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Thanks for another great picture, Tony. I'm really loving the series, and it's getting me excited for the Railbricks calendar.

I, for one, will be all over the calendar. Railbricks is one of my favorite building resources, and I can't wait to show my support all year long.

I'm also a big fan of your train style, TheBrickster. As someone who just got into building trains, I find your MOCs and topics on different types of cars very helpful. Keep up the good work!

I would tend to agree that 8866 is too highly geared, but I can only compare it to power functions because I missed 9V. 8866 just doesn't have enough torque. When I run the Emerald Night and an engine powered by 8866 on the same loop, I constantly have to adjust the speeds to prevent a collision. The 8866 powered train speeds through the straight parts of my layout but slows considerably on the curves. Even with two 8866 motors powering the engine, the speed varies a lot between curves and straights. I don't have any slopes in my layout, but I suspect that it would have lots of trouble climbing. By the way, I replaced the grey rubbers on the train motor wheels with the o-rings recommended for power functions trains on Railbricks a while ago. The extra traction seems to help, but I haven't done any side by side comparisons. Also, all of my track is the new RC kind without metal (with one or two flex pieces so I could cheat the track geometry), but I don't know whether that affects how the trains run or not.

I also love adding cargo cars to my train, but none of mine are as simple and elegant as this one. Good job!

I also recently made an order from Daprilego (to the US), and I was quite pleased. She (I think) is a great seller.

I've had the Emerald Night for a few months, and it's beginning to squeak a fair amount while running, especially when pulling lots of cars around curves. I reassembled the drive train, and there is a bit of wear on some of the technic axles and other parts from the friction. I saw this topic, and it made me wonder about using some graphite powder or silicone spray. Does anyone have experience using any kind of lubricant on power functions locomotives or other technic creations? What is the best way to keep a motorized technic build working smoothly over the long term? EDIT: Oops, can a mod please move this to Train Tech? Sorry.

I have that same problem. I just rebuilt my loco yesterday because the gears were slipping occasionally. You will be surprised how much difference a little extra speed will make in the train's performance, so it is worth the trouble. It took me three complete rebuilds and many more tweaks to make my first power functions loco work well. Good luck!

The construction is really simple, with the XL motor slid into the cab of the locomotive like the Emerald Night. I used one of these attached to the motor to drive one of the smaller bevel gears like you already use in your bogie. The smaller gear sits on the axle coming up from the drive wheels, and the larger gear meets it at a right angle (that's why you need two bevel gears). Sorry I don't have pictures, but I would have to disassemble my loco to take them. You may want to use an even larger gear or multiple steps. My setup drives large Lego train wheels, and the locomotive is about the same speed as the Emerald Night. If you can't find proper o-rings (try wherever you would buy plumbing supplies), the small white Lego rubber bands might work. I haven't tried them myself, but they look to be the right size.

I have used the Railbricks three axle bogie design, and it does work pretty well. However, the first thing you should do is get some O-rings like the ones recommended by SavaTheAggie. The grey rings that come with those train wheels are totally inadequate. EDIT: And make sure to gear the XL motor for more speed. I had an XL motor attached directly to a bogie like yours, and the train was so slow that it didn't work well at all.

Signed. Bring on more Pirates; I will buy the crap out of them!

I don't have Aang's head, but I checked the two others. The long hair does not cover the red mark on Mola Ram. The vampire hair covers up all of the pattern on the back of the Ugha's head and most of the patter on the front. It looks pretty good. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but my camera isn't handy right now.

Signed! I would definitely buy the pirates advent calender.

Hi Train Fans! I only recently got my first true train set, the Emerald Night. I loved the original Space Monorail when I was a kid, but most of the 9V sets came out in my dark ages. I've recently been working on a cargo train inspired by some of the Lego classics for TTCE. Once I'm satisfied with the locomotive, I'll post pictures.

How is the quality of the figures? Have you noticed any of the color issues that affected some of the magnet sets and the earlier vintage minifig collections?

I found large plastic bins very helpful in my recent move. I didn't have a lot of time to disassemble my collection, so I just crammed as much as possible in the bins and put the top on. Like Grievous said, any bits that can be removed easily or are likely to fall off should be removed, and minifigs should definitely be bagged. I had a town display, and putting the modular buildings into large bins was the best way for me to transport them. Good luck!

I know for sure that it takes a few hours to fully recharge the battery, but I've never timed how long the battery can run continuously. The battery has a pretty impressive charge. I've had my Emerald Night for over a month, but I've only recharged the battery once. I have no idea about chaining the batteries.

You probably won't be able to get everything you need at the store, unless you buy an actual train set. You will also need a battery box and an extension wire to power the train motor. In order to build some cars, you are going to need some more wheel assemblies and buffers. You can find them in the online Pick A Brick (under transportation) or on Bricklink. The store probably won't have them. You will probably also want some more of these wheels to complete your locomotive. There are many more parts that you might want as you expand your train, but this will enable you to build a simple train to start. EDIT: I just checked Pick A Brick, and I don't see train buffers there. Bricklink will be a cheaper option for most loose parts, anyway. Also, you will need at least two sets of straight and curved rails to make a complete circle.

I'm pretty sure that my Emerald Night is properly quartered, but I still have occasional problems with locking on curves when running in reverse. The problem is especially bad on the new flex track. Is anyone else experiencing this? I noticed Mark's suggestion to replace the 5 long half beams with 7 long beams, but I don't think I have any. Before I order some, I'd like confirmation that the train runs better with them. @DaCheese: Mine definitely runs a little jerky at low speed, although I may also need a recharge soon.

I started noticing these parts (4592) being loose in 2008. The old ones seemed too tight to me (I always had trouble positioning them just right), but the new ones are much looser. I guess they overcorrected when they made the new mold.

Thanks for the review. I got this set from TRU a couple of days ago, but I'm waiting to finish a work project before I build it. My favorite part of the box is the bilingual names. Did you know Dollar Bill is Joe Dollar in French?

I think the RC trains will probably disappear soon when Lego sells out their current stock. I don't know why Lego made them in the first place, but it was probably planned before they developed the PF system. The only train I have is the Emerald Night, but I'll snap up a Deluxe Cargo Train if it goes on sale.

Great model! I love all the functionality. One question, how do you get the power functions lights to flash?

Thanks for the review. I also like this set, and I got a few of them since I missed all the previous snow speeders. I can't wait to get my hands on a couple of the new Echo Base sets, so I can make a detailed Hoth scene.

Thanks for the pics! I'm glad to see the aliens are so cool, but I have to agree that the police are not that great. I can't wait to see more of the vehicles.