Paperinik77pk Posted September 29, 2021 (edited) Hi all! Here we go again with big Lego trains running on 45mm G Gauge track! Some of you may remember the yellow Toy Train locomotive I prepared back in 2019 -it was one of my first experiments with G-Gauge trains. This little locomotive was based on a small Powered-Up battery box and a Medium motor. Here it is during a night run on the new 45mm copper track with wooden sleepers I restored to be used on my small garden railway. Here's a detail of the old chassis with the original 1,667:1 gear ratio. This solution proved to work fine on a flat track at home, but was completely useless on the garden line, which can be easily considered a "mountain railway". A 3:1 gear ratio worked better, but gears were too stressed and speed was ridicolous. Plus, with some wagons, the motor always needed to work at full speed. Therefore, back to the lab, I completely revisited the heart of the locomotive, and updating some details on the exterior. Here it is, the Mark II (TADAAAAAAA) !!! And...what's new??? Actually, at body level, it did not change so much from the older one . Handle bars, and headlights have been modified and a new exhaust scoop has been added over the hood (there's no more a red On/Off button). The real new part is under the bodywork: A completely new chassis has been introduced, and now features a new 4-ports PuP Hub and a more efficient Large Motor. Gear ratio is now 2.779:1. It is very strong and smooth - the big battery/bluetooth hub helps traction (which can be increased with the use of rubber bands around the wheels), and the L-Motor is a great improvement over the M-Motor. I've prepared some workflows on the PuP application to work at 25/50/75/100% of the power. The chassis can be detached from the body with four "fast unlock" pins, so changing the batteries is now an easy task. Then, with a locomotive now up to the task of garden railroading, I needed some rolling stock. I've some LGB wagon bases with studs on top (item number 94063) which are the perfect chassis for some wagons I've designed in Stud.io. Both axles are steering, to help the wagon working on tighter curves. So here it is the small gondola , in a bright blue color: And the tan/beige gondola with taller sides: The LGB chassis runs smoothly and really helps the whole train to roll better. Sometimes these things are available (used or new) with an acceptable price, so I get them. A final photo of the consist (fat least for the moment)! Next to come, a passenger and a closed freight wagon with sliding doors (let's see who comes first). I'll try it on the garden railway soon and give some feedbacks (for now only some pretty satisfactory tests were conducted on homemade ramps) I hope you like it!!! Ciao! Davide Edited September 29, 2021 by Paperinik77pk mhhh, it seems I'm no more able to properly type on the keyboard :) :) :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feuer Zug Posted September 29, 2021 Wow! Great little shunter working on your G scale layout. The switch to PUp and a L motor seems to have resolved many issues. Your quick change battery solution is slick. Far better than having to remove the top of a train to get inside. Even the Marklin cars fit with the size and build. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zephyr1934 Posted September 29, 2021 That looks really good! Lego on G is always neat to see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sven J Posted September 29, 2021 Hi Davide, A lovely little train! I already saw the locomotive on Flickr, but the waggons are equally good! Too sad those LGB bases aren't also available in a longer version with 2-axle bogies. Thaks for sharing! Sven Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted September 29, 2021 4 hours ago, Feuer Zug said: Wow! Great little shunter working on your G scale layout. The switch to PUp and a L motor seems to have resolved many issues. Your quick change battery solution is slick. Far better than having to remove the top of a train to get inside. Even the Marklin cars fit with the size and build. Thanks a lot! Yes the new motor is on another planet if compared to the M Motor, which is anyway quite powerful (I did not expect that!!!). And for battery change you are perfectly right - I had to dismantle the hood each time! It was not practical at all 4 hours ago, zephyr1934 said: That looks really good! Lego on G is always neat to see. Thanks, sir!!! Your feedback is always appreciated! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted September 29, 2021 10 minutes ago, Tenderlok said: Hi Davide, A lovely little train! I already saw the locomotive on Flickr, but the waggons are equally good! Too sad those LGB bases aren't also available in a longer version with 2-axle bogies. Thaks for sharing! Sven Ciao Sven! Thanks again!!! The lack of those 4-axle chassis is something I really miss too, but maybe I found something similar that can serve to this scope: Better if you look at the wagons inside Flickr, so you get the full size - these black bases are from Newqida (or some other producer from China) and I bought them in England. These can fit easily a 48 studs-long platform made by Lego plates. With some parts (Technic, normal Lego - whatever you find appropriate) you can lock the platform on the chassis. The only "drawback" is that there's no buffer like the LGB wagons so it/they must be built. The good thing is that these chassis can be used both for 1:32 (Scale 1) and 1:22,5 (G Scale) wagons. If you need the link , I can give it to you without problems. Ciao! Davide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sven J Posted September 29, 2021 These wagon bases look really interesting! For my narrow gauge models, I use LGB link-and-pin couplers anyway, which at the same time serve as a central buffer. Therefore the lack of separate buffers wouldn't matter. So yes, the link would be great! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XG BC Posted September 30, 2021 looks awesome! kinda reminds me of those lgb starter sets with a (i think) blue diesel loco and wagons just like these ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted October 1, 2021 11 hours ago, XG BC said: looks awesome! kinda reminds me of those lgb starter sets with a (i think) blue diesel loco and wagons just like these ones. You are perfectly right!!! In fact this LGB starter set (90450) was the inspiration of the yellow Toy locomotive. The blue locomotive seems a rework of the Playmobil locomotive 4025/4050, developed together with LGB. For the yellow locomotive the side ladders, open cabin and big black handrails were simply translated in Lego parts . In the first picture of this thread you can see that the handrails were similar to the LGB model, then I modified them many times during these years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XG BC Posted October 1, 2021 i knew i recognized the design from somewhere! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted October 2, 2021 Beautiful photos Davide (I like the night photo shoot of the first picture)! Interesting adaptation of the wagon frame to develop the lego wagons! Keep it up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Asper Posted October 2, 2021 Wonderful "little" train. Great! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted October 3, 2021 On 10/2/2021 at 9:43 AM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said: Beautiful photos Davide (I like the night photo shoot of the first picture)! Interesting adaptation of the wagon frame to develop the lego wagons! Keep it up! Thanks Emanuele! As soon as I go back to the house, I will make another photo with the full consist! I hope to take also a photo with some snow this year! On 10/2/2021 at 9:49 AM, Asper said: Wonderful "little" train. Great! Thanks Asper!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlexxInc Posted October 17, 2021 That's a pretty cool train engine you have there. The only thing i would have done different would to replace some of the studs with tiles. This is just my preference because I know some people like to keep that LEGO look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted October 17, 2021 12 hours ago, AlexxInc said: That's a pretty cool train engine you have there. The only thing i would have done different would to replace some of the studs with tiles. This is just my preference because I know some people like to keep that LEGO look. Thank you, and I'd say - good point. The locomotive is indeed full of studs, and I confirm it was a desired thing, since I tried to keep it as cheap as possible . With the wagons I tried to wanted to reduce visible studs (or use them as details or in specific places - sooner or later I will face finally the need for some Maxi-minifig to animate a bit the scene - and it's better to connect them in a solid way). These wagons are more refined than the locomotive and in the future could be pulled by some more aestethically sophisticated machine (probably a small, steamy coffee pot) Ciao! Davide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sven J Posted October 18, 2021 On 10/17/2021 at 3:42 PM, Paperinik77pk said: and in the future could be pulled by some more aestethically sophisticated machine (probably a small, steamy coffee pot) I think you already designed something like that... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted October 18, 2021 40 minutes ago, Tenderlok said: I think you already designed something like that... Indeed!!! It will probably need a brand new transmission/motor - but first, let's see how the "yellow one" works with the new drivetrain! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
