Help with Emerald Night please

[TheLegoNewbie]

Hello,

I recently picked up an Emerald Night and have built it but am having some issues.

The train does not grip to the track even with the 4 red bands on. I have fitted a XL motor to the train. I tried by removing 2 bands but that didn't change anything. Hoping someone can give me a suggestion on how to fix this.

Thanks

[BricksMcgee]

Are you getting a lot of wheel slip? Easiest solution to that is usually to add some weight above the wheels, but I don't remember having to do that on my Emerald Night. Could also depend on the type of track you're using with it?

Hope that helps somehow!

[Heppeng]

One of the issues the EN has is poor grip on uneven track, which is due to the leading and trailing axles taking the load when the drivers are in a dip. Unfortunately with the restricted amount of room there is not much scope for giving the axles freedom of movement to compensate, so the first step is making sure your track is dead level.

[Legononymous]

I don't know anything about this train but make sure you don't have the front set of wheels mixed up with the back.

[zephyr1934]

1) do the wheels turn fine when power is on and the engine is lifted off the track?

if no, check to make sure you have quartered the wheels correctly, make sure you have nothing binding elsewhere. Remove the XL motor and try to turn the wheels by hand. Oh, also make sure the rods are not binding in the cylinders (remove the rod that goes from the drivers to the cylinder, I think it is a 7 long half wide technic beam). Otherwise,

2) Yes to #1 but the stop wheels spinning when on the track

if no, check to see if the bands are loose, also check to see if it is only stopping in certain locations (both issues that others have mentioned). If the bands are loose, perhaps folks here might have further tips. If stopping only at specific locations that is likely the uneven track. There are some tricks you can do to give the locomotive a little more flexibility over these bumps.

Also, make sure these tests are with no additional cars beyond the tender.

If yes to #2, that might suggest you have dead batteries or a bad PF component.

If none of these help, write back with more details and I'm sure someone will have a good suggestion for you.

[TheLegoNewbie]

The Emerald Night looses grip in many places. I have made sure the bands are tight. The wheels move fine when lifted off the track. I removed the rod from drivers to the cylinder. Could you please let me know how I can give the loco more flexibility over bumps? I am testing it with just the coal tender. I would really love to get my Emerald Night working nicely. Thanks in advance.

[LegoSjaak]

Hmmm...Emerald Nightmare.....

[TheLegoNewbie]

LegoSjaak please only post if constructive. I would like help to make it run correctly.

[Heppeng]

One way to help is to remove the pins holding the front bogie 1x6 technic beams that the wheels connect in to. A single frictionless pin in the middle of the beam will alow some wheel movement which helps, but they can't move far before fouling the underside of the loco, and the snowplough on the bogie can sometimes rub on the tops of rails if the track is particularly uneven. You could of course mount the buffers on the loco instead of the bogie, but they would then be decorative only. Try running it first with the front and rear bogies/trucks removed, and if that fixes it that is your problem.

[Gioppa]

check this

http://www.youbrick.com/index.php/trains/emerald-moc

[TheLegoNewbie]

Thanks Gioppa I will check those pictures out before I order some spare parts.

[Legoboy22]

1. The wheels are set in a very rigid position and not on a bogie so make sure the are no bumps in your rails that would make the wheels lift of the ground.

2. Add some lego weight bricks above the large wheels in the locomotive if there is room.

3. Check to see if the rubber bands on the wheels are slipping, if they are replace them with some from your own collection.

4. See if your power functions parts are still with battery.

I hope that this helps you. :)

[ecmo47]

I have 2 Emerald Night engines that are powered. Each will pull a 10 car train which is way more than a powered Maersk engine can do. I cant really understand why your having a problem as mine work great without added weight. But here are some suggestions.

1. Make sure your track is on a flat table or hard floor. I can see that you may have problems if your track is on carpet that would may make the track uneven.

2. Something is wrong with the construction of your engine. As stated above, perhaps your leading and trailing trucks are (for some reason) lower than the drivers. Try running your engine without than and see what happens. If it runs good, than that will help pinpoint a problem.

I regeared the drivers as I had problems with the driver rods binding. Here is a thead that I wrote on it over at another website.

http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/15407/emerald-night-10194-running-gear-improvements#latest

Let me know with you have any questions. Also, post some pictures of your engine and perhaps we can spot a problem.

One more thing. Make sure that your drivers and not pushed tightly against the frame. This will would not really cause the wheels to slip but will certainly inhibit pulling power.

[pirzyk]

What kind of track are you using? 9V, Flex or PF Track. The EN has the worst time with Flex track. I am not sure about the 9V. I agree with the advice to make your track level. It is very sensitive to slippage, mine slips all the time crossing switches, etc. The best looking train (of the stock lego sets), just not the best running :(

[zephyr1934]

I don't remember exactly how I did it, but I added a vertical hinge on the EN pilot and trailing wheels so that it looks something like this engine when picked up,

Having the wheels bend down like this will not solve your problem (but it will help keep the train from derailing when the driver wheels go over a bump).

What you need is for the wheels to bend up when in a dip and keep the drivers on the rails. Again, I don't recall exactly what I changed, but I was able to clear out at least one plate above the wheels on both the front and rear to allow the hinged pilot and trailing wheels sufficient flex to keep the drivers on the rails when going over a dip.

If the above still leaves you confounded, post back or PM me and I'll try to get photos of my EN mods.

[TheLegoNewbie]

Thanks so much guys.

I replaced the bands on the large wheels and my Emerald is working much better.

I now need to fix the issue where the loose wheels front and back sometimes make it derail.

I would also like to know what extra bricks people have used to add the coal effect to the top of the coal tender to hide rechargeable battery pack?

Thanks

[detjensrobert]

I would also like to know what extra bricks people have used to add the coal effect to the top of the coal tender to hide rechargeable battery pack?

Thanks

Just a bunch of 1x1 square and round plates, i think.

[TheLegoNewbie]

Could someone kindly assist with obtaining the parts required to add coal to the top of the rechargeable battery pack? Which is the cheapest site? If someone has already done it which parts shall I order? Thanks in advance.

** All sorted **

Edited December 6, 2014 by TheLegoNewbie

[Legoboy22]

Just black 1 stud sloped tiles and 1 stud circular tiles.

[F0NIX]

Another idea that I found useful is to remove the rubber bands from the small front and rear wheels and only keeping the rubber bands on the big driving wheels. That gives the wheels a little more playroom vertically and ensure that the big wheels gets most of the load towards the track even if the track has some bumps.