Question about motorizing Maersk Train/Emerald Night

[adello25]

I am not really a train guy so forgive me if this is an easy question to answer.

I have the Maersk Train and the Emerald Night. I was just wondering if set #3677 Red Cargo Train comes with everything that I would need to motorize the other 2 trains?

[kyphur]

Yes you can motorize the Maersk Train with the PF bits from 3677.

For the Emerald Night you won't use the PF Train Motor and will need to purchase an XL PF Motor.

[Sokratesz]

You can motorize the tender from the Emerald Night, this saves you from having to modify the locomotive itself.

- Sok.

[Cwetqo]

You get all you need for motorizing Maersk train (motor, remote, reciver, battery box), but not for Emerald night. You will need extra PF XL motor, because emerald night is driver differently.

If you have acces to bricklink or S@H then I suggest that you get XL motor, reciver and battery box from there (and use remote from first cargo train)

[kyphur]

You can motorize the tender from the Emerald Night, this saves you from having to modify the locomotive itself.

- Sok.

If you go that route wouldn't you want to at least consider gutting most of the gearing in the Locomotive to reduce resistance?

[Sokratesz]

If you go that route wouldn't you want to at least consider gutting most of the gearing in the Locomotive to reduce resistance?

It's like, 4 gears :) but can be done quickly. An XL motor doesn't fit easily in the loc and a PF train motor is almost as good.

- Sok.

[kyphur]

It's like, 4 gears :) but can be done quickly. An XL motor doesn't fit easily in the loc and a PF train motor is almost as good.

- Sok.

I wouldn't say the XL motor doesn't fit easily, I don't remember having any problems installing it in mine. It is annoying that the XL Motor fills the Engineer's Cab and then you have the PF cable running from the Loco to the Tender.

While the EN is a great looking model I don't really like it as a Running Model. After motorizing it I ran it a few times and then just pulled the battery & receiver leaving the train to sit on a shelf in favor of my other sets.

[adello25]

Thanks for the tips guys! Toys R Us is doing the special $25 off $100 or more so I figured it was a good idea to pick up that train set especially since the power functions are like $100 from S@H

[kyphur]

Thanks for the tips guys! Toys R Us is doing the special $25 off $100 or more so I figured it was a good idea to pick up that train set especially since the power functions are like $100 from S@H

Here in the US the PF Components aren't all that expensive:

$12.99 - 88000 PF AAA Battery Box

$12.99 - 8879 PF IR Speed Remote Control

$14.99 - 8884 PF IR Receiver

========================================

$40.97 - Total for Basic IR Control

Now you just need to add the Motor:

$ 9.99 - 8882 PF XL - Motor

. or

$13.99 - 88002 PF Train Motor

Now if you want the Rechargeable Battery Box (the Train Sets all include the AAA Battery Box) you'd replace 88000 with:

$49.99 - 8878 PF Rechargeable Batter Box ($37.00 price difference)

When I'm ordering PF components I try to stock-up because if you get enough then they start discounting them. I only paid about $43 for each of my Rechargeable Battery Boxes because I always order at least 2 and some other PF parts to get my order total over $100. They also discount the other components a bit at those levels.

[adello25]

Here in the US the PF Components aren't all that expensive:

$12.99 - 88000 PF AAA Battery Box

$12.99 - 8879 PF IR Speed Remote Control

$14.99 - 8884 PF IR Receiver

========================================

$40.97 - Total for Basic IR Control

Now you just need to add the Motor:

$ 9.99 - 8882 PF XL - Motor

. or

$13.99 - 88002 PF Train Motor

Now if you want the Rechargeable Battery Box (the Train Sets all include the AAA Battery Box) you'd replace 88000 with:

$49.99 - 8878 PF Rechargeable Batter Box ($37.00 price difference)

When I'm ordering PF components I try to stock-up because if you get enough then they start discounting them. I only paid about $43 for each of my Rechargeable Battery Boxes because I always order at least 2 and some other PF parts to get my order total over $100. They also discount the other components a bit at those levels.

Ahh thank you for clearing that up! I thought it was weird that you needed a AAA battery box AND a rechargeable battery box. I think I can do with a rechargeable battery box, I wont be running them all that often.

[kyphur]

Ahh thank you for clearing that up! I thought it was weird that you needed a AAA battery box AND a rechargeable battery box. I think I can do with a rechargeable battery box, I wont be running them all that often.

Also remember that you don't need to have a controller for every train.

To convert both per their instructions here is exactly what you'd need:

2 Each:

$12.99 - 88000 PF AAA Battery Box

$14.99 - 8884 PF IR Receiver

========================================

$55.96

1 Each:

$12.99 - 8879 PF IR Speed Remote Control

$ 9.99 - 8882 PF XL - Motor

$13.99 - 88002 PF Train Motor

========================================

$36.97

If you want the Rechargeable Battery Boxes Remove 88000 AAA Battery Boxes (-$25.98) and add:

2 Each:

$49.99 - 8878 PF Rechargeable Battery Box

========================================

$74.00 Price Difference

Don't forget you'll need to either get the LEGO Charger ($24.99) or go to Radio Shack for one at half that price.

So with AAA Battery Boxes your total is $92.93 or with Rechargeable Battery Boxes it will be $166.93 plus the cost of the charger.

If you don't mind partially disassembling the Maersk to swap the battery box between sets and won't run them at the same time you could start out with just 1 Battery Box also.

Edited October 25, 2011 by kyphur

[ZueriHB]

$12.99 - 8879 PF IR Speed Remote Control

My experience is, if you start buying or collecting Lego Train Sets, don't buy a separate Speed Remote Control, you'll end up with a surplus of them (I have enough to control every train with it's own speed remote).

[kyphur]

My experience is, if you start buying or collecting Lego Train Sets, don't buy a separate Speed Remote Control, you'll end up with a surplus of them (I have enough to control every train with it's own speed remote).

Normally I would agree (and I have not myself) but it sounds like the OP doesn't have one yet so the rest of the IR/PF gear is useless without at least one.

[ZueriHB]

Normally I would agree (and I have not myself) but it sounds like the OP doesn't have one yet so the rest of the IR/PF gear is useless without at least one.

The OP mentioned about eventually acquiring 3677 Red Cargo Train.

[kyphur]

The OP mentioned about eventually acquiring 3677 Red Cargo Train.

Yes he did, that's future tense though. If he's on a budget then he might appreciate being able to just get the PF stuff for his current trains now and wait for a great sale at Toys R Us (I got my second 3677 at 1/2 price) to pick up the $160 3677 Set.

As I've pointed out he could power both trains (with Rechargeable Battery) for the cost of one 3677!

[adello25]

I ended up buying 3677 Red Cargo Train. TRU was offering the $25 off $100 or more plus I had a $10 reward certificate so it seemed like a great deal for me!

I will be picking up more PF parts for the Emerald Night and Maersk train. I don't really feel like having to take each set apart to make another motortized so I am just going to stick with the AAA battery box and get one for the Maersek train and then separate IR receivers for each of them.

[kyphur]

I will be picking up more PF parts for the Emerald Night and Maersk train. I don't really feel like having to take each set apart to make another motortized so I am just going to stick with the AAA battery box and get one for the Maersek train and then separate IR receivers for each of them.

Something to remember with the AAA Battery Boxes is that you've still have to partially disassemble the Locomotives to change the batteries.

For the 3677 Loco it isn't too much and since the Battery box pretty much just drops into the EN Tender again it's not that bad. I really had disassembling the Maersk Loco just to change batteries, that section is pretty fragile in construction already so it was my first LiPo (Rechargeable Battery) conversion.

Some Locos like the Red Passenger Train are less hassle to fully remove the battery box and I don't know that I'll ever drop a LiPo in it but the Yellow Cargo train was another good choice for LiPo conversion.

My MOD/MOC EMD-B Unit for the Santa Fe Super Chief is also rather easy to get the Box out of but I just seems right to LiPo my favorite train... I'm even thinking of re engineering the roof so that it's fixed over the battery box (like it is at the other end over the IR Receiver) with a roof-top push button to toggle power. If done right removing the power button will also allow access to the charging port of the LiPo.

Since I've been slowly buying up the LiPo batteries and currently have one for each PF train I run on a regular basis and a couple that haven't been installed yet (seven total). I even converted one to red using the red Battery Box part from 3677 for my Shortened 3677 MOD Locomotive.

[Nikola Bathory]

Guys, I have the Passenger Train (the red one) with all the PF stuff it comes with. What type was its battery box? I want to buy a second one for the EN.

For the Emerald Night, I only have to add an XL motor, right?

[kyphur]

Guys, I have the Passenger Train (the red one) with all the PF stuff it comes with. What type was its battery box? I want to buy a second one for the EN.

For the Emerald Night, I only have to add an XL motor, right?

All sets currently come with the AAA Battery Box.

Yes you just need a XL Motor if you're using the PF stuff from a Red Passenger Train.

[domboy]

Guys, I have the Passenger Train (the red one) with all the PF stuff it comes with. What type was its battery box? I want to buy a second one for the EN.

For the Emerald Night, I only have to add an XL motor, right?

For my Emerald Night, I just last week purchased the following to power it:

- 8882 XL-Motor

- 88000 AAA Battery Box. This is the battery box in your set.

- 8870 Light Set

- 8884 IR Receiver

That should be all you need. I don't have any of the PF train sets (I bought the Emerald Night, the Maersk, and the BNSF) so I didn't have any of the power function parts, so I had to also purchase the IR Speed Remote Control.

Some of this may have already been iterated in this thread, just I figured I re-posted it with links just in case.

[IAmWillGibson]

So I'm warming up to the idea of getting the Emerald Night for my holiday display, but [at this point] I'm fairly confident it'll be the only train I get for a good long while [or possibly ever] mostly due to space and cost [Christmas sort of trumps stuff and is a great go-to excuse].

Now, I'm already looking into track off of BL, and I'm definitely going to get the battery box and light kit from S@H, because they're cheap and lights look boss. Also, the motor's only an extra 10 bucks on top of that, so it's worth it for the gimmick. In the interest of saving money, though, I'm contemplating stopping there, and not bothering with the IR bits [about an extra $40 here in Canada, inexplicably].

But without them, just how fast would the train really be going? I understand without the remote the only option is full-tilt, and I don't really want the thing zooming around like mad. Is it worth the extra investment to get a nice, leisurely pace outta the train?

Side question: about how long would 6 batteries run the motor/lights combo at full power? I'm looking at running the thing for maybe a few minutes in total, but I'm sill curious. I'm having trouble understanding the costing of the rechargable unit, although if you're running these things daily, I guess I could see it making sense.

[kyphur]

In the interest of saving money, though, I'm contemplating stopping there, and not bothering with the IR bits [about an extra $40 here in Canada, inexplicably].

But without them, just how fast would the train really be going? I understand without the remote the only option is full-tilt, and I don't really want the thing zooming around like mad. Is it worth the extra investment to get a nice, leisurely pace outta the train?

Without the IR bits the train will run too fast unless you MOD it to gear it down.

The LiPo (Rechargeable Battery Box) has a speed dial but I'm not sure if that would actually slow the XL Motor down when simply turned on and connected directly. I imagine it would as when I connect lights directly to a LiPo and turn the setting down it dims them.

Of course the IR bits are a lot cheaper than a LiPo & Charger (even if you don't get TLG's charger).

Edited November 3, 2011 by kyphur

[Nikola Bathory]

Thanks for the information!

Now I can only hope that the official Lego Shop ships to my country (Bulgaria). I asked via e-mail, still no answer.

[JCz]

Hi guys

Newbie here...

After 20 years, I received a small lego car a few months ago.

It rekindled my fascination with Lego and the pieces were so nostalgic.

Then I saw the Maersk Train. Bought 1 and assembled it. Was and am still fascinated by it.

So much so that I immediately went out to buy 3 more sets(1 carton)

3 x 10219 (Maersk train)

1 x 8879 (remote control)

1 x 8887 (Transformer

3 x 8878 (rechargeable batts)

3 x 8884 (IR receiver)

6 x 88002 (train motor)

3 x 8869 (control switch)

I intend to assemble 3 Maersk Trains each running dual train motors. 2 engines pulling with 1 helper/pushing at the end.

However, I hope the experts here can help me out a little with regards to assembling the trains.

How would the second motor which would be in reverse placed in the front, together with the control switch be connected?

If the primary motor is connected to the motor, can the secondary motor's connecter be stacked on top of it?

When the secondary motor is connected, whats the difference between that black switch and the orange lever atop the 8869 control switch?

Is the secondary motor to be connected to the control switch then the lever placed at the receiver?

I have scoured sites but find anything. BTW, 17 Power functions components seems a step backward to the old 9V IMHO.

Would appreciate some help.. Any advise would be much appreciated.

Better still, anyone running a dual 88002 with 8869 post a pic of the assembly?

Thanks in advance.

Edited November 4, 2011 by JCz

[kyphur]

How would the second motor which would be in reverse placed in the front, together with the control switch be connected?

You are correct in your assumptions.

You'd connect the forward PF Train Motor to the PF Switch and put the switch in reverse then connect the switch to the PF IR Receiver on top of the connector for the rear PF Train Motor. This reverses the forward motor and keep both motors' settings in sync.

I'm using this exact method for my MOD Santa Fe Super Chief EMD-B Unit and TearLoch is using it for his MOC BNSF PF Conversion, just look for our threads on these to set the posted examples.