issue would be bending the drive train 90 degrees - this is usually done with bevel gears, but there wouldn't be room for bevel gears if standard technic beams are used. But... A worm gear might be feasible. You would have to gear up the connection between the motor and worm gear, though, in order for it to not be incredibly slow.

Coach Joe, I put some flats on a flat car and my grandson made this using Legos....He's working on another...He's far more creative than I.

JHZ, very well done.  Blends in fairly nicely.  Like you said some of the finer details, ladders, grab-irons and such may be a bit too big.  I could definitely see  4-5 cars and a caboose being pulled by quite a few different O-gauge locos.  I don't know if I have the LEGO chops to create something like that on my own.  It took me about as long to come up with my boxlike transformer as it took you to design and build the hopper.

Ed what a great way to get the grandkids involved.  He did a great job.

@coach joe posted:

JHZ, very well done.  Blends in fairly nicely.  Like you said some of the finer details, ladders, grab-irons and such may be a bit too big.  I could definitely see  4-5 cars and a caboose being pulled by quite a few different O-gauge locos.  I don't know if I have the LEGO chops to create something like that on my own.  It took me about as long to come up with my boxlike transformer as it took you to design and build the hopper.

Ed what a great way to get the grandkids involved.  He did a great job.

You're giving me way too much credit. That hopper is built from commercially available plans from Brick Model Railroader.

Here is the hopper car, stickers applied,  and running in the middle of a batch of weaver cars.

Towards the end my daughter is singing to herself in the background. 🙂

Looks pretty good.  Maybe some of those single round ones added to the top to make the load look a little better.

@Johnbeere posted:

Are you planning to design a Lego O gauge locomotive? Seems like an interesting challenge - I can help if you need it.

I may take you up on that offer.   Right now I'm trying to conceptualize a power train for a steam locomotive.   Since I will only have a 3 wide base, I don't room to but a beveled gear sideways between the frame pieces.   I am thinking there are two possible avenues, depending on how much can be hidden. 

One path would be to have a motor drive a worm shaft with a gear transfer to one driving axle.   Power to other wheels would transfer either through rods or intermediate gears.

A second option is to use a bevel gear right off the motor also with the motor shaft perpendicular to the axles.  That power could be transferred through the a larger diameter gear and smaller gear on the same shaft.

I am battling in my head between how to build the drive train,  and what type of model to build around it. 

Also, while I am familiar with Lego,  technic building and lego motors are somewhat new territory for me.   I feel somewhat ignorant of what the possibilities and practical examples really are.   It's a fun and daunting mental exercise.

Sorry about the late response. Personally, I'm not that experienced with Lego mechanics either. I mean, I've only built 3 powered locomotives and have no way to really test them well, but I know enough to probably help. A worm gear is a good option to look into - you'll have to have gearing between the worm and motor, though, since you don't want to gear it down so far, since Lego motors are already geared down internally (I think).

@Johnbeere posted:

Sorry about the late response. Personally, I'm not that experienced with Lego mechanics either. I mean, I've only built 3 powered locomotives and have no way to really test them well, but I know enough to probably help. A worm gear is a good option to look into - you'll have to have gearing between the worm and motor, though, since you don't want to gear it down so far, since Lego motors are already geared down internally (I think).

Sent you a Stud.io file.  I am trying to figure out if I am setting up the spacing right between the technic lift arms I chose for frame rails.  Stud.io is better than some other applications I have used but there are an awful lot of tricks to learn!

Just loaded up the file, looks like some parts aren't loading in right for me. This is what I see...

Anyway, I notice that you're using bevel gears with the worm gear - I don't think that will work right. With the spacing you have there, a "12 tooth double bevel" gear may work.

You may have realized this, but Studio hides parts that aren't available in the color you have selected. To get around this, uncheck "hide unavailable colors" in the color menu - I just thought you may not have been able to find the right gear you were looking for in the menu because it was hidden.

About the axles, you probably want to buy 6 long axles and cut them to length to get them just right. I suggest using a file to smooth off the ends after cutting, they'll be jagged if they are just cut and left alone. Besides - black 5 long axles are pretty expensive.

I tried to send you a follow up file and the email kicked back for some reason. I finally just deleted the frame rail that was driving me nuts and cloned the other one.  Just to make sure the frames were lining up I used 3l pins and a 1x3 plate between the front of the frame rails to verify spacing.

I grabbed a regular gear to try, but I like your double bevel gear idea too.  I found that a large motor combined with a worm gear will mesh with 24 tooth gear, and be lined up axially and vertically.  This is all practice at this point, trying to work out a reasonable plan in digital form.  Everything is up for discussion.  It may actually make more sense to have the motor over the drivers and use the offset space to gear up to gain some speed.

Looks like a worm drive to an axle mounted gear will work in general, which is great. 

the image below is a render from the stud.io software, which is a pretty cool feature.

It's going to be necessary to gear up between the motor and worm somehow - if you don't, the locomotive will be incredibly slow. I actually used a worm drive in my Lego B6, with a gear ratio of 4.8:1, it's very slow. The setup you have above is 24:1, about 5 times slower than my B6. Here's a Lego gear ratio calculator, the closer you get to about 1:1 the better: http://gears.sariel.pl/