Subject:
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Re: Question about the new trains
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 4 Aug 2003 14:56:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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1156 times
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In lugnet.trains, Gail Meagher wrote:
> I was hoping someone who has bought the new trains (4511 High Speed
> Train or 4512 Cargo Train) could answer this question. Have the wheels
> been fixed?
>
> I hope LEGO has sorted out the problem with them sticking, but
> considering the way quality control has slipped, I'd like to know for
> sure. Considering I don't need any more speed controllers or curved
> track, if the wheels are not good I'd be hard pressed to buy these.
>
> Gail Meagher
Good question! I've been wondering this myself. I just recently went through
the grueling process of filing down the plastic in all 28 gray wheel-sets of my
Santa Fe Kit. What an improvement! I got the train set last fall and the first
time I built it didn't behave too poorly so I left the wheels alone. This time
I built it all again, setup my track, and called my 3-year old daughter over and
said, "look honey, Daddy's going to make this train go around the track." I
turned the controller all the way up and the thing just sat there pathetically
whining and shaking but not going anywhere. Seeing the disappointment on my
daughter's face I knew it was time to break out the jeweler's file and get to
work. Several hours later I was happily pulling the five cars and the unpowered
second locomotive with a single motor in the first locomotive. It still had a
little trouble at the lowest power settings but I attribute that to the sheer
weight of the whole thing (2,700 pieces pulled by a single train motor!).
Motorizing the second locomotive gave it all the boost it needed to run smooth
at all speeds, which I think is a reasonable requirement for a train of that
size.
Not sure why the performance was worse than when it was new but I have a theory:
We've established that the main problem is that the outer edge of the wheel rubs
on the housing above it at the 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock areas. These are the
two areas I filed away to make it work better. I found that I had to file away
a good amount of material, more than I expected, to stop it from rubbing. I
think when the wheels are new, the very edge of the wheel (called the flange?)
is very thin and kind of comes to a point, so the surface area that rubs against
the housing is relatively small. As time goes on the contact with the housing
wears down that pointiness and the surface area that makes contact gets bigger.
I believe this results in more friction, meaning the more you use the wheels the
worse the problem becomes. Just a theory...
Anyway, I really hope TLC fixed the problem with the new wheel-sets before they
started producing the new 2003 train sets. As much as it was a pain to file all
of those things down, the end result was worth it. Those Santa Fe sets are just
fantastic and I'm looking forward to more sets like them. It would be great if
with my next LEGO train purchases I can leave my file in the toolbox and get
right to the fun of running my layout.
Regards,
Paul
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Question about the new trains
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| IMHO, the problem lies in this theory: * The axles are made of metal. * Metal is harder than plastic. * When putting metal in direct contact with plastic, the plastic will wear. * Check the spot where the point of the metal axle meets the plastic (...) (21 years ago, 4-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: Question about the new trains
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| (...) ... (...) ... I also filed down enough wheels to make a six car Santa Fe successfully negotiate a 'dog-bone' torture track (all curves) on a low regulator speed, with one motor. Like Paul, I thought I had it all figured out. This weekend, I (...) (21 years ago, 4-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Question about the new trains
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| I was hoping someone who has bought the new trains (4511 High Speed Train or 4512 Cargo Train) could answer this question. Have the wheels been fixed? I hope LEGO has sorted out the problem with them sticking, but considering the way quality control (...) (21 years ago, 4-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
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