Exclusive Train 10194 Emerald Night (Exclusive 2009)

[MightySlickPancake]

I saw an Emerald Night at an event recently.

When I moved it along the track it rocked, such that the front bogie moved about relative to the body of the loco. I wondered whether the rocking was caused by either a slight squashing of the driving wheels (shape slightly ovoid rather than perfectly circular) or variation in the thickness of the red belts fitted around them.

BBB wheels have not suffered from this effect.

Either way, I wonder about its stability at high cornering speeds. I would be inclined to put train motors under the coach rather than powering the driving wheels.

The design of a loco in a set has certain compromises that I would not make in my own MoCs. The Emerald Night has its driving wheels fixed rigidly to the loco body. Many AFOL MoCs use more articulation to improve stability.

Mark

oh *£%!@~#$ i have just orded mine. when people get theres you can always moc it a bit (or a lot)

also is it very big on the sides like 8 wide cause the tunels i have are quite small?

cb

[Captain Zuloo]

also is it very big on the sides like 8 wide cause the tunels i have are quite small?

Well tomorrow is the long time anticipated day of shipping, so we soon shall see...

[enigmapc]

I spoke with a Lego Customer Service rep today about the actual shipping date of the set. She said Lego received more orders then expected so they will ship out the sets they have in stock to those who ordered first. The remaining orders will be filled in May. Since I ordered mine when the "April 15" ship date was showing, I asked if that meant I would get mine in the first shipment. She said I had a 50-50 chance since my order fell about in the middle. I ordered mine six days after it hit the LegoSHop@Home site. That would imply that if you ordered the set sometime in the first five days it was available, you should be seeing the set soon. PLEASE post a review!!!

[Tinn-man]

I spoke with a Lego Customer Service rep today about the actual shipping date of the set. She said Lego received more orders then expected so they will ship out the sets they have in stock to those who ordered first. The remaining orders will be filled in May. Since I ordered mine when the "April 15" ship date was showing, I asked if that meant I would get mine in the first shipment. She said I had a 50-50 chance since my order fell about in the middle. I ordered mine six days after it hit the LegoSHop@Home site. That would imply that if you ordered the set sometime in the first five days it was available, you should be seeing the set soon. PLEASE post a review!!!

So, if I ordered mine last week, about this time, am I screwed. Please say no, I was really REALLY looking forward to building this on friday .

[brickfreak99]

Hasn't anyone dropped into a Retail Store and bought it yet? I want to see a review!

[KH3D]

I just spoke to someone in Customer Service, and (at least for the US) quantities shouldn't be a problem. Although they got an absolutely amazing number of preorders, the stock they received is roughly 2.5x that number.

[Jason]

Grabbed my Emerald Night from the Lego store in Anaheim, CA at lunch break today. Now I'm just waiting for the clock so I can go home from work and open her up!

[brickfreak99]

^OMG great! Be sure to do a review once you get home!

[Lawrence]

Hello,

Can i ask the majority down here, you all get the normal set (without the power function), or with the collection set (with power function) ?

And which one is more worth to get it ? thanks

[soc399]

I got an email from Shop at Home today saying the the Emerald Night is available now, so order away!

[UsernameMDM]

I got an email from Shop at Home today saying the the Emerald Night is available now, so order away!

Gotta go to the Lego store and get my stamps!

[runswscissors]

Hello,

Can i ask the majority down here, you all get the normal set (without the power function), or with the collection set (with power function) ?

And which one is more worth to get it ? thanks

I ordered the train and the separate power functions collection. I don't care about the flex tracks. At least not yet. Plus, it was $20 cheaper without the tracks. Train was $100 and the powerfunctions were $100.

I got a notice this morning that something had shipped, but it turned out it was ONE ITEM from the power functions collection. Nothing else had shipped as of this morning. I placed the order April 3.

[Cooper]

I got a notice this morning that something had shipped, but it turned out it was ONE ITEM from the power functions collection. Nothing else had shipped as of this morning. I placed the order April 3.

I ordered the Collection and received everything (train + PF + flexible track) with the exception of the remote, which my invoice says is backordered.

[enigmapc]

I ordered the entire collection since this is my first train. I wish I would have gotton more involved in trains when I was younger. It looks like I'll be able to make up for lost time...if that's possible.

All I have coming to me is the motor...I ordered on March 30.

[Lawrence]

Hello,

i have order the normal set yesterday. I thoguth it will be cheaper. The normal set cost me abt $250 in singapore dollars . If i purchase the collection set, it will be at least $400 dollars singapore dollars.

I wish i can get the collection set. But i hope that i have make the rite choice (normal set). Or worst come to the worst, i just push the train along the tracks manually.

[Holodoc]

Hello everyone!

I got my Emerald Night two days ago in the Lego store Oberhausen.

Sadly enough, they did not have the PF-upgrade set (collection), so I had to order it. At least I get the stamps for it.

Today I got the first email, that my flexible track is on the way - no word about the battery box or the other stuff.

I have build the Emerald Night together with my son, who build the passenger car. My job was the locomotive and the tender.

All in all we build about two hours and it was fun!

I´m planning to do a review, but I haven´t got the time right now, so I just show you the first pics.

If you want some special details, let me know.

After we had all put together, we thought we could build in the lights, the IR-receiver and the XL-motor (which we already own) to see what it looks like.

Here are the pics:

The battery box is NOT the one who will be used to power the train! But it works! in high speed only, of course.

the interior with all the PF-stuff in it. This is how the locomotive will look like.

I have to say I feared worse! It´s not as bad as it seemed on first pics. Okay, you can see the motor, but he is somewhat covered in the cabin.

The IR-receiver in the middle of the loco. (blurry - I know...)

The leftovers if you have replaced the normal bricks with the PF-elements.

Stay tuned for a detailed review!

[Gouns]

Thank you very much for that pics Holoc !

Oberhaussen is at the nord of Cologne ( K

Edited April 17, 2009 by Gouns

[dhaas06]

I just finished constructing my Emerald Night set, and there's something interesting to note:

The sticker sheet has extra stickers for the passenger car. There are 2 of every digit 1-9, to customize the road number (I assume). Also, there are 2 stickers each that say "First", "Second" and "Third". The instructions only indicate to use the two "First" stickers.

The other two passenger classes can be used instead, which is nice, but I'm afraid of what it might indicate. Could this mean TLG does not plan on releasing individual passenger cars to add to the Emerald Night? Having these sticker options makes it look like this one set is intended to supply all of the cars that collectors may want. I sure hope we still get some cheaper alternatives, because I'm not very interested in buying multiples of 10194 just to get a full train, regardless of how great the set is.

And as a side note, I have to say that this set is even more beautiful in person!

[dhaas06]

Like someone mentioned on an earlier page, I was frustrated by the fact that the locomotive rocks as it moves. I have been tinkering with it for awhile, trying to pinpoint the exact cause. Finally, I discovered that it is simply the 4 red rubber bands around the drive wheels that cause the rocking. My guess is that, unless they are somehow applied perfectly, the rubber bands are stretched unevenly around the wheels, being thicker in some spots and thinner in others. Since I planned on converting the Emerald Night to 9V power anyway, I have no problem with leaving them off. They still turn just fine when the train is pushed, so I guess the only danger of the wheels slipping is when they are powered directly and have to pull weight.

The only problem with leaving the bands off is that the locomotive now sounds a bit rougher as it moves, but I'll take a noisier yet stable ride over a shaky, quiet one. I really don't mind, since these things aren't quiet in real life either!

Edited April 18, 2009 by dhaas06

[Tinn-man]

Just got the Emerald Night COLLECTION, quick review:

Flex Track: very cool. can't wait to use this in some future layouts! Not as realistic as the old track, though.

Train: Amazing, nothing bad that I can say about it.

Power Functions: I hate it . the remote was backordered , but I rigged something up to make it run. It's kinda loud, you half to destroy half of the train to make it fit . I'm gonna play around with this and see what I can rig up.

[Holodoc]

More pics here.

Sorry, the review still has to wait.

[legotrainfan]

I just finished constructing my Emerald Night set, and there's something interesting to note:

The sticker sheet has extra stickers for the passenger car. There are 2 of every digit 1-9, to customize the road number (I assume). Also, there are 2 stickers each that say "First", "Second" and "Third". The instructions only indicate to use the two "First" stickers.

The other two passenger classes can be used instead, which is nice, but I'm afraid of what it might indicate. Could this mean TLG does not plan on releasing individual passenger cars to add to the Emerald Night? Having these sticker options makes it look like this one set is intended to supply all of the cars that collectors may want. I sure hope we still get some cheaper alternatives, because I'm not very interested in buying multiples of 10194 just to get a full train, regardless of how great the set is.

And as a side note, I have to say that this set is even more beautiful in person!

If there are stickers left for other waggons, I think it is likely that a separate waggon will be released. TLG hasn't really made much effort to adjust a sticker sheet to a specific set. For High Speed Train 4511 there were additional sets, namely 10158 and 10157. I've got 4511 and 10157, and the sticker sheet 10157 came with was identical to the one of 4511. So why should TLC produce a sticker sheet with redundant stickers without thinking about releasing a waggon? Just a theory. Maybe they also believe that AFOLS will build their own waggons anyway and can thus use those extra stickers. But I haven't given up hope that an extra waggon for Emerald Night will indeed be released.

Edited April 18, 2009 by legotrainfan

[Brickthus]

Like someone mentioned on an earlier page, I was frustrated by the fact that the locomotive rocks as it moves. I have been tinkering with it for awhile, trying to pinpoint the exact cause. Finally, I discovered that it is simply the 4 red rubber bands around the drive wheels that cause the rocking. My guess is that, unless they are somehow applied perfectly, the rubber bands are stretched unevenly around the wheels, being thicker in some spots and thinner in others. Since I planned on converting the Emerald Night to 9V power anyway, I have no problem with leaving them off. They still turn just fine when the train is pushed, so I guess the only danger of the wheels slipping is when they are powered directly and have to pull weight.

The only problem with leaving the bands off is that the locomotive now sounds a bit rougher as it moves, but I'll take a noisier yet stable ride over a shaky, quiet one. I really don't mind, since these things aren't quiet in real life either!

That's a relief. Just a matter of smoothing the bands then.

I assume the loco ran smoothly (despite the rougher sound) and didn't rock without the bands?

Did you try it on straights rather than the flexi-track?

If the friction of the wheels is sufficient to move the rods with no slippage, then I recommend two train motors under the carriage instead of motorising the engine, as long as the engine is dedicated to that train.

Mark

[dhaas06]

That's a relief. Just a matter of smoothing the bands then.

I assume the loco ran smoothly (despite the rougher sound) and didn't rock without the bands?

Did you try it on straights rather than the flexi-track?

If the friction of the wheels is sufficient to move the rods with no slippage, then I recommend two train motors under the carriage instead of motorising the engine, as long as the engine is dedicated to that train.

Mark

Actually, I don't even own any flexi-track. I was using 9V straight track.

The rocking was definitely due to the bands, and it was much, much smoother without them. It was still a tiny bit rough, I suppose, but it's negligible. This is simply unavoidable, because the front and rear trucks on the locomotive are not firmly attached underneath, but rather swing on one pin. The result is normal, I just don't want to inaccurately declare that the band removal will magically fix it 100%, maybe more like 90%.

I suppose the bands could be smoothed out, but I didn't even bother. Since I don't need them anyway, I was happy to get rid of the unrealistic red stripes on my wheels.

I'm still trying to decide where I will put my 9V motor(s) on this train. If we end up getting extra carriages, I will definitely need two motors, but one is sufficient for now. While they would certainly fit under the carriage, I want to keep them as close to the front as possible, due to the noise. I suppose I will try to work it into the tender, like I did with my Holiday Train.

One other tip I have for other Emerald Night owners is to make sure that the axles for the drive wheels are perfectly centered. I am always careful and meticulous when building my models, but even still, the slightest degree of variance will definitely be an issue, as the end of the rod gets caught on the pistons as they pass over.

[Holodoc]

I made some photos to compare the Emerald Night with the older 10205 "My own train" in green.

(I had to change the colors from blue to green for that, but that´s another story)

The 10205 used to be a very nice train - until the moment the EN arrived...

Then I wanted to build a Emarald Day - a solar powered engine.

I used the solar panel and an older 9v motor for this:

Somehow the wheels always got stucked at this position:

I think the older 9V-motor is not strong enough to power the train.

So it´s just sit and wait until the ordered PF-elements will arrive.