Would this work?

[B-Legos]

HI, i'm new on here, i'm mainly interested in Technic but ive been reading through this train section and its got me thinking about buying some train parts and using my existing pf parts to build some trains. I know id need a train motor, tracks, buffers and bogies/axles. 'Ive been looking into it and i have enough money to buy these parts and a few more, so i was thinking about building a small 0-4-0 diesel shunter (i would only be able to have a small loop as i don't have loads of space) and having the shunter house only the train motor and the reciever which would be in the cab. To house the battery box i would have it in some kind of small 2-axle vent van/box car which would always be behind the shunter and then i would be able to add other cars later on behind the shunter and the vent van/box car. Would this be an effective way to start off in lego trains? I don't really want to start with a single engine and no rolling stock that's all.

Ive always been interested in trains since i was about 4 and with me living close to both Shildon and York (national railway museum, the Mallard and Flying Scotsman have always wowed me. I got to see the Flying Scotsman run last year btw) in the UK. I used to have a small hornby layout aswell which was mainly just small shunters so i kind of want to make it larger and more personal to me by building my own lego trains and having a lego version.

Anyway, im open to other suggestions,

Thanks in advance,

Joel

[Rijkvv]

Welcome Joel! Nice to have another train fan amongst us.

I don't think there's any problem with a box car permanently behind a shunter. Me personally, I like my locomotives to be able to drive on their own, but the PF equipment takes a lot of space and you won't be the first (or the last) to do this. A cousin of my father has a huge H0 lay-out, and he uses permanently attached box cars as well, to improve current collection.

Do you have some Work-in-Progress pictures?

[B-Legos]

I'm going to start it tomorrow on ldd and do some prototyping of box car shaping with bricks tomorrow then if it will work. I'll try post some progress tomorrow night.

[John Hill]

Hi Joel, of course you can put your battery in a box car and that is exactly what Lego did with their earliest train sets. However there is a bit of a challenge in that if you build the box car with the common Lego bricks there will not be much room inside for the battery and you really need to be able to get to the switch etc.

You might find an old 4.5V Lego battery car on Bricklink (and other sites) but be careful and make sure it is in good order as many have been damaged by battery leakage over the years. The battery car has an external switch that can stop/start and reverse the train but if you want to use that type of battery car you would need a 4.5V Lego train motor.

There are other ways you could make your battery Lego train and there is plenty of advice right here if you are uncertain about anything.

P.S. I have been running Lego trains since 1973 so you can think of them as an 'investment' for your future!

John

Edited July 29, 2016 by John Hill

[jtlan]

[...] i was thinking about building a small 0-4-0 diesel shunter (i would only be able to have a small loop as i don't have loads of space) and having the shunter house only the train motor and the reciever which would be in the cab. To house the battery box i would have it in some kind of small 2-axle vent van/box car which would always be behind the shunter and then i would be able to add other cars later on behind the shunter and the vent van/box car.

The primary drawback with this approach is that you will lose some traction because you no longer have the weight of the battery box on the wheels. A bigger concern to me though is that the train motor is very fast and hard to control, so I wouldn't use it on a shunter. It sounds to me like you already have some PF motors and some experience with Technic, so why not use those and build a Technic drivetrain, which will be more controllable?

Edited July 30, 2016 by jtlan

[BrickCurve]

Hi Joel, of course you can put your battery in a box car and that is exactly what Lego did with their earliest train sets. However there is a bit of a challenge in that if you build the box car with the common Lego bricks there will not be much room inside for the battery and you really need to be able to get to the switch etc.

John

Using some inverted bracket pieces, such as these with plates attached to them, will allow for more detailing and more space in side the carriage.

[Hod Carrier]

If you're prepared to stray from the path slightly and consider alternative means of powering your loco, you could always try using a Minizip cable and a 9V PP3 battery. This will still deliver enough voltage for the motor but might allow you to build a fully self-contained loco. I used this solution in my 4-wide TRAXX and it works well.

[B-Legos]

The primary drawback with this approach is that you will lose some traction because you no longer have the weight of the battery box on the wheels. A bigger concern to me though is that the train motor is very fast and hard to control, so I wouldn't use it on a shunter. It sounds to me like you already have some PF motors and some experience with Technic, so why not use those and build a Technic drivetrain, which will be more controllable?

So make a custom m motor drive train maybe and hide m motor where engine would be on real shunter and have reciever in cab again? im comfortable making a technic drivetrain. Would the train motor still be too fast on low speeds with the speed variable pf remote?

Using some inverted bracket pieces, such as these with plates attached to them, will allow for more detailing and more space in side the carriage.

Ill try that later, thanks. may go with the ones with a 2x2 plate for the box car and use the 1x2 plate ones to add chain shackles to a flatbed car carrying some pipes that i can have as my second piece of rolling stock.

[jtlan]

So make a custom m motor drive train maybe and hide m motor where engine would be on real shunter and have reciever in cab again? im comfortable making a technic drivetrain. Would the train motor still be too fast on low speeds with the speed variable pf remote?

At the lowest speed setting the train motor doesn't produce much in the way of torque, and I find it goes a bit too fast for my taste. Plus, you'd have to buy another motor in that case right?

Edited July 30, 2016 by jtlan

[B-Legos]

At the lowest speed setting the train motor doesn't produce much in the way of torque, and I find it goes a bit too fast for my taste. Plus, you'd have to buy another motor in that case right?

Yeah id have to buy motor. Ive done some building today and i think i can make an m-motor powered train

[B-Legos]

I've started my shunter IRL and ive made a plank wagon/coal wagon. Its been made IRL minus the bogies and buffers so i made it in LDD to show you guys. Ill probably have enough done of the shunter worth showing you tommorow. Ive also worked out how im going to build my 'battery box' car, just debating whether to make it white or brown. My shunter will be yellow with black accents. Pretty much a smaller 4564 freight rail runner in terms of colours.

Thanks for the help so far, and any suggestions for improvement of coal wagon is welcome,

Joel

[ALCO]

There are a bunch of cool little shunters that use PF train motors, battery boxes, and IR receivers. Check out these just to name a few:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=120980&hl=shunter

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=123190&hl=shunter

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=129251&hl=shunter#entry2531193

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=133908&hl=shunter

If you have the Rechargeable battery box, I think you can adjust the power so that the train motor doesn't go too fast. The 3rd one down, uses more of a technic style power-train. Since the L motor has more torque and less speed than the Train Motor, this might be a good option for a little shunter. Plus, since the battery box is on the locomotive, you will have more traction because of the added weight.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

[Breakdown]

HI, i'm new on here, i'm mainly interested in Technic but ive been reading through this train section and its got me thinking about buying some train parts and using my existing pf parts to build some trains. I know id need a train motor, tracks, buffers and bogies/axles. 'Ive been looking into it and i have enough money to buy these parts and a few more, so i was thinking about building a small 0-4-0 diesel shunter (i would only be able to have a small loop as i don't have loads of space) and having the shunter house only the train motor and the reciever which would be in the cab. To house the battery box i would have it in some kind of small 2-axle vent van/box car which would always be behind the shunter and then i would be able to add other cars later on behind the shunter and the vent van/box car. Would this be an effective way to start off in lego trains? I don't really want to start with a single engine and no rolling stock that's all.

Ive always been interested in trains since i was about 4 and with me living close to both Shildon and York (national railway museum, the Mallard and Flying Scotsman have always wowed me. I got to see the Flying Scotsman run last year btw) in the UK. I used to have a small hornby layout aswell which was mainly just small shunters so i kind of want to make it larger and more personal to me by building my own lego trains and having a lego version.

Anyway, im open to other suggestions,

Thanks in advance,

Joel

Just a couple of options for you, given that weight on top of the motor for traction is key (it's more key for longer trains)

1.) Move the receiver to the coal car or whatever you're putting behind the shunter.

2.) There's weight bricks the the early 12V trains used, they aren't too expensive, they also appeared on boats to keep them balanced in water for lego. You could add one or two of those to your train. The other advantage is that they come in black & blue and I think red, so that they could potentially be incorporated into your existing train.

3.) Use a 9V battery box from the 90's for the single 9V battery instead of 6 AAA batteries, far smaller, and again like the weight bricks you have a choice of white, red, and black. Can't recommend red too much since they are typically expensive since they are associated with the 6399 Monorail set, this would also have you splicing wires, and for those whom will point out that lego sells a 9V to PF wire - it won't work. It only allows you to add power to old motors and lights using PF, and NOT the other way around - I've tried - unless I was doing it wrong.

[baard]

Hi,

the constraints of building a shunter containing all the parts needing to use PF is a challenge, but doable. In fact, it is possible to even include more functions in a locomotive just 20 studs long.

I have based my designs on the Norwegian Diesel Sk 226 as well as a Class 08 Diesel shunter from England. Both have working decouplers as well as propulsion, i.e. 2 motors inside + battery and PF receiver. Since the Sk 226 shunter is only 4 studs wide at the top, extensive use of Snot is necessary, both locomotives have technic chassis. See my Flickr:

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

Happy building!

Edited August 9, 2016 by baard

[B-Legos]

Hi,

the constraints of building a shunter containing all the parts needing to use PF is a challenge, but doable. In fact, it is possible to even include more functions in a locomotive just 20 studs long.

I have based my designs on the Norwegian Diesel Sk 226 as well as a Class 08 Diesel shunter from England. Both have working decouplers as well as propulsion, i.e. 2 motors inside + battery and PF receiver. Since the Sk 226 shunter is only 4 studs wide at the top, extensive use of Snot is necessary, both locomotives have technic chassis. See my Flickr:

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

Happy building!

Thanks for that, i had actually been looking at your model for inspiration. Very well made i must say