10233 Horizon Express

[antp]

I finished mine :)

(2 sets, with the jacobs bogie between the two)

I'll try to make it run in 12V as soon as I have some time

[Gigi]

I've just received the second one, while the first is already built. I'm waiting for extra pieces i've bought from bricklink to asseble the jacob bogie that connects the two sets and to fix the "locomotive roof flaw". I will post pictures of the result the next week

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I finished mine :)

(2 sets, with the jacobs bogie between the two)

I'll try to make it run in 12V as soon as I have some time

Nice to see this train with many wagons! :thumbup:

It would be great see this train running on a 12V layout!

[antp]

I did a "quick" test this afternoon. Unfortunately I do not have space for a permanent layout, so when I want to run a train I have to rebuild a whole track just for the test.

Here is already a photo, the video will come in the next days:

Luckily I had two motors: one was not enough :D

[legoboy1a2]

This guy modded his HE into a TGV with a nice result

[antp]

And here is the video:

The Horizon Express is seen after 1m36, before that it is the Maersk train. We previously saw a video of a Maersk train crashing into a monorail, here is one crashing into a cat

You see that I made a bigger track than what is used, but I didn't use the part beyond the switch points (except for parking the Maersk train in the second part) because the RC train wheels do not pass the 12V switches easily.

Edited January 12, 2013 by antp

[lostdriveway]

Love it!

Love how streamline the whole train is and how smoothly it runs!

Can't wait to pick up a couple of sets!

[English Electric]

I'm waiting for extra pieces i've bought from bricklink to asseble the jacob bogie that connects the two sets and to fix the "locomotive roof flaw".

What do you mean by the locomotive roof flaw?

Are you referring to the addition of the orange above the windscreen referenced here (from page 4 of this topic):

Being a long time TGV PSE fan, I made some light modifications to the nose of the engine. This because the nose is too high (even the white stripe on the side points upwards instead of downwards...)

The side 1x6 white tiles become 1x4 tiles next to a 1x3 white brick and similarly the side 1x5 (1x4 + 1x1, actually...) orange tiles become 1x3 orange tiles next to two 1x2 orange plates stacked together.

This allows all the nose block to be moved 1 plate downwards. To compensate this, I added 2 orange 30357 (Plate, Round Corner 3 x 3) over the windscreen. And yes, the two black headlight bricks near the windcreen became two transparent 1x1 bricks...)

If so, the plate 30357 is not available in orange...

[PeteM]

The Horizon Express is seen after 1m36, before that it is the Maersk train. We previously saw a video of a Maersk train crashing into a monorail, here is one crashing into a cat

You see that I made a bigger track than what is used, but I didn't use the part beyond the switch points (except for parking the Maersk train in the second part) because the RC train wheels do not pass the 12V switches easily.

That looks great - I'll also be running mine on 12v (when I get it!), did you have to make any modifications? I've not seen any, but I thought the 12v motors were slightly bulkier than the 9v/PF versions?

This will be my first train since the 1980s, I didn't know that the new wheels had trouble with the old points so thanks for the heads up :-)

[antp]

I just replaced the front bogie by the 12V engine, no other change required :)

(same for the last bogie of the trailing car)

As far as I know the motors have the same size. The wheels are a little wider so you can't put the "decoration" on it - not a big problem.

For lightning it may be a little more difficult, as the light of the 12v brick has to be diverted to headlights (and the only prism made for 12v is a 1x6, not a 1x4). I'll try that later.

I didn't test the Horizon Express in the switch points. It was the Maersk locomotive that had problems on it; the container wagons however seemed to pass more easily, but their wheels were closer. So the jacobs bogies may have the same problem as the Maersk locomotive...

[English Electric]

For lightning it may be a little more difficult, as the light of the 12v brick has to be diverted to headlights (and the only prism made for 12v is a 1x6, not a 1x4). I'll try that later.

Why not add a PF battery pack front and back with PF lights, they would last forever if they were the only load on the batteries!

[Gigi]

What do you mean by the locomotive roof flaw?

Are you referring to the addition of the orange above the windscreen referenced here (from page 4 of this topic):

If so, the plate 30357 is not available in orange...

Hi! No, i mean the gap that is visible from top view between the black roof and the pantograph section. It is a problem that also emerged in the review on this site. I will post pictures as soon i finish the building.

I didn't remember page 4 of this topic, thank you! After a few consideration i decided to leave the nose "as it is": in my opinion it's satisfactory!

Edited January 13, 2013 by Gigi

[antp]

Why not add a PF battery pack front and back with PF lights, they would last forever if they were the only load on the batteries!

It would be a little expensive just for the lights...

But if the PF light can be put on the old 9V battery pack used in the 90s (the one where you put a single 9V battery in the box) it might be worth buying the lights alone.

[Hrw-Amen]

How have those who have built the two trains put together the third carriage? I mean have you just built it as a buffet car as well or converted it to a normal passenger car? I am thinking of making mine as a normal passenger car as to have two buffet cars seems a bit odd? Have you also is the main built an extra Jacobs bogie to join them together? I have done that but found the the Jacobs Bogie as is out of the packet was a bit sticky prone to catching on the open studs, I have simply tiled all across the top which seems to have solved it, wondered if anyone else has had this issue?

[legotrainfan]

I did a "quick" test this afternoon. Unfortunately I do not have space for a permanent layout, so when I want to run a train I have to rebuild a whole track just for the test.

Here is already a photo, the video will come in the next days:

Luckily I had two motors: one was not enough :D

Antp, I don't know what I like better! Watching the trains running on your layout or the cat that is trying to figure out what to do with them. Cats are so curious and so playful.

[antp]

That's also the problem I had when editing the video: instead of only taking the parts were the train was well visible, I took all the parts where the cat was playing around :D

[ShaydDeGrai]

That's also the problem I had when editing the video: instead of only taking the parts were the train was well visible, I took all the parts where the cat was playing around :D

Hey at least your cat was playing nicely. One of my cats did a full body, running pounce on my Emerald Night, decoupling the passenger cars and not just derailing the engine, but knocking it nearly half a meter from the tracks whilst continuing to bite and claw at it like it were full of catnip. I was just glad the whole set-up was on the floor to begin with because if it had started from a table top I don't think the locomotive would have survived.

[PeteM]

Hey at least your cat was playing nicely. One of my cats did a full body, running pounce on my Emerald Night, decoupling the passenger cars and not just derailing the engine, but knocking it nearly half a meter from the tracks whilst continuing to bite and claw at it like it were full of catnip. I was just glad the whole set-up was on the floor to begin with because if it had started from a table top I don't think the locomotive would have survived.

Nice to know others have the same problem - mine regularly take huge pleasure in chasing and then deftly 'de-pantographing' my 7740 and 7745 :) I'm expecting the same problem with the Horizon Express...

Edited January 13, 2013 by PeteM

[ZueriHB]

About powering the HE. I installed the full PF package in both engines, but reversed the motor on the rear one. Because when the motor bogie replaces the inner bogie, the gap between carriages widens. Had to remove the driver to get enough space for a polarity reverser.

Currently trying to figure out how to add additional wagons and jakob bogies with my third set.

[kc2dc]

Have any of you built a catenary system? I'm looking for ideas to add one to our horizon express track, but I can't think of anything that would look good and not clutter things up too much.

[OneDragon]

I finished mine :)

(2 sets, with the jacobs bogie between the two)

I'll try to make it run in 12V as soon as I have some time

What is a Jacobs bogie? I'm a newbie thanks

[Hrw-Amen]

My cat is also quite curious about trains when they are running but rather than knocking it off the track he seems to just sit there and let it run into him before sniffing at it and patting it with his paw.

When I was much younger in the era of blue 4.5V, I had a rabbit that lived most of the time in the house. He used to hop on over and pick up a blue rail in his mouth and hide it behind the chairs. He would do this continually pulling up single bits of track here and there and taking them behind the chairs until he had a big stash of them.

[LegoSjaak]

I think i'm glad the only animals i have in my layout-room are Lego-animals....!!

[antp]

What is a Jacobs bogie? I'm a newbie thanks

It is a bogie shared between two cars (usually you have one at each end of a car), here there is one "between" each car

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8062/8182190081_2c19ba3c6e_c.jpg -> the one between the two passengers cars

If you put two sets back-to-back, in the middle you see that each car has its own instead of sharing one: http://www.alegoaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/8036249115_2ef9944690_h.jpg

[Zed_43]

It would be a little expensive just for the lights...

But if the PF light can be put on the old 9V battery pack used in the 90s (the one where you put a single 9V battery in the box) it might be worth buying the lights alone.

Yes, you can add PF lights on old 9v system by using this cable:

http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-Power-Functions-Extension-Wire-8886

I've just bought two of them in the same time I bought the horizon express sets. I think I'm gonna use at least one to add PF lights at the front car by connecting it onto the 9v motor (I only gor one set of pfs lights). And therefore I won't need any battery box in the train. I don't really like using batteries cause it is not lasting and I'm always missing some of them and rechargeable batteries are quite expensive... (but I will have to get some of them cause I don't have many 9v tracks...)

That could be a good option for you to use this 9v as it is not really heavy and thus won't weighten your train too much (if I understood well, you are speeking of this one: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4760pb02).