This Modular Minecraft Train Spans the Hacksmith Office

Model trains have long been popular — just ask your grandfather. But if we’re being honest, the hobby feels a bit outdated in our modern world. The best way to get the kids interested is to reach them on their level with a media property they all love: Minecraft. Hacksmith Industries did exactly that by building a modular Minecraft-themed model train layout that spans their entire office.

I am — completely against my will — actually pretty well-versed in the model train hobby, because my step-father was big into that world. And I can tell you that most of the model trains you’ve likely seen were either HO or O scale. For this project, Hacksmith decided to go with the gargantuan G (Garden) scale, which people tend to use for huge outdoor layouts. G-scale trains are approximately 1:24, so they’re quite large.

But aside from size, Hacksmith’s train really doesn’t share anything with existing standards. They designed theirs as a 3D-printable modular system. Those blocks look like Minecraft blocks, of course. They even used a eufyMake E1 UV printer to add textures to those blocks.

Though they did it a bit differently than model trains normally do, the Hacksmith guys still designed their trains to get power through the tracks. DC goes through metal rails in the tracks, through the cars’ wheels, to full-bridge rectifiers, and finally to DC gearmotors that turn the wheels. If they increase the voltage going through the tracks, they increase the speed of the train driving on those tracks.

With the design settled, they proceeded to print many, many modules to assemble a track that circles the entire office. They also printed modules to build terrain around the tracks, like the train is traveling through a Minecraft world.

From there, they gave people the ability to enjoy the ride. They accomplished that by putting an Insta360 camera in a minecart to record 360-degree video from the perspective of a tiny person on the train. Anyone can don a VR headset to watch that video, so they feel like they’re riding the rails.

And if you want to build your own Minecraft train layout, you can find the 3D-printable parts over on the Hacksmith website.