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

For my Switch Points (400+ parts) I also use several thin liftarms so I bought a bunch of fake ones. It's pretty fun cutting off half of the end and glue 2 together, or 3, or 4... In this case I used 2x 7L and 1x 5L. In this Light Bluish Grey they are actually expensive so I had to replace them by 6L in my Switch Points on Rebrickable. Funny detail was that I glued some together but they were just too long so one hole was slightly too big, probably 0.1mm. So after driving a couple laps around my track it got a bit stuck and broke at the point it was glued. It was the big hole so I sanded it down, glued back, and no problems since then. I can go Buwizz speed with some cars at the back so great. Of course you need to make sure the ends are flat/straight. The glue is only on a very tiny surface so I sanded it down and checked many times before I glued. After cutting 2 thin liftarms you can put them on top of each other and put some black pins through them so it is easier to sand it flat. Even if you sand one side a bit too much you can flip one around so the short and long side connect and make a hole. The holes with glue can not be used anymore but that was no issue. Actually, if you glue super carefully and remove all the excess glue with a scalpel, you can probably also use the hole with glue.

This is my first topic about a MOC and it's a good one! Technic Steam Locomotive PF/PU/Pneumatic Yesterday I ordered a lot of air pumps at Greengecko to make it functional with pneumatic cylinders and a big air compressor. I am not sure if pneumatics will work but at least the electric PF/PU version is working great. After a couple days of improving it, the PF/PF version seems almost finished as you can see. I thought I had to let someone 3D print some Technic train wheels, but I found an existing Technic wheel and modified it. For my other Technic Trains I already modify the 2695 Technic wheel but that is an easy job. For this Steam Locomotive I modified the 44772 Technic wheel, but this took a lot of effort because I had to saw each wheel 2x and also cut off the upstanding edge. You need to be a little crazy to do this but the wheels function great. Also going over my Technic Switch Point works with these wheels! The difficulty with these steam locomotives is going over curved track. I was able to make flanged driver wheels and blind driver wheels but there is another issue. The front bogie with 4 wheels will bump into the cylinder hanging on the side when going around a bend. When I was looking at steam locomotives I noticed a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement so this means only 2 wheels on the front bogie, leaving space for the cylinder! As you can see on the photos below there is now enough space to deal with the curved track. The PF/PU version below has 1x L motor and is only connected to the middle axle. I superglued some thin liftarms together to make a 17L thin liftarm so the middle wheels are connected to the other wheels/axles. I still need to make a 5 min video from this PF/PU Steam Loc but I made a couple 7 seconde videos I will upload to Youtube. Video below. If you haven't seen any of my Technic Trains before, there are about 10 videos you can watch. Here are a couple videos: Cargo: https://youtu.be/ihHd1ScyKd4 Heavy Hauling: https://youtu.be/A8-2pwsKqPU Tipper Dump Car: https://youtu.be/rjAqmlexRrA ENJOY!

Sariel did a nice cylinder test and the 1x11 is a lot weaker. The bigger cylinders can push down on a scale to almost 3kg and the 1x11 pushes down till 700 so around 4x as weak. Of course these are unmodified cylinders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgGAM6VHjJ0

My trains are not as big as this pneumatic train so the thinner cylinders will look better and easier to work into the build. And I think these 1x11 Cylinders will become the most common and one of the cheapest cylinders soon because there are 2x in the 42128. This set seems good to sell as parts. Looks the price has already gone down from around 20 euro to 8-9 euro. Although it's 11 studs long it extends "only" 6 studs. I am also planning on letting someone 3D print some large Technic trains wheels. It sounds like you know more about this than me so how big do the wheels need to be to take full advantage of the 6 studs stroke? I guess the pin hole on wheel will also be important? In the video from the pneumatic train it looks like the cylinder does not go fully down but till a quarter down and then goes up again. It is also limited by some connectors, I guess to make the ideal stroke. It would be nice if it can work without going to the limits of the cylinder. I was just doing some research and the Greengecko workshop has modified cylinders for sale that can handle crazy rpms. He also sells the 1x11 with metal shaft and drilled out holes for $15. If I can build a nice pneumatic train I might buy his cylinders. Thanks for the advice!

@allanp Hi, thanks for the reply! I don't mind to modify a couple 1x11L cylinders (and switches) to have a great pneumatic train. I think I will also take a marker pen and make them black. That will look pretty nice! Yesterday evening I could not resist and start building the pneumatic train in Stud.io. I think I already have most of the mechanism, I just need to connect it to a chassis. I will probably first try to build this pneumatic train with the bigger cylinders to know exactly what it takes to make it work. And then try to make it with the 1x11 cylinders. It seems like the stroke length can be limited by blocking the beginning/end. I have not modified pneumatics but I have seen videos and when you drill the holes bigger the air flow increases enormously. So with that in mind I think the 1x11 cylinders could work. I hope The Brown Hornet will give some advice and also some photos so I can finish his model in Stud.io. It already looks cool!

Hi, I thought my video was clear enough but it's simpler than you think. On the top of the bucket there are a couple axles sticking out to the side. They slide over the rigid hoses I put next to the track. One axle will be sliding up and then the other side will push the axle down till the bucket is completely down. It's funny I made the first version I while ago and I can't remember how I came to this design haha. More info: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-102141/Technic TRAIN Man/technic-train-tipper-dump-car/#details

This pneumatic train is really fantastic! I never took the time to find out how a steam locomotive works and now I know! It has been almost 5.5 years since the last post here so I hope The Brown Hornet still checks this site. I see he was here 17 days ago so I assume so! I can't send him a PM yet I think because I am new at Eurobricks. I would really like to try to build a pneumatic locomotive like this. I have built a whole bunch of Technic Trains but they are all a bit smaller than this pneumatic locomotive. So I was wondering if the "new" 1x11 Pneumatic Cylinder could work. It needs less air and less space so if it can work I will try it out. Is it bad it can extend more or maybe better? And I would really like to build this model in Stud.io and The Brown Hornet can get the file (and instructions) to upload on Rebrickable or whatever he likes. I have been building so many technic trains in Stud.io lately it should only take a couple days. I just need a bunch of photos to build it first. I've got a 9 stud wide Technic Train track made completely of Technic beams running through my living room. The track is around 15 meters long and also has switch points made completely of Technic beams. It would be great if we could build a smooth running pneumatic locomotive that rolls on a technic beam track! And it would be great if the 1x11 Pneumatic Cylinder could work because then I can build a train car with an air compressor with a lot of air pumps (12x?). A whole train car can be the air compressor! What do you think? My Technic Trains:

Thanks! That was fast!

Dear Admin, Could you please change my name? 3 years ago I had some questions about electronics but now I am transformed into the Technic Train Man. I actually forgot I had an account here and found out when I wanted to create a new account. In the last month I have uploaded around 10 Technic Train instructions on Rebrickable and my account name over there is also Technic Train Man. Thanks! Ronald Technic Train Man Rebrickable account: https://rebrickable.com/users/Technic TRAIN Man/mocs/ Youtube Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtgtYdm_rLo4YX9rh4w34XQ/videos

I HAVE DONE IT! Hallelujah, praise science! I almost bought a PS4 controller but I was just one step away. Even after following all the steps precisely I managed not to make it work. I almost gave up but then I finally pressed the button at the right screen. I had been there before but thought it was a dead end so did not press any button. Anyway, now it's working and I just was racing my 42037 C around outside With lights front and back, nice! Tomorrow's casual Friday so time to drive around my car at the office! They can't fire me cause I am the only one processing hundreds of amazon orders (pallets/trucks full). Like said before, a 5292 motor + buwizz + BC2 +controller is sweet!