And finally here she is - the long awaited Dm3 in a 9V version!

A lot of good advice and contributions in form of technical suggestions and solutions have resulted in this thrilling creation. For many years, its original used to be the world's strongest locomotive.

This Dm3 is equipped with four 9V engines in order to haul an iron ore train with 18 wagons (all in all approx. 6,5 kg) uphill inclinations of 8 percent.

Some technical data:

Length: 70 cm (86 studs)

Width: 8 studs

Weight: 1,5 kg (incl. two 9V batteries)

Distance between segments: 3 studs

Engines: four 9V engines

Front and tail lights: 4x2 PF LED lights connected to two 9V batteries via 2x2 mini switches (unbelievable how much space these cables need ...)

And now it's high time to build the iron ore wagons!

Edited May 6, 201410 yr by Haddock51

Really nicely done! Windshield works really well.

Yeah, very nice work, Hadddock51! Especially I like the middle car and the front and tail shape. I usually prefer 6 or 7 studs engines, but I have to say that your 8 studs Dm3 seems to be very poised.

Do you have a picture of the original one?

Hey, looks great! Thanks for sharing.

Joe

Nice work, it captures very well the essence of the original.

Nice model ...but why so many motors?

The middle wagon looks lovely with those large wheels!

I like your switch work!

Nice model ...but why so many motors?

The middle wagon looks lovely with those large wheels!

I like your switch work!

In my other topic "9V Extreme" you can read about my plans to build a huge display with a climbing wall and climbing spirals which will have inclinations up to 8 percent.

The ultimate challenge will be to get the iron ore train with the Dm3 and 10 wagons (where the tail wagon will be equipped with another two engines) all the way up to the top. So six engines all in all!

I am still working on the heatsink issue. First tests with six engines showed that the temperature of the LM317T regulator passed 70 degrees Celsius after 5 minutes of operation ...

Yeah, very nice work, Hadddock51! Especially I like the middle car and the front and tail shape. I usually prefer 6 or 7 studs engines, but I have to say that your 8 studs Dm3 seems to be very poised.

Do you have a picture of the original one?

The first Dm3s were delivered in 1960 and modified several times later on. This picture taken at Narvik station in september 1988 shows a modernized Dm3 with a "facelift" of the front (and substantially improved working conditions for the personnel).

Edited April 25, 201410 yr by Haddock51

That's very close to the original, lovely. I'm envious of your skills. And of your bits.

On another note, you have to be Swede? If it wasn't obvious enough from the choice of engine, your furniture in the background makes it an easy guess!

That's very close to the original, lovely. I'm envious of your skills. And of your bits.

On another note, you have to be Swede? If it wasn't obvious enough from the choice of engine, your furniture in the background makes it an easy guess!

Good guess but I am actually origin from Switzerland - the paradise country of trains ...

The next choice will hopefully be a Swiss engine (the "crocodile" is already part of my collection).

Edited April 25, 201410 yr by Haddock51

This build is incredible. Sure, the prototype is very boxy, but you still have so much snot detailing going on to slip all sorts of extra details in. Great job with so much attention to this locomotive.

The color is just beautiful, I have never seen anything quite like the amazingly built engine. Also, I've always thought that 8 stud wide trains fall over more easily than 6 of 7 stud ones. Is that true?

Very, very nice Haddock51!

This one looks really good. I am not a big fan of electric trains that use overhead wires, but I will make an exception here as your is so unusual and has a nice character to it as well as being a good model of the original. The colour and everything about it fits well I think with how I imagine trains from that area of the world looking.

Love electrics with big driver wheels. Very good work. Looking forward to see the wagons.

Excellent job Haddock51! You really captured this train very well

The color is just beautiful, I have never seen anything quite like the amazingly built engine. Also, I've always thought that 8 stud wide trains fall over more easily than 6 of 7 stud ones. Is that true?

The iron ore train with the Dm3 is my first 8 stud wide train. Tests so far have shown that the Dm3 is very stable - also in curves - most likely due to its heavy weight in combination with a relatively low center of gravity.

I don´t think there is a significant difference between 6, 7 or 8 stud wide trains with regard to risk for derailing in curves, unless you build locomotives/trains with high centers of gravity.

Edited April 28, 201410 yr by Haddock51

Fantastic recreation of the real locomotive! Good job.

Very good design and build.

That's a very nice design.

I remember seeing these in a railway magazine, they're very impressive machines. You've done a pretty good job on the body. Shame the wheel arrangement isn't as accurate though... Would be nice to do one with power functions and all the large drivers.

I remember seeing these in a railway magazine, they're very impressive machines. You've done a pretty good job on the body. Shame the wheel arrangement isn't as accurate though... Would be nice to do one with power functions and all the large drivers.

A colleague of mine is actually working on a PF version with large drivers only. I have seen a concept construction and I am sure that this model will look very nice and accurate.

I am not a fan of PF, for a number of reasons (except for the LED lights which unfortunately require a lot of space). But I guess if you're primarily interested in design and wheel arrangements - in particular in steam/diesel engines with large wheels, rods etc. - and not so much in performance then PF is probably the way to go (assuming that you don't get constantly fed up with batteries loosing power by the minute ...).

For me, LEGO trains and engines are not primarily exhibition or experimental objects, they have to perform. For me, speed has always been of essence, at least with regard to LEGO trains. So functionality and performance (in combination with nice design) comes first. This reads: equip the trains/locomotives with adequate power - eventually at the expense of design.

To be honest Duq, the design trade-off in the case of the Dm3 due to the 9V engines is not a shame for me, I can accept it for the reasons mentionned. And besides, I could mount front and tail LED lights - a nice feature indeed - which would not have been possible with PF engines due to space limitations.

As I have written in my other topic "9V Extreme", I have started to build construction prototypes for a very large display including climbing ramps and -spirales with inclinations of up to 8 percent, and a high speed track 2 m above floor level (all in all approx. 150 m of tracks).

The basic requirement for most of my trains - and in particular the extended Horizon Express, the Santa Fe and the extended IC train - will be to manage this entire track without any problems. The ultimate challenge will be the 5 m long and 6,5 - 7 kg heavy iron ore train (with the Dm3 and some 18 wagons) which will probably need eight 9V engines all in all - eventually even ten. This will also require more powerful regulators (e.g. LM350T) and more efficient heatsinks.

Just imagine, what a fantastic and breathtaking experience watching this iron ore train - and all the other trains - climbing all the way up to the top, speeding along the high speed track and then crawling down back to the trainyard again! This will be 9V at its very best!

PF? Not a chance ...

Edited April 30, 201410 yr by Haddock51

Cool little train. I love the middle car with the big wheels!

A colleague of mine is actually working on a PF version with large drivers only. I have seen a concept construction and I am sure that this model will look very nice and accurate.

I am not a fan of PF, for a number of reasons (except for the LED lights which unfortunately require a lot of space). But I guess if you're primarily interested in design and wheel arrangements - in particular in steam/diesel engines with large wheels, rods etc. - and not so much in performance then PF is probably the way to go (assuming that you don't get constantly fed up with batteries loosing power by the minute ...).

For me, LEGO trains and engines are not primarily exhibition or experimental objects, they have to perform. For me, speed has always been of essence, at least with regard to LEGO trains. So functionality and performance (in combination with nice design) comes first. This reads: equip the trains/locomotives with adequate power - eventually at the expense of design.

To be honest Duq, the design trade-off in the case of the Dm3 due to the 9V engines is not a shame for me, I can except it for the reasons mentionned. And besides, I could mount front and tail LED lights - a nice feature indeed - which would not have been possible with PF engines due to space limitations.

As I have written in my other topic "9V Extreme", I have started to build construction prototypes for a very large display including climbing ramps and -spirales with inclinations of up to 8 percent, and a high speed track 2 m above floor level (all in all approx. 150 m of tracks).

The basic requirement for most of my trains - and in particular the extended Horizon Express, the Santa Fe and the extended IC train - will be to manage this entire track without any problems. The ultimate challenge will be the 5 m long and 6,5 - 7 kg heavy iron ore train (with the Dm3 and some 18 wagons) which will probably need eight 9V engines all in all - eventually even ten. This will also require more powerful regulators (e.g. LM350T) and more efficient heatsinks.

Just imagine, what a fantastic and breathtaking experience watching this iron ore train - and all the other trains - climbing all the way up to the top, speeding along the high speed track and then crawling down back to the trainyard again! This will be 9V at its very best!

PF? Not a chance ...

You could look at pf engine with 9v pickups, so no batteries but track power, combined with XML motors and large drivers I think could give the best of both worlds

Edited April 29, 201410 yr by kieran

I can appreciate it's all about running trains for you. For me it's about modelling though. Each to their own.

You could look at pf engine with 9v pickups, so no batteries but track power, combined with XML motors and large drivers I think could give the best of both worlds

I guess I still need to learn, understand - and get convinced! - what the best of both worlds really means (in addition to the PF LED lights).

In one of my previous topics, we had a lenghthy argument about 9V vs PF engines, in particular XML engines. I read an article in Railbricks about experiences with XML engines. One of the disadvantages/risks described was the lateral rotation force of this powerful engine which could lead to derailments, e.g. when passing points.

I can't take that risk running heavy trains in climbing ramps/-spirales and tracks - including points - 2 meters above floor level.

From what I have seen so far, I am also rather sceptical to the transmission concept of PF which appears to be vulnerable and seems to imply a high degree of friction, thereby reducing engine power efficiency considerably. (This comment primarily relates to transferring power to the wheels and track in order to get the train moving. It does not include other applications like electric train-door opening, illumination, decoupling etc.)

The Railbricks article also supports my argument that you need to spread engine power (particularly w.r.t. long and heavy trains), i.e. pull, push/pull and push. I am still convinced that the 9V engine is the best and most robust - and eventually the only - choice from a combined torque and power point of view, at least related to my needs and requirements. The design limitations related to LEGO 9V engines - in particular regarding wheel/rod details and design - is a price I am willing to pay.

I do appreciate the fact that this price is partially offset by opportunities like more available space (see my previous comment on LED lights).

Remains to see what else could be benefitial to 9V from the PF world ... I am very pleased with the LED lights (connected to 9V batteries) even though the cables require an incredible amount of space, a significant disadvantage particularly from a design point of view.

I guess this needs to be more about special features and applications rather than raw motor power in order to drive engines/trains.

Something I will most likely look for in a not too remote future are sound and smoke devices (EN!) that can be applied to LEGO trains. I guess this goes beyond the worlds of LEGO 9V and PF - but that will be a separate topic ....

And now back to building iron ore wagons!

Edited May 6, 201410 yr by Haddock51