Adding Motors to the Orient Express

The LEGO Orient Express is a train meant for display, but that isn't stopping me from trying to add some motors to it. The results were mixed, but I think I mostly succeeded. What do you think?
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[@garycpriestley]

Seeing all the trial-and-error you went through was great. I can start to see the problems the designers faced but it looks like there are solutions there if you're prepared to use two motors. Great video and I think the hand-held, unscripted effect was very authentic.

[@NMLE]

Yeah. It's a win-win solution, and lego did know people will try to motorise it anyways regardless of what they say, too heavy (reason why the tender is empty). I am very pleased it came without motorise functions, like people tend to forgot, the set will definitely not be $300 if they add in motors. Could cost way too expensive like $450, as it needs at least 2 motors yet the train cars can't turn normally. Those who wants a motorise Orient Express could just go ahead and buy the motors.

[@Bigdog1787]

Ya but they try on battery motors he's doing it on 9v which is way better then their junk battery ones. They probably need 4 battery motors or more to push this.

[@gta71000]

​@@Bigdog1787 no it doesn't as someone used power functions and it ran just fine with slight derailment.

[@garycpriestley]

@@gta71000 the derailment issue is weird since I read they did extensive testing on all tracks...🤔

[@jordandeanda6244]

Hey Alex, The Racing Brick uploaded a great video in powering up the Orient Express. Im 99% sure the weight isn’t the problem it is the friction up the front wheels. He used battery instead of 9v and powered the Engine using rubber bands on the engine like the emerald knight!

[@dmonsef]

Actually it is. The combined weight of the carriage cars is heavier than the locomotive plus the little coal car. The heavier weight and power distribution has to be on the front end. To prevent any skipping of the wheels you need to put tight rubber bands on them so there is more friction. There has to be a way to put more weight in the locomotive or hollow it out to put a strong motor in place.

[@jordandeanda6244]

@@dmonsef i believe in the same video he hooked the carriage cars and the tinder to the new city cargo train instead of the OE engine and it ran at full speed with absolutely no slippage. I think the OE total is about 600g heavier than the current cargo train. The issue lies in those connecting rods (not sure what they’re actually called) that tie the engine wheels together having way too much friction. Put the OE tinder and carriages on a different engine and it works just fine. Watch racingbricks new video and go about 3:40 in

[@stijnd5268]

They wheels aren't really locking up, they have no traction due to the lack of rubber bands so they're slipping because nothing forces them to spin. The Emerald Night and Crocodile locomotive shipped with rubber bands so the wheels would be able to grip on the track, but since this one doesnt come with any official motorization features they left these parts out. If you put some x37 rubber bands on them they will stop slipping.

[@bigbuffersproductions]

I suggest adding the traction tires from the crocodile loco if you don’t have it I think you can buy spares

[@danahfaren74]

As glorious as it looks (I don‘t mind the discrepancy between fan idea and final result), I still find it appalling that you pay 300 dollars for a product that will need further investment and changes to bring it to the point that the end consumer is happy…

[@Mr.Funk92]

Model railroader here. The issue with the loco locking up is that the middle drive wheel is not being powered/driven. 4-6-0 needs to have its middle drive wheel powered if linked to the other wheels.

[@alexnunes]

This is excellent insight. Thanks!

[@VestedUTuber]

Easy way to fix the first iteration: LEGO Dacta weighted bricks. The issue here is a lack of weight on the drive wheels. The 9v motor was slipping, not stalling, so you need more adhesive force than the hollow tender plus the motor block can give on their own. You tried that with the battery box but it wasn't enough, you need a solid chunk of metal, or in this case, several solid chunks of metal inside plastic bricks. Well, that and also getting rid of the traction tires on the pilot truck.

[@timmyi1030]

It seems like all you need is some rubber belt x37 on the front wheels to help with some friction when pushing from the back

[@ManfredPollack]

Don't use weights, but rubber from the lokomotive-wheels from the sixtys, seventys, eightys, ninetys etc. These systems I still use - and I will stay at them, because they are perfect!

[@legoman70]

For steam wheel you can add red rubber (lego id : 6049329) (V-Belt 24MM RED) (same than wheel of lego emerald night locomotive)

[@almightyarjen]

Great solution!

[@acimagination7982]

i have seen the movie the murder on the orient express so its cool to see the train in lego form. trial and error and then success looks like. thats the thing with lego.

[@redknight4]

it's a success for the 9 volt system. powered up / power functions on the engine though you will need to get 4 85544 V-BELT Ø24MM RED for using an l motor and gear to run it from the engine

[@w0NdER1X]

I can say but you can put motor inside of the boiler and make some driveshaft so there is more grip. (I dont remember which one) And power supply in tender

[@bricklover2258]

Love the look of the train running in your city. We need a city update with the emerald night and this running at the same time down the road just for fun.

[@Soy_Barman]

I really wanna see Emerald Night pulling these Orient Express Carriages tbh.

[@steveooievaar8618]

Swapping the middle and back wheels on the locomotive will improve cornering. The flange wheels are too far apart.

[@bernardygm]

Could possibly make it a double tender with the 9V volts under? Some trains do have double tenders after all

[@MK-of7qw]

Find some lead sinkers and throw them in the tender. If you can extend out the front truck of the loco, you could put a second motor in the front.

[@coasterblocks3420]

I find standard LEGO curves too tight, so now that I’ve dipped my toe back into trains, I have invested in wider radius third party R72 (RC) curves. The price become more daunting for the 9V versions, but sooo spoiled for choice in radii. Unfortunately, basements and attics are not a thing in Australia, so my layout ambitions are very limited and temporary.

[@rbleisem]

Can you add a engine in the loco? Does not need to be that strong, as long as it can keep the main wheels spinning, that would lower the friction the big locomotive wheels generate. The main problem would be, how do you power it? Can you feet it from those engine blocks? Now as for tenders, look up the P8 steam engine, that type of tender would allow you to use two power blocks. That type of locomotive did after WWII, have a few that where running around with P8 tenders.

[@ThomasTheorist]

4:04 Look up locos from the "Baldwin Locomotive Works", they look exactly like that mod you made to the engine HAHA

[@Ryan.Fitton]

@racingbrick did some good trials with motors too

[@alexnunes]

Thanks, I need to check that out.

[@Zabadak]

Great to watch these trial and error. There will be a good looking and proper solution in the future. You did a awesome start for it

[@alexnunes]

Thanks, I gave it the old college try. Once the train has been released for awhile I am sure we'll see more people post their solutions for this.

[@generalkenobi7389]

This might be easier said than done, but what about extending the boiler on the engine and putting a 9v motor underneath the cab, changing it from a 4-6-0 to a 4-6-4.

[@alexnunes]

Yes, easier said than done, but I think it comes down to how motivated I am to make the engine motorized. Right now I don't think I am there.

[@rockies1790]

If you are using two 9v motors, you can place them under the first wagon 😉

[@BricksTheRobloxian]

I saw someone try that and the tender was to light so it derailed

[@jordandeanda6244]

You could try also using a very light oil on the connecting rod pins on the engines wheels as well as the slot where the rod reciprocates at the engine. I bet the train would be much much smoother as I firmly believe the whole issue is the friction of those connecting rods and not the weight and taking them off all together might be the be solution. Sucks that its a brand new piece too! I think Lego is saying its not motorize-able even though they clearly left room for the battery box is because they spent money on tooling that new connecting rod piece that causes too much friction and were not going to not include it in the finished product. Racing brick pulled the tinder and carriages before a different engine and it ran at full speed. He put a motor inside the engine and used gears to drive the engine wheels with rubber bands on them like the emerald knight

[@LegoEngneering]

Try adding rubber bands on the steem loco and the tender trust me it helps

[@spearmintpony7105]

You have that battery box in the tender, but it's powering nothing. Install a Powered Up motor into the engine, gear the motor to the drivers, add some rubber bands to the drivers and it should be good to go, especially with a 9v motor boosting it.

[@legonut78]

Even better, use a power functions motor, fed by the power connectors on top of the 9v motor. It acts as a power pickup for 9v and power functions accessories.

[@gkid64]

Maybe if you could use a large technic motor to spin the stock wheels on the locomotive (put rubber bands on the wheels) if you could somehow use the 9v wheels as a power pickup

[@alexnunes]

Interesting suggestion. I can picture this in my head. The challenge would be gearing the wheels. Might be pretty fun.

[@legonut78]

This is a great idea. The 9v motor already is a power pickup and it has a 9v connector on top. You could connect a wire to the locomotive and power both the tender and loco with a single 9v motor. Plus then you use one less 9v motor. You could use a 9v to power functions cable if you wanted to use a power functions motor even.

[@Nikioko]

If you buy Mould King 12025, you get a fully motorized set with better brick quality and no stickers for less than 2/3 the money. And guess which set comes closer to the original Ideas submission. 😆

[@poseidonrox95]

A hub in the tender with motors under the tender and first set of wheels on the cabin seems like the best option. you could plug both into the hub and control them both with one remote.

[@robertsmith8472]

One of the things i did to make sure the engine wheels didn't lock up was add a drive shaft to it. It forced the first amd last drive wheel to rotate at the same time preventing them from locking up. Thats also how i motorized it too. I had a large motor on the inside of the boiler that was connected to the same drive shaft

[@basberend]

would a setup like on the brown crocodil work on this train ? maybe you could get even 3 axles powered and put rubber band on the wheels. (just a thought) #goodluck

[@mgmg3000.]

I'm gonna call it a success! Great work and well worth the time to see it going around the city. I hope all the passengers made it out of the train intact at the end of the day, with no criminal activities on board! Thank you !

[@Soy_Barman]

RancingBrick put a clever solution on his chanel. Rubber bands on the wheels of the locomotor. I recomend to see his video also. Thanks, Alex for the video.

[@alexnunes]

Thanks, many have suggested I look at that video. Great suggestion on the rubber bands.

[@mathsageoutdoors8967]

Switch out the pilot wheels in the front of the locomotive, you’ll need to do some refiguring of the pilot wheel truck. May work. Good luck.

[@BrickHQ]

It might be worth seeing what other people did to motorize the train I wonder if it would work better not on 9V track, but instead with the newer system

[@zionjarman3610]

The way racingbricks did it, seens to have worked great

[@alexnunes]

Nice! I believe he used PU, where I went for the easy 9v solution. I don't have any PU elements, but maybe I need to change that.

[@zionjarman3610]

@alexnunes I think k it might be the only good looking option and only option for the trian to pull the cars

[@robertsullivan3877]

In a different KZbin video, someone built a small caboose ( it matches the colors of the orient Express train), and they motorized the caboose and the tender.

[@Soy_Barman]

I wanna see that!

[@robertsullivan3877]

@@Soy_Barman it's on KZbin now,when I type orient Express caboose,it comes up

[@Garinovitch]

If I had to take a guess, to truly make this set efficient with it's motor some heavy modifications might be needed with the carriages. Namely, making it a bit shorter, if I can had to make a rough estimate, it might need to be shorter by 4 studs each. If not, might need to be 6. I also remember reading from the designers that there was also a weight issue that prevented it from being effectively motorized, you might have to go through all the parts of the train to try and figure out where you can trim fat, sacrifice from the form for the function basically. Or I could be totally wrong, I've never (despite desperately wanting one) own a train set! I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, yeah those carriages are too long for this. But hey! If I do end up being right and you do need to make the carriage shorter, you can use those spare parts to make the start of a nice caboose! Although as I'm writing this, it appears the actual Orient Express this set is based on doesn't have a typical caboose, but hey, it's lego, can do what you want! I also think reducing the size of the two carriages so you can have three carriages would be better too.

[@delsyncroft]

I don't understand the last part about Failed effort! You got it done. It's like the Edison and his lightbulb ; "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Took you a lot less tries than him.

[@alexnunes]

Thanks, I appreciate that. You are right!

[@paulsbricks]

If you want to keep using the 9 volt motor all you need to do is add the red rubber bands to the engine drive wheels. Therefore you would need four of them. I even think this would work with one motor if you did this. I will be using power up functions for mine since I don't have 9 volt track.😀👍

[@boulevardbricks508]

Was thinking the same - O rings or something for traction on the large wheels.

[@gjacobson76]

Would adding rubber bands to the drive wheels on the engine add enough torsion to overcome the slippage when running the train in reverse? It would be simple to try it out. I think your idea of placing the 9 volt wheels under the car is the perfect solution so far. The car provides the weight to give it the traction it needs to move the train smoothly. You did a great job with your testing. I know you will get it to work!

[@ethanklee9041]

I had a similar problem when trying to add rods to my Hogwarts express 2018 that had been motorized in the tender like this, it doesn't have nearly enough weight behind it unless you put like a block of tungsten in, and even then it gives high resistance unless you lube it up in some way or use something looser than even the low friction axles. This one with the new parts on it though should operate mostly fine so long as a weight is added to the locomotive above the wheels.

[@countrabricksbuildcraze8916]

​@@ethanklee9041yeah.i tryed to power up Hogwarts to..failed the first time.but think it was due to my track.s.on the corner s..and like you seed it needs added waite.to frunt .it has same wheel s set up as Hogwarts ..I see wich..was reason.i thort mini was derailing.on the corner s .but hope.i can try get..it running next time I try it 😊

[@jamesgroccia644]

I get the principle, but the term you’re looking for is traction. The wheels already have a set amount of torque, but unless there’s enough friction all the torque in the world is meaningless.

[@ethanklee9041]

@@jamesgroccia644 do you know how to speak English? Do you just not understand what he or I were saying?

[@MayoHosko]

The problem with low profile technic side rods is they get jammed really easily. Technic side rods that are chunky look bad but creates a smoother motion for rotating the drive wheels

[@jamesgroccia644]

Now is the time for Lego to release different radius curves like TrixBrix Also, see if you can move the vertical motor axle from the cab end to the smokebox end. That way you can stuff a Lego L motor in and hook it to a PoweredUP box in the tender

[@alexnunes]

LEGO is way overdue for some track overhauls. It would be so nice to see a variety of track from them.

[@Jhromanjr]

I've seen a video where someone Motorized a Hogwarts Express train using an M-Motor inside the boiler, receiver inside the cab, and battery pack inside the tender. The Locomotive required some additional piece and gears and rubber band on the wheels, but aside from that the trained ran smoothly.

[@tankengine52productions94]

I think the drive wheels need rubber bands like the ones the Emerald Night has, so that they don't slide when moving.

[@2_Cents.]

I think I'd forgo attaching motors and just make it a stationary "museum" type piece for the city.

[@alexnunes]

This is a very good an reasonable solution. I am pretty sure this is what will ultimately happen with mine.

[@hugothomas1199]

May I suggest tram skirts? Some steam engines do have them

[@brickartisan]

Thanks for sharing! You’re doing great helping out other afols with the similar problem. this is totally not against you or your video but if people buy an expensive set like this and are left by lego trying to fix the set, I’d call it a failure on LEGO’s part.

[@alexnunes]

Thanks, and I do agree with your comment. It is already a pricey set and we are then left to buy additional pieces, expensive ones, to get this to run.

[@adamisaacks7237]

Maybe try moving the 2nd 9 volt motor to the rear carriage if possible so you will always maintain solid contact with the track in one of the motors when going around the corners

[@maxthrust976]

Have you tried rubber bands around the engine's wheels? I can see why Lego doesn't claim this thing can be motorized, racingbrick tried to do it with some level of success using more recent motors, but it seems to have issues no matter how one approaches it. This set is fairly compromised. I still like it a lot and will probably get it, but I can't imagine I'll bother to motorize it. In a perfect world I'd have two of them, so I could have a decent number of carriages, and I'd mash two of the locomotives together to make something shaped more like the original submission, and maybe there'd be room inside that for two large motors.

[@BrickTsar]

This is what I was thinking

[@fromis.9]

And that's why they say it can't be motorised

[@alexnunes]

I have not tried rubber bands, but that seems to be a good solution. I still feel like it would lock up when going in reverse. Yes, two of these would seem to result in one solid train, but wow, that would be pricey!

[@caronmills8983]

Great video Alex. It's definitely more of a display piece as I can't see that running around on a track for very long.

[@tomatotom9257]

this is the best motorization of the OE i've seen. 9V is the way to go!

[@Bluegender88]

Thanks for showing off how 9 volt works. I'll try rubber bands on the locomotive and a 3rd 9 volt motor because I'll be doing 4 passenger cars. This video also highlighted how we need longer track curves so I'll hit up FX tracks later next year.

[@Ryan_Rail]

If you are doing 4 coaches you could make one coach have 2 motors.

[@peternewman293]

I was going to suggest rubber bands on the loco wheels which will improve traction and reduce drag

[@gta71000]

​@@peternewman293this is the exact reason the engine won't move even on straight tracks using a regular motor, no traction.

[@rc-fannl7364]

It also shows what I saw in another review, the big loc wheels sometimes jam and start sliding

[@anthonyorf8827]

Would it be possible to maybe take apart one of the 9 volt motor things and basically use those metal wheels to get power from the track, but then feed that power into an actual motor that could then be geared to move the actual wheels on the engine, I have seen a video on KZbin where someone did find a pretty good way of hiding a Lego motor inside the engine but they used a battery pack in the tender, but I feel like it wouldn't be too difficult to just find the wires and salder them to a joint that can connect to a traditional Lego motor and gear that to the wheels on the engine, then throw on some rubber bands for traction bc they don't need to get power bc the tender is doing it for them

[@legonut78]

It’s easier than that. 9v motors have connectors on top so they can power other things. They are made to do exactly what you suggest. You could power a 9v motor, a power function motor, or even lights. Even a power functions train motor. 9v is king. Too bad lego killed it.

[@Okabe009]

Put some rubber bands on your engine wheels so it has better grip to move the driving rods or whatever they are called.

[@olaf8057]

I have seen a KZbin from @RacingBrick where he does that to, worked pretty well! Looks great Alex

[@alexnunes]

Thanks, I believe the rubber bands would help solve this.

[@NWRGreen5Productions]

If the wheels are set up just right, you might be able to put a power functions or powered up motor attached to the drive wheels of the locomotive, and you could fit the battery box in the tender. However, if you do this, you may need to add weight to the locomotive so that it can pull the tender and coaches.

[@marcusgillebaard933]

You can drastically reduce the friction in the wheels of the locomotive by using the running gear to hold the wheels in place. Put half axle pins on the outside wheels where they go into the frame, and from the rods into the wheels. I've done this on the Hogwarts Express and the extra slop that introduces also helps out a lot around curves.

[@Super_Goofy_Goober77]

If you use the regular motorised remote controlled Lego wheels. You'll be able to swap out the regular wheels and replace them with the wheels use the set

[@paulr8629]

Very good effort man. 👍🏼 looks so nice

[@duggers1521]

just add rubber bands to the original back wheels of the trian it will have more friction so it can move more smoothly on the track

[@Dab2011]

I saw a video on someone motorizing this. You need to put rubber bands on the train wheels just the front locomotive, though they drag otherwise.

[@brandongaines1731]

The blind drivers would've worked better with the hide-the-9V setup than the flanged drivers, though you would've had to source two more blind drivers. Also, the Emerald Knight came with rubber bands that fit around the flanged drivers to improve traction; using those will aid with wheel slippage.

[@Mr_Tea_Rexx]

locomotive wheels are what is stopping it from running smoothly and is a common issue with this set which you have to tweak to fix. which is terrible for the price you pay

[@serennosquadcast8297]

and they said it couldn't be done. excellent work

[@alexnunes]

Seems we all took it as a challenge.

[@mtgoat1016]

I don't understand all the drama it's been proven that it doesn't need weight or two motors just some rubber rings and a effortless modification to the train with a few pieces that are available from legoshop or bricklink and it doesn't alter the appearance at all the problem is all ready be solved!!

[@TrainspotterBarn2984]

If you take off the piston rods then you wont have to worry about the wheels constantly seizing up

[@rogue1874]

Would putting a rubber band on the wheels to give it more grip help?

[@jasonsbricksin5]

Nice job getting it motorized.

[@mrdragon411]

Check eurobricks fourms and racing bricks on using powered up with a large motor

[@gameshotstudio8723]

Hello. You tried to remove the wheel connector. That plastic that connects the wheels?

[@WoutjeK]

Did you try train rims like you had in the past for the 12V train but also for the brown crocodile train (red ones). Or what I’ve seen in other videos, put the motor under the carriage(s)

[@MegaJoker1972]

I find silcon spray helps stops binding on my lego train. 😁

[@michaelminton1224]

In another youtube video, the Orient Express has a weight of almost 1900 grams while a typical city train would have a weight around 1100 grams in which a Lego motor can push or pull. They are also all right that the Orient Express is a heavy train which would be too heavy for a Lego motor. Also another thing, six AAA batteries will only a last a few minutes in a Lego train which disappointed many Lego train owners. They need to bring back the lithium rechargeable battery pack like the had for the powers functions system.

[@BlackringIII]

Racingbrick used the powered up system with a single motor. I know you like 9v, but his solution was not super tough.

[@gta71000]

He also had to put bands on the wheels which is why it wasn't working when he put a motor in.

[@alexnunes]

He's got a good solution, but I have no powered up elements, but I do have 9v. I went with what I had. I will say that if there is a train that will get me into PU, it would be this one. Thanks!

[@BlackringIII]

​@@alexnunes That makes sense. Just hope those antique motors don't get burned out lol Edit: I commented in the middle of the video and didnt realize how well it ran at the end!

[@legonut78]

@@alexnunes You dont need powered up, and need very little power functions. Keep it simple. You only need two things. Pick up a power functions train motor, and an official 8886 extension wire (generic ones are power functions at both ends, authentic ones are 9v at one end). That wire can clip on the top of your 9v motor, to power anything, including the aforementioned power functions motor. To go further, Pick up some 4 dollar generic motors to toy with. If you really get into it, the mould king four and six channel remote/battery are better than anything Lego makes, and a tenth of the price.

[@babarog18]

I would put some lego rubber bands on the wheels of the steam engine, that should work to fix the drag

[@alexnunes]

Yes, thank you!

[@Edward2Fan47]

It would be nice if legoland had narrow gauge size of the orient express trains to take people around the park.

[@BlockHeadUK]

Given the train's weight, I'm surprised you got it running at all! I think the final config is a pretty good compromise, and how often do you need to run it backwards anyway? It's not ideal, of course, but it does look great running around Downtown! 😉

[@Bombiedude.]

However I do find the power functions and powered up stuff is better in a way because you dont need wires going under the tracks to connect to other spots and the train would have more options like on this you could make the wheels in front with the piston rods in sync with the rest of the train just by adding a motor and gearbox onto that and same with that $500 Harry potter one

[@basberend]

would rubberbands on the front solve this problem when driving back???

[@RCCrawlerz209]

Put some rubber bands on them wheels, is all it needs to get those loco wheels to move! Rubber bands & you're set!

[@RecycleBin0]

use a power functions or powered up train motor, pr do how racingbrick did with a conrol+ L motor or powered up medium linear motor

[@pastajensen]

1 for the effort 2 for the show..! 🎶

[@alexnunes]

haha, yes!

[@DefinitelyObiwanKenobi]

Lego: there is no way to motorise it KZbin Lego community: doubt

[@alexnunes]

Seems we all took it as a challenge.

[@dealerovski82]

you should put some rubber bands on those drive wheels.

[@countrabricksbuildcraze8916]

Hi Alix yes awesome.stud city was first. To see powers it up..and got it running great..😊💥👌..the designer s tryed to say. It's to Heavey..not true..if stud..got it powered up..easy...and it run s perfect .no added Waite..ever .

[@jimm244]

Thank you for this video! The train looks good in your layout! LEGO, you designed a train that requires 2 motors from a legacy system you no longer support. Basically, it remains a highly detailed $300 Duplo push train. EPIC FAIL by LEGO.

[@alexnunes]

So close, yet so far

[@creepertrekker]

There’s a company that makes fx tracks which have whisper curves which can help.

[@TrainBandit]

Can you still buy like a off brand lego 9vt moter and track

[@Ronny_van_Gerwen]

What if you changed the plastic axels for smoother metal ones?

[@KennethR-xo4kn]

Okay so you found a solution, however you have to address the airport shuttle station. Maybe you can use a New York city L station with four supports or like the original station that came with the set that was up in the air?

[@alexnunes]

Thanks! I ended up adjusting the supports to allow just enough space. It's ok for now, but that station may need to be overhauled soon.

[@KennethR-xo4kn]

@@alexnunes I remember you saying that you adjusted the support section, just when you ended the video I saw the large gap where your station was once.

[@sulfertrioxide4029]

Watch Racing bricks Video on a Motorized Version of this, He did an Amazing video on Motorizing it but he had to use Batterys for it.

[@HR-yd5ib]

Remember that the charge $300 for this WITHOUT battery box and motor.

[@bubbie-n-toyland9163]

Idea I heard about it put some rubber bands on the wheels of the engine

[@robertkeene9987]

I have an idea and would love feedback on it: add a current Lego powered up motor to the tender. Then as someone mentioned in the comments, add a powered up caboose. A good caboose I’d choose in the trolley from the Lego holiday main street set. It’s designed to be powered up and has instructions for it. It even looks kind of like a caboose already just different colors. That way there’s be two motors in the set with less modifications. Thoughts?

[@alexnunes]

These are some good suggestions. A caboose would also add some character to the train. My concern would be that with power coming from the back, would it increase the chances of a derailment? I think a good balance between motors would be key here.

[@robertkeene9987]

I agree on the balance part. As long as some pull is coming from the front of the train I think it could work. It would help with the issues it has going around too. Once I get my hands on the set I’ll give it a try and post a video unless someone beats me to it.

[@Mardigrasman23]

Not too bad. Why not two motors on the passenger car and leave the tender alone.

[@alexnunes]

I am sure this would work too. Heck, it might work with just the single motor on the carriage. I am not sure I will keep it though. It will likely go back to being a display train.

[@jmklamm]

Thanks for showing your process! Does it seem like the three wheels on the tender bind? Would it be possible to add some left to right slide into the front non-powered wheels on the tender with the 9V motor?

[@alexnunes]

Hello! The wheels that come on the tender have a slide function for the middle axle. No issues there. It seems to me that they made the tender compatible with power functions, just not the engine.

[@MobikCube]

It looks like a nice set and all but it really is not worth 300 usd without proper power function support, even with the support... :(

[@alexnunes]

I'd have to agree