Marx Wind-up Radio Controlled Train

WindupGuyOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

I took my latest clockwork train project to our local Wednesday Morning Breakfast Train Group this morning... and a couple of the guys suggested that I post this here. So, without further ado, I present the Marx Windup Radio Controlled Commodore Vanderbilt:

This project started out with a rusty windup CV shell and a rough Wedge Tender that I had laying around. The motor is a late model Marx Riser-Gear windup that was modified with an extra brake on the governor shaft. The brake lever is actuated by a servo located in the cab. The original governor is still in place to keep the locomotive from overspeeding when the "throttle" is wide open. The receiver, battery pack and power switch are located in the tender. A long screw holds the shell in place with a thumb nut on the bottom of the tender, so the shell can be quickly and easily removed to replace the radio batteries. For now, the antennae is just draped over a couple of cars behind the tender for operation, but I'm going to try some different things to deal with it in the future.

A demo video of the RCCV:

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2/11/1510:47 AM

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CP BOBOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER

That is tremendous. Thanks for sharing;

Bob

2/11/1510:51 AM

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suzukovichOGR Forum Member

That a cool idea. Are you able to control the speed?

2/11/1511:23 AM

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handyandyOGR Forum Member

That's so cool it's frozen! lol

Radio controled wind-up. Amazing!

2/11/1511:33 AM

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Jim O'COGR Forum Member

very innovative. Thinking outside the box. Thanks for sharing.

2/11/1512:01 PM

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djacobsenOGR Forum Member

LMAO!

James,

what a wonderfully conceived, out of the box, immaginitive application of unnecessary technology.

What next, a robotic r/c winder?

Dave

2/11/1512:43 PM

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Greg J. TurinettiOGR Forum Member

Delightful! What a great marriage of old and new technology. It looks like a lot of fun and I'm sure you had a great time making it. Thanks for sharing the ideas. So when do they go into mass production?

Greg

2/11/151:06 PM

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WindupGuyOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Originally Posted by suzukovich:

That a cool idea. Are you able to control the speed?

To a degree, Yes. It is a bit tricky as the spring loses power as it winds down, so you have to use less pressure as it is running to attempt to maintain a steady speed. It's a bit like trying to control the speed on a car with an automatic transmission using only the brakes and with the engine starting out at full throttle and then slowly going back to idle on its own. Plus, let's face it, I didn't exactly install semi-metallic brake pads on slotted rotors... it's a bit crude under the hood.

Originally Posted by djacobsen:

LMAO!

James,

what a wonderfully conceived, out of the box, immaginitive application of unnecessary technology.

What next, a robotic r/c winder?

Dave

It may not be robotic, but Mr. Outerridege has a winder powered by a rechargeable electric drill with a revolution counter for his amazing, multiple mainspring driven ARM1G. You can see the details of his project HERE - winder is down the page a bit. I humbly tip my hat to his accomplishments!

Originally Posted by Greg J. Turinetti:

Greg

Haha! Mass production... the market for something as esoteric as this is too small to even by called a niche... microniche? Perhaps just odd? I suspect that this one train has saturated the market...