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Showing results for tags '9v'.
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Since i cant testdrive my newest speedracer because of the rainy weather, i decided to clean up my "in progress moc corner" and found this: A as small as possible electric doubleswitch, wich you can use, to control 2 different motors with the same RC output. You can simply select wich one you wanna use. At the same time you can use it to control a gearbox, or output-selector, as you can see in the video. The idea to invent this, was, to realise as much functions as possible in a rc-model, with a limited amount of receivers (in my case just 1 RC-unit). You can use the auxilary output of the RC-unit to control the micromotor, and thus switch between 2 different functions ( for example drive and a pneumatic compressor). The output-selector can be used, to switch for example a servormotors output between steering and pneumatic-switch. "Why so complicated, you could just use the auxilary output for the compressor" -> well... you could do that and beeing limited to the auxilary current limits (~500mA). Also you wont have the gearbox/output-selector then ;) While using this, you can power your compressor (or what ever you want) with the "unlimited" power of the RC-units buggy-motor-output. AND fine-controll it with the 3-step forward, 3-step-reverse-control. It is also possible to control this with the RC-units steering output instead of the micromotor... like that you still have the auxillary-output free for use. How it works: The trick here, is to angle the 2 switches axles by 60 degres (45 would be perfect, but this is ok ;)). But you need to try the right 60 degres angle... only 1 position works, otherwhise you will have 1 motor switched on in one position, and 2 motors beeing on in the other position. The gearbox/ output-selector in the video can be simplified a lot, this is just to show, how it could work. I am pretty sure, there are some more things you could do with it... also with regular power functions ;)
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Hello everyone, for those who do not know me, I'm a big fan of trains and especially Lego Train. I finally have a space to create a Layout finally worthy of the name. My approach comes a little more of the model in the sense that I like to see a train pass over another, to automate the network, make realistic through light signals, station stops, etc. ... I started this project in February 2016 in my basement where I made by myself, furniture and shelf for storing SET Lego but also to design the layout. I was already well advanced when an incident occurred: the flooding of the basement end in May 2016 .... Then in August, the discovery of a leak in the water supply of the house forced me to completely dismantle this first try of a Layout to access the water inlet pipe ..... I come back now in force therefore with a first experience, many tests on the possibility for our pretty trains to climb slopes (straight or curved) to optimize the best of my available space and create a nice layout ! ;-) Due to financial limits, this layout will be not made with 100% of Lego, I will use wood and homemade stickers, custom electronic to make it. Here are the first shots (or I should say the nth plan because with Bluebrick, we never stop to change those plans) to my future Layout (so different from the first that I had designed and unfinished) WMLTL - v5 - Level 0 by LegoLow, sur Flickr Corresponds to trainyard + walkway + a brief passage of the 12V track WMLTL - v5 - Level 1 by LegoLow, sur Flickr Ground level with his future main station WMLTL - v5 - Level 2 by LegoLow, sur Flickr First level of the "mountain" : secondary station and then, possibility to climb in the mountain or to go back to the main level WMLTL - v5 - Level 3 by LegoLow, sur Flickr WMLTL - v5 - Level 4 by LegoLow, sur Flickr WMLTL - v5 - Level 5 by LegoLow, sur Flickr Top of the mountain.... Finally a view (done quickly, I will improving later), global superimposed, giving the idea of what will be hidden, visible .... WMLTL Project - v5 by LegoLow, sur Flickr Following probably next week with the start of the implementation of Level 0. It's a big challenge for me because this project is made of mixing differents things : LEGO, electronics, electricity problematics, Priority management on a network, etc.... Hope you will find that interesting to !
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What block and programing I must use, to properly handle management of 5119-1 9V Micromotor, and others ?!!
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This was an experiment of automation of a tramway line with an old LEGO RCX brick: All sensors and cables are 100% LEGO. There are 8 light sensor, 4 (two couples, one couple for station and one for switch zone) on input 1 and 4 on input 2. 3 output, output A (station 1 - switch), output B (station 2 - switch) and output C (switch zone). Everything is handled by NQC program
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'ME-Models' markets metal tracks that substitute Lego's official 9-volt track, and 4D-Brix reproduces 9-volt monorail substitute parts (including track, motors, plus battery packs) as well, so why has nobody stepped up to the plate and tried to recreate/mass produce motorized 9-volt train bogies/trucks (serial number 590/70358)? A mint one currently goes for as much as 70 USD and used ones go for almost 40 USD, which is ridiculous since that's enough money to buy me food for a week.
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Greetings all. Recently, I have decided to make the painful decision of selling my 9V collection. It hurts a bit to sell all these wonderful things, but for the last year they haven't done much except sit in a drawer. They deserve better than that. Listing: Basically, what I did was took the lowest BrickLink price for any given article and cut a bit more off. I'm not interested in making a massive profit off of these. I'll settle for an even 3,400.00 EUR, shipping costs on me. Trains would be shipped worldwide via FedEx, UPS, DHL, or any courier of your choice available in Poland or the UK (pickup also available in these two countries). Not everything on the pictures is listed, but everything in the picture (LEGO-wise) is included. Additionally, as I'm cleaning the room in which the LEGO are in (it's quite a big room, about 45-50 square meters, and it's filled with stuff so it won't take a short while), I'm more than willing to send free-of-charge anything else I can find from my collection (I'm pretty sure there were about 5 9V motors lying around somewhere). I am also including a folder with this collection. The folder contains instruction booklets in EXCELLENT condition for most of the models. All the instruction booklets for the Santa Fe sets are in there in mint condition, as well as the certificate of authenticity for the limited edition (please note that the other one is not limited edition). The folder also contains all the spare parts from the Santa Fe car sets, so conversions are possible. Feel free to email message me about any inquiries regarding this collection. If you want I can put it up for a private auction on eBay (I'd rather avoid doing so because of the fees). *Note - the Metroliner is counted as 2 sets, but one is incomplete. As you can see from the picture, what I have is the Metroliner and 2 additional cars. The cars came from 2 incomplete Metroliner sets (one contained the engine and the car, the other contained an incomplete engine and the car, only the incomplete engine survived and is seen on the picture). I've basically listed the Metroliner and 2 incomplete sets as 2 complete sets (2 engines, 3 cars). *Note - one of the cargo train locomotives is a custom. I ordered it by accident from BrickLink (didn't read the description). It's a bit shorter than the original, and it doesn't have the undercarriage mechanics, although this is easy to add. It still comes with a working 9V motor.
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I can't seem to find anything about this elsewhere, so I'm going to ask here directly. Are there any disadvantage of using the older, 9v battery pack (4760c01) that took one 9v cell to run power functions receivers and motors instead of the current, 6x AAA battery pack (87513)? I know it will require a converter cable, but from my view it looks as though a 9v battery pack would be better as it is smaller (in height) and available in more colours than just DBG, so easier to hide in 4-wide MOCs and such. Will this have lower power or current output to the motors, or discharge faster? Is it suitable for use in train MOCs, considering mine won't need to run very far or for very long? I was intending on using it with a rechargeable 9v cell or two, how often would I need to swap one out and recharge it? I'm trying to decide whether or not buying one, and a converter cable, is a good idea. (Or I could try bashing together a PF cable and 9v battery clip perhaps, like this.) Thanks in advance for any help!
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Hey guys! As some of you know, I recently got back to Lego trains after 15 years of neglect. A close friend of mine thought it was a good idea to document my progress, thoughts and plans on a personal blog, so others would be able to one day build their own big layouts and see what I struggled with and how they can do it better. I'd like you guys to check it out and use this forum to comment on my posts and maybe give me suggestions (I love ideas) on things you would want to hear about or see of. This blog is entirely dedicated to my Lego trains project. So far there are 4 blog entries (The latest one is being uploaded right this moment). If you wish to comment on something, let me know which post you're referring to, so I know what the topic is. http://wafa-sadri.de/pages/blog.html Thanks for checking it out! //Edit: By the way, I try to post once a week, every Monday.
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Hey guys, I've recently been trying hard to come up with a useful layout to use both my old 9V trains and my PF trains on the same layout. I just can't come up with anything that works and is interesting. Most of the time I end up with one loop and a dozen sidings and that would only allow me to run one train at once which is a bit boring. I have a decent amount of track (150+ pieces), both 9V and PF, but I just can't figure out something that I like. Here are a couple examples of some layouts I came up with: I don't really like either of them too much but I can't come up with anything better than these two. I'd like to know how you designed your layouts and how you go about designing new ones. I'd like to utilize as much of the track I have as possible. I've already looked at dozens of pictures online but most layouts are either too big or not interesting enough. Looking forward to seeing yours :)
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Does anyone know where to find broken 9V train motors? I searched bricklink and ebay but i didn't find anything. I want to make it in to a custom PF power pickup.
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Well, it's been more than a year since I started work on my last locomotive MOC, the China Railways QJ. Having built most of the practical engines (not too big for R40 curves) that I was visually interested in, I had to wait a bit before my interest was piqued again on the locomotive front. My inspiration came from running the QJ at most BayLUG meetings for the past year and change. The QJ isn't necessarily unreliable or difficult to set up, but it's still not very convenient: the model isn't that easy to move around or manipulate due to the size, the tender, and the number of fragile bits. The lengthy drivetrain with its fair amount of friction and torque also prevents the engine from generating smooth low-end torque. Finally, BayLUG still runs 9v at most of our shows, and the QJ can't easily be converted to run on 9v. So this is really my second locomotive to be born of functional requirements (the first was my U30B): 1. It should be easy to transport [from here to there] and move around [a layout] 2. It should be designed with robustness as a key feature 3. It should be easily convertible between PF and 9v operation 3b. The PF components should be easily removable (also helps with charging) 3a. It should run smoothly when pushed [by a 9v power car] Requirements 1 and 3 really insist that this engine be a large tank engine: for 1 I don't need to deal with a tender when transporting or moving and for 3 it needs to be big enough to fit all of the PF stuff. It actually took me quite a bit of time to zero in on the X-10-a as large tank engines are apparently pretty rare in the US and North America: it seems that even most of our branch line and shunting steam engines were tendered. But eventually I found a drawing and the work began! What I learned from the QJ is that if the weight of the loco is properly distributed, one powered (and tyred) axle is good enough to generate usable torque. From this notion I designed the chassis to have exactly that one powered axle, which I could easily remove to remove tyres and gearing for 9v operation. For the same reason, the driven axle isn't cranked either; in the QJ I would have had to remove all of the cranks and all of the wheels to access the tyres or gears. The lack of cranks on the driven axle also lets me keep the chassis articulated, which should help minimize rolling resistance for 9v operation (say compared to a 6-coupled flange-blind-flange configuration for the drivers). The drive rods are made using the half-pin in rod-track technique, and there's a bit of a hack: the connecting rods have to go around a corner due to the articulation, so the travel is longer than the usual three studs, and the connecting rods are both loosely pinned down and made of flex. As far as I can tell this arrangement doesn't add significant friction, probably because the corner is very small. The engine is designed to be powered with two M-motors, but I'm using the E-motor right now for the novelty. Unfortunately it wasn't quite possible to get as much weight as I would have liked over the driven axle: the battery box must go behind the boiler due to its height, and that really limits weight distribution options. The loose 9v motor in the front is simulating the weight of a second M-motor, and it helps bring the net weight over the driven axle to maybe 60 percent? Here you can also see how all the bits come out of the engine: almost all of the top surfaces are detachable. Whether this is convenient enough to fulfill requirement 3 remains to be seen. Construction of the body is actually very similar to that of the QJ: structural integrity is mainly provided by studs-out beams and everything else is studs up. Stickers are created at 300DPI and printed on 3M 3200-L mailing label material. This is a small detail, but it is actually one of my favorite parts, inspired by and stolen from 60052: And finally a video showing the locomotive running. The first 70 seconds is PF running and the last 20 seconds is 9v running. For PF running I'm using the AAA battery box with AAA Eneloops and the aforementioned E-motor. The E-motor is actually pretty neat: it has a wider dynamic range than the other PF motors and it is quite quiet as well. Sadly it is a little bit underpowered as well; I'm geared down 3:5 and you can still see it struggle a little in the corners during the PF segment. The 9v segment is a bit hazy, but we ran out of sunlight because DST. The engine is actually smoother than I would have guessed in the unpowered configuration: you can see how it basically doesn't lose *any* speed in the turns, and the regulator is only turned up to notch 3. Alright, I think that's all the commentary I have on this. There is as usual a full gallery if it ever gets moderated. There's a bunch of build and reference pics there that I didn't show. Have a nice day.
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This is a typical small 2axle industrial locomotive which can (could ) be seen shunting waggons in bigger industrial areas in Sweden. It's 7wide, 18studs long and has a 9v train motor.
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Dear Lego Fans, While at work, my colleges and I were talking about how awesome it would be to connect our work desks with a cargo train to haul post-it notes, candy and office utilities around our office. I offered to bring my old Lego train set and we set it up during our lunch break. It has really relighted my love for Lego trains! I got my first Lego set around 1999/2000 with the blue and white Lego Railway Express (Set 4561). Being a kid at that time, I could not afford much Lego. I got a few track-packs and switches and intersections. I also bought a Santa Fe engine and one of the cars with it. I've stopped playing with lego all together roundabout 2006/2007 when the first RC train sets were released and 9V systems were retired. It's been 10 years since I last got my train set out and now being an adult with money on my hands, I really feel like getting back into the Lego trains that I so dearly loved as a child. I'm now faced with a few problems since the 9V system is no longer available. For one I know very little to nothing about the new train sets. I'm wondering wether it's worth buying a new train set or not, which train set to get, or just lurk around eBay to see if someone might want to sell their old 9V system. I'm thinking of building a new, larger layout in my basement once I bring home my train set from the office. As far as I know, all the rolling stock will work fine on the new rails and the new trains run fine on the 9V track. so to conclude, here's a list of questions I have: - Are there any train sets out right now that I should get? - Are there any train sets coming out in the near future that are worth waiting for? - Should I not care about the new train systems at all and check eBay frequently for old 9V sets? If anyone is interested, I will post some pictures of our little office-cargo-train thank you in advance!
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What happens if you mix LEGO, black Delrin and some 0-gauge railroading stuff? Well, with the right tools you can make custom power pickups (no LEGO modification necessary). Here's how: Custom power pickup (parts) by alainneke, on Flickr From top left to right bottom: steel 0-gauge wheel, custom made insulated flanged bushing (which fits the steel wheel to a standard 2mm LEGO train axle), ball contact (rubs against backside of the wheel), spring (pushes the ball contact against the wheel), custom made flanged bushing (holds both the ball contact and spring and fits in a Technic hole), Technic brick, miniature connector. The steel wheel is manufactured by NWSL, the ball contacts come from a German website specialised in 0-gauge stuff and the connector is a standard Marklin connector cutted in half. The bushings are machined from an 8mm rod of Delrin on a mini-lathe (for the curious, a picture is in my photostream) and made to be a friction-fit to the wheel and Technic brick. Custom power pickup (partial assembled) by alainneke, on Flickr Putting these parts together, you get a train axle with steel wheels (both insulated from the axle) and a spring-loaded ball contact. Custom power pickup assembly by alainneke, on Flickr Combining these two, add a wheel holder and voila: a custom power pickup. Custom power pickup bogie by alainneke, on Flickr After soldering on some wires, I've fitted the pickups to one of the bogies of my Emerald Night tender. Emerald Night tender with steel weels by alainneke, on Flickr The diameter of the 0-gauge wheels is the same as the standard LEGO train wheels, but the flange is a lot smaller. This gives a nice clickety-clack on the turnouts, but can also lead to derailments. It turns out that the manufacturer of the steel wheels also makes 'pizza cutter' style wheels, and these have already been ordered... Emerald Night tender with steel wheels by alainneke, on Flickr The wires can be connected to the LiPo battery, a DCC chip, a PF motor, lights, ... The pickups actually work better than the ones on the original 9V motor: the wheels make contact with the railhead using the tread instead of just a little part of the flange. Please comment!
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Hello all, in the last month I was working on three articles written in Hungarian language to use it as a standard for our train fan community. Last week I decided to translate it to English as well, and here it is for all those who needs advice on simply layouts, ideas for train station geometries and possible usages of Holger Matthes' long radius curves built from straight tracks. The three main sections of article (from original Hungarian articles) are the following: 1. Basic geometry rules and simple tricks - mostly based on Bill Ward's article on Brickpile, but including some own ideas 2. Station geometries - ideas for small, simple stations, station with through lines, building connections between parallel lines, using flextrack in 9V-setting, widening distance between tracks for platforms 3. Long radius curves built from straight tracks: ideas to use these not only in full loops, but at station geometries as well. Article contains URL to .bbm file as well to download it (made in BlueBrick version 1.8.1.). Article is at my Google Drive, since Brickshelf didn't allow me to upload in .pdf format: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2pGVpZyXf5hYU1SUGp5LWNzeWM/view
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Hi all MOCers, I finished this MOC of Budapest tramway approx a year ago but I never had time to take some photos and show it to the community. So, here it is. The original tram was manufactured by CKD in Czechoslovakia for Budapest Transport company. A total of 322 cars were delivered between 1979 and 1984 (and all of them still running). In the first times they were used to go single (they have driver's cab only on one end so they needed loops on end stations), then with the growth of the number of passangers they started to operate them coupling two or three cars together. Now these trams run in line 1 and 14 with three cars and line 12,17,28,37,41,56,56A,59,59B,61 with two cars. The LEGO-tram runs using its 2 9V train motors, each car has one motor. Other bogie is dummy, however it uses train wheels, because the standard wheel holder part is simply two high for this application. I'm proud on the pantograph design, but I know, some of the purist won't like the cut and curved 3 mm diameter hose. Unfortunately the clip with bar holder doesn't exist in red colour - a red pantograph could be autenthic, however due to weathering and coal-dust from upper part they are only red a couple of days after painting, then they become black. Hope, you like it. Please leave your comments and critics here. :)
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hi everyone in this topic I'll show my collection of trains to start, a moc I made using pieces I had laying around
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Hello there! Recently I have taken my time to wash and sort my old inventory of Lego pieces. Parts from way back in the 70s (which were donated to me when I was about 5), parts and complete sets from my childhood (including the wonderful Set 740) up to my last Lego Technic Set (8868). After that last technic set, my Dark Age set in and lasted until 2016, nearly 23 years... and I just came out of my Dark Ages because of my little son, as I am preparing to get a hold of the old sets (hopefully complete) to give them to him as presents over the next years. Well, it didn't take long to completely draw me into the fascination of building with Lego again. When I gathered the pieces to put together my Metro Liner (4558) and, after a sleepless night, I had my Railroad Crossing (4539) complete as well, I suddenly ended up buying some extra tracks, points and even a crossing. Some of that extra track came with two very, very incomplete sets: No 1, the Load and Haul Railroad (4563) and No 2. Freight and Crane Railway (4565). Basically, there is no single engine or rolling stock anywhere near complete. 20% of the pieces are existant at best. At the moment I am trying to restore those as possible with my limited inventory. So, that's how I ended up here, searching for clever tips and tricks to somehow finish those two sets with my limited amount of bricks and trying to get some insight to what is new on the topic of Lego trains. And maybe build some MOCs too, while I'm at it Thanks for reading and have a good time building, Capparezza
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Hi, I have probably a 20-25 year old motor that only on the straights jitters/loses connections and looks to be slightly bouncing. The track is clean because other motors work flawlessly on it. I am wondering if I need to take it apart or if something could be warped. I'd rather not have to buy another $50-$80 motor for my metroliner if I don't have to. Thanks -RailCo
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I have some difficulties in placing this topic in correct section. Should it be Trains? On the other hand it is supposed to work in a modular town, that's why I put it in Town. This is my biggest creation so far. Actually those are two modulars designed to be placed together on a display. The depth is 48 studs instead of regular 32 because of tracks and platform. I decided it was unrealistic to stick to 32 and still have decent building. Anyway, on with presentation :) What I hope is apparent from the picture above is that I incorporated some lights into these structures. The old 9V battery box is in the warehouse and gives power to all six pairs of lights (2x 9V in warehouse and 4x PF in station). There is also old style 9V switch that controls turning lights on and off without the need to reach for the battery box (black switch on the side of the warehouse). Before I show you the warehouse let's have a look at the platform: The warehouse: This is how the electric parts are distributed in the warehouse. You can also see the inside with some pallets and a cupboard for employees. Now, let's have a look at the station building: First - the roof. This is where I put all the lights that go with the station. This is how it looks like from the underside: That's 4 pairs of PF lights, one PF extension cable and one 9V cable to provide easy to disconnect outlet. The station itself has some nice flowers on the front, benches for passengers, some roof over the platform and a phone booth. That's what you could already see from the outside. So let's have a look inside :) There is a bit o a stir at the moment because of some careless passenger. Don't worry - this is being cleaned as we speak :) Looking from the front of the station you have confectionery that sells ice cream too and on the right your typical railway station fast food stand (with microwave in case your yesterday pizza is cold! :D) Looking from the platform side on the left there are some tables belonging to the restaurant, ticket booth and some waiting area. On the right there is an obligatory public toilet :), two gaming machines and luggage deposit lockers. If you wonder how it looks in town - its natural environment - here are just a couple of pictures: Full gallery is available as always on my Bricksafe: http://bricksafe.com...-with-warehouse
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Dear All, From the MTRkustoms train Factory i have the pleasure to announce my latest MOC, After some Spanish Train MOCs I wanted to make a Steam Locomotive, and I Started with the biggest and more powerful Spanish Steam, the “Santa Fe” 151 (French/Spanish) 2-10-2 (Whyte) This locomotive was able to pull a 450 tons train at 30km/h and a slope of 20mils The most difficult challenge was create a MOC that can run in R104 Blastemtrack, and R40 curves. To get the power I use a 9v dummy motor to pick up energy and 2 L PF Motors inside the boiler attached to the 9v pickup, is not a fast MOC, but is a very powerful Locomotive DIMENSIONS Locomotive length: 45 studs Tender length: 25 studs Total length: 70 studs Height: 9 bricks 7 wide Details To be a complete MOC I made some type of cars, 1 Closed boxcar, 5 open coal cars, and one caboose car. Details These 2 axle wagons have a flex hose coupling to be connected and allow Little turn of the axles. Also the coal wagons have an aperture system for the next project. All the pictures in Flickr Album And a little Video: Enjoy it
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The idea for this work has come from the LDD model posted by the member Mudoch17 here: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=119791 The main rail car is built on a 9v motor using a 4,5v loco base and the wagon is built on a regular 16x6 plate. So, event they look similar, they were built in different ways. More pictures could be seen here: https://www.flickr.c...157667833314506 LEGO Tram 05 by Severus A, on Flickr LEGO Tram 04 by Severus A, on Flickr LEGO tram 03 by Severus A, on Flickr
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I'm not sure whether to consider myself lucky or unlucky since I have an addictive personality. I know the basics. The three sets 6990, 6991 & 6399 and some of the aspects that make all of them unique. I also know that Mono means one and rail means . . . . (wait for it) . . . . . rail. I managed to land a second-offer for $75 on a really mixed bag on e-bay. All of the baseplates for airport 6392, instructions for 6395, 577 and a whole bunch of other stuff. 4 long monorail turns, 9 long straights, and one extremely short straight, and a bunch of stands for the monorail. I also got at least one (I think two) of the baseplate bogie things to build the monorail on the 6990 instructions, random pieces from the set, & the 9V battery box. There's a couple of things that I'm obviously missing off the hop. The first is the motor (currently bidding on one on E-bay) - wish me luck! My winnings are currently at my US warehouse so I cannot really view them (might have to wait till mid-May) I obviously want a couple of those pieces to stop or reserve the train in the interim and then afterwards some incline tracks and switches (all of which will be expensive). Is there anything that I need to know right away?? Other than the fact that I might want some old-school light grey 1 X 4 plates stat??? Kind of patiently waiting to see what I do have in this oddity lot, there's a chassis from model team, another from Technic, the car carrier and the supports for the raceway 6395. Windup motor, pull-back motor, weird plane wheels, a police boat?? By far this is the single most screwed up lot of lego that I've ever purchased. I've put the link below if you want to check it out (guy who won had zero feedback and didn't pay, hence the price discrepancy, I should mention that the pics of the guy's socks haven't led me to fall in love with him. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-lego-set-pieces-monorail-boat-power-station-futuron-books-accesories-/221737792641
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I have almost completely migrated to PF powered models, but still build som "old" 9Volt powered models. When building small shunter yard locomotives, it certainly helps to only have a 9V motor, and to be able to focus on detailing more than hiding bulky PF components. My design is partly based on E69:s built by PolLUG and LatLUG. Base is 7wide with 6wide hoods and 6 2/3 studs cabin, and overall length just 16studs (buffers not counted). With extensive use of SNOT and various offsets, I think the look is quite prototypical. Feel free to comment. (if I manage to upload photos.....)
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A little history: I was about to pull the trigger on the altBricks track. I literally had the content uploaded to Kick Starter but needed to tie up some loose ends before posting and then, BAM, the ME KS project was public. But alas still no metal track... I considered releasing the altBricks version at the same time but worried that the ME KS project already tapped the funds of the LEGO train enthusiasts. I figured out a way to make metal and plastic track relatively simple in one mold for all 4 curves (or 3 curves and 1 straight). It's a one piece track sections (like LEGO track) that is 100% connector compatible to LEGO track. The beauty of the altBricks system is that one simple machining process on industry standard HO nickle silver rail satisfies any radius curve or straight length. I made prototypes, a half dozen of these straight tracks and a 1/4 circle R88 (I think 8 segments) using ME rails and they all work fantastically. I would continue to do this for my whole home layout but its a big pain in the butt to retro-fit plastic rails and you tend to mess up 1 out of 6 times destroying the plastic track. The question now is do I make this process public domain? If so, I hope that if someone runs with the idea they pay me 3 full circles of each radius and some straights as royalty :-) Or should I do a Kick Starter project and have altBricks do this? A better idea is if the ME guys would agree to talk with me, they are the most logical company to do this and this solution can work in their system too. And my royalty seems pretty reasonable. :-) Your thoughts? Thanks, SteveB altBricks
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