(Panoramic
View) Lower and middle tier, and the train
(Close
up View) A close up of the train. Please note the G-Grasper Godzilla deterrent system mounted on the passenger car. A traditional Japanese mini-fig (Obi Wan Kenobi) controls the Godzilla deterrent system
(Close
up View) Yakuza boy (real name undisclosed) and Trixie waiting at the train stop
(Close
up View) Yakuza boy and Trixie waiting at the train stop, with the engine slowly pulling in
(Close
up View) Yakuza boy and Trixie waiting at the train stop, with the engine fully pulled into the stop
(Close
up View) Close up of the engine at the train stop, with its lights turned on
(Close
up View) A view of the entire train at the train stop, with the lights turned on
(Close
up View) The train pulls out of the train stop, leaving Yakuza boy and Trixie to continue arguing about which train into town they need to catch
(Panoramic
View) A view of the rails
(Panoramic
View) A shot of the trains on those rails
(Panoramic
View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [1 of 7]
(Panoramic
View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [2 of 7]
(Panoramic
View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [3 of 7]
(Panoramic
View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [4 of 7]
(Close
up View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [5 of 7]
(Close
up View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [6 of 7]
(Panoramic
View) The train travels from the upper tier down to the lower tier [7 of 7]
(Panoramic
View) Putting together a skeleton of a turntable and the sliding rail that attaches to it.
(Panoramic
View) The train waits on the sliding rail.
(Panoramic
View) The sliding rail positions the train in line with the turntable.
(Panoramic
View) The train begins to move off the sliding rail and onto turntable.
We've started to replace some of the supports for the upper tier with translucent bricks.
(Panoramic
View) The train has moved completely onto turntable.
(Panoramic
View) The turntable begins to rotate clockwise.
(Panoramic
View) We've moved the entire track out of Candy's room and into the dining room.
Here's the new track layout with the in-progress sliding rail and the completed turntable and cargo yard down at the lowest level. Note that we've begun to replace the support pylons on the outer edge with clear bricks.
(Panoramic
View) The train just outside the approach to the sliding rail.
(Panoramic
View) The train rolls onto the approach to the sliding rail. [1 of 2]
(Panoramic
View) The train rolls onto the approach to the sliding rail. [2 of 2]
(Panoramic
View) The train moves onto the sliding rail.
(Panoramic
View) The train continues onto the turntable [1 of 2].
(Panoramic
View) The train continues onto the turntable [2 of 2].
(Panoramic
View) The turntable rotates clockwise [1 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The turntable rotates clockwise [2 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The turntable rotates clockwise [3 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The turntable rotates clockwise [4 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The sliding rail realigns itself with the fully rotated train.
(Panoramic
View) The train moves onto the repositioned sliding rail [1 of 2].
(Panoramic
View) The train moves onto the repositioned sliding rail [2 of 2].
(Panoramic
View) The sliding rail moves back towards its home position, while the turntable does the same.
(Panoramic
View) Turntable and sliding rail back in their home positions, with the train rotated 180 degrees.
(Panoramic
View) The train leaves the train rotating mechanism [1 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The train leaves the train rotating mechanism [2 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The train leaves the train rotating mechanism [3 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) The train leaves the train rotating mechanism [4 of 4].
(Panoramic
View) Here's a new picture of the train with its lights lit up.
The train only lights up when it is in motion. Wonder why there's no motion blur on the train?
Have a peek at the two rheostats at the bottom of the image? Notice how the left one has been turned counterclockwise by a decent amount? That makes the engine run at full speed. There are four clear 1 x 2 bricks wedged underneath the engine to prevent it from moving forward.
(Panoramic
View) Candy has begun to assemble a second engine and has also built another passenger car.
(Close
up View) Since we didn't have all of the parts that we needed, both of the passenger cars are now sporting red support plates for structural integrity ^^; Oops, we also ran out of dark grey tiles for the roof section. Eventually, strong magnets will be mounted inside of the cargo containers on the back of the second engine. That will allow us to pick the containers off of the train using a magnet on a crane. We haven't illuminated it yet from behind, but there are translucent green 1x1 plates on the side of the cargo engine.
(Panoramic
View) We ran out of room.. ^.^;
The 4' x 6' plywood board wasn't wide enough to accommodate all the infrastructure needed on the upper tier. It has been replaced with a 4' x 7' plywood board. This will allow for a much more extensive sliding rail/carousel arrangement. Here's a tip: When cars come off from a round track into a straight track, the straight track and round track must be physically attached, or the front car will derail.
(Close
up View)This should show off the modularity of the various engines and passenger cars
Starting from the right, the cargo engine holds two cargo pallets and has a hatch exposing the inside of the engine compartment. Eventually, a lamp will be placed inside the engine compartment to light up the translucent green round 1x1 plates on the side of the engine
Next are the two extended length passenger cars. Departing from the traditional LEGO way of building passenger cars, their redesigns allow a LEGO minifig to walk from one end of the car to the other without any bothersome need to walk over tables and other minifigs in their way. Yes, I'm serious!
Finally is the first class engine. The two seats in first class can rotate even with minifigs sitting in them.
(Close
up View) The seats in the first class section pivot to allow minifigs a better view of their surroundings [1 of 3]
Or, in the case of Yakuza boy here, a way to not have to look at the annoying gaijin brat that snuck into first class.
Before anyone asks, yes, Katsumoto (the engineer) does have a wine glass in his free hand. This is Japan - Public drunkenness is an acceptable sight
That, and considering the number of times that I've caused the train to derail at high speed, Katsumoto has a perfectly good reason to be barely aware of his surroundings
(Close
up View) The seats in the first class section pivot to allow minifigs a better view of their surroundings [2 of 3]
Both seats have rotated 45 degrees.
(Close
up View) The seats in the first class section pivot to allow minifigs a better view of their surroundings [3 of 3]
The seats are now back-to-back.
(Panoramic
View) An overview of the new, wider, track layout.
This will allow for a reworking of how we place the turntable and the sliding rail.
We are currently waiting on several motors and wormgear arrangements to arrive in the mail before finishing the turntable and its accompanying sliding rail.
Updates, soon, I hope. ^_^;;
(Panoramic
View) Here's an in-progress shot of the new layout for the turntable and the sliding rail
The turntable's drive mechanism has been changed from a worm-drive held parallel (Studs Not on Top) to the center of the bridge to a single motor connected to the outside wheels
Three more motors will eventually go on the outside of the bridge.
The worm gear has been incorporated into a locking pin mechanism on the sliding rail.
(Close up View) Motorized LEGO switching point. The switching point needed to be modified in order to work, though.
One of the friction bumps inside the point was completely cut off, while the other friction bump was whittled down to 20% of its original size. That allowed it to still lock in one of the two positions, but a motor was able to move it more easily. Without the modification, the LEGO motor would have either stalled or torn the entire mechanism apart (which happened a few times, it was impressive!). [1 of 2]
(Close up View) Motorized LEGO switching point. [2 of 2]
(Close up View) Motorized Sliding Rail. This is a mechanized mock-up of the sliding rail. It moves, but it's missing many parts (mostly 40+ rack & pinion blocks to allow traction of the mechanism) and also needs a more stable sub-support structure. The motor configuration is going to change, since it's currently very ugly. I plan on adding a status indicator to show when the motor is spinning. [1 of 2]
(Close up View) Motorized Sliding Rail.
Here it is moving.
There have been several updates since the last set of pictures were put up. Now two distinct motors drive the turntable, with both sets of wheels attached to each motor receiving power via a couple of T-shaped technic bricks (they're visible at the far left side of the picture).
Also, the motorized locking pin mechanism is visible on the left half of the sliding rail. Two pins emerge from the left side of the sliding rail and slot into openings on the right side of the turntable. This forces alignment between the turntable track and the track atop the sliding rail. Without it, the train has a habit of derailing when moving between the two platforms.[2 of 2]
(Building
Plans) A Japanese Izakaya (Pub & Eatery)
(Building
Plans) The first floor of a Japanese department store
(Buildings) A Koban (Japanese Police Box) that Candy constructed
(Buildings) Koban (2 of 3)
(Buildings) Koban (3 of 3)