Paperinik77pk

Hi all! I reworked a bit the model of the Umbauwagen 3YG to make it more simple, so I can build a second one and maybe buy some parts on Bricklink for the third copy. Since I was already working on the Y3G, I revived an old project of a 12v Diesel locomotive (far resembling the V100 in blue color) to create a local train . You can see it sitting in the backround (behind the 7760) in the above pictures It is simple and straight like the 7755. It is probably one of the rare cases of a 12V motor used without central wheel. Bricklink does not have a 12v motor in its library, so I replicated the dummy bogie. There are some parts of the 70s, used as doors. The two top headlichts have a 12v light brick behind them. I think the third car could be always an Umbauwagen 3YG, but in its baggage car version. This would complete the set!

Thank you @JopieK - I confirm, it is a pretty strange thing! The cool thing is the Lego Boost Hub - it has soooo many functions (including a gyroscope!!!) and it is great to have some fun with kids. It has a great potential, and if included in (slightly) big models it could really open a lot of possibilities Thank you!!! It is a toy train by all means - the engineer was added at the end to have some fun...It seems he's driving a "Lowrider" instead of a locomotive!

Ooooh nice town! I Love it! You're always welcome Thanks Zephyr! The problematic part is the double gearbox, since I've to change gear in the same moment - like in the double-engined Citroen 2CV Sahara! Thanks! 10 wide is a great size to work with - it shows all the limit of the Lego track geometry, but with large curves and adjustable track also these big models can work fine. Regarding the windows - the first version had all blue train windows - but they are pretty expensive, so I came back to SNOT , even if I could not manage it perfectly. The top structure is needed to keep the whole chassis straight, since the battery is in the central part (where doors are) and without the top structure the chassis gets a poor "banana shape" Standard motors are great (maybe too fast for this one) but I wanted to replicate the original machine also from a mechanical point of view - I love mixing Technic and trains

Great work - I especially like how you rendered the water!!! Magnificent! Ciao! Davide

Hi all, having some time today I tried the Lego Boost features, applied to a small locomotive I built using the parts of the Lego Boost set (plus some more, since I needed to complete the cabin). It is a two-axles geared locomotive, with two cylinders. the A motor (inside the cabin) drives the cylinders, which move the whole side transmission. In the front, the Color/Distance sensor works to stop the locomotive in case of obstacles on the track. With a bit of programming, It can be used also to stop, slow down or accelerate. A little animated robot (moved by B Motor) drives the locomotive in a quite relaxed way. It can be programmed to move as fast as the locomotive or independetly. The hub is the main part of the locomotive - It can be used only on very big trains. Here below, a detail of the transmission... ...and of the cylinder mechanism. And, last but not least...two videos of the locomotive in action (pardon the background noise) Hope you like it!!! Ciao! Davide

Thanks as always , Emanuele! It's another railway I'd like to know better!!! Currently, the series 3000 of the ALn668 was used on the Ceva-Ormea Line (so Multiple Command and "mountain" gear ratio with maximum speed of 110km/h instead of 130km/h) ALn668-3148 ALn668-3181 ALn668-3256 ALn668-3215 ALn668-3249 for what I can see from the internet - it seems that the Como-Lecco used the 1000/1100/1200 series - which are pretty the same machine (the 1000/1100 series have two exits per side instead of only one).

Thanks!!! Here it is - a long way to complete it...

Hi all, I'd like to show you my Christmas Present (since it is not so economic to build) ! It is a 1:38 scale reproduction of one of the most representative classes of Italian diesel railcars, the ALn668 (Automotrice Leggera Nafta - 668). Since I like a lot all unlucky railroads of the world, I wanted to represent one of the railcars I've seen still working on one of the most underrated railroads in Italy, the CEVA-ORMEA (situated in Piedmont county - near Cuneo). This railroad is 35 kilometers long and ends abruptly in the little Ormea village. It should have continued reaching the sea, near the town of Imperia, but the project was never approved (it was really complicated). It is a pity, since it could have been one of the most spectacular railroads in Italy (from sea to mountains) and it surely could have been a great touristic railroad from the beginning. The railroad has a great curved bridge and several point of interests. It is the perfect kind of railroad for railcars. Grass, rocks, mountains, an apparently calm river (which already destroyed the a part of the track a few years ago), snow...there's everything one passenger coul possibly like to see from the window. The ALn668 and 663 ran on this railroad until 2012 - when the line was closed. But, after a lot of complaints from people, tourists and passengers - the railroad was revived by Fondazione FS (the Historical Foundation of Ferrovie Dello Stato) and it has become a touristic railroad. This MOC is dedicated to that little railroad, which I visited a lot of times, since it is near to my holiday home. When I was a kid, I saw an ALn668 starting from CEVA, on a dedicated dead track inside the station. I still remember the yellow plate, and the sound of the diesel motors. I designed it in 1:38 scale, so it can run on Lego Track. I'm working on it since LDRAW came out, but I've never built it. Since It's been awhile I'm looking at big scales, I gave it a try - and I finished it. Two medium motors, 1A-A1 wheel arrangement as the original one (but I can power all axles if needed). Chassis (in the photo, the current version) was needed to support all the weight of the body. I tried to keep its original function, and the motors position. It won't have any interior - and the windows are made to hide the internal mechanism. This is the second version of the chassis, featuring a two-speed gearbox (duplicated on both sides) . I'm currently understanding how to remotely control it (using a linear actuator - I think ). I hope you like it! Ciao, Davide

Hi! I saw the pictures now - beautiful rendition of angles and curves ! Great design!!! Ciao! Davide

Ciao @Hod Carrier !!! Yesterday I saw a video on the British APT train, and saw a demo of the AV3 accelerometer. I was wondering how to better make the EV3 understand acceleration and lateral movement. I try to explain - as far as I understood all the tilting trains have two main goals - the first one is to approach curves faster (banked or not) , the second one is to reduce lateral acceleration for passengers I was thinking about this thing - use the accelerometer as a passenger - so not strictly bound to the chassis, but mounted on an hinged support. So if the train is going forward,the accelerometer it is pushed backwards and vice-versa. I think it could work also with side acceleration - in this case a two-way hinge is needed. The readings should tell the EV3 the direction and if the train is going straight or not (the inputs are reversed, so if the accelerometer reads back it means the train is going forward, and if it reads left it means the train is approaching a right curve (and then needs to tilt right) It is pure theory - since I do not have the EV3 to make tests - sorry - I'd like to know your thoughts about this approach

Thanks @Hod Carrier for the quick and detailed answer - it seems a really hard job to make it work, nonetheless you made a great experiment. Three cars is a perfect number! I'll follow your challenge with extreme interest!!! Ciao, Davide

Hi @Hod Carrier, this is a great project, and surely it's a mess to make all things to work properly together!!! I don't know very well the Mindstorms parts - and I'm really interested to see this technology applied to trains!!! I have some questions for you regarding the sensors/software: Normally tilting trains are double-headed (I think about the classic Italian "Pendolino") - is your creation a stand-alone vehicle or is it part of a bigger train? Is it possible to attach two or more gyro-sensors on the same controller, and choose by software the dominant one (e.g. according to direction)? is it possible to drive one or more actuator (motor) starting from what is sensed by the gyros? I am wondering how a long train could work and if it can be driven to lean each component gradually while approaching a curve (according to Gyro sensors readings). Ciao! Davide

Great!!! Very funny and original! A zillion of thumbs up!

Hi! If you upload your pictures on Flickr you can directly attach the link of the pictures and they will be embedded in the text of your post :) Ciao! Davide

Wow! great stuff! Thank you for sharing!

It's a feature I'm trying on another (oncoming) diesel MOC...but it's in a really early stage On this one it could be nice to implement a manual version with a lever inside the cabin - it would add an "old toy" touch! Don't be fooled by this one - it's a box on wheels built in 60's standards! . This one is currently my first real MOC locomotive using the big battery box. I've never seen so much internal space either. It is big even in comparison to 1:22,5 scale LGB models. This is due to the original model, which was really oversized, if compared to all trains that came after it. The level of detail you achieve in your model requires a lot of special techniques ...your "art" is the ability you've to find, understand, reproduce and even animate the finest details. But this requires more space and weight - it is the price for beauty!

Hi all, after several tests, I found out that the motor, as it was built , was not too strong and sometimes broke up. I therefore redesigned it a bit: While the underside is not too different from V1, the upper part is completely different. Since it was quite annoyng to dismantle the motor to change the gear ratio from "high torque" gearing to "speed" gearing, I tried to fit a sort of two-speed gearbox: This one is the "torque" setting - able to pull really heavy loads, but slowly. According to Sariel's Lego Gears calculator, the gear ratio at the axle is 2.779:1 In the above picture, "Speed" gear is selected, therefore the locomotive is faster, but can pull less weight (not too bad, though ). It is quite overdriven, therefore the final gear ratio is 1:1.667. The XL motor works flawlessly with both gear ratios and the AAA batteries last quite fine. This is the hole to fit the smoke generator, I found that there are some very little 12v batteries - I think I'll use them to power the Seuthe no.99. Some minor modifications in the cabin, in order to keep the main switch easy to operate (pull onwards - turn on battery box and lights / pull bakwards - off). Now the top part of the boiler easily comes off to reach the battery box (and maybe the switch for the smoke generator). In the front of the battery box there's some room for an S-Brick, if needed. A last picture of the 112 in a sunny day after a very rainy night! Ciao! Davide

We've a great example in Italy with the FS E444 - the rebuilding was worse than the original - it seems also someone in Italian railways had a bad feeling with design Don't worry - even if you can't paint or design...you surely can BUILD!!!

Hi there, Sven! I saw this beauty yesterday on Flickr, since I was uploading some things too! Even if it is a rework, it is another opportunity to appreciate your beautiful way to build these locomotives!!! I always look at the photos from time to time and I find a new detail!!!

Simple and effective!!! Nice video too!

Hi, @Phil B ! I once used the same gears and same wheels and had the same problems too . As far as I can see from your gear arrangement, I'd try to lower the worm gear as much as possible, and use a smaller gear on driving axle (if you look the "transparent" V20 you can see the 12-toothed gear instead of 16-teeth). But you've the motor in an higher position, so you basically need a gear waterfall to reach down the axle driving the worm gear . It is only one of the many possibilities, but at least you could keep the current motor position, not changing too much the whole chassis (it's very well engineered, and I think any radical change could bring more problems than advantages).

@Phil B , your little engine is amazing - and even if it is "super-squeezed" it is cute and has a lot of realistic details!!! The use of the old red platform is a really original idea! Thumbs up!!! And since I was bored this evening, Inspired by your work and Emanuele's work , I gave a try to squeeze everyting on a little black shunter too (mine is similar to a DB V20). Some solutions are simply the same to the ones you and @LEGO Train 12 Volts used in your two models, some others are similar (after all, I don't think there are too many solutions to cover the battery box in a 6-wide shunter ) I chose the V20 since it has a long wheelbase and I could fit the PF motor between the axles (basically recycling a motor scheme I used for my 1:22,5-scaled garden toy train). Stud.Io did not render well the motor and did not render at all the PF receiver (which is inside the cabin). Since you recalled the old times with the baseplate , I used old black train doors - mainly to justify the overall height of the thing . The original PF battery box is over the motor. I thing this solution should give a good traction to the locomotive. Thanks for inspiration!!!

Mhhhh this sounds like an interesting challenge!

Hi, on my big scale 112 I experienced some wheel slipping in case of heavy loads. The engine is pretty heavy , but this is not helping. Making it heavier would make it too aggressive for the rails. I therefore used what I had (plumbing gaskets), and they work fine. Also bicycle inner tubes are a great idea!!!

Realy really nice build! Those side "windows" are inspiring... . It's a big beast!!!