Issue 7-Fall 2010
第15页
What to do after that starter set?
7Tips for the new train builder:By John Robertson

So you’ve fi nally decided to break-down and purchase a LEGO? Train. Now you own a shiny
new Cargo Train Deluxe, or perhaps a Passenger Train, or even the beauti ful dark green
Emerald Night. You may have even found a nice 9V set at a reasonable price. You’ve got
an oval of track, even a few switch tracks, but the fun has come to a crashing stop. You’re
bored and not sure what to do next to excite your LEGO? Train hobby. With 9V sets no
longer available, at least without a heft y eBay? price, your layout loop is just about to be
replaced with adventures of Indiana Jones(TM), that Hoth scene you always wanted to
build, or perhaps the expansion of your modular city, but without train track to get in its
way. Don’t fret. It’s ti me to reinvigorate that interest in trains that initi ally made you go
out and buy one.

Here’s a few fresh ideas to build upon:
1. Expand your layout. You can either expand your train
table or fi nd a large room with a fl at surface and start
buying more track. A set of 8 straight track and 8 curves
currently sells for $15.99 (USD) on LEGO?’s Shop at Home
(LSAH) web site. Pressed for cash? Consider ordering one
or more packs each month as you build your collecti on.
Within just a few months, you will have a nice supply of
track for creati ng numerous layouts unti l you fi nd one you
like. For some added excitement, pick up a few sets of
Switching Rails at a price of $15.99 (USD). Have you run
out of ideas for diff erent layouts? There’s a track designer
program off ered through the North Georgia LEGO? Train
Club’s Train Depot that provides a great uti lity for creati ng
digitally designed layouts. Pictures of track plans can also
be found on Train Depot’s Plans for Track Layouts page. As
your track expands, so will your desire to add trains and
buildings to your layout.

2. Build a town or city around your layout. What good
is a train without a town? Set up those road plates under
the track and start building a town around that track. You
might consider adding some track-side structures like a
large train engine shed that your train can pass through, a
stati on, or even a switching tower. LEGO? SAH off ers 7997
Train Station as a nice additi on. Adding track-side buildings
really add a lot of detail to your train layout and create
focal points. While tunnels, bridges, and elevated track
are certainly wonderful creati ons, they may not be a great
idea for beginners, but you can certainly try and improve
your building skills with these more advanced track-side
creati ons. When it comes to adding a new town around
the track, you might consider trying a common theme
(i.e. farm and country, a port/harbor, modular City, or
even a classic town). A common theme helps add realism
to your layout.

3.Become acti ve within the LEGO? Train Community.
There’s some great on-line sites where train fans can
discuss a multi tude of fun and exciti ng train topics.
Train Tech, a new train forum on Eurobricks provides an
excellent place for train fans to share their creati ons/
MOCs, read train set reviews, discuss various technical
topics, and share their interest with others with a passion
for LEGO? trains. There are also a number of LEGO? Train
Clubs across the country, especially in the United States.
You might try to “google” LEGO? Train Club and the name
of your city, or fi nd a list of LEGO? Train Clubs nearest
you. LEGO? Train Clubs sponsor displays in local malls and
conventi ons building elaborate layouts. You may even
learn some ti ps and tricks from these “master builders”.

4. Launch a “Classic Train Restorati on Project”. Visit
Brickset, Lugnet, or Peeron, and begin looking at the
wonderful LEGO? Trains from the past. Classic 12V and
9V trains are truly spectacular, with instructi ons scans
available through Peeron. You will most certainly fi nd a
train that sparks your fancy, and may want to try building
it within your piece collecti on. While you may not always
have the pieces you need, substi tuti ng parts and changing
colors is always possible, and only limited by your own
imaginati on. Once you create one LEGO? set-inspired
creati on, you will fi nd yourself interested in building
more. Train sets with lots of parts, like 10183 Hobby Train,
and others that have numerous base plates, wheels, and
buff ers really help provide the needed train parts.

5. Begin collecti ng old sets. Many LEGO? Train sets are
sti ll available through ebay? and Bricklink. While some
sets do come at a very expensive price, you may fi nd a
non “Mint-In-Sealed-Box” (MISB) set at a reasonable price
or within your budget. Pieces and parts are also available
to build your own. Bricklink has a very nice feature that
allows members to create a “Wish List”. One can add sets
to their Wish List and be sent an E-mail reminder when
the set becomes available. Receiving an old set in the
mail is a great feeling and that set may soon become a
favorite within your train collection.

6. Create a train display. If you are limited for space and
want to change your train table, try creati ng a dedicated
space for displaying your train. Book shelves work well
for adding track, trains, and buildings, but you might also
try wall shelves for a verti cal display. Keep in mind that
shelves do not need to be very wide, with length being
more important. You’d be surprised at how quickly one
can fi ll a shelf with their favorite train and rolling stock.
Eurobricks’ members discuss diff erent train display
methods in Train Tech topic, “Train Storage & Display”.
You might also consider new and innovati ve ideas to
display your train, and share them with the LEGO? Train
community.

7. Build your own train. Nothing is more enjoyable than
to create a custom train to your liking. Using parts from
your train set combined with other non-train sets, one can
create all kinds of interesti ng trains. Don’t let yourself be
limited to cargo and passenger trains either. One can use
parts from new Castle sets to create a narrow gauge Dwarf
mining train, an Indiana Jones(TM) Adventure train, or
even a Power Miners lime-green tunnel digger. Combining
themes provides the opportunity to create very unusual
and creati ve train designs unique to your vision. If you
are a traditi onalist; however, you might gain inspirati on
from looking at images of real-life trains and try building
them with LEGO?. As menti oned in Idea # 4 above, in
looking for sets that provide good train pieces, consider
older sets that have a few cars with train base plates,
wheels, and buff ers; all very important pieces in creati ng
a custom train. Hobby Train 10183 is an excellent set that
contains numerous train pieces, and will also off er a lot
of inspirati on for designing your own creati on. Brickshelf,
MOC Pages, Flickr, and Majhost.com are excellent web sites
where LEGO? builders share their creati ons. You can use
train pictures as inspirati on or even apply certain building
techniques to your own creations.

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