Locomotive Annie

I've relapsed again and I'm not well so forgive me if I come across as being grumpy. The patent on the plastic building set block is not Lego's sole preserve anymore so it is quite Ok for any other manufacturer who wants to do it to make plastic building bricks. Making bricks to be compatible with as many other brick manufacturers as possible is only sensible business practice and is generally a good thing for the buying public. Yes some Chinese manufacturers have copied some of Lego's themes, but when you look at such things as the range of battleships, military aircraft and armored vehicles as well as sets based on periods in ancient Chinese history and agriculture based subjects that are also being offered by Chinese manufacturers it's very plain that they are quite capable of designing and making completely original sets that have nothing to do with anything Lego has ever made. Chinese manufacturers also make brick types that Lego has never made and most of them are pretty darn useful too. I know it's moving a little beyond Trains, but one of the Chinese manufactures makes a Town-like set that has three largish houses, a bus stop, a bus and a street market stall to a brick count of over 2000 pieces and it costs less than $US100.00 with free worldwide shipping. Lego doesn't have anything to equal this and if it doesn't watch out it is going to be left behind by China as the manufacturers there are upping their game and their brick quality is improving so it is now significantly better than it was even two years ago. And bringing it back to trains I often buy the Enlighten 638 Train series set just because it is so plain useful for building steam locomotives. People who have plainly never purchased this set call it a rip-off of the Lego MOT series steam loco, but it's not, because having put together both genuine original Lego MOT sets and the Enlighten 638 set the two sets have considerable differences in both design and assembly. Yes I know some of the Enlighten Trains series wagons are close copies of Lego's MOT series wagons, but hey, Lego stopped making them which is why just about every brick train enthusiast world wide (save for the uber-purists) owns wagons from the Enlighten Train series. Lego just don't make enough variety of train related locos or wagons to satisfy anybody who wants to buy a set and run trains. Having assembled both the green MOT passenger coach recently as well as the red Enlighten version I have to confess that I didn't notice any real difference in brick clutch or quality between them and despite what I've read on forums from the doomsayers I haven't noticed that my red Enlighten coaches have any sort of increased ability to fall apart on handling as compared with the green Lego one. The other simple fact is that it's possible to buy three Chinese sets for the same money as just one Lego set, - or at least here in New Zealand where Lego prices are pretty darn steep it's possible to do it, -and sometime have change left over to put towards a fourth set as well! As someone who is supported by an Invalid's pension I simply couldn't follow this wonderful hobby if I confined myself to buying nothing, but genuine Lego. Mostly I buy genuine Lego modified plates, tiles and bricks and go with other makers for the basic bread and butter bricks. I simply couldn't do it otherwise. Just as a by the way my doctor encourages me to stick with building with plastic bricks as a hobby because it keeps my mind working and helps with the symptoms of poor memory, concentration and reduced cognitive function that is a part of this illness that I live with. And thank heaven for the spell checker feature with this forum's software or you wouldn't be able to read any of this. Rant over

I found your diagram which explained everything perfectly http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5531975

Thanks Spitfire and Luke Yes it does look a lot like one of those old steam trams. I hadn't quite intended that when I started to build it, but I'm pleased with the finished result. Unlike my 'modern' Hi-speed steam electric loco, this one is able to operate in both directions and will be mostly used for local passenger and goods traffic.

Wow Stinky, great to see such a long train of red hopper cars and all that blue 12volt track too

During a busy workday in the Kotanga Station yard the Kotanga Steam Preservation Society's Steam Electric locomotive (Willians & Robinson of 1910) was seen drifting through the yard in company with one of the preservation society's historic coaches. I will post better pictures soon, today was not a good day for me with me feeling not so well at all. Loco is presently unpowered, but is build on a 9volt RC underframe and it will eventually have a motor bogie fitted.

Not wanting to hi-jack your thread, but I'm curious as to how difficult it was to fit a PF receiver to your 4.5volt trains. I have quite a few 4.5volt mechs and battery boxes and I'd like to be able to make use of them using some form of remote control.

I hadn't looked over your Flickr folder for a while Hrw-Amen and it was good to see what a wide range of railway models you have made.

That's a great looking signal Hrw-Amen. It's good to see the junction you need to protect too. I feel very fortunate to have a site in my bedroom where I will be able to build a permanent layout and not have to take up my tracks after each running session.

No:317 uses a pair of PF motor blocks B n B which is the easiest way to go as these MOT steam locos were originally intended to use the original 9volt motor with track electrical pickup. It's no problem to fit BBB wheels to a PF motor block.

With the Banbao wheels and wheel holders everything is just that bit larger than Lego as is usual for this maker. This means that they aren't directly interchangeable with Lego and Enlighten, but will fit as entire assemblies,

With the large diameter driving wheels your Goliath loco is pretty much in the passenger haulage camp ES. The rack railway idea is a good one, but I think it might be best to save that for your next loco rather than attempt too many things at once on this one.

This webpage has more steam turbine locos at the bottom of the page. http://www.northeast.railfan.net/turbines.html Yes I know the Fusion Reactor loco and the Hafnium loco are not practical, but the basic shape of them is certainly doable in Lego. In Legoland such locos would run on 'Brickium' which only minifig scientists know how to create and they're not telling.

That's a seriously business-like loco ES.

I know, - a Fusion reactor used to generate steam, - terrifying is not too strong a word at all. But on the other hand the general outline of the loco wouldn't be too difficult to build in Lego which is possibly a mitigating factor. When it comes to steam electrics we mustn't forget the Armstrong-Whitworth failed attempt which would be another one that would be not too difficult to build. http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/armstrongturbine/armstrng.htm

I'm not sure if this designer is being serious or not, but here is the link to a modern design for a steam electric. http://turbinediv.webs.com/currentproductions.htm

A railway war wagon! That certainly fits the bill for the weird and wacky railway challenge.

I'll be interested to see those pictures ES

It's a 6volt battery for camera equipment isn't it? Have you tried using these in a loco before ES?

This a very quick thumbnail review of the centre coach for the Banbao Hi-speed train set. When I purchased my Banbao Hi-speed trainset I was given an extra coach for free which I certainly didn't say no to. I haven't put the Hi-speed trainset itself together yet, but I thought the spare coach was a good place to start. In the past Banbao had some packing issues with their sets and there could be parts missing. Not so with this coach, all the parts were there plus three spare pieces left over. The instruction booklet was very clear and easy to follow and the way the coach is designed to go together is very good and makes for a nice strong item of rolling stock that wants to stay together and not shed pieces. However I will say that I did notice that the bricks from this coach set didn't have the new Banbao trademark on them like the bricks in my Banbao freight loco set did and that the clutch wasn't quite as good. No real problems with assembly, but I did find four small parts for the corridor connections to have no clutch at all and I had to put a dot of superglue on them to make sure they stayed put. After having recently assembled the freight loco set this was a disappointment and it's plain that this coach is an older production item that uses bricks made from the older molding equipment Banbao was formerly using in production. When it came to putting passengers into the coach I found I had to select their hairstyles fairly carefully or the roof wouldn't go on. Not too much of a problem really, but slightly annoying after building Enlighten and Lego coaches where the passengers could wear their hair any way they wanted or even wear hats. The magnetic couplings are a sealed type and work very well with a good magnetic grip. They work fine with both Lego and Enlighten couplings too. Banbao wheels are molded from a hard smooth plastic and are very free rolling when mounted into their axle holders. This makes Banbao coaches and freight cars roll very smoothly on the track which is a good thing when it comes to hauling a train made up of them. Overall I give this coach an 8 out of 10 with the quality of the older style bricks being the main let down, but mitigated somewhat by the coach's smooth rolling characteristics on the track and the very good couplings. Hi-speed coaches aren't really my cup of tea, but I'm happy enough to have this one enter service on my line.

Steam electric loco on test in the Kotanga station yard this evening. Just a small update. This 'what if' loco of mine lives and has the makings of being a really useful engine. I may fit a second motor yet as three to four passenger coaches on a regular timetabled run might be a bit challenging over the whole distance of the layout. I discovered too that the red LED 'on' light has the makings of a nice faux firebox glow if I play my cards right

Hey wow! it goes great! Plainly I need a 'L' plate sticker to put on this loco until i get the hang of driving it I was tricked by my Banbao freight loco, that old brute uses a different control system with forward and reverse buttons and a separate speed control. Thank you for putting up with my silly inability to drive my own loco, - when the RC trains were in the shops I was looking after small children and being a Mum so I missed out on that part of my Lego education. Edit: New Zealand's first issue copper-nickle decimal currency coins were among some of the heaviest in the world and when the new smaller and lighter coins were issued I kept a good number of the old coins. They are very useful for weighting things and on test with around $NZ3.50 in loose change in its boiler my steam electric loco hauled three heavy coaches through the Kotanga station yard. Some slip on the driving wheels, but I think the problem might be the ancient NOS traction tyres on the wheels. I'll get some 'O' rings down at the tractor dealers tomorrow and hopefully that will be a suitable fix.

Thank you very much for the advice guys So far I've determined that the wheels aren't binding and that the cosmetic frames aren't rubbing on the axle ends. Removing the loco from the track and operating the controls with the wheels running free results in the wheels turning over ok, but not without much torque. My feeling is that the RC circuit is somehow robbing voltage and not letting full power through to the motor. I'm still waiting for my orders of PF gear to arrive so unfortunately I cant substitute a PF battery, but I do have plenty of other vintage 9volt and RC parts that I can try substituting to see if I can find the problem. I know my steam electric is a 'what if' loco, but I would still like it to earn its keep as it looks quite good at the head of a train. Thank you alaineke I did not know that! I'm going to try that right now.......

Oh my, what a beautiful locomotive! And a Vandy tender too, - perfect

A really cool MOC and the colour scheme looks great.

Wow, - that is quite some loco ES.