MOC: Swedish shunter littera V5 with onboard decoupling in the "tw

[Selander]

This V5 shunter has been called Swedish state railways "most angular shunter locomotive". SJ bought 40pcs of it from german Henschel in the 1970:s. The original colorscheme is orange + darkblue, so the brandnew darkblue train windows from set 60007 came very handy.

I built totally 3pcs - two in orange/darkblue and one in the actually used blue/red/black colorscheme. The blue locomotive and one of the orange are technically identical, with a vertical PF L-motor + battery box and IR-receiver to compose a fully autonome loco. All are 8wide and they feature a 3-axle design (similar to the prototype) where the mid axle is floating in a technic element (a new innovative usage to my point-of-view ), and train magnets are attached upside-down in rotatable beams to allow it to follow rolling stock in curves and points.

The 2nd orange V5 may look optically similar but this is a "slave" locomotive without propulsion. It means it have to work in pair with the other orange V5. Instead of propulsion it features a linear actuator attached to the magnet which is driven by a PF M-motor + PP3 battery and IR-receiver. This allows easy remote control decoupling of rolling stock !! See picture below from underneath, also I'll try to upload a short video showing decoupling on my Flickr account.

Hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.

[Frank STENGEL]

Nice . The fake wheels are a nice touch. I can't wait to see the decoupler in action...

[cei]

Those are lovely engines, especially as it is remarkable hard to fit PF in to such a small body. I'd be quite interested to build one if you're willing to share instructions?

[English Electric]

Great little shunters, very similar to some private user industrial ones here in the UK. As cei has said, if you would be willing to share instructions that would be great!

[Laui]

The idea with the linear actor for remote decoupling is also very nice...

Working at that already quite a while but the perfect idea didn't come to me yet. Already tried something similar but with a small linear actor in boogie. But the small one is 3 studs wide what makes it even more complicated...

[Spitfire2865]

Very nice. The decoupler looks amazing. Nice idea to connect it to the magnet.

[Rob Klingberg]

Brilliant! I can't wait to see a video of the whole thing in action. Your linear actuator decoupler idea is the most original I've seen yet. Well done!

[Selander]

Thanks guys.

I uploaded a video of the loco lying up-side-down just to show the functionality. I'll try later to make a better video ...

Click the Flickr link to my account there to see it.

Cheers / Selander

Edited January 27, 2013 by Selander

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Very nice work on these shunters Selander

[Anticyclone]

Very Nice! It's great to see more Swedish locomotives, the decoupler is a nice touch too. Did you use vinyl stickers for the dark blue windscreen on the orange loco?

[Hrw-Amen]

A nice pair of locos there. I would also like to add a decoupler to one or more of my shunters, but am not sure how to make them? I have seen on here people use medium PF motor but have not been able to figure out how it is connected mechanism wise. Any detailed instruction would be good. I try to think how do you stop the motor at the right distance etc?

[Selander]

Very Nice! It's great to see more Swedish locomotives, the decoupler is a nice touch too. Did you use vinyl stickers for the dark blue windscreen on the orange loco?

Thanks all for your kind comments.

Dark blue windscreen is brandnew from set 60007, ref 6567c03 on Bricklink.

@all asking for instructions: Sorry it's generally not possible due to consuming an enormous amount of time.

[Selander]

A nice pair of locos there. I would also like to add a decoupler to one or more of my shunters, but am not sure how to make them? I have seen on here people use medium PF motor but have not been able to figure out how it is connected mechanism wise. Any detailed instruction would be good. I try to think how do you stop the motor at the right distance etc?

Have you seen the video from underneath at flickr?

I also use a PF medium motor right above the actuator. Motor has a gearing driving a second gear that you can spot in the video.(2x same gear)

The drivers cab is filled with a PP3 battery and the rear contains the IR receiver.

Normally the actuator is out at full stroke, it stops there automatically. When you want to start decoupling simply start the motor and retract the actuator full stroke inwards or until you see that magnets are enough separated. I think a stroke of approx 4 studs is needed. The big actuator I use gives a sufficient stroke to do the job.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Selander

[JopieK]

Nice idea indeed!

[Man with a hat]

Nice little shunters.

And that decoupling mechanisms works brilliantly simple. Great idea.

[Anticyclone]

Thanks all for your kind comments.

Dark blue windscreen is brandnew from set 60007, ref 6567c03 on Bricklink.

Oh I didn't even realize they made it in dark blue, lol. I guess now I'll have to pick up a that set.

[raised]

I kind of remeber these little shunters from my last trip to Scandinavia, and as far as my memory goes, these ones are spot on! I love the decoupling mechanism, the line actuator is both simple and elegant. The only downside of the line actuator is ofcourse the fact that you cannot power your locomotive anymore, but this idea to fix this with a second shunter is in fact very clever.

However, excuse me if I'm wrong, shouldn't the frame be a tad higher of the tracks? Maybe raise the distance between the wheels and the frame with 1 or 2 plates?

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Stunning realization Sealander ...in all your work I see the genius!

You're a MOC expert!

Just superb! :thumbup:

Edited January 31, 2013 by LEGO Train 12 Volts

[legotrainfan]

Your engines are remarkable little MOCs. You must have put a lot of thought into how to assemble them in order to get all the details right.

[Asper]

Great looking engines. And the decoupling mechanism is a clever solution.

[zephyr1934]

These are a great little build. I like the way you worked out the floating axle on the powered unit. The decoupler mechanism is great too. That design would work well in the tender of a steam engine too or in the US on a cow-calf pair of first generation yard switchers.

[Duq]

... a cow-calf pair of first generation yard switchers.

Would you mind translating that please?

[CopMike]

Yet another truly beatiful Moc Selander ! It really looks like the original, and I like the techniques you´ve used. Well done!

[English Electric]

...a cow-calf pair of first generation yard switchers.

Would you mind translating that please?

I assume this means shunters that work as master and slave. There were three in the UK like this designated as British Rail class 13. They wer basically a pair of permanently coupled class 08 shunters one of which had its cab removed:

Edited February 1, 2013 by English Electric

[zephyr1934]

I assume this means shunters that work as master and slave. There were three in the UK like this designated as British Rail class 13. They wer basically a pair of permanently coupled class 08 shunters one of which had its cab removed:

Yep, exactly, though generally the b-unit never had a cab to begin with. It was cheaper to build a cabless unit but presumably the extra hassle operating it over its lifetime did not justify the initial savings. Here's an example of an American one, and the wikipedia page.