OcTRAINber 2021 - WIP story

[Feuer Zug]

Recently, I was reviewing pictures I took while living in Germany and riding on DeutscheBahn trains. In one picture, I noticed a tiny MoW rolling stock piece being used for assisting with catenary repairs. For some reason, it stuck with me. With this year's OcTRAINber being "Critter" themed and seeking small items like MoW pieces, I will be attempting to recreate it as best I can, using the smallest amount of pieces. I predominantly run stock or modified 6-wide LEGO trains. As my collection of European styled electrics has increased, I have been adding catenary to my layout. I will the catenary it as a reference point for the size of the rolling stock. I should have the parts available for this.

In the same vein, I recently visited the Pennsylvania RR museum in Strasburg, PA. The small theme again plays well into a piece of industrial rolling stock I will attempt to recreate. This item is a perfectly calibrated precision piece. This will require a fair bit of black pieces, but I should have them. I know I've got spare wheel sets to donate to this MOC.

My last attempt will be a "diesel locomotive". If the BMR folks want a small switcher, I'm going with a railcar mover, the Trackmobile Spartan. Tiny, cute, and anything besides a flatcar is larger than the Spartan. It's got an engine that puts out a whopping 100HP and weighs in at approximately 15 tons, and has a tractive effort of 21,750 pounds. I mean, only "real" locomotives are rated for tractive effort, right? This will allow me to use up some of the yellow pieces I've got lying around. Sadly, the size I expect to build this at, it'll be hard to try and stuff a motor in it, but I will try. The battery box and IR receiver would have to be in the connected rolling stock if I can.

[XG BC]

nice plans right there i was thinking about doing a köf 2 of i find the time for it but i feel like everyone is doing one so i need to think of something else to do

[Hod Carrier]

Sounds like an interesting roster you're building there. I am interested to see more as the designs progress.

I wonder if you could squeeze a Circuit Cubes motor and receiver into the Spartan. Certainly LEGO PF/PU would be far too big to fit without some sort of tender as you describe. They do permit third party elements and I'm sure there will be any number of entries that use these little motors (and maybe something even smaller).

[Paperinik77pk]

On 10/5/2021 at 6:09 PM, Feuer Zug said:

If the BMR folks want a small switcher, I'm going with a railcar mover, the Trackmobile Spartan. Tiny, cute, and anything besides a flatcar is larger than the Spartan. It's got an engine that puts out a whopping 100HP and weighs in at approximately 15 tons, and has a tractive effort of 21,750 pounds. I mean, only "real" locomotives are rated for tractive effort, right? This will allow me to use up some of the yellow pieces I've got lying around. Sadly, the size I expect to build this at, it'll be hard to try and stuff a motor in it, but I will try. The battery box and IR receiver would have to be in the connected rolling stock if I can.

I just searched it, It's awesome!!! 

[Paperinik77pk]

20 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

Nice choice. I'm guessing the real electric E69.05 was under 1,000hp, so you might have been good with that. Best of luck with your locomotive. I'll be your competition with my 6-wide Trackmobile.

Thanks sir, the reason of the diesel version  is somehow related to another E69-like locomotive made by Lego, which is the 7720. The "Spielzeug" will have a detachable roof, so I think I could add also an optional pantograph.  Good luck with that fantastic Trackmobile!!! 

Time for an update on the design:

These are the parts needed to build the "Spielzeug Lokomotive" chassis so far. Circuit Cubes motor (yes, only one) and bluetooth Hub have been designed with plates and bricks, just for reference, but I did not insert them in this render. If I will need to change the parts list - I'll update automatically the picture.

Price for chassis (calculated by Stud.io) is 17.65 Euros. I think with used parts the price could be easily reduced.

Some details:

• The triangular liftarms work fine as fake suspensions and for wheels support.
• Buffers are more Lego - styled
• The locomotive has only one motor, therefore the Circuit Cubes hub has two free slots - let's see if I can add something else.
• Traction will be only on one axle, therefore the locomotive is 2WD.

That's all for the moment - time to test the chassis! 

Ciao!

Davide

Edited October 8, 2021 by Paperinik77pk
Updated picture

[Feuer Zug]

I've built what I hope is the final chassis design for my MoW vehicle. It comprises a whopping 8 parts and I don't see any way to get the parts count lower. I've found the parts I believe I will require for the rest of the MoW build.

[XG BC]

8 hours ago, Paperinik77pk said:

Thanks sir, the reason of the diesel version  is somehow related to another E69-like locomotive made by Lego, which is the 7720. The "Spielzeug" will have a detachable roof, so I think I could add also an optional pantograph.  Good luck with that fantastic Trackmobile!!! 

Time for an update on the design:

These are the parts needed to build the "Spielzeug Lokomotive" chassis so far. Circuit Cubes motor (yes, only one) and bluetooth Hub have been designed with plates and bricks, just for reference, but I did not insert them in this render. If I will need to change the parts list - I'll update automatically the picture.

Price for chassis (calculated by Stud.io) is 17.65 Euros. I think with used parts the price could be easily reduced.

Some details:

• The triangular liftarms work fine as fake suspensions and for wheels support.
• Buffers are more Lego - styled
• The locomotive has only one motor, therefore the Circuit Cubes hub has two free slots - let's see if I can add something else.
• Traction will be only on one axle, therefore the locomotive is 2WD.

That's all for the moment - time to test the chassis! 

Ciao!

Davide

looking forward to seeing your design develop more and more! 7720 looks more like a mix between the 005 with its two front windows and the 004 with its sloped fronts in my opinion.

[Paperinik77pk]

Fast update!

Chassis has been built in real bricks (or liftarms, or parts, or...well it's made of Lego) but still some parts are missing in correct color (I have to search for them in my boxes).

In the meantime I prepared some renders:

 

 

 

This locomotive has not a great project beyond - it's more a trial and error - built in the old way, with bricks-in-a-box method.

The chassis has been mocked-up, drawn, built, modified and then redrawn (nothing new, I'd say) some times . But I was lucky and it seems quite solid. So I consolidated the renderings to give a more "ppppppppppppprofessional" look at the whole exercise. 

Wheels are missing, but there's one specific reason for it - before, we need to take a look at the prototype to understand the really original way (for a train model) to transmit the power to the axles.

Coming back soon! 

[zephyr1934]

Oh my, this is looking complicated. Any chance you've got example photos of the prototype?

[Paperinik77pk]

Here I am - I had to save pictures in Flickr 

This is my PIKO 57014 - H0 scale locomotive bought during the first year of Lockdown. It is the current version of the original Spielzeug. Quite an "historical model" from Piko.

 

 

 

 

 

On both axles there's a big drum, which is connected to the double-shaft 12v motor using two twisted rubber bands. The original model worked in the same way back in the 60s.

This band-driven kind of transmission is the reason why I'm building with Technic parts. It reminded me the first experiments I made when my parents bought me the Lego 870 4,5v Technic motor 

But my "Rangierlok" has only one driven axle respect to the H0 model. The presence of the battery/bluetooth Circuit Cubes Hub and the single-shafted CC motor leaves no space for a 4wd transmission .

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by Paperinik77pk

[ivanlan9]

Rubber band drive?  Shades of the old Athearn Hustler!  I used to have one, but only ran it a few times, as (contrary to what it says in this article:  https://hotraincollector.com/the-iconic-athearn-hustler/ ) its ONLY speed was about 300 scale MPH.  It *leapt* off the tracks.

Metta,

Ivan

[Paperinik77pk]

24 minutes ago, ivanlan9 said:

Rubber band drive?  Shades of the old Athearn Hustler!  I used to have one, but only ran it a few times, as (contrary to what it says in this article:  https://hotraincollector.com/the-iconic-athearn-hustler/ ) its ONLY speed was about 300 scale MPH.  It *leapt* off the tracks.

Metta,

Ivan

Wooow! This is great, and could easily participate to Octrainber 2021!

Piko offered also another locomotive, today sold as "Diesellok" - item number 57013. Same chassis, different body...and a body that strangely resembles the Hustler's one.

I find too many similarities to be simple coincidences: the split front grille,the two small windows over the hood,the two vertical windows aside the hood and the double windows on the cabin's side. It seems pretty the same prototype.

These locomotives are pretty fast and silent too.

Thanks Ivan for this good information! 

 

[XG BC]

3 hours ago, Paperinik77pk said:

Here I am - I had to save pictures in Flickr 

This is my PIKO 57014 - H0 scale locomotive bought during the first year of Lockdown. It is the current version of the original Spielzeug. Quite an "historical model" from Piko.

 

 

 

 

 

On both axles there's a big drum, which is connected to the double-shaft 12v motor using two twisted rubber bands. The original model worked in the same way back in the 60s.

This band-driven kind of transmission is the reason why I'm building with Technic parts. It reminded me the first experiments I made when my parents bought me the Lego 870 4,5v Technic motor 

But my "Rangierlok" has only one driven axle respect to the H0 model. The presence of the battery/bluetooth Circuit Cubes Hub and the single-shafted CC motor leaves no space for a 4wd transmission .

 

ok this really looks like the e69 005 with the pantograph chopped off and this thing added to the roof instead! maybe i will participate aswell with an e69 005 but not based on the piko one but the real one instead pantograph and all. never thought this had a rubber band drive in it.

[Paperinik77pk]

23 hours ago, XG BC said:

ok this really looks like the e69 005 with the pantograph chopped off and this thing added to the roof instead! maybe i will participate aswell with an e69 005 but not based on the piko one but the real one instead pantograph and all. never thought this had a rubber band drive in it.

Go on! Join the contest - it's my first time and it's positively challenging! 

[XG BC]

 

20 minutes ago, Paperinik77pk said:

Go on! Join the contest - it's my first time and it's positively challenging! 

yea we will see the deciding factor will be if i get the 5 wide hoods connected to the 6 wide cab in a way that looks good and doesnt have a 10 meter gap inbetween it!

[Paperinik77pk]

Now after all those designs...something real to look at!

Chassis has been completed after a bit of "home shopping" - unfortunately my Lego parts are not organized as I would like so I lose a lot of time - but after all I knew more or less where to find them, so buying other parts was useless.

Here's the chassis , all in black:

And , finally, the rubber band transmission is ready.

Here you can see the first real difference between the Piko prototype and the Lego version.

The 12v motor of the Piko (seems a 130 type) runs at a very high speed, while the Circuit Cubes works at 4v more or less (I measured 3.88v), and it's slower. But it's really smooth and develops a good torque. 

Therefore the Piko model is reducing the speed using a smaller driver pinion and a big driven drum on the axle. Being the CC motor already geared, I use a 1:1 gear ratio, so both drums are sized equally. I tried also a smaller driver pinion, but this results in a very low speed.

I can now explain the use of the two pins you see over the not-driven axle - these are sliding to lock the battery/hub in place.

Circuit Cubes motor and Hub are now installed, and ready for action. Battery/Hub slides inside the chassis. It can be turned on removing the Hub, or using a Lego stick / bar.

The body will be detachable and, based on the parts I already have , could be YELLOW instead of blue. I was thinking also to red, to honour the 7720, but I'm short of liftarms. I'll make some lists on Bricklink, just to have an idea of the price. 

Yellow seems interesting for such kind of locomotive - a modern repainting of an old machine to be used as a workhorse.

Ciao!

Davide

29 minutes ago, XG BC said:

 

yea we will see the deciding factor will be if i get the 5 wide hoods connected to the 6 wide cab in a way that looks good and doesnt have a 10 meter gap inbetween it!

I can say already...I'll completely skip that detail  

Just and idea for your E69: maybe thinking to a 7-wide with a 6-wide hood? the bigger the scale, the less the gap (theorically) 

Edited October 9, 2021 by Paperinik77pk

[XG BC]

10 minutes ago, Paperinik77pk said:

Now after all those designs...something real to look at!

Chassis has been completed after a bit of "home shopping" - unfortunately my Lego parts are not organized as I would like so I lose a lot of time - but after all I knew more or less where to find them, so buying other parts was useless.

Here's the chassis , all in black:

And , finally, the rubber band transmission is ready.

Here you can see the first real difference between the Piko prototype and the Lego version.

The 12v motor of the Piko (seems a 130 type) runs at a very high speed, while the Circuit Cubes works at 4v more or less (I measured 3.88v), and it's slower. But it's really smooth and develops a good torque. 

Therefore the Piko model is reducing the speed using a smaller driver pinion and a big driven drum on the axle. Being the CC motor already geared, I use a 1:1 gear ratio, so both drums are sized equally. I tried also a smaller driver pinion, but this results in a very low speed.

I can now explain the use of the two pins you see over the not-driven axle - these are sliding to lock the battery/hub in place.

Circuit Cubes motor and Hub are now installed, and ready for action. Battery/Hub slides inside the chassis. It can be turned on removing the Hub, or using a Lego stick / bar.

The body will be detachable and, based on the parts I already have , could be YELLOW instead of blue. I was thinking also to red, to honour the 7720, but I'm short of liftarms. I'll make some lists on Bricklink, just to have an idea of the price. 

Yellow seems interesting for such kind of locomotive - a modern repainting of an old machine to be used as a workhorse.

Ciao!

Davide

I can say already...I'll completely skip that detail  

Just and idea for your E69: maybe thinking to a 7-wide with a 6-wide hood? the bigger the scale, the less the gap (theorically) 

the gap that i am talking about is because half of my hood will be snotted and ill have to see how to design that

[Paperinik77pk]

Aaaah yes, with snot you can reduce the gap for sure, even on 6-wide 

Go on with experiments, E69 are always nice to see around 😍

Edited October 10, 2021 by Paperinik77pk

[Feuer Zug]

Paperinik77pk, your chassis with the drive system looks exceptional. The fact that you've tested it and gotten encouraging results on track is wonderful. You've come a lot further than me, and my works aren't even going to be motorized.

--------------------Back to work--------------------Back to work--------------------Back to work--------------------

When I got ready to start the detail work on my Maintenance of Way piece, I noticed I'd made a glaring error. What I thought was a main structural member of the chassis was in fact a segment of rail on the next track over. Upon further review, my entire design had to be thrown out. It was too bulky. As such, a new chassis had to be built, but how? The reduction in size was going to be nigh impossible.. I thought hard, and looking at my Jackson ballast tamper, got an idea how to make it. The rest of the design clicked from there. Actually, by going with the bar frame chassis, is made putting a better brake wheel on. Here are pics of the chassis, the complete MoW piece, the piece on track, and my reference picture taken in Aachen in 2016. Total parts count is 25 pieces (not including worker).

--------------------Next Work--------------------Next Work--------------------Next Work--------------------

The chassis for my precision rolling stock is coming along nicely. Unlike my MoW ladder, I think I did better working with the reference picture. Given the nature of the rolling stock, I felt it best to beef it up. Subsequently, I dug into my stash of old boat parts and have found a pair of weight bricks. I will be installing them to ensure the rolling stock meets the intent of design and to ensure a train pulling it won't fly off my R40 curves at speed. Note, the bogie coupled to the magnet is there to make sure I got the height correct.

Edited to add breaks because the system merged my posts.

Edited October 10, 2021 by Feuer Zug

[Paperinik77pk]

2 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

 

That's a great MOW rolling ladder - It's effective as the original one! Brilliant!!! 

2 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

Paperinik77pk, your chassis with the drive system looks exceptional. The fact that you've tested it and gotten encouraging results on track is wonderful. You've come a lot further than me, and my works aren't even going to be motorized.

Thanks a lot! Even without motor, I'm already in love with that ladder!!!

. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. 

Here's some videos about the chassis tests. First, the rubber band at work!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/51572413363/in/dateposted-public/

And here's the track test:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/51572411473/in/dateposted-public/

And then, some...(sorry for the joke but it fits nicely)

- ...BAD NEWS!

- WWWWHAT?

- THE DACIA SANDERO...

OH, NO! NOW, The chassis has a problem. Not regarding how it works, but how the weight is distributed. As a matter of fact , the load on traction axle is lower than the load on the free axle. And with the weight of the body, things will get worse. So as a first remediation, I removed the nylon bands around the free axle wheels.

Then, I think this thread could help:

Let's see what I can do for this issue!

Edited October 10, 2021 by Paperinik77pk
Videos were not embedded correctly - pasted as a link :)

[zephyr1934]

18 hours ago, Paperinik77pk said:

Circuit Cubes motor and Hub are now installed, and ready for action. Battery/Hub slides inside the chassis. It can be turned on removing the Hub, or using a Lego stick / bar.

The body will be detachable and, based on the parts I already have , could be YELLOW instead of blue. I was thinking also to red, to honour the 7720, but I'm short of liftarms. I'll make some lists on Bricklink, just to have an idea of the price. 

That's brilliant, I like the way you are making a (larger than life?) model of a model and preserving the functionality of the original.

 

 

4 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

Here are pics of the chassis, the complete MoW piece, the piece on track, and my reference picture taken in Aachen in 2016. Total parts count is 25 pieces (not including worker).

 

Okay, that might very well be the smallest Lego train MOC at stnadard gauge. Great work thinking small.

[XG BC]

 

the snot is the issue for the gap!

see how the top half of the hood stands out forward like this and has a huge gap in it? that is my issue currently

3 hours ago, Paperinik77pk said:

That's a great MOW rolling ladder - It's effective as the original one! Brilliant!!! 

Thanks a lot! Even without motor, I'm already in love with that ladder!!!

. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. _ . _ . _. 

Here's some videos about the chassis tests. First, the rubber band at work!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/51572413363/in/dateposted-public/

And here's the track test:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/51572411473/in/dateposted-public/

And then, some...(sorry for the joke but it fits nicely)

- ...BAD NEWS!

- WWWWHAT?

- THE DACIA SANDERO...

OH, NO! NOW, The chassis has a problem. Not regarding how it works, but how the weight is distributed. As a matter of fact , the load on traction axle is lower than the load on the free axle. And with the weight of the body, things will get worse. So as a first remediation, I removed the nylon bands around the free axle wheels.

Then, I think this thread could help:

Let's see what I can do for this issue!

you have quite the callenge with your chassis and drive system! mine is just a simple 9v motor and i am done with it but huge respect for doing something similar to the piko model!

Edited October 10, 2021 by XG BC

[zephyr1934]

23 hours ago, XG BC said:

the snot is the issue for the gap!

see how the top half of the hood stands out forward like this and has a huge gap in it? that is my issue currently

On the snotted hoods you could replace the "bottom" (i.e., closest to the cab) layer of bricks with a layer of plates, which will increase the gap from 1/2 plate to 2.5 plates. Then fill that space with a 1 stud wide, 5 plate tall assembly that is studs up in the above photo. That should fill the gap.

[XG BC]

19 minutes ago, zephyr1934 said:

On the snotted hoods you could replace the "bottom" (i.e., closest to the cab) layer of bricks with a layer of plates, which will increase the gap from 1/2 plate to 2.5 plates. Then fill that space with a 1 stud wide, 5 plate tall assembly that is studs up in the above photo. That should fill the gap.

good suggestion! will try that out!

[XG BC]

tried your suggestion worked perfectly thank you very much!

next up is improving the looks of the headlights and general detailing.

Edited October 11, 2021 by XG BC