How to modify brio style engine

[Anonymous]

My son has several battery operated brio train engines, from the Walmart special, to the Lionel Adventure series. None of these engines are capable of climbing the small bridges that are include with the packs they came in once a load is placed on the engine (more than 3 cars and some can only overcome the incline if there is nothing attached to the engine). I am an electronics technician and I can tinker but I dont know where I might find more powerful small battery operated motors to put in the small package allowed by the body of the engine. I have also tried increasing the traction between the, obviously lacking smooth wood and plastic wheels, but the power just does not seem to be there. Anyone have a source or hints they could give me on this?
-oXo-

[bman36]

oXo,
Welcome to the forum! We are always glad to see newcomers. My kids too have a semi-load of this stuff. Having been taking apart my toys since I can remember I have tried a lot of stuff. Servos used for aircraft RC systems are quite powerful. We are dealing with a 1.5 volt battery though. The idea I had was to build a battery car to pull directly behind any given loco. If you put a 2 or 4 AA battery holder on say a flat car, this would do the trick. Rewire the holder so the AA's are wired in parallel instead of series. This will give you a much stronger 1.5 volts. The train should go the same speed and have more pull. Use a hook and eye for coupling the battery car to the loco. The magnet won't be strong enough as you already know. Lastly a 2 pin connector will be needed for each loco and battery car. I know this sounds like a bit of work but the results will be longer trains. Hope this helps! Later eh...Brian.
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