u/montystrains

One of the high points of Brickworld Chicago for me was the return of my Ore Train, which has been out of service for a couple of years for multiple reasons. The train is seen here popping out of my tunnel and over Larry P's bridge on the LGMS layout. The locomotives received a complete rebuild, which included repairing the geared drivetrains. The 40 gondolas got new trucks (except for the ones that don't have new trucks yet, because I forgot that I ran out of truck parts back in January when I was working on it, and therefore did not order more) as well as decals. Apologies for the squeaky roller bearings, they don't sound terribly loud in person but the camera audio REALLY picks them up!

I haven't been posting much lately, kinda burned out on social media and took a break from Lego for a little while. However, with the summer show season fast approaching, it was high time to get to work on a variety of things! Not least of which, repairing my fleet. I've been trying to run my ore train at shows for over a year now, and every time the locomotives (first pic) crap out after a few minutes. Tore apart both 636's down to the frames (second pic), and rebuilt them entirely, including an overhaul of the gear drive systems. While I was at it, I also corrected their length and height (both were too short lengthwise and too tall heightwise) and made some minor adjustments to other details. There are some missing pieces here and there (third pic), replaced by odd colors until the Bricklink orders arrive. I'll be testing both locomotives this weekend at a WAMALTC show, and assuming all goes well, they'll be ready to run for Brickworld Chicago!