The new LEGO Train wheels explained
LEGO has recently changed the train wheel design. After decades of using metal axles, the new design only uses plastic. The newer trains, particularly the 70424: Ghost Train Express from Hidden Side and the 71044: Disney Train and Station use this new design.
New design always generate concerns, and in this case there we special concerns about the amount of friction this new design introduces in the train wheel setup and the wear on the new system.
To address these concerns, LEGO has published a video explaining why they made the change, what this change entails and how the two types of wheels compare in their tests:
LEGO has done over 200 hours of testing with these new wheels and these are some of the highlights of the video:
Contradictory as it sounds, LEGO have found that the new wheels respond better over time in terms of friction.
The wear on both types of wheels was similar over the test period. This should allay fears of plastic on plastic drastically reducing the life of these elements.
The old wheel hub (bogies) used high impact polymer with poor clutch power on the anti-studs on the bottom of the wheel casing and a non-functioning stud on the side of the wheel casing. The new bogies use ABS plastic and the elements have better clutch power.
The high density PE used for the wheels is bio-based (made from plants).
In addition to making the wheels cheaper, the new design allows the wheel elements to be used across more LEGO themes. It also means (younger) children can assemble the train wheels without the help of an adult. This means we can expect to see more LEGO trains in themes other than City.
Finally, you just have to love how LEGO uses its own robotics platform to perform the tests! An EV3 with a distance sensor keeps track of how many laps each train makes and how much time it needs for every lap.
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