My try at building a Shunter

[StukaRT]

Hey folks,

i am new here and quite new to lego trains. Heres my introduction in the Train Tech Registry:

http://www.eurobrick...75#entry2581024

As detailed there i was trying to get some trains of ebay and basically got the yellow train alone, but was later able to get the sets 7939 and 7938. So now i had two yellow cargo trains :P Well i needed a shunter anyway, first i though to also get the loco from 3677, but wasnt able to get one on ebay for a decent price. Well with the 2nd yellow cargo train i thought why not try to rebuild this one. Thats basically how i found this forums, while hunting for ideas. Though my brick supply is limited so i mainly used stuff from the set.

Anway: That is what i came up with, its rly basic and i tried to use most of the stuff from the 7939 loco.

At first i tried a 3 axle design but it didnt went through the turns. so i removed the middle one. But with only 1 motorized axle i had traction problems with the longer wagons on the junctions and on turns. So i came up with the idea to connect the front axle to the back axle. It was way to far for gears, so i simply used two rubber bands and i must say it did work out really well, now the loco goes through all the joints without a problem.

I really need to get me two of these 6-wide windows, guess it will look a bit better, And also some kind of plate above the cabling so i can have a nice cab inside.

From the leftover parts i did put a 2nd pantograph on the yellow freight engine, i found it looked really weird with only one and didnt like the look.

And from the leftover bricks and some of my own parts from the old days i used the 2 remaining axles to build a small flatbed.

It is really not much compared to most of the stuff on here, but maybe someone gets his ideas like i did from some other post about a small shunter on here.

[mjotrainbrain]

I always like a creative build, making use of few pices. Nice work!

[zephyr1934]

That's a great compact design. Why just the other day I was wondering why more people have not chosen to use the sides of the PF elements as the actual sides of the train locomotive. Glad to see that great minds think alike. That engine definitely shows some similarities to set 4564 Freight Rail Runner.

[StukaRT]

I was thinking baout getting the locomotive from the 3677 set. I read somewhere here someone shortened it, so today while bored i played around with LDD and build the locomotive from the instructions, then i fiddled around until i had it shortened quite nicely. When i looked at it i reralized i like both versions very much. Even might keep the grey on the battery box cause imo it fits well. Anyway i realzied i won't likely be able two get to locomotives from 3677 as they seem really high priced around here in germany. So i got the idea why not usethis MOC and try to rebuild it into a yellow version. Well looking at what i need to buy i might asell buy everything and keep both.

Edited July 22, 2016 by StukaRT

[Dread Pirate Rob]

Great solution with the rubber bands. I would not have thought it could transmit enough torque. I must give it a try. Another solution you could use for a six wheeled shunter is pivoting the train motor like on this tank engine. Because the lateral movement is so small it is barely noticable on corners.

Little Black Train side view by Canvas Rails, on Flickr

There are also photos of the locomotive in bits that might be of use to you

P9107255 by Canvas Rails, on Flickr

Hope this helps

[quarren]

Hi StukaRT,

having just resurfaced from my dark ages I recently acquired set 60098. Lacking a shunter, I got 3677 shortly afterwards with the plan of shortening the loco as you described above. I might get around to it this weekend, so you might see something similar to your LDD-build above in brick-form soon. ;)

Best regards