alainneke

Looks good! If you don't mind soldering, here's one that you can build yourself. I currently use one to reverse polarity in my wye, and it works great

Equipping 50 9V train motors with a decoder is indeed a bit over the top... However, I've seen some people installing the decoders inside their trains (as opposed to inside the 9V motor bogie) and connecting them with a NEM connector. This way, the decoders can be moved around and are only required for the trains currently running. For lubrication, I use 'Trix Modellbahn Spezialfett' (article 66626). Just applying a little to the plastic gears will keep things running smoothly.

Great work and very nice renderings! You've got my support on Cuusoo

... and some more... General info: http://www.dccwiki.com/Introduction_to_DCC Decoder installation guide: http://www.pluisje.nl/lego/ Accessory decoder installation (in French...): http://www.freelug.org/spip.php?article616 Some nice features which might help you with this display: - most (recent) DCC decoders offer Back EMF (cruise control) and will try to maintain steady speed going up- or downhill - some command stations have multiple throttles (you can control two trains at once) and allow for additional wireless throttles. Lenz and ESU command stations are both supported by TouchCab and let you use an iPod or iPhone (or multiple, if you bring your friends) as wireless throttle - some command stations are fitted with graphical screens and allow you to draw and control your layout (in multiple sheets, for multiple levels) on them. I LEGO-fied mine to even display the LEGO train depot images in the locomotive selection lists Controlling everything with the 9V trafos should also work, but indeed requires you growing extra hands and eyes :) If you don't want to modify the track connection wires, you can connect them to the connector of a cut-through-half PF cable and solder some decent wiring on the other side.

Sure you can, it all depends on what possibilities you're looking for... (thanks for pointing it out though; I edited my original post, as I don't want to scare off 'Haddock51')

DCC seems to be the way to go, especially with the requirement of running trains independently. Depending on how many train motors you are going to use at the same time, extra boosters may or may not be required. According to http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm, a 9V train motor draws about 380 mA (my dual-motor Horizon Express draws about 600 mA, so the motors have some headroom left), so a typical 4 Amps booster should be enough for 10 loaded motors. Installing the decoders isn't very hard: I've done it numerous times and have yet to fail. Opening up the motors is also a great opportunity to clean and lubricate them. As for pricing: a decoder is about 30 Euros, and a command station with internal booster will set you back a couple of 100 Euros. If you also want to remotely control your points and signals, you'll need stationary decoders as well. Keep in mind that you will also need a bunch of connection wires for the tracks. With 175 meters, resistance is definitely going to be an issue, so using multiple connection wires (e.g. 1 every 10 meters) will keep your trains running smoothly. For what it's worth, here's the equipment I'm using at the moment: - decoders: Zimo mx630 - command station: ESU Ecos 2 - stationary decoders: Lenz LS150 and ESU SwitchPilot (with Extension) Good luck with setting up and operating this huge display!

I'm still waiting for the high flange wheels, which should be arriving tomorrow. No worries, availability should not be an issue! The address of my Bricklink store is http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=alainofiets . It's currently closed, because I haven't added any inventory yet...

The pickups remind me of the pickup shoes used by LGB: http://www.eurorailhobbies.com/erh_detail.asp?mn=34&ca=15&sc=G&stock=LGB-63214 . Very robust, because they are made for the outdoors.

I usually make them form the inner tube of a racing bicycle tire. Endless supply and very cheap: 1 tube gives you 100+ traction tires...

I also run my Horizon Express with two 9V motors, but installed them 1 in each loco (push-pull). My layout contains a fair amount of curves and switches, but this doesn't seem to lead to any overheating problems.

@bricks n bolts: I've been thinking about doing 12V pickups, too. This can take a while, though... @Cnd: the new high flange wheels should arrive in about two weeks and I plan on putting the items on BrickLink shortly after receiving those. I don't think I'm allowed to discuss pricing here

Thanks for the nice comments :) The metal rims were discussed in RailBricks 6 (page 39). Here are some more examples: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=1964 The problem with conductive rims is that they generally fail to provide proper traction. That's why LEGO choose a relatively complex solution for the original 9V motors: spring-loaded conductive flanges and rubber tyres. I took the simple approach and separated traction wheels from pickup wheels.

Today, I managed to tidy up the wiring (again, no LEGO modification necessary): Custom power pickup bogie by alainneke, on Flickr The wiring fits through the hole in the wheel holder, the Technic plate and the bogie plate Custom power pickup bogie (underside) by alainneke, on Flickr

Thanks for the comments! @Paddy: I also run with DCC, that's why I created these... When I've tested the new high-flange wheels, I plan on putting sets of these in my BrickLink shop @JopieK: they are not as fragile as they look. The assembly of the ball contact, spring and connector is very rigid. The wiring is highly flexible decoder wire, which is actually pretty strong

What happens if you mix LEGO, black Delrin and some 0-gauge railroading stuff? Well, with the right tools you can make custom power pickups (no LEGO modification necessary). Here's how: Custom power pickup (parts) by alainneke, on Flickr From top left to right bottom: steel 0-gauge wheel, custom made insulated flanged bushing (which fits the steel wheel to a standard 2mm LEGO train axle), ball contact (rubs against backside of the wheel), spring (pushes the ball contact against the wheel), custom made flanged bushing (holds both the ball contact and spring and fits in a Technic hole), Technic brick, miniature connector. The steel wheel is manufactured by NWSL, the ball contacts come from a German website specialised in 0-gauge stuff and the connector is a standard Marklin connector cutted in half. The bushings are machined from an 8mm rod of Delrin on a mini-lathe (for the curious, a picture is in my photostream) and made to be a friction-fit to the wheel and Technic brick. Custom power pickup (partial assembled) by alainneke, on Flickr Putting these parts together, you get a train axle with steel wheels (both insulated from the axle) and a spring-loaded ball contact. Custom power pickup assembly by alainneke, on Flickr Combining these two, add a wheel holder and voila: a custom power pickup. Custom power pickup bogie by alainneke, on Flickr After soldering on some wires, I've fitted the pickups to one of the bogies of my Emerald Night tender. Emerald Night tender with steel weels by alainneke, on Flickr The diameter of the 0-gauge wheels is the same as the standard LEGO train wheels, but the flange is a lot smaller. This gives a nice clickety-clack on the turnouts, but can also lead to derailments. It turns out that the manufacturer of the steel wheels also makes 'pizza cutter' style wheels, and these have already been ordered... Emerald Night tender with steel wheels by alainneke, on Flickr The wires can be connected to the LiPo battery, a DCC chip, a PF motor, lights, ... The pickups actually work better than the ones on the original 9V motor: the wheels make contact with the railhead using the tread instead of just a little part of the flange. Please comment!

Nice finds Andromeda! Actually, the motor in the 'newer' 12V bogie is also made by Buehler (and so is the transformer). I think your best bet is to contact Buehler and ask them if they still make similar motors (a quick look at the current DC motor range shows that they don't have flat 12V motors with an axle all the way through, but who knows...). If they don't, have fun fixing the commutator :) Fitting a PF motor in there will be very hard, because the axle of the PF motor is way too short.

This one? http://www.brickfactory.info/scans/10000/10001/045.jpg

If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can mount that on front of the train and perform a FaceTime call (over WiFi) to your iPad. It will look a bit weird, but hey, so do people taking pictures with an iPad :)

Nice work! Not that I know of, but I can turn some black Delrin to these dimensions (maybe with a little flange at the back, so that they are easier to glue?)...

Thanks for the clear pictures! If you still want to use bulbs instead of LEDs, you can also try these: - http://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/727091/?insert=62&insertNoDeeplink&productname=Micro-filament-lamp-Clear - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/filament-indicator-lamps/6559198/ (source: http://www.heinerberg.homepage.t-online.de/tips.htm)

You could also try country-specific 2nd hand websites. I've had some success with marktplaats.nl, kapaza.be and dba.dk. I'm sure there is an Italian equivalent as well. You might get lucky, because some people selling there don't know about BrickLink prices...

When hooking up my 7866 to a Esu SwitchPilot (DCC accessory decoder), I also noticed that the power from one of my 12V transformers (not LEGO) was not enough to lift the booms. Raising the voltage to 14V solved this. Are the brass tubings if fact bushings, used for train wheels?

Not official, but RailBricks 7 describes some more improvements to the Emerald Night...

Great stuff! Where did you get the sockets for the plugs (I think you also used these in your manual-to-motorized 12V switch conversion)?

That looks really good! Great job!