Phil B

See @faph's comment, and also: Make sure that the device id reported by PyBricks is in the below list. You can use the logic in this code (ripped from @Lok24's code, needs additional code to work) to test and see if your motor reports the correct id value: def portcheck(i): # list of motors, 1 +2 contain string "DC" devices = { 1: "Wedo 2.0 DC Motor", 2: "Train DC Motor", 38: "BOOST Interactive Motor", 46: "Technic Large Motor", 47: "Technic Extra Large Motor", 48: "SPIKE Medium Angular Motor", 49: "SPIKE Large Angular Motor", 75: "Technic Medium Angular Motor", 76: "Technic Large Angular Motor", } port = motor[i].getPort() # Try to get the device, if it is attached. try: device = PUPDevice(port) except OSError as ex: if ex.args[0] == ENODEV: # No device found on this port. motor[i].setType("---") print(port, ": not connected") return ("---") else: raise # Get the device id id = device.info()['id']

You're welcome. With regards to the track tiles resting on the logos of the studs below, you could consider putting 4x4 tiles with a single row of studs (part 6179) under the track, that way there is no "illegality".

Another quibble is the studs showing on the wedge in the center of the track. There might be trains that have an issue with those studs, you might need to come up with a tiles-only solution to resolve.

I've also added my support. I absolutely love the color scheme on those last two coaches.

I did not know that! Will do this. The nice thing is that there are 6 different numbers provided on the sticker sheet, but two of them (66 and 606) can be reversed to make two more car numbers (99 and 909). No idea of the realism of that, but it works for me :).

And done .... Reconstructed James Mathis' 10022 Dome Car MOD by Phil B, on Flickr Here is my full consist in action, consisting of A+B+B+A+10025 Baggage+10025 Mail+10022 Sleeper+10022 Dining+10022 Dome MOC+10022 Sleeper+10022 Sleeper+10022 Observation. Click on the image to play the video: Custom Santa Fe (10020+10022+10025) by Phil B, on Flickr Train can be powered with 9V (motors under both A units) or with 2 Powered Up train motors and a Powered Up hub in one of the B-units. Powered Up solution is using PyBricks and @Lok24's controller code.

The contributors to the BMR site are all respectable and well-known figures in the AFOL Trains community - @raised @Cale and several others have accounts on Eurobricks. Is it possible that their responses end up in your Junk folder?

You just need one of these to power it ...

@Lok24 - A quick appreciation post on version 2.9. Flashed PyBricks onto a new PoweredUp Hub, then loaded version 2.9 to be able to run 2 PoweredUp train motors on one train engine. Worked out of the box, beautifully. Really starting to appreciate the power of the PUp platform. Thanks so much!! Quick aside: Links on 1000steine.de still point to version 2.7, and give 404 links on all the example code.

Love the little bit of history here, including first-hand perspective! I hadn't seen teunisdavey's pictures before, but had seen the other two designs.

It is, isn't it? Couple of observations as I went through this process: 1. I understand why this didn't become a proper 4th model for 10022. There is quite some weird part usage driven by the limited part availability. E.g. using 2 slope bricks to close up the wall next to the doors, as there aren't enough panels/1x2x2 bricks in the set to fill the wall. This leads me to make the tough choice - stick to the original design and waste $6 dollars on the 2 bricks, or replace them with a 1x2x2 brick in LG (much cheaper). 2. James used some of the remaining bricks as additional filler - e.g. in his model there is a wall next to the restroom that used 2 slope 45 1x2 bricks on top of each other - I found no purpose for them, plus they block part of a window, so I left them out. 3. I did have to take quite some creative liberty on the parts of the interior that were not easily visible in the miniscule pictures that are left of this set on the internet. Would love to at some point compare my design with the official design.

Alright, I think I got it. Took some peering into teeny-tiny pictures (as shared here in this channel), but using the full parts list for 10022, plus the extra parts list I got from James Mathis' old website, I managed to put the Dome Car together (at least digitally, waiting for a few extra bricks to arrive from a few BL orders). Here are some renders for reference - you should be able to figure out how to build this bad boy using them.

I found the following on the Wayback machine that helps a little - it gives the additional parts needed and an inside picture of the car ... however at a resolution that does not allow for zooming in. https://web.archive.org/web/20081210110455/http://www.brickbuilttrains.com/domecar.html From that page:

Thanks for that suggestion. However: " As for the train cars, the dome car is based on the work of James Mathis. It features updated grays and modern part usage to improve the overall design." So it is not the original Mathis' design. I want to keep mine original, using the original bricks and the original plans. EBay doesn't seem to have any copies of his instructions for sale either ... This is going to be a challenge for sure :)

The Santa Fe train is a rabbit hole that I am already way too far into :) Currently at $2.5k (but have a lot of extras) for 3 engines (with 9V motors), 2 custom B units, and 8 cars (one of each, plus 2 extra sleepers and soon a dome car). Here is a post with pics of my train before I added the last 3 cars and an extra engine: Planning to sell off my spare engine (it has a stained windscreen) and all the spares I collected in the process of putting this train together to hopefully get back to a more manageable $2k or below for the full consist. All in LG/DG as well (except for the wheelsets on the B-units at this point). I loaded that model - it contains an alternative way to do the curved end of the existing observation car, not the dome car. But thanks for the link.

Yep I looked there too, but the best pics of the dome car leave much to be desired in terms of rebuilding, especially the interior ...

I am looking to build James Mathis' Santa Fe Dome Car MOC .. this one: (photo from Flickr by https://www.flickr.com/photos/kwreinsch/) @James Mathis hasn't visited this site since 2019, and his website is long gone (I found it on the wayback machine, but since the instructions were for sale items, they are no longer available). Does anyone know how I can get to the instructions, or is there a digital build somewhere? If not, I will have to try and reconstruct the car based on the above picture, which might be a challenge.

Just a theory, but since the lights are LED lights, maybe the polarity switch that happens on C1/C2 when you change directions causes the LED to block? After all, it is a diode ... You might need to put a half or full H-bridge in between to always keep the same polarity.

I haven't done this myself, but you should be able to buy a broken 9V train motor, remove the innards, and use it to bring power to your PoweredUp/PowerFunctions batteries. There are guides on how to do this, but if you have even just a smidge of electrical engineering knowledge, this should be fairly easy to do.

.... and there goes the chance of this ever becoming a real LEGO set via Ideas .....

They do! It comes with a GWP of a small steam engine ....

I'd look into CircuitCube instead. Yes, it is non-LEGO, but it is small and should be powerful enough to propel the tram on regular plastic track.

That is a great looking engine and consist! Hope she runs fine on switches - this is where mine struggles (still tinkering though I haven't touched her in 2 years). And glad to hear my MOC was of help!

From brickset:

I would start with the rollercoaster track as a simple way to get a "mono rail" (though it technically has 2 tracks and is just an elevated rail system). Building a custom true monorail is going to be parts intensive and hence expensive. Alternatively, for similar cost, you can just buy an official LEGO monorail set - but that will set you back a lot of money too as those are expensive on the secondary market.