Carefree_Dude

Hey, I got the parts I need for the Lilly Belle today. Well most of the parts, i forgot to order parts for more seats but the train car is officially larger now! Sorry for the bad images, i'll take some better ones later. Anyways the build is basically exactly the same as the original car in the set, but extended by 8 studs. I'm considering making it longer though; I got enough parts to go all the way to 40 studs.

I managed to fit the PF battery box, PF IR receiver, part of the engine, the light, and both crew members back there. Keep on trying, i'm sure you'll figure something out. getting past these issues is part of the fun.

I did this more than 10 years ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. looking at another pic, it appears i removed one of the lights. Anyways, the second PF light is tucked away inside the train somewhere. Im sure you can figure out a way to make things work

Yes, actually. I did something similar in my Powerfunctions mod.

I'm imagining the entirety of the BotW map built in this scale. it would be massive, but so beautiful. Also be like miillions of bricks

I'd be shocked if they go with 8 wide going further. I feel that this is a one time thing, or a very rare thing at least. I feel almost everything going forward will be 6 wide due to cost and playability.

I really love the train cars! You did a really great job. I also love replacing the dark green with dark blue; I'm going to have to steal that idea. I also might steal the train car idea. I want to look at the different cars the disney trains have pulled, and maybe make several. I also really appreciate the effort you've put into your photography. A small suggestion I feel would help your train; you can get 1/8th inch gold striping tape and add the gold lines onto the boiler. I've done it on some of my models and it looks really good.

How many PF devices can you connect to it?

Looking at pictures and comparing them to the model, the loco itself should be 7 studs longer. Also I knew dark green didn't look quite right! I think I have the dark blue already, and I also have gold striping tape for the gold lines on the boiler.

This is such a beautiful train! I love the red and black

I really enjoy what you came up with! I love that tender.

I have a design similar to zephyr's inside my big boy. I have yet to figure out what the upper limit is to what it can pull

Those look really good, do you have a bricklink store?

It's funny we both pretty much had this idea, and you made a post about it just a few minutes before I did! I started a new thread with something I came up with; I look forward to seeing your ideas!

Recently the Disney train came out; The train itself wasn't bad by any means, but I felt left a lot to be desired. I've started modifying mine to make it more like the original CK Holliday Steam Engine. My first goal was to fix the wheels; the original set has both the drive wheels and front bogie spin. The Drive rods didn't really look like much either. So, I would like to present my initial modifications: Probably the biggest challenge with this was making enough room everything; the original wheelsets had to go; also the wheels i chose here are closer to the original train (Even the tan pins match the original train!) I had to make the bogie extremely flat. There is just BARELY enough clearance for the pistons; on a standard lego curve, i have maybe half a plate worth of space between the wheel and the tan round piece. I'm not sure I 100% like how i did the drive rods. I would have much preferred to have something that pumped in and out of the piston, but I couldn't figure out a way to make it work while also keeping the round bricks. Speaking of the piston, I couldn't get the original build to work at all, so I initially grabbed some modified red round bricks with the technic axle hole at the bottom; the ones in the most recent Christmas train. This worked, but didn't quite give the right look. To my great surprise, I discovered there were round 2x2 bricks with pin holes in the side. I ordered these, and they do the job; I still dislike the hole in the side however. The attachment of the pistons to the boiler uses some technic parts to hold everything together. I initially used brick, but it fell off. lastly, here is a view from the bottom of how the front bogie connects. It's basically the same as the emerald night. I also toyed with the reverse pivot method that Jayhurst recently showed off with his newest Big Boy, but it didn't fit well with what I was doing. Anyways, this is just a start; I really want to make this more true to the original CK Holliday. Here is a list of things I hope to fix eventually. The proportions are off; The original train looks longer than this. I want to adjust the train to better fit the proportions of the original. Redo drive rods and pistons. What I have done works, but I feel it could be done better. Chrome the necessary parts; The original train has a ton of chrome gold and grey. Dark tan doesn't replace chrome gold very well. rework the cab; I want to get rid of the giant gaps that are directly open to the drive wheels. I probably should have done this when redoing the drive wheels. redo the Lilly Belle train car. The one in the set looks silly with how short it is. I've ordered the parts, just waiting for them to arrive. Get some custom CK Holliday stickers. Add a light somehow. (probably toss an LED in there) I'm sure I'm not the only one making modifications to this set. I would love to see what everyone else is coming up with, and would also love to see some ideas and suggestions.

DEJA VU!

If you used black headlight bricks, it would just look like part of the tile.

Just an update; I modified my big boy quite a bit, and it can now fit 4 XL motors!

So, I modified my train quite a bit, and I can now fit FOUR XL motors inside the boiler. Is it safe to assume I will need something like buwizz to actually deliver full power to these things?

I have a train that I want to power via PF motors. Currently, I can either fit 2 XL motors or 4 L motors inside the boiler. Which of these setups would provide more overall power and pull a longer train?

I have another question; Say I'm only able to fit two motors in this thing; would it be better to have both motors on the same set of drive wheels, or would it be better to give each set of drive wheels their own motor?

The ones I use specifically are these. There may be better options https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D9NQTXL/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_KvHODbK1SB3CH

I've been thinking about running long trains, and the limitations of lego train motors and other parts. I know there are a few ways to get around these, and was hoping we could all chip in with some knowledge. My first thing I would like to add is info on replacing O-rings! I now a lot of people here know this, and I made this same topic roughly 10 years ago (back when RC trains first came out) but I wanted to say it again. Remove the clear/grey o-rings on the train wheels on your motors. Replace them with 14mm Inner Diameter, 17mm OD sealing gaskets, and watch the magic happen. By simply replacing these O-rings, you get much more grip onto the track and it helps stops the wheels from slipping due to lack of weight. For instance, I have a UP Big Boy that I tried to push with the tender from the Disney train (single PuP motor and battery box). The wheels just slipped in place and couldn't budge the big boy. I then replaced the O-rings on the 4 wheels with the sealing gaskets, and the difference was shocking: Not only could the tiny Disney Train tender push the Big Boy, but it moved reasonably fast, power right through tight lego curves, AND pull 3 train cars and drag the Disney train behind it all. In the past, I modified the Santa Fe Super Chief to work with power functions, and replacing those O rings allowed it to pull all 5 santa fe cars and a few emerald night cars with no issue. And best of all, this isn't an expensive modification. You can get a package of 40 O rings for under $10. That said, I'm just imagining what kind of performance you can get if you add in bearings and lubrication on top of all this... (If someone has experience with lubrication and bearings, please add some info!) (Also, some info on aftermarket powering solutions (sbrick, fx brick, buwizz, etc would be nice)

I think I can see a way to fit 4 xl motors into my boiler. Now I just need to figure out where to make them connect to the wheels. Looking at other pics it appears I can run a Technic axel through the big turntables, I just need new points to attach the wheels to the boiler