Garden Railway Forum

Very nice!
I'm actually now watching the train shunting at Harbour Station.
Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Philip!

The diode should go between the cell and the solar panel but if you are still using the board that might not be necessary. I'd probably get rid of the board and just wire the cell to the panel and diode, then use a DPDT switch for the motor so it just runs off the cell. That would have been more si...

What diode did you use? It should be a Schottky diode with a low drop in forward voltage. A standard diode has a drop of 0.7volts. Adding one more solar panel would improve things as well - it is a very small one you have. Having an multi-meter and knowing how to use it is useful when you are playi...

Ingenious, and unlike many of these technology try-outs you're going to the trouble to add proper coachworks to it. Good job! :thumbright: :sunny: Thank you :D Yes I thought when it worked it would be a pity if it only had a milk box as coach so I put some effort in it after a successful test drive...

I switched the cell for a 2500 mAh. Hopefully it won't take too long to charge in the sun ;) During construction of the roof one of the wires broke of from the panel. I had to solder it back on. I hope I did not damage the panel by doing that. I placed a diode as advised. https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-...

Thanks again for your answer
Now I only have to find some time to experiment. But it is a thing I certainly want to try soon.

Great looking little station! Beautiful details and paintwork. Love it!

It has been a few weeks, so time for an update! After building the chassis I started to build a coach from balsa sheets and cardboard (the backsides of paper notebooks). The coach will be attached to the chassis with small screws from underneath. The type of Billard draisine is changed a bit, someth...

Thank you very much for your answers Melbournesparks! That make some things clear. I really like this tram you have build and I see the opportunities of this technique (as a 'low-tech' person). I am serious thinking of giving it a try. Perhaps with a tea light at first or use a burner from an old go...

You can even buy elements already fitted with heat sinks. On this one you would just need to remove the smaller fan and heat that side. https://www.banggood.com/da/TEC1-12706-Thermoelectric-Peltier-Refrigeration-Cooling-System-Kit-Cooler-Fan-p-936497.html? Are you sure about heating the side of the...

Thank you for explaining. as the hot side does not sit directly underneath the cold side. Is it better to place it in such way that the hot side is underneath the cold side? More efficient? heating a steam loco with lipo battery packs. That sounds interesting as well. Please post some progress on it...

Oke clear. Thanks again for your help!

Very interesting indeed! Never heard of it before so I googled some more on this. It is fascinating that the first of those ideas are almost 200 years old, like the Saint-Germain atmospheric railway in France that was published about in 1847 (L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 216, April 17, 1847...

Best to use a schottky diode as they have less voltage drop. Any normal diode will work though provided the solar cell voltage is high enough. Can a LED also be used for blocking diode to prevent discharge? It is a Light Emitting Diode so I suggest it could? That would be practical as I can use it ...

It's very simple to do. Just requires a peltier element and a heatsink/fan like those used to cool CPU's in desktop PC. You heat one side of the peltier element and cool the other and it produces electricity. Efficiency is low but that's not an issue at this scale. You can even buy elements already...

Came across a video of a very interesting thermo-electric powered G-scale model tram on Youtube. After some Googling I found out the build of it was described on GSC in 2016: https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/thermoelectric-tram.307351/ As far as I could see this type of alternative power was no...

And a successful testrun!

Thanks for your reply. Yes I suppose it will fit al under the passenger bench hopefully. :) Some progress on the chassis. I used an other plywood part leftover and and a sheet of balsa on top. Also made an axle mount out of styrene sheets. Again all very basic and light. https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B...

The plywood parts of the Solar House kit turned out to be very handy as a support for the motor and gearbox.With a bit cutting and filing all fits nicely. This base is 72,5 mm in square. I will use some balsa sheets that I have lying around to expand the chassis. It will become somewhere between 130...