Citations › Citation ID: 10

C10. BOOK: Daniel Konstanski, The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks: The Inside Story of a Design Icon (Unbound, 2022), p. 42.

Jan Ryaa himself tackled the upgrading of the blue track, which had remained virtually unchanged since its release in 1969. He had personal experience with the track’s main drawback: stability. ... No matter how careful he was, the layout inevitably broke. Blue track consisted of independent rail elements that were joined by a single 2x8 plate, each rail clinging for dear life to a single stud on each end. Jan realised what was needed: a special railroad tie element that could more firmly attach to the track. Ultimately this led to new rails as well, with small slots that clipped into this tie component. Jan’s personal challenge was to make the connections so secure that train layouts could be hung on a wall. Were it not for the heavier metallic rail elements needed to power the new 12-volt engines that also had to be attached to his rail tie, Jan would have succeeded.

Reason for slots where Train Rails (parts 3328 / 3229 / 3230) connect to a 2×8 Train Tie (part 4166).