Technic Train Man

Thanks! Train track is made of Technic Beams and is 9 studs wide and 2 studs high. Trains are 11 studs wide and some exceptional parts 13 studs. With Technic Lego models it's better to have uneven number width so you can have a centre beam for a drive shaft or other things, like the technic beams I use for connecting the train cars. Seems like I choose the right width because everything is working out nicely. But normal technic models are usually bigger so my trains are still a challenge to make everything fit. Especially the rail crane is full of motors and wires. I would like to add an airtank for the pneumatics but there just isn't any space haha.

Hi Train Fans, During the covid lockdown I built a Rail Crane from Technic Lego. It has so many functions/motors that I can't remember how many haha. The only modification was for the wheels (as usual). Last week I made a video of the Rail Crane in action. Get your popcorn and drink and enjoy! https://youtu.be/oRMnYeTtN3o

I rotated the cylinders so the inlets are up again. At first I connected the cylinders with some axles with stops but the little space, that allows for the axle to spin, made the cylinders move a little bit and I could not do anything about that, except for using pins. So that's what I did haha. But there is a half stud space between the cylinder and beam so the 3L pin is completely in the beam but 1.5 stud into the cylinder. And still that is a lot better than connect it with an axle. Big change to the compressor because I am using 2 XL motors instead of 4 and the whole compressor is half in size! Nice! I've ordered another 12 air pumps so will build another compressor. And then it will be a crazy ratio of 12 air pumps per medium cylinder! It's going to take a couple weeks before the 12 air pumps arrive, so stay tuned! Update 5:

I've made a bunch of improvements so now it's working pretty well and you can barely see any air tube! As you can see in the video below, the cylinders are attached by the air inlets but it's not a solid connection. I probably need to move the inlets up/down, but not sideways like now. And I will improve the construction around the cylinders so there is less flex. In a couple weeks I hope to receive some more air pumps so it can go faster. And another thing to look forward to are the 3D printed train wheels someone has offered to make! For now, look at this beauty!

UPDATE

So I bought a small non-Lego air compressor that is used for inflating bicycle tires and footballs etc. Unfortunately it makes a lot of noise and it doesn't pump enough air. But I noticed my pneumatic locomotive doesn't need that much air so now I have built a couple Lego compressors with a total of 10 air pumps (and 4x PF XL motors). I've made a small video as you can see below. This is just the first prototype and still a lot needs to be improved. But luckily it is possible!

Yes I was thinking too difficult about it, just a pneumatic switch with a servo motor. Another issue is the noise coming from most non-Lego compressors. 75 decibel from 4 meters away is pretty normal but that's a lot of noise. So now I am looking at some mini compressor used for inflating footballs and tires. But which one has an acceptable noise level?

I think I need some help again to build a non-Lego air compressor, because I doubt the Lego air pumps can work. I've build a couple Lego air compressors with a total of 10 air pumps but it can barely move 1 medium cylinder which I have drilled for better air flow. To make my Steam Train go at a nice speed I will probably need 50-100 air pumps. And maybe it will still not work. So it's probably better to use a non-Lego small air pump that can pump a lot more air. There are so many portable air pumps these days, but I can't find one with variable speed. I would like to build/solder something myself but I don't know how to do it, and I can't find a video on youtube to make a cheap battery powered rc air pump. If anybody know exactly which parts I need and how to solder them, let me know, and I will build it! The biggest challenge is the variable speed so I can make the steam train go faster/slower. Maybe this can be done by just squeezing an air tube so less air can go through. Please advise!

I received a message from the post office my 10 air pumps are almost there. They will be turned into a mega air compressor for the pneumatic train. I actually ordered 12 but he only had 10.... Does anybody have the ultimate compressor with 10 air pumps? Probably with 2-3 PF XL motors. I have seen a couple nice ones on Rebrickable. Air compressor can be max 11 studs wide so it fits on a train car which is 11 studs wide and 40-50 studs long.

So now I have installed 2x PU L motor and they are both driving the middle axles of bigger wheel. At first I used gear wheels but they started slipping so now I am using 3 knob wheels. What was kinda funny that with these knob wheels I want the 2x PU motors to spin in the same direction. In my previous post I asked if someone knew how to make them spin in opposite direction but that is not necessary anymore. So the first time I wanted to drive the steam loc, one of the PU motors disconnected haha But now the drivetrain is nice and strong and pretty fast with only the PU hub with rechargeable batteries so only 7.2 volt. So with a Buwizz 3.0 (12V) it will be flying over the track! I have improved the Stud.io version and almost ready to make the instructions! The PU hub fits into the tender car and also a 7.2 battery box for the led lights.

Thanks! Is it possible to have a slow deceleration instead of the on/off? Not so easy I guess. There is a strange thing going on when I switch to the controller display. One of the motors spins for half a second for no reason. Not a big problem but just strange. I geared up the Steam Loc so it's going fast now, but unfortunately the gears will start slipping when it's also pulling some train cars. So I will try to replace some gear wheels with knob wheels.

Thanks, but I can't find the "x -1" widget. What do you mean exactly? With widget I mean the control button or slider like photo below. I thought this below would be the way to make it work. But when I attach the control buttons 0 the -50 will spin 50 again. Without the control buttons they spin the way I want, in opposite direction, but I cannot control them. Frustrating haha Someone tell me how to do this! Thanks! I am going to try it! Praise the Science! It worked! I think Whitepen meant the same thing but I just didn't understand. Free instructions for you both, when it is finished. With 2 PU L motor the Steam Loc is strong enough to go really fast! THANKS!

HELP! I am trying to install 2x PU L motors under 1 widget and need to reverse one of the motors, but I can't get it to work. I have tried to flip the switch when you go to the motor settings and tried to change from 50 to -50 but nothing works. They keep spinning the same direction. Can someone please tell me what to do? A photo from the code screen would be fantastic. Free instructions from the Steam Loc for the one that will give the solution! Thanks in advance!

So if you don't saw the wheels in half it will look like this I will make that fake cylinder bigger because it's not impressive enough. I forgot to mention in my first post that I put ductape on the big wheels for traction. The tape works great because it has good traction but not as much as rubber. The middle axle from the tender can move a bit more sideways otherwise it would get stuck in bends.

I have never seen that NS6400 myself in real life unfortunately. No Cargo trains in Hoofddorp. My first version of the Cargo Loc looked pretty good but then I made a video and edited the real NS6400 next to it and I thought my Lego version was pretty ugly haha. So I had to make some improvements and now it looks pretty accurate. For nostalgia I will probably also make a NS1800 one day https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/1600/1800_(elektrische_locomotief)#/media/Bestand:Railion_1604.jpg