I've always wanted a train to run around our Christmas tree. So last year I built one. I even had lots of pictures of it under the tree. It was really nice! Unfortunately, I lost (or maybe deleted) all those pictures. So yesterday I took a bunch of pictures of the Christmas train for my web site. And, as circumstances would have it, I don't even have any track right now. Its all boxed up ready to go up to the Guinness world record attempt in Seattle for the longest Lego train layout. So, you get to see it sitting on a bare train table.
I didn't really model this after anything in particular. I just wanted a Christmas train. And it HAD to be a steam engine!
In spite of how this series of photos makes it look, there are only TWO of coaches in this Christmas train.
Here's the very front of the engine. I liked the cow catcher design, it looks neat, but its a bit frail. It tends to fall off sometimes when you go through switches. :(
The drivers don't actually touch the track, but the come pretty close. There is actually a 9v motor (one of the geared down motors) inside the cab there with Santa (that one of the reasons the cab is so long). The motor is connected to the drivers and makes them turn. The linkages move and cause a little Technic piece to slide back and forth on an axle. And since the voltage for the motor comes from the track, the speed drivers is proportional to the speed of the engine. It looks quite neat chugging around the track!
Here's a close up of the linkage & piston mechanism I mentioned above.
There's Santa going by in the cab (you can see the gray of the 9v motor in the front window).
The tender.
The coach.
The caboose.
The end.