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Thomas & Friends — Powered Up and Acting (Up), Endo(o)rsed, Suspended, and Taking A(ir) Br(e)ake

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Last Updated . Click "Updates" above to see the latest.

Hello again,

some of you might already know me from my Thomas the Tank Engine — Powered up Lego Ideas solo project. More information about me can be found there, so I will only summarise:

I am 

  1. powered-up, motorised and equipped with full lighting: headlight, rearlight & crew compartment light. When kindly asked by the powered up app, this also includes a nice fire flickering in my firebox (hub light). In order to switch me on just press the golden whistles!
  2. very, very fast on standard Lego tracks when driving on my own by combining a standard Lego train motor with large steam train wheels. I am balanced in such a way that only my middle and rear wheels (which are driven by the motor) touch the rails. My front wheels are driven by the coupling rod and can swerve in tight curves.
  3. capable to switch from acting to action mode by replacing my rear link coupling with a standard magnetic Lego coupling.
  4. featuring a variety of purely brick-built details, including all windows, my stylish yellow and red line ornaments (except the ones on my boiler which give an idea of how Lego might actually print them), and, of course, the well deserved yellow No 1.
  5. equipped with a modular design that allows me to change my look with just one click. You can chose between a
  • printed face
  • purely brick-built face to show a wide range of emotions
  • more authentic smokebox of my LB&SCR E2-class alter ego
  • new face that relies equally on built and printed details (see update)


Some time ago, my dear builder surprised me with the Lego models of my co-stars Annie and Clarabel, two LB&SCR train coaches. 

The twin sisters bring the elegance of Stroudley's original design back to life, not only through their glamorous mahogany look (dark orange) with (pearl) gold line ornaments or their classy (dark red) interior, but primarily through the interplay of various symmetries, 16 curved, functioning doors, compartment and rear lighting, a working suspension and a remote-controlled air brake (and air whistle, see update).

So it is with pride and deep affection that I leave the stage to this marvellous duo.

Hi, my name is Annie. I am 

  1. based on a 4-wheeled Main-line First (class) Stroudley coach.
  2. welcoming my passengers with 2x4 doors that open nicely and fit perfectly into my (inverted) tumblehome side walls (to this day, our dear builder is still trying to convince me that this was difficult to do).
  3. offering the luxury of a working (rear) suspension. Soft axles nicely mimic classic leaf springs while a Lego shock absorber hidden in the rotating running gear does all the hard work.
  4. providing our train with an auxiliary drive. A Technic Large Motor can be clicked vertically from above into the front running (driving) gear and then rotates with the gear inside the first compartment (thus not transmitting any unwanted torque that would derail the train). An additional Lego train hub fits neatly into one of my other compartments. This powering up including the lighting is done quickly and easily. Symmetry ensures that the rear running gear can be turned into a driving configuration as well as there are two more compartments for another motor and hub (see update).
  5. compatible with standard Lego tracks (see Clarabel’s discussion below). 
  6. featuring a combination of symmetries that our dear builder found rather tricky to achieve (see update comment on floor tesselation versus adapters). There is the
  • symmetry of the roof, front, rear, running gear and side wall decorations in relation to my longitudinal plane. In particular, the windows of my two side walls are exactly opposite each other.
  • translational symmetry of the side walls and the compartment interior (12 Lego units) corresponding to the translational symmetry of the door-window structure (4+8 Lego units) and the translational symmetry of the roof, roof lamps and roof lamp spacing (6 and 3 Lego units respectively). In particular, my compartments are identical (apart from my motorisation).
  • symmetry of the side walls in relation to my vertical center axis. In combination with my translational symmetry this implies that all my doors have the same swing (they open outwards with a left turn).

And now to my dear sister …


Hi everyone, it’s me, Clarabel. I am

  1. based on a 4-wheeled Main-line Third (class) Brake Stroudley coach.
  2. welcoming my passengers and the guard with 2x4 functioning doors (see Annie‘s discussion above).
  3. offering the luxury of a working suspension on both axles (see Annie‘s discussion above).
  4. incorporating a working remote-controlled air brake. The guard’s compartment houses a compressor based on a Technic Large Motor, two pneumatic pumps, one valve and a differential gear box (a compressed compressor, so to speak, there is no room left whatsoever). A simple reversal of the motor‘s rotation results in switching the brake from open to close. The brake rigging transmits force rather authentically through a vertically mounted pneumatic cylinder that pushes the brake rods and workes smoothly with the suspension and the rotation of the running gears. Different rigging configurations are possible, resulting in large or small movements of the brake shoes, which in turn can be switched from Technic levers to dampers (each 2 Lego units long). So one can chose between pure demonstration brakes (used in the pictures) and, well, brakes (Our dear builder only used the latter once at full speed and to this day apologises to us for doing so.). An additional Lego train hub to power the compressor, my rear and compartment lights fits nicely into one of my passenger compartments.
  5. compatible with standard Lego tracks. We tested our train on a simple oval Lego track. Switches are still an obstacle. This is partially due to the fact that we have only 2 large wheels per running gear which have some play in relation to the tracks. Therefore, my rear running gear would not fully reverse after passing through a curve without further assistance. When Annie is the last coach, Lego V-belts on her rear wheels create extra friction to gently straighten her running gear after each turn. However, I am usually the last coach and because of the extra mass of the compressor sitting directly over my rear wheels, V-belts are not enough. As my dear builder explained to me with shining eyes, the top end of the Lego shock absorber is mounted in such a way that the potential energy is slightly increased as the gear turns, or, as I would put it, my own weight — which caused the problem in the first place — pushes my running gear back into position after a turn.
  6. br(e)aking some of Annie‘s 1st class symmetries. Removing the passenger compartment walls reduces the length of each 3rd class compartment from 12 to 11 Lego units which is not an integer multiple of the other important measures of 6, 4 and 3 Lego units respectively (see Annie’s discussion above). This mild break in symmetry
  • gives me my characteristic look of a Third (class) brake.
  • provides the guard’s cabin with an extra 3 Lego units of space for the compressor.
  • ensures that the backrest between the middle and the rear compartment is positioned just above the pneumatic cylinder.

A comment on scale: 

The main goal of our dear builder was to match the scale of standard Lego tracks interpreted as standard gauge railway tracks (1435 mm). However, Thomas is now equipped with a small (removable) platform in the crew compartment, which makes him also compatible with Lego minifigures. Annie and mywelf work well with our lovely passenger family from Lego Sodor. 

A comment on the height of Thomas’s buffers:

Thomas's rear buffers can be moved up by 1 Lego unit compared to the front buffers (as shown in the pictures) to match the height of Annie’s and my own buffers. This also corresponds to illustrations of the original Thomas, whose running board slopes downwards at the front, but not at the back.

Please note that we are only a product idea and still under development. 

Take care,

 Annie, Clarabel & Thomas
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