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Hi,
I was just wondering - has anyone yet considered whether there might be a way to
"9voltify" the LEGO 7996 set (switched rail crossing)? I mean, there we do have
a very useful piece of track, however it is only usable for RC trains so far.
What could possibly be done about that?
While we are at it - would there be any way to modify the RC track to work with
"old style" 9V trains? I know it's probably not worth taking all the pain, but
since I'd like a 7996 for my layout, I thought I'd ask...
Thanks,
Jerry
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In lugnet.trains, Gereon Stein wrote:
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Hi,
I was just wondering - has anyone yet considered whether there might be a way
to “9voltify” the LEGO 7996 set (switched rail crossing)? I mean, there we do
have a very useful piece of track, however it is only usable for RC trains so
far. What could possibly be done about that?
While we are at it - would there be any way to modify the RC track to work
with “old style” 9V trains? I know it’s probably not worth taking all the
pain, but since I’d like a 7996 for my layout, I thought I’d ask...
Thanks,
Jerry
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There was some discussion about this a few months ago:
http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=29549
I haven’t tried it yet myself though, so I can’t vouch for how well it works.
-Elroy
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Jeffrey-
Of course, there's the "easy" way: Simply use two motors, linked by a wire, and
separated by enough distance to cover the non-conductive gap caused by using a
7996. We have tried this and it works fine (and also improves operation
elsewhere).
-Ted
In lugnet.trains, Gereon Stein wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I was just wondering - has anyone yet considered whether there might be a way to
> "9voltify" the LEGO 7996 set (switched rail crossing)? I mean, there we do have
> a very useful piece of track, however it is only usable for RC trains so far.
> What could possibly be done about that?
>
> While we are at it - would there be any way to modify the RC track to work with
> "old style" 9V trains? I know it's probably not worth taking all the pain, but
> since I'd like a 7996 for my layout, I thought I'd ask...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jerry
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In lugnet.trains, Ted Michon wrote:
> Jeffrey-
>
> Of course, there's the "easy" way: Simply use two motors, linked by a wire, and
> separated by enough distance to cover the non-conductive gap caused by using a
> 7996. We have tried this and it works fine (and also improves operation
> elsewhere).
>
> -Ted
>
> In lugnet.trains, Gereon Stein wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I was just wondering - has anyone yet considered whether there might be a way to
> > "9voltify" the LEGO 7996 set (switched rail crossing)? I mean, there we do have
> > a very useful piece of track, however it is only usable for RC trains so far.
> > What could possibly be done about that?
> >
> > While we are at it - would there be any way to modify the RC track to work with
> > "old style" 9V trains? I know it's probably not worth taking all the pain, but
> > since I'd like a 7996 for my layout, I thought I'd ask...
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Jerry
Ted:
That's a great idea! Do you any pictures of your setup and how you routed the
wire between the motors? This sounds like something I would love to try.
Thanks for the tip.
-Dave
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In lugnet.trains, Gereon Stein wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I was just wondering - has anyone yet considered whether there might be a way to
> "9voltify" the LEGO 7996 set (switched rail crossing)? I mean, there we do have
> a very useful piece of track, however it is only usable for RC trains so far.
> What could possibly be done about that?
>
> While we are at it - would there be any way to modify the RC track to work with
> "old style" 9V trains? I know it's probably not worth taking all the pain, but
> since I'd like a 7996 for my layout, I thought I'd ask...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jerry
Myself and others have used copper foil
<http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=29556>
<http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=29598>
I converted a 7996 just before Christmas, and installed it in my elevated train
layout. So far it's run flawlessly for different trains for over 20 hours of
run time. I used pre-tinned (silvered) copper tape. I used 1/4" which gives you
the same profile as the 9v track metal. I covered all the rails with metal,
including the points. And drilled and wired the gaps, but left unwired gaps
accross the centers of the crossing sections. This way if the voltage
(direction) on the two tracks are the same, the train runs fine. If not the
train stops half way thrue the crossing. You could just tape all the striaght
rails and jupper to the middle segments, that way you could at least run any
length engine set thrue the section when not switching track.
The real broblem with the 7996, wether you metalize it or not is the linked
switch controls. My next project is to split the controlls and add solenoids for
remote switching.
BTW, The tape is made by Venture Tape, get the "silvered" version, #1660.
It runs around $15 for a large roll of the 1/4 inch. I recomend the 1/4, or upto
5/8" if you want more adhesive surface area.
Mat
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In lugnet.trains, Dave Sterling wrote:
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...
That’s a great idea! Do you any pictures of your setup and how you routed
the wire between the motors? This sounds like something I would love to try.
Thanks for the tip.
-Dave
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Running wires between cars is probably not as tough as getting the lead from the
motor to the car or engine. Although LEGO made a train headlamp kit, the wire
coming off the motor connector tended to get in the way, especially on turns. We
often thought that it would be nice to route the wire through the center of the
motor pivot pin, leaving the challenge to routing the wire between trains. For
our proof of concept, we didn’t try to disguise or minimize the inter-car
connect. Conceptually, one idea might be to take tiny super magnets with a wire
lead attached to each and mount two of them side by side in place of the LEGO
magnet in each coupler. That way, when the cars couple up, electrical contact is
made at the same time. There certainly are small magnets that are more powerful
than the LEGO supplied ones.
-Ted
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> The real broblem with the 7996, wether you metalize it or not is the linked
> switch controls. My next project is to split the controlls and add solenoids for
I wish that I had read this a few months ago (when I should have). I just
bought a 7996 with the intention to convert it to 9V.
I am very disapointed that you can not have both of the parallel straights
switched to go straight at the same time. The switching only allows for one to
be straight and the other must curve.
I'd be happy to know if you have a good method of splitting the controls and
adding solenoids!
Does anyone else have experience with splitting the 7996 controls, or adding
solenoids to a regular 9v switching point?
Thanks,
Scott
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In lugnet.trains, Scott Wardlaw wrote:
> > The real broblem with the 7996, wether you metalize it or not is the linked
> > switch controls. My next project is to split the controlls and add solenoids for
>
> I wish that I had read this a few months ago (when I should have). I just
> bought a 7996 with the intention to convert it to 9V.
>
> I am very disapointed that you can not have both of the parallel straights
> switched to go straight at the same time. The switching only allows for one to
> be straight and the other must curve.
>
> I'd be happy to know if you have a good method of splitting the controls and
> adding solenoids!
>
> Does anyone else have experience with splitting the 7996 controls, or adding
> solenoids to a regular 9v switching point?
>
> Thanks,
> Scott
splitting the controls for the doubble crossover can be done in a couple of
ways. as soon as i get my hands on a set i will write up some instructions for
everyone.
as for selenoids there really is no need. automating 9v/rc switches is fairly
straight forward. see:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=109777&n=47 see photos that
start with a "z" also there are literaly probably 100+ solutions to automate
all you have to do is look.
ondrew
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In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Scott Wardlaw wrote:
> > > The real broblem with the 7996, wether you metalize it or not is the linked
> > > switch controls. My next project is to split the controlls and add solenoids for
> >
> > I wish that I had read this a few months ago (when I should have). I just
> > bought a 7996 with the intention to convert it to 9V.
> >
> > I am very disapointed that you can not have both of the parallel straights
> > switched to go straight at the same time. The switching only allows for one to
> > be straight and the other must curve.
> >
> > I'd be happy to know if you have a good method of splitting the controls and
> > adding solenoids!
> >
> > Does anyone else have experience with splitting the 7996 controls, or adding
> > solenoids to a regular 9v switching point?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Scott
>
> splitting the controls for the doubble crossover can be done in a couple of
> ways. as soon as i get my hands on a set i will write up some instructions for
> everyone.
>
> as for selenoids there really is no need. automating 9v/rc switches is fairly
> straight forward. see:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=109777&n=47 see photos that
> start with a "z" also there are literaly probably 100+ solutions to automate
> all you have to do is look.
> ondrew
I have altered the crossover controls to provide for an all-straight state by
tweaking the springs in the switching rails.
I have also motorized the crossover in such a way that it can be set straight,
TL-BR or BL-TR with two switches (both pneumatic!).
My solution needs just 8 plates below track level in order for there to be no
obstructions above ground, so that larger rail vehicles (8+ wide and 8mm scale)
can use the crossover without grounding or hitting the mechanism.
I ballasted the crossover while I was at it, so that it fits with my layout
ballast scheme.
Pictures here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=147934
Instructions for building it:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/Technic/Pneumatics/Pneumo-Switch-Points/crossover_info.txt
Mark
=============================================================================
Mark J E Bellis 8mm scale LEGO trains
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In lugnet.trains, Mark Bellis wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Ondrew Hartigan wrote:
> > In lugnet.trains, Scott Wardlaw wrote:
> > > > The real broblem with the 7996, wether you metalize it or not is the linked
> > > > switch controls. My next project is to split the controlls and add solenoids for
> > >
> > > I wish that I had read this a few months ago (when I should have). I just
> > > bought a 7996 with the intention to convert it to 9V.
> > >
> > > I am very disapointed that you can not have both of the parallel straights
> > > switched to go straight at the same time. The switching only allows for one to
> > > be straight and the other must curve.
> > >
> > > I'd be happy to know if you have a good method of splitting the controls and
> > > adding solenoids!
> > >
> > > Does anyone else have experience with splitting the 7996 controls, or adding
> > > solenoids to a regular 9v switching point?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Scott
> >
> > splitting the controls for the doubble crossover can be done in a couple of
> > ways. as soon as i get my hands on a set i will write up some instructions for
> > everyone.
> >
> > as for selenoids there really is no need. automating 9v/rc switches is fairly
> > straight forward. see:
> > http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=109777&n=47 see photos that
> > start with a "z" also there are literaly probably 100+ solutions to automate
> > all you have to do is look.
> > ondrew
>
> I have altered the crossover controls to provide for an all-straight state by
> tweaking the springs in the switching rails.
>
> I have also motorized the crossover in such a way that it can be set straight,
> TL-BR or BL-TR with two switches (both pneumatic!).
>
> My solution needs just 8 plates below track level in order for there to be no
> obstructions above ground, so that larger rail vehicles (8+ wide and 8mm scale)
> can use the crossover without grounding or hitting the mechanism.
>
> I ballasted the crossover while I was at it, so that it fits with my layout
> ballast scheme.
>
> Pictures here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=147934
> Instructions for building it:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/Technic/Pneumatics/Pneumo-Switch-Points/crossover_info.txt
>
> Mark
> =============================================================================
> Mark J E Bellis 8mm scale LEGO trains
Mark:
Nice work! This solution looks really trick. Another great use for the
pneumatic system. I wish this stuff was still being produced (although I'm
interested to see how the rams work on the new excavator set). I also like you
ballast work, it looks really nice. A clean and compact solution.
-Dave
ToT-LUG
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