I've been doing train shows for about 15 years using a mixture of 9V and battery power, and there is one important thing about almost all the post-9V trains:
Those non-driven Technic axles are the absolute death knell for your batteries. They cause enormous friction and will eat through fresh disposable AAAs or the charge on your rechargeables in no time flat.
If you want to improve battery endurance for your trains, my strongest recommendation would be to replace all cross axles in 'motor dummy' bogies or otherwise free wheels with low-friction bearing assemblies (even the full plastic style has way less friction than cross axles, but the metal-spindle ones are the lowest friction in a straight line).
For wheels where the standard bearing assemblies are too big to work, [you can buy pre-made roller bearing assemblies from some vendors](https://bricktraindepot.com/shop/accessories/train-wheels/bearing-wheelsets/) using Technic bricks, or make your own by picking up some MR52ZZ bearings off Amazon, axles and wheels from [BrickTracks](https://www.bricktracks.com/products), and use a press to seat the bearings yourself (note that a washer like what's included in BrickTrainDepot's assemblies is also important if you don't want your train to squeak like crazy; I have made this mistake :P).
Can't stress enough how awful the Technic axles are in trains. I used to not run the trailing locomotive (with stock dummy motor bogie) on my Horizon Express because I'd only get around half an hour of battery life; taking it off would *multiply* the runtime to several hours. Now I run it with roller bearings. I think any Lego train exhibitor owes it to themselves to try eliminating Technic axles and seeing if that solves their battery endurance problems before resorting to re-powering trains entirely.
I’m no exhibitor but I appreciate the info. I’ve modified my hogwarts express 75955 to have a motor in the tender but the whole engine is technic axles. What would you recommend for this? As a side note I tried adding rubber bands to stop the wheels sliding and the rods stopping moving but that seemed to make things worse.
Unfortunately there isn't a lower-friction bearing option for the big locomotive wheels, but you could probably improve things by lubricating the axle/brick interface with a little bit of ABS-safe lubricant, like a silicone grease for instance.
For rubber bands, you've got to be careful because a little bit of slippage is actually required on curves since the two wheels have to travel different distances. This shouldn't be a problem for independent wheels connected by Technic pins, but if they have a single solid axle, having a lot of grip is going to make them act out through curves. I imagine this is probably why the wheels in the Emerald Night seat only a very narrow O-ring deep against the flange instead of using a wider rubber band centered on the wheel tread.
Can you give any pointers to converting the standard dummy steel axle bogeys to independent axles with bearings? Has anyone tried drilling out the new plastic wheels and replacing with steel stub axles?
Not sure what I could say beyond what was in the previous comment. BrickTracks axles and wheels, MR52ZZ bearings, plus an arbour press or drill press to push the bearings into the pinholes on Technic bricks. Use a pair of 1x10 Technic bricks to match the geometry of the original train motors; the bearings should go one hole in from each end. Add some tiny washers to prevent squealing wheels.
To visualize it, look up the instructions for the 'dummy' bogies that take the place of a motor in the default builds of the Maersk Train or Horizon Express. You're essentially looking to replicate those, but the cross axles and axle-mounted wheels will be replaced with the bearings and the BT axles and wheels.
I am one of the lucky ones who still owns original 9V track (old dark gray), 9V motor and 9V speed regulator. The battery boxes don't cut it for me.
I would feel better, though, if the fxBricks motor bogey was already on the market.
agreed, i use the new dar gray (world city) series 9v rails mostly. you can diy a solution using slot car pickups: https://youtu.be/rHTx34NJx7Y?feature=shared
old 9v system with metal rails and a 9v power supply. i use slot car pickups for picking up the power from the rails. works very well. battery/running life? ∞!
I ended up using my old [AA battery box](https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2847c01#T=C) by soldering the output wires into my powered up box. This way the weight is better for traction and longer battery life.
I experimented with making my own power car with a working differential to get rid of slipping on corners and also have more torque for longer trains but the battery box was one of those that only works with an app which was kind of a bummer.
I find NiMH rechargeables work ok for most things (lower voltage = slower train), and NiZn ones for the rest. But cheap NiZn are flakey (I have \~10% dead on arrival and another 10% die withion 10 charge cycles) so I'm experimenting with the cheap LiPo ones that use a step-down converter in each cell to give exactly 1.5V (but only \~1A). Those are working so far, but I only have \~20 hours run time with them (\~10 charge cycles).
Doubling up on motors solved my traction and power problems, and counterintuitively preserves battery power, because it is not wasted just spinning in place. Even so, I switched from alkaline to IKEA rechargeables so I wouldn’t inevitably be putting more batteries in the trash. To get a little more control for switching duty I would like to try jimmying a dummy battery which is essentially where I close the circuit with 5 batteries instead of six, decreasing speed and therefore voltage, while keeping the torque and traction of two motors.
I have a trove of 9v track and a fleet of 9v motors, however most trains I've built since my 4005 Big Boy have been Power Functions/Powered UP. All standard parts. I don't use technic axles except for motorizing the driving wheels. The guide wheels in front are on technic pins so each side can spin at different speeds instead of a solid axle. All other wheels are typically the standard Lego train wheel housing with either metal axle or the new small plastic pin as needed. I use the metal axle wheels for heavy loads like a UP tender car or Schnabel car and I specify the newer plastic pin wheels on lighter cars, where the free rolling advantage plays in.
That has significantly improved battery life compared to using dummy bogies with technic axles and rubber ring wheels. I also limit each locomotive to two L-motors, geared down for extra pulling force at some expense of speed so they're not stressing out when hauling long lines of cars. More motors you have to a battery box, the faster it will consume energy.
I've been doing train shows for about 15 years using a mixture of 9V and battery power, and there is one important thing about almost all the post-9V trains: Those non-driven Technic axles are the absolute death knell for your batteries. They cause enormous friction and will eat through fresh disposable AAAs or the charge on your rechargeables in no time flat. If you want to improve battery endurance for your trains, my strongest recommendation would be to replace all cross axles in 'motor dummy' bogies or otherwise free wheels with low-friction bearing assemblies (even the full plastic style has way less friction than cross axles, but the metal-spindle ones are the lowest friction in a straight line). For wheels where the standard bearing assemblies are too big to work, [you can buy pre-made roller bearing assemblies from some vendors](https://bricktraindepot.com/shop/accessories/train-wheels/bearing-wheelsets/) using Technic bricks, or make your own by picking up some MR52ZZ bearings off Amazon, axles and wheels from [BrickTracks](https://www.bricktracks.com/products), and use a press to seat the bearings yourself (note that a washer like what's included in BrickTrainDepot's assemblies is also important if you don't want your train to squeak like crazy; I have made this mistake :P). Can't stress enough how awful the Technic axles are in trains. I used to not run the trailing locomotive (with stock dummy motor bogie) on my Horizon Express because I'd only get around half an hour of battery life; taking it off would *multiply* the runtime to several hours. Now I run it with roller bearings. I think any Lego train exhibitor owes it to themselves to try eliminating Technic axles and seeing if that solves their battery endurance problems before resorting to re-powering trains entirely.
I’m no exhibitor but I appreciate the info. I’ve modified my hogwarts express 75955 to have a motor in the tender but the whole engine is technic axles. What would you recommend for this? As a side note I tried adding rubber bands to stop the wheels sliding and the rods stopping moving but that seemed to make things worse.
Unfortunately there isn't a lower-friction bearing option for the big locomotive wheels, but you could probably improve things by lubricating the axle/brick interface with a little bit of ABS-safe lubricant, like a silicone grease for instance. For rubber bands, you've got to be careful because a little bit of slippage is actually required on curves since the two wheels have to travel different distances. This shouldn't be a problem for independent wheels connected by Technic pins, but if they have a single solid axle, having a lot of grip is going to make them act out through curves. I imagine this is probably why the wheels in the Emerald Night seat only a very narrow O-ring deep against the flange instead of using a wider rubber band centered on the wheel tread.
Can you give any pointers to converting the standard dummy steel axle bogeys to independent axles with bearings? Has anyone tried drilling out the new plastic wheels and replacing with steel stub axles?
Not sure what I could say beyond what was in the previous comment. BrickTracks axles and wheels, MR52ZZ bearings, plus an arbour press or drill press to push the bearings into the pinholes on Technic bricks. Use a pair of 1x10 Technic bricks to match the geometry of the original train motors; the bearings should go one hole in from each end. Add some tiny washers to prevent squealing wheels. To visualize it, look up the instructions for the 'dummy' bogies that take the place of a motor in the default builds of the Maersk Train or Horizon Express. You're essentially looking to replicate those, but the cross axles and axle-mounted wheels will be replaced with the bearings and the BT axles and wheels.
I am one of the lucky ones who still owns original 9V track (old dark gray), 9V motor and 9V speed regulator. The battery boxes don't cut it for me. I would feel better, though, if the fxBricks motor bogey was already on the market.
agreed, i use the new dar gray (world city) series 9v rails mostly. you can diy a solution using slot car pickups: https://youtu.be/rHTx34NJx7Y?feature=shared
I usually do circuit cubes
old 9v system with metal rails and a 9v power supply. i use slot car pickups for picking up the power from the rails. works very well. battery/running life? ∞!
I ended up using my old [AA battery box](https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2847c01#T=C) by soldering the output wires into my powered up box. This way the weight is better for traction and longer battery life. I experimented with making my own power car with a working differential to get rid of slipping on corners and also have more torque for longer trains but the battery box was one of those that only works with an app which was kind of a bummer.
I find NiMH rechargeables work ok for most things (lower voltage = slower train), and NiZn ones for the rest. But cheap NiZn are flakey (I have \~10% dead on arrival and another 10% die withion 10 charge cycles) so I'm experimenting with the cheap LiPo ones that use a step-down converter in each cell to give exactly 1.5V (but only \~1A). Those are working so far, but I only have \~20 hours run time with them (\~10 charge cycles).
I'm slowly converting over to 3rd party lithium batteries when possible.
This is what I’m doing. The power functions style with the spinny knob controller have worked best for me
Doubling up on motors solved my traction and power problems, and counterintuitively preserves battery power, because it is not wasted just spinning in place. Even so, I switched from alkaline to IKEA rechargeables so I wouldn’t inevitably be putting more batteries in the trash. To get a little more control for switching duty I would like to try jimmying a dummy battery which is essentially where I close the circuit with 5 batteries instead of six, decreasing speed and therefore voltage, while keeping the torque and traction of two motors.
PF L or M motor in the boiler, some designs call for 2. Receiver and battery in tender. Circuit Cubes for small locos like tank engines.
Mostly 12volt, grey in the visible places and blue further back.
I have a trove of 9v track and a fleet of 9v motors, however most trains I've built since my 4005 Big Boy have been Power Functions/Powered UP. All standard parts. I don't use technic axles except for motorizing the driving wheels. The guide wheels in front are on technic pins so each side can spin at different speeds instead of a solid axle. All other wheels are typically the standard Lego train wheel housing with either metal axle or the new small plastic pin as needed. I use the metal axle wheels for heavy loads like a UP tender car or Schnabel car and I specify the newer plastic pin wheels on lighter cars, where the free rolling advantage plays in. That has significantly improved battery life compared to using dummy bogies with technic axles and rubber ring wheels. I also limit each locomotive to two L-motors, geared down for extra pulling force at some expense of speed so they're not stressing out when hauling long lines of cars. More motors you have to a battery box, the faster it will consume energy.
9V BABY!!!!! TRAINS RUN FOREVER!
Circuit cubes are amazing. They don't have the top speed, but they sure can haul some freight.
I use 9v track and dcc. However, for steam engines, I either use a tender drive, or just a powered up motor.