Duplo Trains discussion

[Guy_Walker]

Yes - the wire links are simple but not very kid friendly

Unfortunately, I don’t know of any links constructed using Duplo blocks

I posted a Lego link solution a while back #144

PeterF has a long Lego brick link #180

and also a solution using Lego Technic pieces #172

But I guess Duplo blocks are just too chunky.

[PeterF]

Hi jblackwe,

I don't know what age the kids are and whether they still might try to eat smaller lego parts, but otherwise a few basic technic pieces might do the trick. post #172 and #180 in this thread provide some examples (thanks guy), but most anything will do. The round bricks are very handy because they fit on duplo studs and have an axle hole, but other than that no special pieces are needed.

[Bajajoaquin]

Hi, all. My name is Jonathan Moynes (the screen name is one I've used for a looong time now, sorry). I came across this forum topic recently when I bought my 2-1/2 year old daughter a Duplo train set and was looking for layout ideas beyond loops and figure-eights. I've made Guy Walker's double-lazy switch dogbone, and have been looking at some of his other layouts for other APV options.

The first thing I thought about was adding a loop in to the center of the track (the horizontal section that ties the two loops together. But I couldn't figure out how to get it to return to the main line nor how to keep it APV, avoiding getting stuck or missing any tracks. I never managed to think of a simple switched layout, but what I did come up with is a varation on the linked lazy switch idea. The difference is that, rather than linking them in phase (IP), they would be linked out of phase (OP).

That way, a train could come along, have the first switch allow it to follow the main line, and the second switch would be set to divert it to the branch line. Once the train went around, it would rejoin the main line from the first switch, and thereby change the setting of the switch. Since the switches are set OP, the second switch would then be reset to allow the train to remain on the main line.

I don't have Guy's or Robert's illustration skills, so I just took some pictures of the switches "before" and "after."

If the train were coming from left to right in this image, it would continue along the main line through this switch, and not move it. The second switch is set so it would go around the loop and return to the first switch. By rejoining the main line, it would move the switch.

Once it did that, because the switches would be linked OP, before the train reached the next switch, it would look like this:

If the switch was in place so the trains only came at it from the left to the right, then the approaching train would move the first switch when it stayed along the main line. This action would reset the second switch so that it diverted the train onto the loop. If the train came from the right, it would already be in position to route the train on the loop. It would be essentially the mirror image of the first photo.

Of course, I haven't built the layout or even the switching system, but I'll need a bit more Duplo and Lego for that. If anyone thinks I'm missing something, or there's a way to do this unlinked, I'd love to know.

Edited to add:

An inauspicous start to my posting here, but I realized that I made a mistake. The switch is just 180-degrees off, so the switches are actually in phase. The only reason that I would need to make a linkage is because they're right next to each other. I guess I'll have to think harder to come up with something totally new!

Edited August 31, 2015 by Bajajoaquin

[Peter Nolan]

Hi Jonathan, nice to see some more duplo ideas :-) My advice is to work quickly--before you know it, your daughter will be onto Lego...

[GallardoLU]

Hello Duplo builders, I am new to the whole parenting thing so I was wondering around what age did some of you start accumulating trains for your kids? my son will be about 9mo this Christmas I figure that might be a bit young to really enjoy them. but as mentioned above, I don't want to wait to long either. we already have a large supply of duplo (mostly from my own childhood) but no trains yet. thanks in advance for any advice.

[Robert Cailliau]

Hi GallardoLU,

9 months seems very young indeed! I just looked back into our photo/movie archives: our granddaughter Nora had Duplo when she was 1 year old. At that point she could not put blocks on each other, but thouroughly enjoyed the "dolls", especially the very old type (that were only "heads", see http://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?M=dupfig030#T=S&O={"ii":1} ). She played a lot with figures and with separate objects such as cars and the plane until she was 3 or 4. She got her first Duplo train set at her second birthday, and the school (kindergarten) where she went in Paris also had a duplo train set. At 2.5 she discovered her grandmother's normal Lego, which is very neatly kept in a storage box with little trays, all types and colours sorted. She loved that, but only because it was a lot of orderly stuff with lots of the same pieces, not because she constructed much with it. (unfortunately my status here does not allow me to post more pictures).

She walked at just under 1 year, and talked (a lot) from somewhat later.

She is now 6 and still gets the train out to play with, as well as the farm animals, cars, and things, but for construction she is now into the Lego Friends series and of course did the Ice castle from "Frozen" (41062).

The locomotives have a big button on top to make them go, and that was fun when she had enough hand coordination to push that button accurately even when the train was moving. So maybe that is a "turning point": sufficient eye-hand coordination. It's also not easy to put trains onto the rails (see http://www.cailliau.org/Alphabetical/L/Lego/Duplo/Train/Rails/Dimensions/ )

We have 5 locomotives, but two are certainly sufficient, as it all takes a lot of room on the floor. There are some older style railway cars with roofs that open so little figures can be put in, and she also loved to do that, as well as making long trains with lots of figures on them.

[Bajajoaquin]

Hi Jonathan, nice to see some more duplo ideas :-) My advice is to work quickly--before you know it, your daughter will be onto Lego...

Thank you. She plays with Lego a bit now, at my mother's house (she still has the box of Lego from when I was a kid). We're planning on another so I figure I still have 3-4 more years total available to me.... :)

Hello Duplo builders, I am new to the whole parenting thing so I was wondering around what age did some of you start accumulating trains for your kids? my son will be about 9mo this Christmas I figure that might be a bit young to really enjoy them. but as mentioned above, I don't want to wait to long either. we already have a large supply of duplo (mostly from my own childhood) but no trains yet. thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi GallardoLU,

9 months seems very young indeed! I just looked back into our photo/movie archives: our granddaughter Nora had Duplo when she was 1 year old. At that point she could not put blocks on each other, but thouroughly enjoyed the "dolls", especially the very old type (that were only "heads", see http://alpha.brickli...#T=S&O={"ii":1} ). She played a lot with figures and with separate objects such as cars and the plane until she was 3 or 4. She got her first Duplo train set at her second birthday, and the school (kindergarten) where she went in Paris also had a duplo train set. At 2.5 she discovered her grandmother's normal Lego, which is very neatly kept in a storage box with little trays, all types and colours sorted. She loved that, but only because it was a lot of orderly stuff with lots of the same pieces, not because she constructed much with it. (unfortunately my status here does not allow me to post more pictures).

She walked at just under 1 year, and talked (a lot) from somewhat later.

She is now 6 and still gets the train out to play with, as well as the farm animals, cars, and things, but for construction she is now into the Lego Friends series and of course did the Ice castle from "Frozen" (41062).

The locomotives have a big button on top to make them go, and that was fun when she had enough hand coordination to push that button accurately even when the train was moving. So maybe that is a "turning point": sufficient eye-hand coordination. It's also not easy to put trains onto the rails (see http://www.cailliau....ils/Dimensions/ )

We have 5 locomotives, but two are certainly sufficient, as it all takes a lot of room on the floor. There are some older style railway cars with roofs that open so little figures can be put in, and she also loved to do that, as well as making long trains with lots of figures on them.

This matches my more limited experience. My daughter is 2-1/2, and she presses the button, understands that you stop the train before doing other things with it, as well as more complex interactions with the layout. I think more important, though was my wife's comment the first night we had it: "Wow. This is the longest we have all played with any toy all at once ever." Your son is a bit young, and expect him to lose interest fairly rapidly. But if you're fired up and engaged, it will probably extend the amount of time you're playing over all. Note that the dexterity required to fit the blocks together is still a ways off for him, and if he can't do that, engagement will be limited. As a rough guess, I'd say that mastering a shape-sorter is a prerequisite for enjoying Duplo.

Sorry for the long post, but....

I put together a mock-up of the linked switch. Unfortunately, I realized it was even more limited than I'd originally hoped. Essentially, it's a crossing switch, but with moving parts. The only advantage I can see now is that A. I don't have any crossing switches, and B. longer term it might be nice to have a crossing switch that is separated by more straights and a longer linkage. Perhaps there are other uses for it that I haven't considered yet.

Here's a video of it in action. (Looks like I don't yet know how to embed video, but I think I have the links right!)

I made it from supplies I had lying around in my kitchen: JB Weld epoxy, plastic from a jar lid, and waxed paper for a washer to make sure the epoxy didn't seep in and lock everything up.

For reference, here's what the switches do if unlinked: the train can go through, but then would get trapped in a loop. You could start the train in such a way so that it never reached one section of track at all: Definitely not APV.

Interesting to note that if you rotate the same switch layout 90 degrees, it behaves totally differently. I thought of this as the "Walker Switch" until I remembered that he said linked switches were much more important than unlinked. Maybe it's a "Lazy Walker." You can also see clearly that it needs four cycles to complete, whereas the plain figure-8 really completes in 1.

So as I said, I'm a bit disappointed that the very limited utility of my version of the linked switch. There may be some real use for it, but I haven't found it yet.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Bajajoaquin

[GallardoLU]

Hi GallardoLU,

9 months seems very young indeed! I just looked back into our photo/movie archives: our granddaughter Nora had Duplo when she was 1 year old. At that point she could not put blocks on each other, but thouroughly enjoyed the "dolls", especially the very old type (that were only "heads", see http://alpha.brickli...#T=S&O={"ii":1} ). She played a lot with figures and with separate objects such as cars and the plane until she was 3 or 4. She got her first Duplo train set at her second birthday, and the school (kindergarten) where she went in Paris also had a duplo train set. At 2.5 she discovered her grandmother's normal Lego, which is very neatly kept in a storage box with little trays, all types and colours sorted. She loved that, but only because it was a lot of orderly stuff with lots of the same pieces, not because she constructed much with it. (unfortunately my status here does not allow me to post more pictures).

She walked at just under 1 year, and talked (a lot) from somewhat later.

She is now 6 and still gets the train out to play with, as well as the farm animals, cars, and things, but for construction she is now into the Lego Friends series and of course did the Ice castle from "Frozen" (41062).

The locomotives have a big button on top to make them go, and that was fun when she had enough hand coordination to push that button accurately even when the train was moving. So maybe that is a "turning point": sufficient eye-hand coordination. It's also not easy to put trains onto the rails (see http://www.cailliau....ils/Dimensions/ )

We have 5 locomotives, but two are certainly sufficient, as it all takes a lot of room on the floor. There are some older style railway cars with roofs that open so little figures can be put in, and she also loved to do that, as well as making long trains with lots of figures on them.

This matches my more limited experience. My daughter is 2-1/2, and she presses the button, understands that you stop the train before doing other things with it, as well as more complex interactions with the layout. I think more important, though was my wife's comment the first night we had it: "Wow. This is the longest we have all played with any toy all at once ever." Your son is a bit young, and expect him to lose interest fairly rapidly. But if you're fired up and engaged, it will probably extend the amount of time you're playing over all. Note that the dexterity required to fit the blocks together is still a ways off for him, and if he can't do that, engagement will be limited. As a rough guess, I'd say that mastering a shape-sorter is a prerequisite for enjoying Duplo.

thanks for the experiences, currently he is in "throw mode" anything you give him gets tossed in a random direction, (or drooled on as he is teething a bit) I was thinking maybe get a train set for this years holidays but wanted to also make sure he would enjoy it. I think I might use the next year to start buying some trains but hold off introducing them till he can handle the regular Duplo he has. I have to admit, I am finding it hard waiting to share this hobby with him (he had a Duplo set waiting for him the moment he was born )

[Robert Cailliau]

GallardoLU, it is hard for fathers to wait, but you will have to… It's even harder for grandfathers :-)

[zephyr1934]

Hello Duplo builders, I am new to the whole parenting thing so I was wondering around what age did some of you start accumulating trains for your kids? my son will be about 9mo this Christmas I figure that might be a bit young to really enjoy them. but as mentioned above, I don't want to wait to long either. we already have a large supply of duplo (mostly from my own childhood) but no trains yet. thanks in advance for any advice.

thanks for the experiences, currently he is in "throw mode" anything you give him gets tossed in a random direction, (or drooled on as he is teething a bit) I was thinking maybe get a train set for this years holidays but wanted to also make sure he would enjoy it. I think I might use the next year to start buying some trains but hold off introducing them till he can handle the regular Duplo he has. I have to admit, I am finding it hard waiting to share this hobby with him (he had a Duplo set waiting for him the moment he was born )

I think I started collecting Duplo trains before my first one was even in the oven (I stumbled on a clearance sale at 50% off... but even at full retail they seem like a good bargain to me). It all depends on your son's disposition. He might be at the stage where he likes holding 2x2's and just waving them around. It was not until we had kids that I found out why there are so many 2x2's in Duplo sets.

Presumably if you are hanging around this neck of the woods you are a lego builder. If you take the right frame of mind there are a lot of really challenging building constraints with Duplo. Get down there on the floor and start seeing what you can put together, approach it with the same "I want to make it look the best" that you likely do with your MOC's (of course no one beside your son will mistake it for a real train, but it is fun to see how far you can get). Also see if you can come up with interesting creations that both challenge yourself and entertain your son, e.g., I built this spiral where the train would run up, turn around, come back down, repeat

At around 2.5 it was utterly fascinating to my son and I found it to be a fun building challenge. I also built similar constructions with level track and set the boy inside the creation with 2 trains running loops around him. Eventually he took over building the trains, he now has a Duplo challenger that he built and still plays with while at the same time he's also starting to get into technic. I think Duplo was originally targeted at up to 8ish and it really does seem to work that old, but there is such a big push for "realistic" toys at a younger age that now I think the recommended Duplo age range ends around 5.

[Guy_Walker]

Hi Bajajoaquin

Great build!!

You've created an alternative mechanism for linking 2 lazy points which is more compact than the "one above the other" arrangement. There's no need for a long loop of track between the 2 switches and the mechanical linkage underneath is very neat.

It's main disadvantage though is that you can't connect track to the central joining section, so cannot add more complexity. As you've found out, the simple 'double-lazy switch dogbone' layout is a bit limited.

With 2 unlinked switches, you have a surprisingly long run, see auto_run page.

I give this an ARL (auto run length) of 8/4 as I count the central 'missing' track between the 2 points.

But linking the 2 switches produces a simple cross over, which halves the ARL to 4/2. A case of more complexity doesn't make a more interesting circuit. This is often what happens even with very large circuits. They easily reduce.

Rotating the 'unlinked' layout by 90 degrees creates 2 separate loops which as you say is not APV. With the 'linked' layout, the 2 linked points act as a cross over, so rotating makes no difference.

But still, nice build, and as you say, just a matter of finding some real use for it :-)

Edited January 10, 2016 by Guy_Walker

[ShaunC]

Hi everyone,

Mike: you didn't buy that train off ebay in Australia by any chance? I recall seeing an item for sale that matched your description. As it happens, I have an open (non-working) intelli-train somewhere on my workbench at the moment. The problem with mine is a stripped gearbox, so the circuit board may still be OK. If you like I could take a photo of the circuit board for reference.

I have an intelli-train from a 3325 set, also with a broken gearbox. Does anybody know if this is repairable? It is the primary gear on the motor shaft which has cracked and parted company with the shaft. White arrow on the photo. I was going to ask what the infra red sensor was for (black arrow), but I see the answer is already on this thread.

[Peter Nolan]

Yes, you can buy replacement pinions. I did this for a couple of trains using plastic replacements. Looking on ebay it seems that only brass ones are available at the moment.You could try http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pinion-gear-Replacement-Gear-for-Lego-Duplo-Intelli-Locomotive-Module-0-4-9-/201444974931?var=&hash=item2ee70e6153:m:mYQEmFvY5iw4Oeq_D7I26Cg (no affiliation with me). As for how to actually get the pinion off, you could try looking at: http://www.papa-mach-ganz.de/pdf/PapaMachGanz-LEGO-Duplo-Intelli-Lok-Zahnrad-wechseln.pdf. It is in german, but the pictures are useful.

Good luck!

[Adam Badura]

Recently we bought not so new anymore (2013) but still current large train set, the 10508: Deluxe Train Set. To my surprise the locomotive works differently. Not only it makes a different sound and the on/off button seems more like rubber than plastic but also it rides differently. Now there is no auto-stop on difficulties. Only on timer (2 minutes if I recall correctly). Instruction describes this as a new feature to make it easier to play with the train.

From my point of view this is better for older children. The train can now do more work without risk of stopping. For example it is capable of dragging more carts. But for younger children it might be somewhat worse as the often not care for the train running against the wall (or similar). While now it will not stop automatically anymore.

[docko911]

Recently we bought not so new anymore (2013) but still current large train set, the 10508: Deluxe Train Set. To my surprise the locomotive works differently. Not only it makes a different sound and the on/off button seems more like rubber than plastic but also it rides differently. Now there is no auto-stop on difficulties. Only on timer (2 minutes if I recall correctly). Instruction describes this as a new feature to make it easier to play with the train.

From my point of view this is better for older children. The train can now do more work without risk of stopping. For example it is capable of dragging more carts. But for younger children it might be somewhat worse as the often not care for the train running against the wall (or similar). While now it will not stop automatically anymore.

Do you think the 10508 would be a worthwhile buy for 2 and half year old that has just started showing considerable interest in LEGO Duplo?

We purchased him the 10810 Push Train and after completing his first ever (assisted) Duplo build

he continued to play with the train and small track for hours. I'm considering getting him 10506, 10507 and 10508 so he can build large tracks with multiple trains... what do you think?

I was thinking of

[Adam Badura]

Do you think the 10508 would be a worthwhile buy for 2 and half year old that has just started showing considerable interest in LEGO Duplo?

We purchased him the 10810 Push Train and after completing his first ever (assisted) Duplo build

he continued to play with the train and small track for hours. I'm considering getting him 10506, 10507 and 10508 so he can build large tracks with multiple trains... what do you think?

Definitly! At least one autmatic train and some more tracks with switches will make the fun even better. Although do mind the space. I'm not sure how much flat space do you have available.

Also from my experience it is good to add some amounts of simple bricks and plates so that something more can be build. From the movie he builds by his own already from the book. Mine started that much later. But if so then the extra bricks can easly change to more variation in track layout by allowing to build elevated tracks or Bridges between pices of furniture.

[docko911]

Definitly! At least one autmatic train and some more tracks with switches will make the fun even better. Although do mind the space. I'm not sure how much flat space do you have available.

Also from my experience it is good to add some amounts of simple bricks and plates so that something more can be build. From the movie he builds by his own already from the book. Mine started that much later. But if so then the extra bricks can easly change to more variation in track layout by allowing to build elevated tracks or Bridges between pices of furniture.

Great, I'll have to start hunting around for the set or order through the Lego Shop online. I think the automatic train will make it more exciting for him along with the variations in track; elevated track, bridges etc.

[Mestari]

My daughter loves her duplo train, it's the automatic passanger one. Recently she started to play with it manually too. Sometimes she does that while the train is on, sometimes when off. Now, how much damage can this cause? There is no explaining she should not do it...

[foreman_builder]

Hi all,

I'd like to bother you a reoccuring problem: the stop sensor. I just cannot find the proper answer in this forum. My problem is the same as many other's: Train starts but stops after 1 second. I removed the reed relay and connected the wires. No changes: starts but stops in 1 second. The train is in excellent mechanical condition from the inside.

Thanks in advance.

Adam

[ballzack]

Hey adam,  I just happen to have the same problem with the trains...changed the battery's and they don't stop immediatly.  Looks like there is a fail safe for smaller kids: the train stops when it doesn't feel traction. So when our kids lift the train,  they can't hurt thein small fingers.

About some track layouts: I have 3 kids(8, 5 and 2.5year old). I try to build one long track and use 6 switches to divide it in 3parts where in my kids can sit/stand. Each one is responsible for his own piece of track and they need to work together to get the train around the long track...

[PenguinThistle]

Sorry to be the annoying person to jump on an old thread but reading through this made me sign up to Euro bricks. It's been a very interesting read. I'm a little confused  however at some of the track & train observations. We have track from 1993 (from my own original set) & 2008 (from a thomas set bought from eBay). I've got curves from both and I tested whether they can fit side by side on a piece of Duplo and they both fit next to each other. Also somebody said that you couldn't do long trains so I tested this with my 1993 original train and it was pulling 4 carriages and two push trains fine around our track, it was slower than just two carriages, but it still did the full track. This makes me wonder; is my 1993 train more powerful than the modern trains? I have bought a second hand 2008 diesel  from eBay which I'm waiting to arrive to see if this is the case!

[Robert Cailliau]

I never see a reason why an old thread would necessarily mean it's inferior.

As to your observations, I may have posted the url https://www.cailliau.org/Alphabetical/L/Lego/Duplo/Train/Rails/Dimensions/ before, or not.

And yes, my (my granddaughter's) locomotives can also pull many carriages.  The locomotives have changed.  It also depends on the wear on the rubber tyres, the state of the batteries etc.  Many parameters.

Have fun,

Robert.

[Dav1d]

I have just got my first DUPLO train and have just added a Bricklist of 'All the DUPLO Trains'.

It is in www.Brickset.com - enter any Duplo train set number and select 'Bricklists' at the bottom - or https://brickset.com/sets/list-26191

It is not just a list but contains information on each set and how the theme has developed. I have also written a few on 'normal' LEGO trains.

As I'm not an expert, please have a look and let me know if there are any omissions or corrections required.

Thanks. 

 

[zg0]

On 11/3/2018 at 11:34 AM, Dav1d said:

just added a Bricklist of 'All the DUPLO Trains'.

all Thomas sets missed.

[edge_nl]

On 9/4/2015 at 3:53 AM, Bajajoaquin said:

I put together a mock-up of the linked switch. Unfortunately, I realized it was even more limited than I'd originally hoped. Essentially, it's a crossing switch, but with moving parts. The only advantage I can see now is that A. I don't have any crossing switches, and B. longer term it might be nice to have a crossing switch that is separated by more straights and a longer linkage. Perhaps there are other uses for it that I haven't considered yet.

...

I made it from supplies I had lying around in my kitchen: JB Weld epoxy, plastic from a jar lid, and waxed paper for a washer to make sure the epoxy didn't seep in and lock everything up.

Great idea, saw your movie on youtube a while ago.

But it's possible to make this figure-8 in more simple way: using 3d printed funnels instead of switches:

Basically a train wants to move somewhat straight direction. So when placing a curved track before a 2:1 funnel, it wants to move tangent of this curve. When getting into the second 1:2 funnel, it automatically takes the other lane, moving in a nice figure-8. :)  Ofc you still have to fuel the train once in a while.. ;)

Edited November 30, 2018 by edge_nl