TRAIN TECH Help, General Questions & Talk to the Staff

[Ozan]

hi guys, i'm moving a new house with my family.

as i am 21 now i'm not always staying at home nevertheless i want to design my room good.

my idea is coming from lacking to see my trains working.

they're usually on their boxes.

i want them to operate daily :D

my question is how can i build a train layout AROUND MY ROOM. i think i can use some shelfes and things like that but wardrobe door and room door and window door could cause problem.

do you know anyone using train layout around a room?

[Dan-147]

One solution would be to set the shelves high enough to pass above the window and door frames. The down sides are that you'll probably need a stool or step-ladder to set your trains on the track and that your point of view will be looking up, up at your trains when they pass. Viewable scenery is also quite limited. I spite of these shortcomings, I've seen a few layouts like this (LEGO and traditional model trains) on the internet.

[zephyr1934]

My solution is to put the layout on the floor and run it behind/under the furniture. The track is low enough that most doors will clear it and strong enough so that you can occasionally kick it or step on it. You might need to build some wood boxes or other spacers to make sure your bed does not get pushed back on to the lego trains or that stuff doesn't fall "between the crack" on to the lego. This situation is one of the few where the tight lego curves actually come in handy. If you have enough clearance under your bed you can run the track under the bed instead of behind and you can even add a small yard or storage track.

[Fugazi]

The Train Techopedia is now finally up to date (for the first time since 2010!) although more topic shifting and merging is to be expected. Hopefully this will prove useful, and remember to check there first before creating new topics for your questions. Also please tell me if I have missed important tutorials or discussions, as I know many are buried within MOC topics.

[Fugazi]

The Train Tech Review Index has now been replaced by the Train Set Resource, a more exhaustive index where all the useful topics related to specific train sets are grouped together for your convenience. Links to LDD and LDraw models of the official sets in the LDD forum have also been included.

This new index, as well as the MOC index and the Train Techopedia are available through the pinned Train Tech Master Index.

[UrbanErwin]

Good too see.

[Hey Joe]

The Train Tech Review Index has now been replaced by the Train Set Resource, a more exhaustive index where all the useful topics related to specific train sets are grouped together for your convenience. Links to LDD and LDraw models of the official sets in the LDD forum have also been included.

This new index, as well as the MOC index and the Train Techopedia are available through the pinned Train Tech Master Index.

Hey Fugazi (and I happen to know what that means after watching 'Donnie Brasco')!

Thanks for your hard work. There are some useful threads in there.

Joe

[Daedalus304]

So here's a question I have to ask. Recently I was doing some maintenance work on one of my engines after a show, and found that one of my 2 M-motors was spinning probably 20% faster than the other. Now, given that these motors were both feeding into the same gearbox that is a pretty obvious problem, as I'm worried that the slower motor will cause more resistance and indeed, the engine's abilities have suffered from it. One of the motors I bought new, but the other was given to me by a cousin and may have had some wear that I wasn't aware of, and my guess it it probably got worse over the course of time.

Now as for the question, what I'm trying to decide is whether I should replace both M-motors and keep the drive system as it is, hoping that if both the motors are brand new that this issue will be avoided. My other option is to do a little bit of engine redesign to allow it to fit in a single L-Motor, which I believe theoretically can provide the same performance as the 2 M-motors. Would I be correct in thinking that one L-motor can do the job just as well as 2 M-motors? And if not, are the motors generally consistent enough that I can pair 2 brand new M-motors again without having to worry?

[Barduck]

Would I be correct in thinking that one L-motor can do the job just as well as 2 M-motors? And if not, are the motors generally consistent enough that I can pair 2 brand new M-motors again without having to worry?

I believe this site will have the answer you are looking for: http://www.philohome...s/motorcomp.htm

Quickly going thru it I would say the L motor isn'nt as powerfull as 2 M motors, you'd need an XL one to have same performance (actually, even better). Offcourse, this engine runs slower than the M ones so you'd have to adapt the gearing. And I don't even want to think about the changes you have to do to the train to get the XL motor in it (I've struggled quite a bit on the Allegheny with that change and she has a 10 studs wide boiler)

Edited July 12, 2013 by Barduck

[Daedalus304]

Actually, looking at it, it seems the L-motor has nearly double the torque of the m-motor, so I'm thinking one L-motor should do just as well. An M-motor's torque is 3.6 N.cm, vs a L-motor's 6.5 N.cm. I think I'll try that, then, and avoid doubling up. Thanks for that link!

[kieran]

The other option if you would like to keep the 2 M motors is to create an adder. This is a type of gear train that allows motors of different speeds to add their torque, here is one example, there are many others out there

http://mapageweb.umontreal.ca/cousined/lego/1-Varia/Adder/adder.html

[Daedalus304]

Man, the stuff that can be done with Technic is just cool. I had wondered if that was possible, but dropped the idea. While an adder would be great to include, I won't be able to fit that into a 4x4x3 size area inside an engine boiler.... XD

[kieran]

There are other ways to make an adder, but I agree it will be a challenge with the space that you have, just thought i would throw it in for completeness.

[Legoroni]

Hi, I have a few questions about the monorail system.

1. First of all do the monorail bogeys require the monorail base, or will a brick-built base with a technic hole work?

2. Is it possible to power the monorail via PF?

3. Is the motor assembly required to connect using a certain piece?

Thanks!

Edited August 17, 2013 by Legoroni

[LegoPanda]

i have a question, how do i get the pictures for the trains in my signature?

[dr_spock]

i have a question, how do i get the pictures for the trains in my signature?

You can find them here -> http://www.fa-meier.de/lego/traindepot/html/grey-era.html

[LegoPanda]

ok thank you

Edited December 17, 2013 by LegoPanda

[JGW3000]

I just got an 88002 motor from TRU ($9), as I needed to get over $100 in LEGO to qualify for the $25 discount, so this was kind of an add-in, but also could be useful for a MOC I am contemplating at the moment.

This 88002 comes with two 6L axles; am I correct to assume that I can insert any length axle through each of the axle holes? I am thinking maybe 10 or 12L, this will allow space for some gearing to drive other functions aside from the wheels.

thanks

[dr_spock]

I just got an 88002 motor from TRU ($9), as I needed to get over $100 in LEGO to qualify for the $25 discount, so this was kind of an add-in, but also could be useful for a MOC I am contemplating at the moment.

This 88002 comes with two 6L axles; am I correct to assume that I can insert any length axle through each of the axle holes? I am thinking maybe 10 or 12L, this will allow space for some gearing to drive other functions aside from the wheels.

thanks

Yes, the holes go all the way through.

[elleana]

This has probably been asked a million times - I've seen a few of the question threads but unfortunately can't quite seem to wrap my head around the answer, even with illustrations - but how do you attach curved tracks to baseplates? I've seen a few posts which suggest mounting tracks one plate higher than the base plate, and just leave the curved tracks loose, but that seems pretty inelegant to me. I'm open to mounting tracks one plate higher (easy enough to do for straights) but how do I deal with curved? Will the curved tracks occassionally (every few sleepers/ties or so) match up to studs on the baseplate, and they can somehow be joined? I've seen another option of 2 x 2 turntables suggested, turned at an offset to match the angle of the ties. Would some kind soul be willing to take closeup pictures of such a setup so I can see how it works? Most pictures I've seen aren't on a close enough scale so I can make out the detail... Thanks a lot!

[Spitfire2865]

Its a mix between floating track on tiles, twisted turntables in one or two spots, and forcing in a stud or two where they most closely match. Sorry I cant help with pictures, but its not too hard to figure out in practice. Just know you'll never get it perfectly secure like you can with straights. I cant seem to find a how to of that. I know one exists, I tried it.

Edited January 17, 2014 by Spitfire2865

[DaveBey]

Check out the RAILBRICKS Trackside Instructions page. You can download the LDraw files for ballasting straight, curved, and switch track. You might search for 'LEGO track ballast' or something similar with your search engine of choice for links to other ideas.

Cheers from Claremore, OK USA!

Dave

[technic70s]

Its a mix between floating track on tiles, twisted turntables in one or two spots, and forcing in a stud or two where they most closely match. Sorry I cant help with pictures, but its not too hard to figure out in practice. Just know you'll never get it perfectly secure like you can with straights. I cant seem to find a how to of that. I know one exists, I tried it.

What a good idea of using turn tables, I have some brick built roads with a curved tram line inbeded in them and have had problems getting the tracks to stay attached to the base plates. will give it a go when I'm next near my Lego.

I based mine on the PennLug Standard after seeing it in BrickJournal #12

Edited January 18, 2014 by technic70s

[Duq]

Does this help? The curves are attached at either end, the middle bit just rests on tiles:

Ballast_Curve1 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr

If you're not happy with that and want to attach the curves to a few spots along the way then this may help:

Curved track attachment points by Duq, on Flickr

[Doom2099]

Does this help? The curves are attached at either end, the middle bit just rests on tiles:

Ballast_Curve1 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr

If you're not happy with that and want to attach the curves to a few spots along the way then this may help:

Curved track attachment points by Duq, on Flickr

Yes this really does help! Thanks for the pictures and links. That will be very useful for putting together some real looking track.