THIS IS THE TEST SITE OF EUROBRICKS!
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'unloading'.
-
I'm not really a regular truck builder, but I like to think of new systems that do not exist in real life yet but that do improve the life of, for example, truck drivers. When something like a big tarmac machine has to drive onto a trailer to go to the next building site, the slope of the trailer should be very small. That small slope is nowadays achieved by making very large ramps that fold up vertically for transport, causing massive air resistance and therefore unnecessary fuel consumption. A way to make these ramps shorter is to decrease the bed height, because that asks for smaller vertical ramps. The second option is making the wheels below the bed smaller. But decreasing the wheel diameter increases the rolling resistance. Another way to solve the problem is placing the bed betweeen the wheels, so that it can be much lower, but that limits the cargo width: the tarmac machine can never be wider than the bed width, which is not handy if truckdriver x has to transport many different tarmac machines. Read the rest of the story and how I solved these problems with my my DAF CF with 3-axle trailer on http://mocpages.com/moc.php/421622 Or watch the video here: To give an idea of the model, I have posted one photo below, the others can be found on http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=560197 in a better resolution.[/font][/size]
-
Hi all, during a pleasant discussion in this thread... ...a very interesting question was raised by @SDLgo9 member: The 7777 idea book pages mentioned here are those three pages showing the blue matter (!) unloading station and the famous auto-unloading wagons. These wagons are pulled by an obscure locomotive, which is never fully depicted. In fact - the front view is missing, and there's no clear view of the boiler. I've NEVER taken care of it, nor analyzed it too much. It really seems a 7730-based locomotive, but simplified in some details. There's a strange combination of "simple look" and now overpriced rare parts. So maybe it's simple - but it is a wanted effect? Analyzing the whole scenery depicted in the book - it's not a place for a fancy locomotive. There's work to do - wagons are fully loaded and heavy, so that unloading station surely needs a workhorse. And these workhorse is powerful, maybe not so good looking, but simple and solid, ready for its everyday duty. Here's a rear view, similar to the one in the Idea Book: It's a long locomotive and it's not using the classic train base (like 7810). It's pretty boxy and looks heavy. I had to take the scans from Brickfactory and to modify the photos to see a bit better. But which parts were used of the body is pretty unknown to me. So, we have the 2x2x1 black windows on the rear part - being a 7730 derivate - there are also doors, and at this point, the 1x2x1 small black windows. But it seems (to me) that these are not facing towards the front, and instead are used as small side windows. Side reservoirs are big, so fitting the two weight bricks was not a problem. The smoke stack is visible and there's not so much to say - but the boiler...is not completely visible. I added a square steam dome just for completeness. There's an headlight on top of boiler, and it seems there are also two headlights on the "nose". They are not fully visible, for this reason I think these are not placed on the corners of the chassis. Let's try: Simple and straight - the boiler is not round, but goes down to the chassis, same "steering wheel" as in the 7730. Headlights are a bit more inwards. All in all it's a simplified 7730 nose. Then, a more "Narrow Gauge" look - always with 7730 parts: There could be more styles, just removing the front steering wheel part and playing with slope parts. Suggestions are welcome!!! Davide
-
I want to build up a set of hopper cars for use at my LUG's next display, and it just so happens that I have six of the 6x28 train bases in orange from my Horizon Express teardown. Even better, they have a couple of 2x2 holes in each to allow cables to pass through, which means I can potentially use them as working hopper cars! Here's what I have so far: Having tested this with a small hopper built out of random bricks and the 1x1 round transparent plates drawer in my collection, the pieces should flow out quite nicely. The problem is the mechanism that will keep these closed and then allow them to be opened again once the hoppers are to be unloaded. So far, I have a device that will keep the doors closed with one of the red Lego pulley bands: ...But that's not really the solution I'm looking for. I'd like something that will operate both doors at once, and lock in either the open or closed position. In addition, I'd also prefer that it operates with as little force as possible, and doesn't require the removal or insertion of any pins - I'd love something that can be pushed over an unloading pit and automatically dump as it passes over, then close up again where it can be taken to the loading station. Oh, and I'm limited to a 4x8x3ish space as well, due to the wheelsets. Shouldn't be too hard for someone with more experience than me, I think... Any ideas?