[LDD] A little help here...

[Electricsteam]

I was trying to avoid making a new thread until I get some more work done..... but I need a little help...

I need to know what is a simple way to hook up the bogie without getting in the way of the wheels and maybe a piston in the near future.....

The train(s) it's based off of

I'm not so sure which one it will be based off of totally... I really like the bigger boiler from the first one.... but I really like the platform with the smaller boiler....

[Dutchiedoughnut]

The front wheels are difficult, especially with the pistons. I've got a double ball joint in my design and the lower part of the pistons is part of the bogie. In any case, you'll want to look for a very low solution

[Pizzareno]

Could you copy the Emarld Night setup as that is similar to what you need? I did that for a loco that I built. You would be able to keep everything else you needed to make it look right but just use the same mechanisms that the EM uses.

Here are the instructions. Need to scroll down the PDF a bit. - http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/4611661.pdf

[Whofan88]

I've seen people copy Lego's design using a technic beam and some pins to connect the front leading wheels to the main driving wheels chassis. Lego did this for both the Emerald Night 10194 and The Constitution Train Chase 79111. I've also seen the front leading wheels attached to the boiler via a technic pin, this was done on the Toy Story: Western Train Chase 7597. The problem with that model is the cylinders were attached to the leading wheels so they moved with the wheels around turns preventing any driving rods being attached to the main driving wheels and the cylinders. If you are going to have articulation with the leading wheels I recommend attaching your cylinders to the main framework that your driving wheels are on, much like the Emerald Night.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Whofan88

[greenmtvince]

This is roughly the pilot truck arrangement on my Mountain and the Pacific that I had at one point. Hopefully it will give you some ideas about how to make it work for your model. You can see in the photo below that some modifications were made for aesthetics and clearances in R-40 turns.

Glory Days 2015: D-18 by Vinnie Fusca, on Flickr

I also attached the 1x3 technic liftarm to the lead axle of the main drivers using one of these technic connectors now so the bogie can float up and down across uneven track. Works great!

[v6TransAM]

This is roughly the pilot truck arrangement on my Mountain and the Pacific that I had at one point. Hopefully it will give you some ideas about how to make it work for your model. You can see in the photo below that some modifications were made for aesthetics and clearances in R-40 turns.

Glory Days 2015: D-18 by Vinnie Fusca, on Flickr

I also attached the 1x3 technic liftarm to the lead axle of the main drivers using one of these technic connectors now so the bogie can float up and down across uneven track. Works great!

More info on stuff in the pictures u posted, interesting....

[Electricsteam]

Hrm.... I think I've become lost on my original idea....

I want to make a more detailed train instead of the normal 45 slope trains..... I want to have a cheese wedge boiler..... Hmmmm I'll think about this more

[zephyr1934]

I've seen some odd ball ideas, I think one of Tony Sava's earlier engines used a split forward truck with all but one of the drivers blind, the rear wheel on the pilot truck and the flanged driver effectively became a truck. Then the front axle on the pilot truck was hinged off of that. I stole that idea for one of my early steam engines,

Brian Williams had this great 4-4-0 where the pilot truck was allowed to slide left and right, but I cannot quickly find a shot of the actual mechanism.

I've found these cylinders are very space efficient, they use a 1x2x1 up bracketto hold bars in place with very little wasted space behind them.

This engine uses a left/right rotation close to the rear axle of the pilot truck, then an up/down rotation from that same axle to the front of the pilot truck via a single technic beam. So it is very narrow in getting around the cylinders. Works good on flat track, but sometimes complains on uneven track.

Probably the biggest thing you can do is build up a real prototype of the mechanics to see what works for you. Only after you get the mechanics working should you worry about the rest of the design simply because the final solution might be far off from your initial idea.

[Electricsteam]

I've seen some odd ball ideas, I think one of Tony Sava's earlier engines used a split forward truck with all but one of the drivers blind, the rear wheel on the pilot truck and the flanged driver effectively became a truck. Then the front axle on the pilot truck was hinged off of that. I stole that idea for one of my early steam engines,

Brian Williams had this great 4-4-0 where the pilot truck was allowed to slide left and right, but I cannot quickly find a shot of the actual mechanism.

I've found these cylinders are very space efficient, they use a 1x2x1 up bracketto hold bars in place with very little wasted space behind them.

This engine uses a left/right rotation close to the rear axle of the pilot truck, then an up/down rotation from that same axle to the front of the pilot truck via a single technic beam. So it is very narrow in getting around the cylinders. Works good on flat track, but sometimes complains on uneven track.

Probably the biggest thing you can do is build up a real prototype of the mechanics to see what works for you. Only after you get the mechanics working should you worry about the rest of the design simply because the final solution might be far off from your initial idea.

Those last two trains is the design I'd like to have with the grills being used as a platform... hmmmm I'll make a new design and post it soon