Werlu Ulcur Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 (edited) Without a doubt this is one of Lego's best sets ever, and I hazard to say it's THE best train set to date. It's simply gorgeous, to the point it looks more like a MOC by a talented builder then something stock from Billund. Not that Lego designers can't make cool sets (on he contrary!) but you usually see sets that are simplified, so that they will appeal to AFOLs and KFOL alike. But not the Emerald. This thing looks like a "scale model train", absolutely stunning! I had my set for almost a year, but this week i finally managed to assemble it. Great and fun build! I wanted my train to be motorized so months ago I bought the necessary parts and off the bat I put it together with the added parts. I didn't want to loose the so nice furnace in the cabin, so I went with a standard PF train motor, but in the tender - I ditched the gears for the main wheels on the engine to lessen the load. The IR unit fits perfectly in the boiler and the battery box I also put on the tender - besides being a perfect fit there, it puts enough weight on the drive train. The only inconvenient of this setup is that I have two cables between the engine and the tender, but they're fairly hidden, and because of this I can't easily disconnect the tender without unhooking the cables. Oh well, a small price to pay... I also disguised the battery box with black plates, so it almost looks like what you see is lumps of coal. And as you can see, I also adopted a six wheel set up so that I would keep the tender the stock length. I was forced to shorten (one stud) those two parts (I don't know what they're called) that go beside and ahead of the boiler, because the engine is wide and in curves the overhang is immense, and those parts scraped on the walls around the track in curves. The thing covers so much space that I had to widen the catwalk on the #7937 Train Station because the engine would simply catch on the support struts when going in. I also ditched the stock Technic pieces on the wheels for the MUCH cooler parts Ben makes - they make a world of difference! This morning I ordered a few black axle pins (without friction ridges) to use on the wheels instead of the stock tan ones, to make the wheels look more realistic. For those of thinking about getting just one train set, this is the one. Forget the Maersk or the Santa Fe, the Emerald is the nicest train from Lego . Edited January 28, 2014 by Werlu Ulcur Quote
garethjellis Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 I was late in the game in getting an Emerald Night, I am excited for it to arrive in a few days, I think your tender mounted PF motor is a great idea. Why do you have two cables running to the Engine? Quote
Doom2099 Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Hi, nice post about one of the best (if not the best) train Lego has every produced. I remember my first time building it, my thoughts were exactly like yours. This is a train built and designed to be as perfect as possible. Sadly, tricks are needed to keep it driving smoothly, but in terms of looks, it's a home run by Lego, and may become truly legendary as time goes on. Quote
Heppeng Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 The IR is in the engine - one cable from battery in tender to IR in loco, then another back again to motor in tender. Quote
TheLegoDr Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Looks great! I never was into trains, until I saw this. Sadly I missed out on it just after it discontinued!!! Maybe one day I'll bricklink it or something. I'll definitely add PF to mine too. I will probably just MOD my Hogwarts Express to accept PF instead. Quote
KringlesBricks Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Nive job hiding the motor in the tender...I didn't realize it was in the tender until I looked more closely at the pictures. It surely is a beautiful engine; and yes, I agree - one of the BEST designed by TLG! Quote
Werlu Ulcur Posted January 29, 2014 Author Posted January 29, 2014 Lego has some nice trains, but the EN is something else, almost like the others are for kids and this one is for adults. So maybe that's why it's kind of complicated to make it run - motorizing my red and yellow trains was easy peasy, almost "plug 'n play". Not that it was difficult motorizing the EN, but to run it smoothly presents more challenges. And looking at the pictures I just noticed I forgot to use one of Ben's connecting rods on the drive wheels on the engine . I read you guys talking about buying one so I just went to BL to check out prices; I almost fell off the chair!!! 300 bucks for a sealed set?!? Unfrigginbelivable! Quote
Lazarus Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 If you like the EN, check out my Moc of my Flying scottsman what was based on EN design and heavly modded to look like what Lego where trying to copy. An A3 LNER Loco. Quote
zephyr1934 Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 I had my set for almost a year, but this week i finally managed to assemble it. Great and fun build! I wanted my train to be motorized so months ago I bought the necessary parts and off the bat I put it together with the added parts. I didn't want to loose the so nice furnace in the cabin, so I went with a standard PF train motor, but in the tender - I ditched the gears for the main wheels on the engine to lessen the load. The IR unit fits perfectly in the boiler and the battery box I also put on the tender - besides being a perfect fit there, it puts enough weight on the drive train. The only inconvenient of this setup is that I have two cables between the engine and the tender, but they're fairly hidden, and because of this I can't easily disconnect the tender without unhooking the cables. Oh well, a small price to pay... ... This morning I ordered a few black axle pins (without friction ridges) to use on the wheels instead of the stock tan ones, to make the wheels look more realistic. Looking fantastic! And you know, having lines running from the tender to the locomotive is actually prototypical. At a minimum there should be two large water lines and at least two air lines. So you you are just being more accurate than most (grin). The tan axle pins was the thing that drove me nuts about the EN from the time I first saw a leaked picture (and the feature that told me it was not a hoax). The lego of old would have molded those parts in black to make the model cohesive. Ah well. I built my repaint with gray axles throughout. Just be careful with the black non-friction pins. Some sellers are great and list perfectly, some do not realize the subtle difference between similar parts. Make sure you verify with the seller the parts are as listed to save both of you some angst. Fortunately the non-friction black pins do exist though. Looks great! I never was into trains, until I saw this. Sadly I missed out on it just after it discontinued!!! Maybe one day I'll bricklink it or something. I'll definitely add PF to mine too. I will probably just MOD my Hogwarts Express to accept PF instead. If you are a set purist, I'd suggest buying a nice quality used set, it probably will not be much more than the cost of collecting the parts on their own and you will more than make that back in saved time. Otherwise, if you just like the design, to save money download the instructions and build a repaint of the EN. Quote
Werlu Ulcur Posted January 29, 2014 Author Posted January 29, 2014 If you like the EN, check out my Moc of my Flying scottsman what was based on EN design and heavly modded to look like what Lego where trying to copy. An A3 LNER Loco. The Scottsman is absolutely gorgeous! But 8-wide? I was having trouble with the EN on my city, imagine an 8-wide monster! Looking fantastic! And you know, having lines running from the tender to the locomotive is actually prototypical. At a minimum there should be two large water lines and at least two air lines. So you you are just being more accurate than most (grin). The tan axle pins was the thing that drove me nuts about the EN from the time I first saw a leaked picture (and the feature that told me it was not a hoax). The lego of old would have molded those parts in black to make the model cohesive. Ah well. I built my repaint with gray axles throughout. Just be careful with the black non-friction pins. Some sellers are great and list perfectly, some do not realize the subtle difference between similar parts. Make sure you verify with the seller the parts are as listed to save both of you some angst. Fortunately the non-friction black pins do exist though. Nice to know about the lines, I wasn't aware that the real thing would have them. So the only problem is the "permanently" attached tender, but I can live with that. And thanks for the tip on the pins, I'll check with the seller. I wasn't aware that black axle pins with friction crests existed, only the smooth ones. And they're expensive . Quote
Heppeng Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) The Scottsman is absolutely gorgeous! But 8-wide? I was having trouble with the EN on my city, imagine an 8-wide monster! The EN is nearer nine wide over the smoke deflectors (the black 'ears' at the front). I have to be careful where and how I run it on my 12V layout to avoid it swipeing other trains and lineside furniture! There is a reason why my nick name for it is "fatty" !!!! (Athough tadpole would be good too - black and nine wide at the front, going down to a six wide tail...) Edited January 29, 2014 by Heppeng Quote
HenrikLego Posted January 29, 2014 Posted January 29, 2014 I really like your modification with PF-engine in the tender. I've been thinking about doing this myself instead of the standard XL-motor setup. I've also want to place th PF-reciever in the tender as well to get a smoother surface on the boiler. Do you have a video of it running? Would be great to see how it runs with this setup. Quote
Werlu Ulcur Posted January 29, 2014 Author Posted January 29, 2014 (edited) I have to be careful where and how I run it on my 12V layout to avoid it swipeing other trains and lineside furniture! I'm very lucky Legoville doesn't have any sort of NTSB, because the risk of this thing decapitating minifigs on the stations is serious... I really like your modification with PF-engine in the tender. I've been thinking about doing this myself instead of the standard XL-motor setup. I've also want to place th PF-reciever in the tender as well to get a smoother surface on the boiler. Do you have a video of it running? Would be great to see how it runs with this setup. No videos yet. I was thinking of doing an on-board shoot but my Panasonic Lumix is too wide. I tried to put the IR receiver on the tender, but I didn't like how it looked. I would have to make it longer, around 3 or 4 studs, and with that I would have to use another pair of wheels, but more importantly, in my eyes it looked too long and out of proportion to the engine up front. But if that doesn't bother you go ahead, it's easy to do and the engine will definitively look smoother and better. Edited January 29, 2014 by Werlu Ulcur Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.