When doing large scale displays with I LUG NY (back when that was a thing), often had large cityscapes and environments with trains running through them. The moving trains captured the attention and the wonder of children as the locomotives traveled in large loops across multiple tables. LEGO Train Projects by Charles Pritchett is a new book teaching how to build new trains and train cars.
LEGO Train Projects contains directions for building “seven creative models” to enhance LEGO trains. The book shows how to create a coal gondola, a milk tanker, an open hopper, a depressed flatcar with electrical load, a passenger coach, a powered box car, and an END FL9 locomotive. It’s notable that six of the models are train cars and one is a locomotive engine.
With the exception of some introductory text about the author, how to use the book, and how to find the pieces to build the train models in the book. Each chapter includes easy to follow visual directions to build the car, similar to those found in the books that come with LEGO sets. At the end of each chapter is a list of all the parts used in the build with a quantity of each used and the part number. At the end of each list is the pictures of each part with quantity and part number, just like the pictures found at the back of each set of LEGO instructions.
With the models in the book, any builder could build a full train, but to me the most interesting part of the build is that the train designed in the book isn’t driven from the locomotive. The designs in the book put the battery box, IR receiver, and motor into the powered boxcar, which means the train would push the locomotive car and pull the cars that are behind the boxcar. I thought it was a really unique way of driving the train and am curious how it would work on a large layout.
LEGO Train Projects is a great resource for anyone looking to build or improve LEGO trains. The projects in the book can be used to make any LEGO trains look more distinct and add uniqueness to any train layout.
