I'm not normally a fan of the "un-boxing" photo or video genre; however, I'll make an exception in this case!

After quite a long wait, I have finally received my much anticipated delivery of ME Models metal track elements.

It appears that the wait has been worth it. Initial exploration with assembling some track sections has put to rest any anxieties of adopting a novel, yet unconventional method of metalizing plastic track. Some observations:
1) The clutch power is much improved over previous ME track. The tendency for ballasted track sections to "explode" with any subtle twisting forces, resulted in me solvent welding the rails to the ballast plates.
2) Rail joints are smooth and seamless. This is not a surprise given that these are effectively HO/OO rail sections with fishplates. This will lead to very smooth running characteristics and superb electrical performance.
3) Nickel silver rail will resist corrosion and improve electrical performance.
4) Separate rail sections will broaden the opportunity to "scratch build" a wider variety of track. I've posted some track sections built to represent precast concrete rail-beds common with many high speed railway lines.
5) Flange way clearance is better without flanges running on the rail base.



My only criticism is the possibility of creating uneven rail height during assembly. My initial tendency when assembling a rail section was to apply force on top of the rail head to secure it to the tie-plates. This would sometimes result in pushing the metal rail insert further into its groove resulting in uneven rail height. I now have to be conscious to apply force to the rail base flange rather than the rail head.

Overall, I say its a big win for us Lego train fans. The only remaining piece of the puzzle is motors with metal wheels!

Tags: track, trains

I have updated the ME Models track components library to include all of the available sleeper/tie colour choices made by ME Models. These include all of the R104, R88, R72, and R56 curves as well as the double, full and half straight components. All of these components are rendered in 4 colours: Black, Dark Bluish Gray, Dark Brown, and Reddish Brown. Each colour will be identified correctly for the purposes of compiling a Bill of Materials for your layout, with the exception of Dark Brown. BlueBrick does not identify the LDraw colour code (308) for dark brown and therefore it is indicated as an unknown colour. Hopefully a future update of BlueBrick will remedy this very minor issue. For your convenience you can download each colour as a separate library or you can download the entire collection in a single zip file. Head over to the resources section to download this updated library.

Happy layout planning!

Tags: track, MEModels, library, BlueBrick, resources, downloads

A completely new BlueBrick library has been designed and created for detailed Lego train layout design. It is a universal library combining all available Lego train track components from different vendors. Most importantly, this library is illustrated in schematic symbol form. This allows track components and geometry to be easily interpreted from the drawing. Now that train layouts can combine components from different vendors as well as combine 9V and RC track, it is important to be able to identify these elements. Furthermore, with the new curve geometries offered by ME-Models, it is difficult to interpret which curve component is used without some form of identification. This library solves all of these issues with its unique crisply illustrated colour-coded symbols. This is a completely new library developed specifically for symbolic or schematic track planning. Its features include:

• Universal: includes 9V and RC track from LEGO®, ME-Models track in both plastic and metal, and a range of custom track components
• Colour Coded: elements are colour coded for easy identification. Red elements represent track products from LEGO®, orange elements are custom parts, and ME-Models components have different colours for each unique curve radius.
• Plastic and Metal rails: RC/plastic and 9V/metal track elements are differentiated by colour saturation so that metal and plastic track can easily be combined in a plan, yet easily identified. Furthermore, metal track also include a small energy bolt icon to indicate that it is powered.
• Custom Elements: a range of customized track elements are included such as single element stub switches (in both RC and 9V) and compound track arrangements such as pre-made/aligned crossovers (LH/RH in both RC/9V)
• Complete: all track elements are properly identified by colour and part number (where applicable). This will be especially helpful when generating a parts list since it will itemize all unique parts.

This library is freely available for download in the resources section of this website. Happy layout planning!

Tags: track, BlueBrick, library, downloads, resources, MEModels

BlueBrick is a terrific open source software tool for designing Lego® based layouts. This tool allows you to arrange baseplates, track, and other items into desired layout configuration. You can assign different drawing layers for each item, generate parts lists, add text annotations, and much more. BlueBrick comes pre-installed with many different parts libraries, including Lego® track from the 4.5V era up to current 9V/RC track. Since the introduction of new alternative track items from ME Models, we can now build layouts with new curve radii options of 56, 72, 88, and 104 studs. I have created a BlueBrick compatible library for the ME Models track components which you can download from the resources section.

Happy layout planning!

Tags: track, BlueBrick, library, downloads, resources, MEModels