MOC - Motorised Hogwarts Express 2018 Refine/Rebuild

[ZANTHERA]

I've recently decided to do a complete overhaul on the quite frankly tired design of my Hogwarts Express MOC that I started building in it's current form in 2010, with the most recent structural update back in 2015. Only minor cosmetic updates such as the boiler being changed from 1 x 1 cheese slopes to 1 x 2 cheese slopes occurred recently.

A while ago I converted this version to 8 wide in LDD which did strengthen it a great deal and I left it at that, but recently I thought to myself that with this new width and structural improvement that the design could be vastly improved to allow for more detail and a much stronger PF chassis block.

These renders were done in Stud.io and I somehow managed to get the BBB wheels to show up by putting the .dat files in every part folder in the few parts folders.

LEGO Hogwarts Express 8 Wide Refine Update 4 by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

LEGO Hogwarts Express 8 Wide Refine Update 3a by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

So here it is right now, it's not quite done yet and is still being refined for maximum strength and detail. I have also decided to gamble on the hope that LEGO will make adapter cables for PF to PU as I made the decision to abandon the IR receiver hidden in the coal load to allow for much more room in the tender. This is to make sure the height is set correctly as the loco body was lowered by half a plate to give a more accurate position for the connecting rods to line up with the cylinder blocks.

The connecting rods were completely redesigned as I switched back to the much easier to work with even spacing on the drive wheels. The front wheel was half a stud closer to the middle drive wheel on the 7 wide design but had very weak connecting rods due to one of the axles only being slid in half way into the rod end. This new design is also going to be so much more reliable as it can only be broken apart sideways and not pulled apart lengthways like the old design, this two way interlocked stud arrangement makes for a very solid rod that will be able to pull the middle and rear drive wheels with ease.

LEGO Hogwarts Express 8 Wide Refine Update 3b by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

Also the reason for all flanged wheels is that I like this look so much that I have decided to only use 3rd party track which will allow for a solid 13 studs apart wheel setup with the middle driver also flanged, I am fairly sure there is a radius available in which this would be possible. This also means that I can improve the axle guard detail on the tender since it too could be fixed solid since it is also has 13 stud wheelbase.

At the current time the only new element that is not in produced in red is the 1 x 1 plate with bar used as the safety valve surround but since this is a relatively new element it'll hopefully be available in red by the time I build the loco in real bricks.

The tender and cab controls are currently being redesigned due to too many structural changes caused by altering the frame of the loco, what really started this is the fact that since this was last updated so many useful elements have become available plus the release of the new official Hogwarts Express set gives me the opportunity to finally have nameboards on the loco and better still the ones included in the new set are printed which means I won't have to worry about peeling stickers in the future.

 

 

Here it is now as it sits on my shelf, and while many were impressed with this design and the implementation of the L motor in between the drive wheels it just honestly doesn't work as well as it could and is incredibly flimsy, so the much needed rebuild was in order.

LEGO 5972 Olton Hall Hogwarts Express by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

LEGO 5972 Olton Hall Hogwarts Express by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

LEGO 5972 Olton Hall Hogwarts Express by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

LEGO 5972 Olton Hall Hogwarts Express by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

LEGO 5972 Olton Hall Hogwarts Express by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

This was built with the unofficial size classification of British loco builders, that being 7 wide. At first this seemed to be quite a good scale as it would fit in with other builders locos, but over time I felt that this was alright for smaller locos but for medium to large locos it was simply too narrow for a practical build.

Edited July 13, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[Carefree_Dude]

That is so amazing! I love how you hid the l motor

[ScotNick]

@ZANTHERA May I ask how do you post your pictures now? If you share them from your flickr account you could just use the share button (which is the 2nd of the 4 buttons in the bottom right of the picture), select "BBCode" and then the size you want the picture to have. That way you can make the picture smaller and also link to the original sized image and your flickr account if someone's interested in more. 

Hope this helps 

[ZANTHERA]

On 7/8/2018 at 12:38 PM, ScotNick said:

@ZANTHERA May I ask how do you post your pictures now? If you share them from your flickr account you could just use the share button (which is the 2nd of the 4 buttons in the bottom right of the picture), select "BBCode" and then the size you want the picture to have. That way you can make the picture smaller and also link to the original sized image and your flickr account if someone's interested in more. 

Hope this helps 

Thanks for that, got them all fixed now. I was using Imgur as I didn't know there was an option to embed them from Flickr since I've never posted anything from Flickr to another site.

Edited July 9, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[Carefree_Dude]

I think I'm holding out until there is something similar to the L motor in the PF2.0 to build something like this. I really want my train to be driven by the large drive wheels 

[ZANTHERA]

4 minutes ago, Goldenmasamune said:

I think I'm holding out until there is something similar to the L motor in the PF2.0 to build something like this. I really want my train to be driven by the large drive wheels 

I personally think that they will end up giving us adapter cables for the two systems since so many are still using PF and they did when it went from 9V to PF. It's just a case of PU being so new that it doesn't really have other uses for now. If I had to guess LEGO will probably start doing more with PU items by the end of the year or early next year.

I'd be very surprised if they did all the motors with the exact same design but new cable and plug, but then again they might have the components for these motors in bulk with a need to use them up so could use them for identical motors but with the new cable and Bluetooth system. This would actually make it so old models could be updated without rebuilding and especially good for the builders who rely on these motors to drive their locos.

[ZANTHERA]

LEGO Hogwarts Express 8 Wide Refine Update 5 by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

New funnel design I thought up today, as with the connecting rods it's old elements to the rescue again with the use of a 12V train wheel that is the perfect size and gives that signature flare to the top much better than the old boring design.

Edited July 11, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[zephyr1934]

A thing of beauty! Thanks for sharing the design process. The L-motor mounting is ingenious, could you rotate it 90° and hide it in the firebox? Then there should be enough room to sneak half beams between the motor and wheels for strength. Another thought, with the EN and other 6 wide locomotives it is impossible (well... difficult and I've not seen it done) to get the hubs (as an American I'm not sure the right word for the 1x4 curved slopes) low enough for the wheels to actually be "below" them. At 8 wide you could do that (and it looks like the flanges are behind them), would it be possible to lower them another plate?

[ZANTHERA]

On 7/15/2018 at 11:42 PM, zephyr1934 said:

A thing of beauty! Thanks for sharing the design process. The L-motor mounting is ingenious, could you rotate it 90° and hide it in the firebox? Then there should be enough room to sneak half beams between the motor and wheels for strength. Another thought, with the EN and other 6 wide locomotives it is impossible (well... difficult and I've not seen it done) to get the hubs (as an American I'm not sure the right word for the 1x4 curved slopes) low enough for the wheels to actually be "below" them. At 8 wide you could do that (and it looks like the flanges are behind them), would it be possible to lower them another plate?

You know I never actually thought to try and mount the motor vertically inside the firebox, that could open up the possibility for a completely fixed frame holding the wheels and have all the wheels geared to turn together.

My design was based on how an old Tri-Ang Hall Class had its motor set which was above the wheels but with a worm gear driving the front wheel set. Since I found that the middle and rear drive wheels were the same 7 studs apart as the two ends of the L motor, I had the idea to set it in between the wheels.

As for the height of the running board, I have now made it as low as it can go since the design of the running boards connecting the wheel arches depends on the layer of black and without it there would be nothing to hold the arches on because they are in by half a stud as they appear on the real loco. The XL wheels when set at a height of normal plates are 3/4 of a plate lower than what is above them, so by moving the whole chassis block up by half a plate the flanges are now 1/4 of a plate below the black tile layer.

So unfortunately in this case no it is not possible to set the body down a whole plate lower or even the other half a plate to make it a studs on top design again. I'll definitely look into the possibility of mounting the motor vertically but it may interfere with some of the structure of the firebox. This could be worked around as the inside of the firebox is yet another area which is a solid block of bricks and I have so far used every stud of space to better the design in areas which were exactly like this, such as the tender and original mounting method for the drive wheels which were once both solid masses of bricks and plates. The tender now housing the Power Functions and the drive wheels block now holding the L motor.

Edited July 17, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[kiwinewt]

I've decided to build this as well, except I'll base it around the PU motor in the tender and using the parts from 2 of the new HE sets mashed together with some spare parts from the PU passenger train so that I can get some more realistic coaches as well. Thanks for the inspiration, I registered on the forum because of it too!

[ZANTHERA]

I did some testing for a vertically mounted motor and it just simply doesn't fit, it would have to be set lower than where the gears in the wheels are set so would not make for a strong drive. So it looks like I'll be sticking with my older design.

[Pelzer117]

On 7/16/2018 at 12:42 AM, zephyr1934 said:

A thing of beauty! Thanks for sharing the design process. The L-motor mounting is ingenious, could you rotate it 90° and hide it in the firebox? Then there should be enough room to sneak half beams between the motor and wheels for strength. Another thought, with the EN and other 6 wide locomotives it is impossible (well... difficult and I've not seen it done) to get the hubs (as an American I'm not sure the right word for the 1x4 curved slopes) low enough for the wheels to actually be "below" them. At 8 wide you could do that (and it looks like the flanges are behind them), would it be possible to lower them another plate?

Just saw another possibility. It is closer to the "standard" version as for example at the EN, but still better because the motor is hidden:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/101562535@N03/11514892195/in/photostream/

 

[ZANTHERA]

8 hours ago, Pelzer117 said:

Just saw another possibility. It is closer to the "standard" version as for example at the EN, but still better because the motor is hidden:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/101562535@N03/11514892195/in/photostream/

 

That method was unfortunately out of the question for me as it would mean making the boiler bigger and it's already the perfect size for the class.

I've actually just now finished the improved design for the drive, I somehow forgot the only reason that mess with the lift arm was needed was because I only had a 3 stud wide space to work with, but now that it's 4 studs it gives me much better and stronger options, not only for the drive but for its attachment to the running board.

Edited July 18, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[Roadmonkeytj]

How "fast" does this run ... Ive been fitting a l motor in the emerald night to keep the detailed firebox and two minifigs in the cab ... Ive been through 12 versions of custom gear boxes and it still seems slower than an express should be ... If making the l motor the wheel frame works faster i may have to rework the frame...

[ZANTHERA]

On 7/19/2018 at 6:37 AM, Roadmonkeytj said:

How "fast" does this run ... Ive been fitting a l motor in the emerald night to keep the detailed firebox and two minifigs in the cab ... Ive been through 12 versions of custom gear boxes and it still seems slower than an express should be ... If making the l motor the wheel frame works faster i may have to rework the frame...

It was kind of fast but this old method wasn't very reliable due to the way it was built so it would have probably performed better if it was built better as there would be less friction. The whole block in front of the L motor has been redone since I now have a 4 stud wide area to work with, although this means that the gear seen on the wheel axle is now the same as where the large gear was on this old design.

I have a video coming out soon showing details of the new build better than I can describe here.

Edited July 21, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[ZANTHERA]

LEGO Hogwarts Express Stud.io 2.0 Photo Realistic Render Test by -ZANTHERA-, on Flickr

 

There is a Beta open for Stud.io 2.0 which features a new photo realistic render add on, but do be careful as it is extremely resource intensive. It does however produce amazing renders as you can see.

Edited July 22, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[rahziel]

Wonderful work, the best one I've seen so far, those tubes coming out of the boiler in front to the pistons, excellent detail, nice work in the rods, and the railing on the tender to the top step in the cabin takes it up a notch :)
Congrats!

[kiwinewt]

I've used parts of your model as inspiration, but this is where I am at with my one. Keeping it 6-wide does limit me a lot more.

Next step... bricklink order for more parts! My poor bank account.... but got to replace the right-part-wrong-colour elements, and somehow get the battery box to fit in the tender.

I know it's not a very good model, but I thought I would share anyway :)

[Cylo]

Really sleek train and nice build! The motor was well hidden!

[Carefree_Dude]

If you ever want some help with photo realistic renders, I have a very beefy gaming rig that can probably handle it 

[ZANTHERA]

On 8/1/2018 at 7:08 PM, Goldenmasamune said:

If you ever want some help with photo realistic renders, I have a very beefy gaming rig that can probably handle it 

I have got a GTX 970 OC which handles the renders like a champ, it just gets it warm for a good 20-30 minutes depending on how complex the render is but manages quite well, thanks for the offer though.

I've just seen what must be the new M motor as used on the Batmobile PU set, I hope the new L motor shares its main design with the old one so I don't have to do any major rebuilding on the chassis. Seeing that this new M motor is quite similar to the old one makes me hopeful that the new L motor won't be too different causing a total rebuild of the chassis.

Edited August 4, 2018 by ZANTHERA

[BERKO]

Hi there,

I'm new to this site so I don't know how it usually works with people posting models. Forgive me if I'm being "gauche"! Are you able to provide or do you sell the instructions for your fantastic model on LDD or elsewhere?

Great work on this.

[Tobbit_is_here]

Instructions for this would be something that I am also interested in. I'd love to build a large, accurate, Hogwarts Express, but the only instructions I can find for one so far is a 6-wide model, which I feel is too small.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Tobbit_is_here
Typo

[Murdoch17]

On 1/18/2022 at 7:05 AM, Tobbit_is_here said:

Instructions for this would be something that I am also interested in. I'd love to build a large, accurate, Hogwarts Express, but the only instructions I can find for one so far is a 6-wide model, which I feel is too small.

Hey there @Tobbit_is_here, Zanthera hasn't been on this forum since 2019, so chances are he won't see your request, or the person above yours' request either... also, as a general rule, you're technically not supposed to bump old topics like this. (six month to a year is what I THINK is the limit, unless it's a news topic with new info, or you actually have something about the model like "I built this in real bricks, here is some problems I'm having" or similar.) Also, asking for instructions is generally frowned upon for several reasons... The rule of thumb on that is: if they didn't upload them to begin with, or say they were going to later, just don't ask, as it's considered rude.

 @JopieK is our train Moderator, and might be able to help with the rules if you have questions.

[JopieK]

@Murdoch17 you are right, @BERKO, welcome to Eurobricks and Train tech, but indeed it is tricky. But after 10 posts you can PM and that is much easier, but Zanthara hasn't been here for a while as you already heard from Murdoch. Apart from that: why don't you start your own topic and try and rebuild the design and get feedback from the other members! You learn a lot from it!