Powered Citadis end section for Plarail trams.

These parts convert the toy train of Citadis tram sections to run on Plarail (blue plastic track) or wooden railways to run under battery power. See the unpowered version at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7187691 for background and details.

This is a "Work in progress" because there is not yet a tidy way to make the electrical connections between a motorized front section and the adjacent suspended section.

You can configure the trams any way you like, but known arrangements are:

Sydney Light Rail : end-suspended-mid-suspended-end-end-suspended-mid-suspended-end, the dominant colour is red.
Dublin Luas (light rail) : end-suspended-mid-suspended-mid-suspended-end, the dominant colour is grey.
The shortest arrangement is end-suspended-end.

For middle sections, unpowered end sections and an alternative suspended section see the unpowered version.

Here is a load test with one powered car in front and a whole lot more at the back. Still need to make the wiring between the leading car and the battery car child resistant and less obtrusive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoiQPRe6Ofw

For powered operation (as in the video) print one "powered tram front" sections and one or more of the "bigger tram end" sections. Also print one "bigger_tram_sus_battery_closed". The remaining sections are the same as the unpowered version. Using just one powered end section Dublin trams (seven sections) or Sydney trams (ten sections) will run up a Plarail slope track but an unlikely extended train of 15 sections will not.

You could print in one of the dominant colours above or you could print in white, give your children a set of artists markers and let them colour the cars at will.

Like the real trams, but unlike the SHC toy version, the wheels are inside the body. The narrow Plarail standard width is not enough to allow for flanges and treads on the wheels so these models will not run of railway track and must restrict themselves to Plarail or wood.

The suspended and middle sections do not need couplers. The end sections are available in two versions:

Magnet - there is cavity in the nose for a ferrite ring magnet and a pilot hole for an upholstery pin for security and to give a rounded end; and
Slot - slot for a coupler. possibilities include:
. Swivelling magnet type (see my other models),
. A Plarail female link, or a paper clip,
. The hook holder with a small cup hook or eye (the hook will be about the right height for the link at the back of a Plarail engine.);
. Other types of coupler that use a bar that can swing around a bolt or pin in the car body, e.g. OS Railway, Atlas, BigBigTrain etc do not need any metal or magnet parts.
. There is also a pilot hole for adding a low screw hook or a screw eye to match the SHC connection system (eye in front, hook behind).
. Alternatively you could leave the ends blank for a better appearance.
The coupling pin is an M3x10 machine screw in either of the two holes provided.

Electrics – The motor is a common “TT” motor, the one with a yellow gearbox and two output shafts. It operates well enough on 4V from a Li cell (recovered from an expired power tool battery) but should also work on 3 ordinary 1.5V cells in series. They might fit in the suspended section, along with a switch and/or radio receiver and charge controller. The motor leads thread through the oval hole above the motor and then reach back to connect to the suspended section behind. At this stage we have not come up with a cheap and really small child-proof connector, nor a switch.

Assembly:

Fit suitable O-rings or rubber bands to the large wheels.
Fit the large wheels to the motor shafts.
If necessary, solder wires to the motor brush terminals and secure the wires with a small cable tie.
Thread the wires through the oval hole and then out the back end of the car.
Carefully fit the motor into the frame part. Adjust the wheel positions if necessary.
Screw an M3x6mm machine screw into the hole in the frame. This is accessed through a hole in the body skin. Important – the thread is in the frame, not the motor so do not over-tighten and strip the thread!
Repeat on the other side.
Open the pilot holes for the front axles to 2mm with a drill bit.
Clear the holes in the small wheels with a 2.5mm drill bit.
Shave a toothpick until it can be forced through one of the 2mm holes.
Put a small wheel on the axle on each side of the motor and then push the axle until it is through the other hole.
Check that the wheels spin easily, then cut off the excess wood on each side.
If using the slot version, hold your chosen coupler in place and then add the pivot screw from below. There are two positions from which to choose.
If using the magnet version use a vice to gently squeeze a 10mm ring magnet into the hole. Then add an upholstery pin. It is suggested that you use a black pin in front and set the magnet polarity to match a Brio or Ikea engine. You could use a white pin at the rear with the opposite polarity. Then two trains can couple and also a child could use them with wooden trains with less confusion.

To make a matching unpowered version of the front car, repeat the above from step 8, except that at step 11 add a gauge tube. Then:

Note the extra pair of pilot holes near the back of the section.
Prepare body, small wheels, and tooth-pick axle as above.
Assemble and fit wheel sets in the front and rear positions as above, but this time use the gauge tubes to keep the wheels apart.

Support - support can be avoided by suitable placement on the bed. Do not use support in the axle or pilot holes.

Citadis Trams for Plarail https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7187691
O-gauge toy engines inspired by the Terrier steam locomotive https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7051340

P.S.
If you make any of these trams please post a "make". If you have any difficulty with building or operating the trams please let us know by DM or by comment.