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This 7-stud wide diesel is modeled after the General Electric (GE) 44 ton switcher locomotive made between 1940 and 1956. The little diesel is bi-directional, and doesn't have much to differentiate between the "front" or "rear" expect for the air horn on one end in real life. My LEGO model lacks these, so it is totally symmetrical. You may be asking yourself: 'Why 44 tons, what's so special about that number?' I give you the answer from the Wikipedia article on this loco type: "This locomotive's specific 44-short ton weight was directly related to one of the efficiencies the new diesel locomotives offered compared to their steam counterparts: reduced labor intensity. In the late 1930s, the steam to diesel transition was in its infancy in North America, and railroad unions were trying to protect the locomotive fireman jobs that were redundant with diesel units. One measure taken to this end was the 1937 so-called '90,000 Pound Rule' : a stipulation that locomotives weighing 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg) – 45 short tons – or more required a fireman in addition to an engineer on common carrier railroads. (Industrial and military railroads had no such stipulation.) The 44-ton locomotive was born to skirt this requirement. The 45-ton rule was eventually repealed in 1963." Side view of the loco showcasing the symmetry of the model. In-universe, This diesel is painted as Brick Railway Systems loco 97 in a throwback black / red paint scheme to celebrate the railroad's 130th anniversary in 2024. (In reality, it's my fictional railroad I made up when I was a fourth grader, which is having it's 20th anniversary this year, so I've been feeling a bit nostalgic recently.) Thoughts? -
From 1919 to 1962, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (known as the Milwaukee Road) had these five General Electric-made behemoths pulling trains under the wires from Chicago to Seattle. They were called the Bipolar's for each of the locomotive's 12 motors had only two field poles, mounted directly to the locomotive frame beside the axle. The motor armature was mounted directly on the axle, providing an entirely gear-less design. These locos were so powerful they could out-pull modern steam locos, and what used to take two steamers took just one bipolar. However, after a disastrous 1953 rebuilding by the railroad's company shops (who had no clue how to work on a electric loco) the engines were prone to failures and even fire. And so, in 1962, four of them were scrapped with the lone survivor, numbered E-2, towed to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis Missouri, where it has sat silent even since, as seen above. The slightly stylized LEGO version of the locomotive was inspired by a 1999 version of the Bipolar electric locomotive built by user legosteveb and by a digital-only design by @Sunder. With this updated, more curvy model, the classic orange and red scheme was impossible, and so as the yellow and red of the previous model type. Thus I was forced to invert the red and yellow to the fictional scheme seen. (The black number boards in front and rear should say "E2" in printed 1 x 1 tiles.0 The loco frame is split in three sections as per the original engine. The front and rear section can pivot slightly to make the engine go around curves. Since the last uploading of this model, the wheels have been re-arranged into two groups of seven (they are joined near the end of the frame, with the exact middle section floating freely between the two ends) and the body of the engine has been extended for a total magnet-to-magnet length of 70 studs. The model should perform well on R40 curves / switches, as this picture attests to it's flexibility.... though until it's built in real life, it will remain untested. The newer model is only 1 plate higher than the previous version, with the same length and width. As you can see, it's my longest single locomotive yet designed with 14 axles total. (I'm not 100% sure my articulation attempts in all the boogies and the frame were enough to work on standard LEGO track, but I guess I'll just have to see when it's built in real bricks latter this year!) The passenger train, and the rear car in particular, were inspired by the Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha service from Tacoma, Washington to with the rearmost car being a Beaver Tail observation car, which were out of service by 1961. (you can read more about these odd-looking cars here on this Wikipedia page.) Actually, I'm not sure the Beaver-tails were ever used all the way to the West Coast on the Olympian, but since it's LEGO, who really cares! That's all I have done for now, and as usual, questions, complaints, comments and suggestions are always welcome! (real life pictures coming to this topic as soon as possible, but the LDD file for the whole train is available here at Bricksafe)
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G'Day everyone, I'm Avanish Shrestha from Australia, currently at uni. It hasn't been too long since I started sharing some creations with the Lego community—but here's the first one from 2018, a Tesla Roadster, previewed at an event in November 2017. I hope you enjoy! Franz von Holzhausen—Chief Designer. Credits to Rolands Kirpis for the door hinge design. -
So I've decided to take advantage of the instructions provided by his book, but I've run into a colour issue. Which brown is it? I had assumed Reddish Brown, but the finger joint hinges simply do not exist in that colour (at least according to Bricklink). Is it meant to be the old Brown (which they do exist in, but I'd suspect some of the more modern parts don't)? Is there a suitable alternative to this without completely redesigning the ends (the modern ratcheted ones are too tall)? As is usually the case, I'm finding the building a parts wanted list on Bricklink frustrating as all hell (I'm not sure why the hell we need to identify what kind of piece we're looking for when we have the number already), and I want to get this parts list *right* so I can share it, meaning everyone else who has the book doesn't have to go through the same fart on.
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Inspired by set 4885, (Spider-Man's Train Rescue) this four-car subway train features a removable roof on each car for access to the inside seating. The two black tiles on either end of the train are for the identification numbers / letters, such as the "A" train, or "01", for example. The studs just below the roof are for destination boards, on which you could put "LEGO", "CITY", or any other four (or less!) letter word as a destination for the train. The model is now motorized with power functions in the leads car, and each sections now has pantograph's on each unit which can be raised or lowered as desired. The front one also hides the RC receiver on the motorized unit, but this pantograph cannot be lowered, due to to being too close to the receiver to fully shut down. The four train car's roof sections are removable, and the train is supposed to be made up of two "set units" of four cars total, broken down into two groups of two. Each unit of two could operate individually of the other two if this were a real train, but they can not be broken down any further as they are supposed to be hard-coupled together. (As this is LEGO, however, you can do what you want!) The motor unit lacks seats, but features the battery box and receiver. The roof is removable for battery removal / replacement access. These three trailing cars have 18 seats total (six per car) facing in the relative direction of the "front" of the car. The roof sections are removable for easily placing mini-figures inside the cars. the LDD file is available at brick safe here. As usual, any and all comments, questions and complaints are welcome!
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This fast electric locomotive and it's train was inspired by sets 4511 (2003's "High Speed Train") and sets 4561 / 4560 (1999's Railway Express), and has been dubbed the "Sunset Streak". The orange stripe on the train can be replaced with green, blue, red, black or yellow, while the white can be replaced with black, if you so desired. This model features two locomotives, each with either red or clear lights for either rear or head end duties. This print here is for the two windscreens (they aren't printable in LDD), while the train's number tiles (12 on one cab car and 16 on the other, for example) printed 1 x 1 tiles are not there and are missing from the file. Four of this print go on each power car, (on the left and right sides) like this: <- -> This is supposed to make the classic Lego train logo in tiles, which sadly has never been available in printed form at all. Each locomotive has an abundance of control tiles and two pantographs per cab car for power pickup from imaginary wires. Also on the train is four passenger cars with no interior and four half-stud recessed doorways per car. However, as it is LEGO after all, you could easily modify the cars to have removable tops, inside seats, and even and opening doors (Emerald Night style). The LDD file is available for download here. Comments, questions, and complaints are always welcome!
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Hello, Nine years ago i try to make a Replica of this Engine: Well since I improved a little bit my "skills" and there is much more Lego Parts then 9 years ago, this is my second try: CP 4700 Lego 1:20 Scale by Sérgio Batista, no Flickr
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This is a tutorial detailing how to modify a LEGO 9V train motor so that it may be powered independently of the track. This effort is part of a larger project inspired by Thorsten Benter’s article in Railbricks Issue 7 titled “PF and 9V Trains: The Best of Both Worlds”. Step 1) Open the 9V motor. This has been covered elsewhere, so it should suffice to say you carefully remove the 12 tabs holding the bottom cover on with an xacto blade or something similar. There is enough friction to hold the bottom cover in place later even without the tabs. Step 2) Remove all internal parts. Ignore the fact that I took this photo after completing step 3. Step 3) Use a rotary tool with a cutoff disk to bisect the metal strips in the top of the motor enclosure. These strips are exposed in the top studs, and we will later use them to pull power from the track and apply power to the motor. Very important: Be sure to apply NO PRESSURE when using the rotary tool. Instead, just lightly touch the spinning cutoff disk against the metal strip, and let the tool do the work. It will take some time, so be patient and careful. If you apply pressure, the metal strips will heat up and deform the plastic. If the plastic deforms, it will be impossible to interface with LEGO bricks and PCB adapters (like the one in the upper-right corner of the picture). Keep it light and easy. You will thank yourself later when you haven’t ruined your motor’s plastic housing. Step 4) Desolder the metal pieces from the electric motor. I don’t have a picture of this exact step because I used the electric motor from a Power Functions train motor. If replacing the 9V motor with a Power Functions motor, open up the PF train motor using a T6 bit, remove the electric motor, and desolder it from the wires. Step 5) Solder a short length of wire to each tab on the electric motor (do this outside the housing to avoid accidently melting it). I used 32 gauge DCC decoder wire, but you can use whatever you have that will fit inside the motor. Reassemble the motor with exception of the wheels and the bottom cover. Step 6) Attach the wires to the outermost halves of the metal strips; the innermost halves are connected to the wheels through the wipers. I used a silver epoxy for this. I chose silver epoxy for two reasons: 1) I didn’t want to risk melting the studs by soldering the wires to the metal strips, and 2) silver epoxy has a lower resistance than graphite epoxy. Step 7) Reinstall the wheels and make sure everything is running smoothly. This would also be a good time to lubricate the gears if you want to. Make sure you don’t get any lubricant on the electrical parts! Press the bottom cover onto what remains of the tabs, and you’re done! If you ever want to run the motor directly from track power, simply use a PCB adapter with a loopback connector or connect a LEGO wire (9V or light gray end of PF). This is what a PCB adapter looks like when installed on the motor. (I’ve updated the design since taking the previous photo.) And here is a connector leading up to the electronics (currently just a Power Functions battery box, soon to include a Bluetooth receiver) in my Horizon Express. The connector plugs into the PCB adapter. The PCB adapter is attached to the electrical studs on the motor. And the motor is pinned to the bottom plate of the locomotive. Now I can charge the battery in my train without taking it off the track, run it indefinitely on a mixed metal and plastic layout, and have non-line-of-sight control when I add the Bluetooth receiver. It really is the best of both worlds!
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The GG-1 was a class of electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) for use in the northeastern United States. 139 GG-1s were constructed by General Electric and PRR's Altoona Works from 1934 to 1943, although mine is used by Brick Railway Systems on the New York - Chicago route. The real GG-1"s never traveled that far west in service, due to the overhead wires ending at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The GG-1's served under the PRR, then Penn Central, and onto Conrail and Amtrak, until finally a few went to New Jersey Transit, with some of these units served from 1935 on the PRR to to retiring with NJ transit in 1983. The model seen here is painted in this fictional Brick Railway Systems blue and red color scheme. This means the engine will be pulling some stretched 1980's style passenger car painted like the ones in sets 7715 / 7718. Unlike my previous model of a GG-1, this one has no interior details. The engine features moving panto-graphs for picking up (imaginary) electricity from the overhead wires. They are both in the raised position here, though normally the one opposite the direction of travel would be used. The exception to this was if the rear panto-graph was knocked off or damaged by overhanging debris, which the engine would then have it's lead panto-graph raised in order to limp the the repair shop. The loco features Anthony Sava's sliding middle axle design. This means the middle axle out of the three on the bogie closest to the middle of the loco slide laterally back and forth to allow the engine over switches and curves that would be normally to tight to maneuver. These special bogies are used twice of course: one for each half of the loco. The two outer wheels closest to each end are connected to the inner bogies via cup-and-ball parts. This allows them to swing freely and not bind up while still representing the right amount of wheels for a GG-1 loco. The coaches this engine will pull are inspired by train sets 7715 / 7718 from the 4.5 Volt era in the early to mid 1980's. The doors should be printed like these: http://alpha.brickli...Color=5#T=C&C=5 and http://alpha.brickli...e?P=4182p05#T=C I already have 75% of the parts for this model, including all but one door. Here is the LDD file for the engine by itself: http://www.moc-pages...1461783587m.lxf ...and here is one with the coaches and engine: http://www.moc-pages...1461783797m.lxf According to a Facebook comment made to my post on the LEGO Train Fan Club page, the engine I built look similar to this bi-centennial Conrail-era unit: Comments, complaints and questions are always welcome! (This page will be revised again when the cars are built In Real Life.) Recently, I discovered this neat website on the GG-1's, called the GG-1 homepage, which was last updated in 2002. It features some cool stuff and hard to find info though so here is the link: http://www.spikesys.com/GG1/
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29.09.2023 - new locomotives Hello there and thank you for stopping by! Since posting last time i mocced up 3 more locomotives. They have been kept in the same "9V era plus style" i usually build in. The first new addition is a EMD GP "High Nose" Locomotive. It is based loosely on GP7 and GP9 Locomotives and is build in a CN Paint scheme to not look out of place when it runs together with the 10133 BNSF Loco. Speaking of 10133, the lower part and the longer hood-roof is heavily based on this set. EMD GP Highnose CN by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD GP Highnose CN by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD GP Highnose CN by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD GP Highnose CN by Henrik S, auf Flickr Next we have a EMD Switcher Locomotive. Again, it resembles no particular prototype, it is basically an attempt to capture the general vibe of this type of locomotive in a 6 wide format. EMD SW Switcher Locomotive by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD SW Switcher Locomotive by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD SW Switcher Locomotive by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD SW Switcher Locomotive by Henrik S, auf Flickr EMD SW Switcher Locomotive by Henrik S, auf Flickr The 3rd Locomotive is a european one, it is loosely based on the swiss Bernina Crocodile. Most of the parts used to build this locomotive come from set 10277 ( which was killed to create this 6 wide, 9V powered baby crocodile ). Bernina Krokodil (10277 Alternative) by Henrik S, auf Flickr Bernina Krokodil (10277 Alternative) by Henrik S, auf Flickr Bernina Krokodil (10277 Alternative) by Henrik S, auf Flickr Hope you enjoy, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It´s been a long time since i last posted in this thread . Some pictures on flickr were lost since then, some mocs got updated, some got dismembered to loot pieces for other projects. So i decided to revive this thread, and to show you some of my Mocs, mods and stuff i´ve been tinkering with since then. The Introduction of the 9V tracks from fxbricks in bigger radiuses triggered me to dust of my beloved 9v sets and to get into the rabbithole of lego trains again. I always had a soft spot for the 9V system, the sound of the metal rails.. It is a fondly remembered part of my childhood, many happy hours were spent playing with it . My models are obviously not exactly to scale. Some are not even prototypical. My goal has been to build something which resembles sets of the 9v era, including the wide range of new parts introduced since then. Another goal is playability. If possible I try to incorporate many play features (minifig seatings, working doors and mechanisms, cockpits and interiors, etc.). Locos: 4551 - crocodile I do not own this set, but i always liked the look of it. My adaptation of the crocodile has been color switched, from the ÖBB red to the german green color sheme. The „beaks“ of the original set were prone to derail. They have been changed to avoid this problem and have been shortened to look more prototypical. Other changes include the addition of 2 windows in the main section and a different roof. Lego 4551 Crocodile - modded by Henrik S, auf Flickr Lego 4551 Crocodile - modded by Henrik S, auf Flickr Lego 4551 Crocodile - modded by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4564 - 3 axle Shunting diesel Almost completly different from the original 4 axled locomotive found in Set 4564, i rebuild this loco to a 3 axle configuration. I always liked small shunting diesels like the german v60 or the vossloh G6, so the design of the superstructure resembles them. Lego 4564 - Modded by Henrik S, auf Flickr Lego 4564 - Modded by Henrik S, auf Flickr Lego 4564 - Modded by Henrik S, auf Flickr MOC – 4 axle modern diesel shunter A 4 axled diesel shunter with guardrails for operating safety. Loosely based on Vossloh and other very rectangular modern designs. Modern Diesel Shunter by Henrik S, auf Flickr Modern Diesel Shunter by Henrik S, auf Flickr Modern Diesel Shunter by Henrik S, auf Flickr Modern Diesel Shunter by Henrik S, auf Flickr DB BR 111 – electric locomotive An electric locomotive for passenger train services, heavily based on the german Baureihe 111. Build in the striking ocean blue – tan color sheme the DB used quite some time ago. BR 111 by Henrik S, auf Flickr BR 111 by Henrik S, auf Flickr BR 111 by Henrik S, auf Flickr Here it is with 4 passenger coaches. BR 111 with Passenger Train by Henrik S, auf Flickr The dining car, with pantograph to power the kitchen. Dining Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr Dining Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr 10183 - Modern electric locomotive This engine is loosely based on modern TRAXX locos. The base for this loco lies in a B Variant of set 10183 – Hobby train. After building the B model i kept tinkering with it, and over time it evolved into something resembling a modern TRAXX Locomotive. I actually have this loco 2-times: One in a red color sheme like DB uses, 10183 - Hobby Train Mod by Henrik S, auf Flickr and one in a black color sheme based on MRCE (leasing service for locomotives in Europe) Lego Hobby Train B Version (V2) by Henrik S, auf Flickr Lego Hobby Train B Version (V2) by Henrik S, auf Flickr Lego Hobby Train B Version (V2) by Henrik S, auf Flickr 7938 - Commuter train A lot has been changed. The middle waggon was removed and the remaining two parts are now connected with a jacobs boogie. The pantographs were removed, as the prototype for my version is powered by diesel. Another noteworthy change is the addition of implied doors. 7938 Mod by Henrik S, auf Flickr 7938 Mod by Henrik S, auf Flickr 7938 Mod - Cockpit by Henrik S, auf Flickr 7938 Mod - interior by Henrik S, auf Flickr Rolling stock: Container car; 2 and 4 axle versions It is build to carry the classic 4 wide containers common in the 9v era. The 4 wide containers look a bit small sizewise, but i like the versatility they offer. They can be transported by the classic 4 wide lego trucks, they can be grabbed by the Container Stacker. So in short, the playability outweighed the scale here. Container Cars by Henrik S, auf Flickr Container Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr Container Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr Container Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr Tank car A 4 axled tank car. The tank can be build in a variety of colors. The solution for the fairly round tank is not by me. I think i have seen the design somewhere here on eurobricks, but i don´t know by whom unfortunatly. So, if you read this and this is your design, please let me know and i will add your name for this technique! The original Design is by Phoxtane, check his tank car here: Tank Cars by Henrik S, auf Flickr Tank Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4537 – Twin Tank Car I fondly remember this waggon from my childhood. The original set rocked the classic white-green-red octan colors. On my quest to achieve a round and 6 wide design, this iconic color sheme unfortunatly had to go. Now it is dark bluish gray, which i think is a pretty common color for this type of freight car, so it is okay with me. Twin Tank Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr Twin Tank Car by Henrik S, auf Flickr EAOS - gondola car A car which can be seen countless times here in europe. There is not much to say about this car really, i tried to keep the weight down and the model features working doors. EAOS Gondola car by Henrik S, auf Flickr EAOS Gondola car by Henrik S, auf Flickr Small Box Car A classic of the 9V Waggons, in my oppinion it holds up nicely even today. The only change to it has been the addition of a curved roof, which in my oppinion looks pretty nice. Small Box Cars by Henrik S, auf Flickr Buildings and other stuff: 4554 – Trainstation Another classic 9V set (which i got for christmas in the 90s). I did not change much. Mainly the switch to a tan paint job and the interior of the station are different. The Rest is largely unchanged. 4554 Trainstation by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4554 Trainstation by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4554 Trainstation by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4554 Trainstation by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4554 Trainstation by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4554 Trainstation by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4555 – Cargo station Much like set 4554, not much was changed. I used the modern profile / masonry bricks to get a bit more detail into the building. The interior was tiled and the sparse furnishings were a bit extended. This set is part of the reason why i kept the 4 wide containers. I really like the old grippers in this set, which are also used on the container stacker set. 4555 Cargo Station by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4555 Cargo Station by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4555 Cargo Station by Henrik S, auf Flickr 4555 Cargo Station by Henrik S, auf Flickr Dockside crane Like the old harbour sets of the Lego town days, the base for my dockside is made of the elevated baseplates. The crane works and is able to unload the cargo from boat into freight cars (or into cargo trucks). Dockside Carne by Henrik S, auf Flickr Dockside Carne by Henrik S, auf Flickr So, thats all for now. I plan to update this thread kinda regularly, and to upload more content in the near future. Please let me know your opionions, critics and suggestions. I hope you have fun looking through these pictures!
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Not much to say about this one other than that it is an early electric tram.
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Hi all and Happy New Year!!! Since I'm waiting for H0 parts to arrive to continue my experiments, I am browsing the Internet a lot to get some inspiration. Searching for some American locomotives I found (again) the Bipolar, a locomotive which I like a lot...but I always end forgetting its name. I recall the GG1 in my mind...but the name Bipolar name simple does not fit into my 64kb of memory (38911 bytes free)! So, I thought it could be nice to try this big lady in 12v, just for fun. In this case, I built the E-2, the lattest rebuild of one of the Bipolar family, made in 1953. It's a massive thing, and the two motors will surely be helpful to move the locomotive and the Hiawatha train (I did not design the wagons, but for sure they would be...heavy!!!). As the original E2, the locomotive has asymmetric details on the two "big noses". The colors are WRONG - yellow should be orange, black should be dark gray, so I kept a 7740 paint scheme, well suited to the color range available in the 80s. As any high-end locomotive it has some expensive parts (all the windows). One note - the 2x2 windows can be also in old gray (from 7740), a bit cheaper option. The locomotive has 6 point of articulation, I think it could manage the R40 curves - my real life DB BR78 is less articulated, just to made an example. As you can see, the whole body seems a bit taller than normal 12v trains, but all in all, the real bigger details are the two pantographs. I don't think I'll ever build it in real bricks - for the only reason that I'm not so convinced to see it going around R40 curves. Maybe it could be a good shelf queen I hope you like this one! Ciao! Davide -
So this is gonna be like my default thread for posting lego trains. Anyways, lemme start off by posting this double pacific Garratt, complete with railings, fully modeled valve gear, number plates, and full articulation Here's a side view with light effects
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Hi train lovers. I open this topic to present to You and promote my Italian locomotive E326. Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr More than one year ago I launched it on Lego Ideas (here is the link if You want to support the project https://ideas.lego.com/projects/134535) as a digital project. It ends its first year with 279 supports. Bad result. But during this year I was ordering the parts from Bricklink to build the locomotive. So I decided to relaunch the project. It takes 252 supports in 15 days. A better start. I build it with some changes because some parts are very difficult to find and some don't exist in the colors that I need. And yes, I've Painted the Windows because I want this type on the locomotive. Lego Ideas allows submitting existing parts in new colors. I normally don't paint Lego. (And this is an opportunity to have them in reddish brown) My english is not good, so here are some photos.. Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr Italian Locomotive Class E326 by Cristiano Grassi, su Flickr The locomotive is made with 670 parts. It runs good on curves, but it's not motorized. I know I'm a beginner with trains and surely not an expert like the most on this forum, but I've try to do my best here. And I know Ideas probably will never produce a locomotive, but many supports can encourage Lego to produce new locomotives. You can see complete photo gallery here https://www.flickr.c...s/vedosololego/ I hope You like and support this and my other projects on Ideas. Thanks
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After a few years off from MOC building I can finally present another creation. This is one complete set of the new 4000 class commuter trains used in Adelaide, South Australia. The A unit is powered by one power functions train motor. LEGO A-City 4000 Class EMU MOC by Lego Engineer, on Flickr The 4000 class are the latest addition to Adelaide's commuter rail system. They are also the first electric trains on the network. Introduced in 2014, each one is comprised of three-car semi-permanently coupled sets. A-City 4000 Class EMU by Lego Engineer, on Flickr A-City 4000 Class EMU by Lego Engineer, on Flickr
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The coaches are inspired by train sets 7715 / 7718 from the 4.5 Volt era in the early to mid 1980's. The Lego Land Railway runs the train from World City to Heartlake City with stops at Classic Town, Paradisia Coast, Duplo-Ville, Ninjago City, (where the electric loco is replaced by a steamer or vise versa for the rest of the trip) Fabu-Land, Technic Town, Fort Legoredo and the Castle Realm. (with extensions into the Forest of Failed Themes and the Outer Dimension of Galidor at certain times of the year.) As both sides are the same (even for the headlamp color), I decided to take only one picture of the ends of the loco. This model was inspired by both a 1999 version of the engine built by Flickr user legosteveb user and a couple of digital-only designs by @Sunder. The pantographs on top are inspired by set 10277. (Crocodile locomotive) Unfortunately, this is as low as they go because I built them from pictures and didn't do it right. (Oh well!) Fictional history: This electric engine (number 9028) was originally designed as a un-streamlined freight workhorse for use in the mountains of the Western half of the North American continent on the electrified section of the Lego-Land Rail-Road mainline back in 1925. The engine uses a 2-C+C-2 arrangement, which means single frame (really, it's split in two in the middle, as the curves were too tight to do one single piece, but that's just too technical.) mounted upon a set of two axles unpowered (the "2") and three axles powered (the "C") hinged with the ball and socket to another frame of the same design (the +). The unpowered "2" axles are at either end of the locomotive. As you can see, the three axles in the middle two sections are connected by drive rods. After serving dutifully for around seven years as a freight loco, the engine was upgraded to a fully streamline-shrouded passenger unit after another of it's eight-strong class was written off after a accident with a stuck Shell tanker truck blocking a road crossing. (Thankfully, the steeple-cab design protected the crew, who survived!) The 9028 was also given a higher gear ratio in it's trucks, to allow for the higher speeds that the passenger schedule called for. The engine's class has a reputation as a tough hauler, taking care of almost anything thrown at it in freight service, and plowing through the most impossible schedules as passenger engines. There have been times, however, when they have been helpless: In January 1952 engine 9030 and of the premier Lego-Land Rail-Road trains (The City of Heartlake) got stuck in the Rocky Mountains due to a large snowdrift on the tracks and 100-MPH winds in blizzard conditions. They got boxed in, and were stuck there for six days before rescue crews could reach them. (This actually happened to the real world City of San Francisco train in the Sierra Nevada's in January, 1952. The rotary snowplows froze to the rails trying to get through!) (picture coming soon) The engine features moving panto-graphs for picking up (imaginary) electricity from the overhead wires. They are both in the lowered position here, though normally the one closest to the train it was hauling would be used. The exception to this was if the rear panto-graph was knocked off or damaged by overhanging debris, which the engine would then have it's lead panto-graph raised in order to limp to the repair shop. This baggage / passenger car is called a combine which is short for "combination". All the doors can open on this train, even the sliding ones shown here. The three 1980's-style coaches are identical in every way. The observation car, the rear-most coach on the train, features a platform for sight seeing. Comments, questions, and complaints are always welcome! EDIT 12/17/19: Added revised real life pictures. Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome!
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Confession: I have been wanting to build a Bipolar for a long time, about six years. Longer than the Daylight or my Aerotrain models have been around, even on my computer, and longer than most of my 80+ strong fleet. Now, after years of waiting and thinking, designing and re-developing: it is here! But first, here is what it's based on: The Real life inspiration: The LEGO model of this engine is sitting on the side of the real locomotive. Real life inspiration: From 1919 to 1962, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (known as the Milwaukee Road) had these five General Electric-made behemoths pulling trains under the wires on two sections on the Pacific Extension, pulling trains part-way on their journey to Seattle or Chicago. They were called the Bipolar's for each of the locomotive's 12 motors had only two field poles, mounted directly to the locomotive frame beside the axle. The motor armature was mounted directly on the axle, providing an entirely gear-less design. These locos were so powerful they could out-pull modern steam locos, and what used to take two steamers took just one bipolar. However, after a disastrous 1953 rebuilding by the railroad's company shops (who had no clue how to work on a electric loco) the engines were prone to failures and even fire. And so, in 1962, four of them were scrapped with the lone survivor, numbered E-2, towed to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis Missouri, where it has sat silent even since. LEGO Model: This model was inspired by a 1999 version of the engine built by user legosteveb. I recreated the actual orange, red and black color scheme used on the loco when it emerged from that 1953 modernization program, but it was too expensive. So, after looking around I decided to use the paint scheme the Milwaukee Road used when the engine was donated. This yellow and red scheme was inspired by the Union Pacific and was adopted very late in the engine's career (mid-50's). As both sides are the same except for the headlamp color, I decided to take only one picture of the ends. As you may have noticed, the LEGO version has two "floating" third axle bogies that were inspired by Anthony Sava that allow the engine to float over switches and curves easily. The engine runs beautifully over the little bit of track I have access to, but due to my lack of a layout and tables at the moment, (I've been forced to pack it all up for now) I couldn't get any pictures of that taken. Here is Steve's original model from 1999. Comments, Questions and complaints welcome! EDIT 8/17/18: Well, it's taken about six years of planning, designing, and redesigning, but it's finally on it's way to the real world. The Milwaukee Road "BiPolar" electric locomotive has been ordered as of the 12th in the form as shown. (minus the blue letter overlay I added in MS Paint, of course!) Keep your eyes peeled for real life pictures! EDIT 8/20/18: Real world pictures added!
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Hi everyone. As soon as I got the Buwizz I wanted to build a very powerfull, yet model powered by RC motors. At first i wanted to build a trophy truck which uses Claas's wheels, but I decided to put that project on halt, because I got a better inspiration. As everyone knows Tesla makes fully electric cars packed with all kinds of features and gadgets. I want to do the same, integrating the following features: All wheel drive with 6 RC motors (2 front and 4 in the rear) - I learned from my previous record breaking Buwizz powered RWD driven model that when it comes to braking you need front wheel drive too for motors to act as brakes. Spring supported pneumatic suspension - A combination of pneumatic and normal spring suspension which allows the ride height to be set at an optimum level to keep the drive axles as straight as possible, therebye removing any vibrations or losses Remoe controlled compressor - Using Sbrick order to adjust the suspension system of the model Detailed compact double wishbone suspension - Using the 5L suspension arms, new hubs and wheels I was able to make driven, steered suspesnion with brake calipers Working lights and blinkers - Using Sbrick I plan to make all the lights including blinkers work Motorized doors and trunk - This way I can remotely open the doors and trunk Central entertainment system - In my case I want to stick the speed computer in the center console to measure the speed of the model *Crash avodiance system - if I will be able to get an Sbrick plus and a couple of WeDo proximity sensors I can come up with an automatic steering and braking system for the model Detailed exterior and interrior - As name suggest the model is planned to be made in 1:8 scale with as much deatil as possible. And lastly performance - Since I plan to use a total of 6RC motors driving the Porshe wheels with 1:1 ratio from the outermost motor output, i expect the model even though it will be probably around 3kg heavy to perform very good. Special attention was given to the steering system in order to keep it as stiff as possible. I hope to see a top speed of 15 km/h I already started working on the front axle, I will post the picture tomorrow. Meanwhile here is the prototype made in LDD As you can see on one side of the suspension wishbones I am using a normal spring, while the other side uses a small pneumatic cylinder. Suspension geometry is set in such way the springs and cylinders end up as far away from the hub as possbile, since Porsche's wheels are just so deep. Also notice the 1x4 half width liftarms used to support the springs. I will post photographs of the WIP as I go along. Wish me luck -
I wanted to build something special for the rebrick LEGO Technic BMW motorcycle competition. The first idea I got was to try to make hubless wheels. After trying several wheel sizes approaches and techniques I decided to use the old 8880 soft tyres with a combiantion of 8 135 degree connectors and a nunch of smaller internal wheels: In order to make the bike look low and sleek I decided to ditch the normal handlebar steering system for a multi-link one, which gave the bike its distinctive front shape: Belly photo of the multilink steering system - notice the two 6L steering links which allow for suspension movement: Of course a bike like this also needs suspension which is hidden in the frame: And finally the bike was covered finished in blue trim, with BMW color detail in the front: And of course I just had to include the special 3L beam found in this year's sets: And here's a video to finish it all up: In the end of the day I am very proud of myself for building something out of the box, I learned how to make smoothly rotating hubless wheels and I managed to build something trully futuristic with all the weird angles, shapes and functions. If anyone is interested in rebuilding this beauty, there is also an LXF file of the model without the tyres here: BMW U2-P1A
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Hi! Two years ago, I did a motorizable cherry picker for a contest on the french forum TechLUG. So, I used the comments I had, and I decided to : - Use a more little scale - Better proportions - I did a better cab. In the first MOC, it was too heavy because of the battery box inside it. - The first cherry picker was motorizable by a M motor ; this one is only motorized, more simple and efficient. To summararise : Better proportions (I hope ^^) Only motorized I use inverted gearboxes for : - Outriggers - Arm - Turn table And the manual functions : - The steering (of course) - Extension of the arm So, here's the result: The simplest function is the steering. But there is the L motor over it. So, I used three 16t gears to turn the wheels directly by their axle of rotation. And now, the gearbox. It's an inverted gearbox : the "out gears" turn in the opposite sense. So, when you invert the position of the driving ring, you invert the rotation of a function. Here are screenshots: The outriggers can up the truck: the wheels don't touch the floor. To finish, the arm. It has a triple deformable quadrilateral. I needed so much time to do it, but it's nice to see in action. And the video : -
This engine is modeled after the GE 44 ton switcher locomotive. Why 44 tons, you may ask? I give you the answer from the Wikipedia article on this loco type: This locomotive's specific 44-short ton weight was directly related to one of the efficiencies the new diesel locomotives offered compared to their steam counterparts: reduced labor intensity. In the 1940s, the steam to diesel transition was in its infancy in North America, and railroad unions were trying to protect the locomotive fireman jobs that were redundant with diesel units. One measure taken to this end was the 1937 so-called "90,000 Pound Rule" :[citation needed] a stipulation that locomotives weighing 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg) – 45 short tons – or more required a fireman in addition to an engineer on common carrier railroads. Industrial and military railroads had no such stipulation. The 44-ton locomotive was born to skirt this requirement. The loco is bi-directional, and doesn't have much to differentiate between the "front" or "rear" expect for the air horn and exhaust stack on one end in real life. My LEGO model lacks these, so it's only way to tell which is front is by the headlights: clear for front, red for rear. I am going to name this loco WFP number 7007. (WFP stands for Wabash Frisco & Pacific, which is the name of a 12 inch gauge ride-on railway in St. Louis, MO.) They don't have a real 44 toner there, but do have a Fairbanks Morse H10-44 (number 704) in the same color scheme, so I made this engine as a companion to the H10-44. In the spoiler tag below, you will find a real life picture of a 44-toner loco. (I got the picture from railpictures.net, It is NOT mine!) Just for comparison purposes, here is the H10-44 I was talking about. NOTE: The H10-44 is NOT included in the GE 44-ton's LDD file! The (updated) LDD file for the GE loco is available here. Build updated 3-14-17 with a better 44 ton GE unit, courtesy of Henry Durand over on Facebook's LEGO Train Fan Club. Thanks Henry! Comments, Questions, suggestions and complaints are always welcome!
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Hello everyone. I´d like to present you my version of a DB Class 111. DB Baureihe 111 by Henrik S, auf Flickr A view of the front. I used bley frames for the windows, i think it fits well and looks very much like the prototype. I´m not quite sure if it would look better if the windows were rotated to their sides. It would certainly need a lot of tinkering and a bigger change to the front-section of the loco. DB Baureihe 111 by Henrik S, auf Flickr A closer look at the Pantograph. I´m quite satisfied with how they came out . DB Baureihe 111 - Pantograph by Henrik S, auf Flickr Please feel free to tell me your opinions and offer critique where you see fit. Best regards and thanks for stopping by! Reference picture
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A spontaneuosly built creation, somewhat as a result of good purchase for electric elements I've done almost 2 years ago. Then I just was made a tracked machine, at one forum named after "the wallie on roids", due to obvious similarity to one of Pixar's characters. So, ladies and gentlemen, I have a pleasure to present you... Robbie - the human-friendly robot (at least in theory :)). The robot is fully based on Technic theme elements and Power Functions electric system that consists of a total of 10 motors, 5 IR receivers and 2 battery boxes. All of this makes the model relatively heavy - over 2.2 kg. It features clever and easily RC controlled arms and independently propelled tracks. Luckily, I had taken some videos during work in progress, so you can see how much it was changing over the building phases: Traction tests featuring my slippers: And finally working shown to the world at one of small displays: And that's all. Sadly, I don't have so many photos this time, but I hope you liked it :) -
My second creation I just have for you to show today, simultaneously my private second place in workshop achievements, the 6-axis manipulator. The robot is a successor of older humanoid's arm. It was made mainly due to one reason: I want to design an arm that has wide range of movements, because his predecessor was shame of it. Moreover, a goal for near future is to make the arm (finally) programmable, perhaps with using of non-Lego components... But a model you see is still pure fully Technic-themed robot prototype that looks better than works : Arm, similarly to my other creations was presented at a bit of places in Poland's exhibitions or events for robotic and engineering enthusiasts. It has been appreciated at "Diamonds Explorers" foundation for talented students' innovative ideas. Technically, it contains of 5 motors (only because one had been broken during tests), 3 IR receivers and 3 battery boxes (a pair as a counterweight). Features 3 primary and 3 additionaly axes of movement and a pneumatic gripper that reminds me well one Toys Story scene... So, let's watch the video featuring an egg as 3-eyed alien mascot: Some photos: PS: I'm still working on next version...
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Hi! As a new member of our large society I'd like to present you one of (as I humbly think) my greatest models so far - the humanoid's arm. Creation has been building by mine for January and February this year. In April it has taken a third place in local competition for students and, as if that wasn't enough, in June I was also presented it at Warsaw, Polish capital. Here's also a humorous entry featured it at Brother's Brick blog: https://www.brothers-brick.com/2018/04/17/judgment-day-starts-with-a-technic-arm/?fbclid=IwAR1f4tKQdujN5YtRemM4K3OmIlpCGO6GcdgWRsEgeJDDWpn7Ayb3K4tl-hs#more-107955 The arm itself is a combination of pneumatic and electric (Power Functions) componenets controlled remotely or by panel with system of valves. It's quite large, even slighty more than actual human's arm. It includes a total of 6 motors, 2 IR receivers, 7 pneumatic cylinders and 4 linear actuators. Features prehensile palm with tendon-like controlled fingers, natural range of thumb's movement, fingers abduction, movable forwards and backwards wrist axis, rotated and elevated forearm. Just look: Also let's see some photos: If you liked it, I'll try to upload some photos and videos of my robots soon! Sorry for my poor English :/
