RTL7 Posted July 5, 2017 Posted July 5, 2017 Hi there. As my wagons are gonna be filled up with quite heavy material, I need a different type of a towing ball. A magnet ain't gonna hold the weight. That would be great if the new connection method would be balanced for tiny inclines as well. I just don't want to use any strings. Any ideas? Quote
kieran Posted July 5, 2017 Posted July 5, 2017 (edited) The new style magnets have studs allowing plates to keep the connected, would that work? Edited July 5, 2017 by kieran Quote
RTL7 Posted July 5, 2017 Author Posted July 5, 2017 27 minutes ago, kieran said: The new style magnets have studs allowing plates to keep the connected, would that work? You are absolutely right. Somehow I didn't notice that. Thanks for that :) But also I would be glad with some other ideas, because I'm building more wagons than I have magnets available. Quote
Sven J Posted July 5, 2017 Posted July 5, 2017 I simply use plates with hook, connected by thin liftarms (the grey half pin is only necessary when you want a very rigid coupling): This solution works great even for heavy trains, and I think it will also work on slight grades. Only disadvantage is, vehicles don't couple automatically. Quote
RTL7 Posted July 5, 2017 Author Posted July 5, 2017 30 minutes ago, Tenderlok said: I simply use plates with hook, connected by thin liftarms (the grey half pin is only necessary when you want a very rigid coupling): This solution works great even for heavy trains, and I think it will also work on slight grades. Only disadvantage is, vehicles don't couple automatically. How about if I use a shorter liftarm? The distance between those hooks looks quite long. Quote
Sven J Posted July 5, 2017 Posted July 5, 2017 As I build models of European trains, they have side buffers, so there needs to be some distance between the hooks. But of course, with shorter or no buffers, it should work with shorter liftarms, too. However, the shortest liftarm with round holes at the end seems to be this one. Quote
pirzyk Posted July 5, 2017 Posted July 5, 2017 What about ising the 2x2 modified plates with towballs (63082 and 15456)? I think there are some larger Technics/bionocle parts too. Quote
Commander Wolf Posted July 6, 2017 Posted July 6, 2017 A lot of people in my club just insert thin neodymium between the stock magnets to increase the pulling power. Anecdotally I'd say it's good for maybe about double the strength of the standard magnets? How much more force would you need? Quote
RTL7 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Posted July 6, 2017 1 hour ago, Commander Wolf said: A lot of people in my club just insert thin neodymium between the stock magnets to increase the pulling power. Anecdotally I'd say it's good for maybe about double the strength of the standard magnets? How much more force would you need? Sometimes it's not about the force. In some cases I'm just lack of magnets, so any idea would be welcome. Talking about those cases then I'm in need of strong coupling, that would be up to 4 kg force for the first wagon and less for every following wagon. 10 hours ago, pirzyk said: What about ising the 2x2 modified plates with towballs (63082 and 15456)? I think there are some larger Technics/bionocle parts too. I was trying combination like that and the second wagon got popped out while turning or doing slight inclines. Maybe I did something wrong. I will try it again once I have an opportunity. Quote
ecmo47 Posted July 6, 2017 Posted July 6, 2017 (edited) You could try this modification of Tenderloks technique. LDD will not allow me to stick the pin side of the blue connector into the 2x3 plate hole, but it will work nicely in the real application. This will give you some length options. Edited July 6, 2017 by ecmo47 Quote
RTL7 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Posted July 6, 2017 13 minutes ago, ecmo47 said: You could try this modification of Tenderloks technique. LDD will not allow me to stick the pin side of the blue connector into the 2x3 plate hole, but it will work nicely in the real application. This will give you some length options. Will this have enough free movement on some inclines? Quote
ecmo47 Posted July 6, 2017 Posted July 6, 2017 I dont know, it is just an idea that I had. If the blue pin proves too rigid in the horizontal plane, perhaps a 2L axle would have enough slop so the cars would not bind up when transitioning from level track to the incline. Quote
Aaron Posted July 6, 2017 Posted July 6, 2017 I just use kadee O scale couplers. No modifications needed. Quote
RTL7 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Posted July 7, 2017 11 hours ago, Aaron said: I just use kadee O scale couplers. No modifications needed. I've never heard of these. Are they compatible with LEGO? Quote
ColletArrow Posted July 7, 2017 Posted July 7, 2017 32 minutes ago, RTL7 said: I've never heard of these. Are they compatible with LEGO? They're the couplings normally used for O scale model railways. Have a look at this post (and the thread in general): I don't have any experience of them myself, but they should be pretty strong. You could even try to use other model railway coupling types, such as tension-locks. I've never seen that done with LEGO, but it may work if you find the right type. Quote
dr_spock Posted July 8, 2017 Posted July 8, 2017 How about something like this with Technic suspension/steering components? Quote
RTL7 Posted July 8, 2017 Author Posted July 8, 2017 5 hours ago, dr_spock said: How about something like this with Technic suspension/steering components? This is an interesting idea. Quote
kieran Posted July 8, 2017 Posted July 8, 2017 Looks good but it's too long, would work well on inclines though Quote
legoboy3998 Posted July 9, 2017 Posted July 9, 2017 On July 6, 2017 at 5:29 PM, Aaron said: I just use kadee O scale couplers. No modifications needed. I use Kadee #806 O scale couplers on most of my MOCs. They literally just "bolt on" to standard LEGOS 2x3 plate with hole they should pull well since it relies on an interlocking connection instead of a fmagnetic connection. The only two downsides I have found are 1, they don't like big "bumps" in track, but a steady, gentle incline (1-2 plates per track section) is no problem. 2, the nuts tend to loosen over time and I have had a few occasions where the coupler has fallen off because the nut came off. Not really a huge deal, just have to make sure to check the nuts and bolts periodically. here is the topic where I introduced the couplers: And some pictures showing the assembly process on my flickr. Sal WFB, WI Quote
dr_spock Posted July 16, 2017 Posted July 16, 2017 On 7/8/2017 at 3:48 PM, kieran said: Looks good but it's too long, would work well on inclines though It has more give than normal couplers without separating. Quote
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