B-Train kit parts breakdown

[gmat]

As I get new kits, I'll photograph the parts and post them here.
This is the N700 Shinkansen Starter Kit from a few years back. I got it second hand at Liberty.















Come with a tiny screwdriver for the battery car.


This is the infrared controller. Uses two AAA batteries.


To open the battery cover, you use one end of the plastic tool used to remove the track connectors. Push down on the small nib and pull the lid out. I use the tiny screwdriver.






When you put the batteries in, the light turns on.


More later,
Best wishes,
Grant

[gmat]

The track connector tool.


Tracks.


Connectors.


Magnets either to help the trains start or maneuver around curved sections.Only two provided, one North and the other South.


Magnets installed on the tracks.


A motor car and a battery car installed in the two middle cars are provided. When the












This is the battery car.








You have to unscrew remove the cap completely to replace the battery.







To turn on the motor, you have to turn on this tiny switch.


This is the four set Shinkansen.










That's all for now.
Best wishes.
Grant

[cteno4]

grant,

cool, thanks for posting, ive always wondered how these kits looked/worked! neat power coupling!

jeff

[David]

Not really interested in the model, track or couplers. What I see here is a battery powered remote controlled motor unit that fits completely inside a single B-Train car frame (basically a fat 40' boxcar).

What is the battery life like?
What is the pulling power like? Are the magnets to compensate for the plastic track or does it not have enough traction to start on its own or get through curves?
How well does the remote perform in terms of range/responsiveness?

[Bernard]

Great post! The photos you took says it all...Thanks.

[gmat]

Thank you Bernard, David and Jeff.
David, my experience is probably atypical as I have little experience operating toys like this. I also used two cheap 100 yen shop batteries and an another old battery that spent years in the battery box. I haven't replaced them yet nor have been able to run it enough to run down the batteries. The instructions aren't very clear and when I first tried it at home and my student's house, I couldn't get it to run. My student's mother couldn't explain all of the functions on the controller even after looking at the instructions. So after the class I made the trip to Tam Tam and got a clerk who very kindly and patiently helped me. Thank you to him and the store as I had made it clear that I hadn't bought the set from Tam Tam. When I had initially tried the controller in front of him the motor and battery combo had moved a little while off the tracks and on the glass counter, but he then couldn't get it to work. After pressing the various buttons and reading the instructions, it was by chance that he got the cars to start moving but even than, we couldn't replicate it consistently for a while. Then when we put it on a straight section of the tracks, it again failed to move. Then he got the bright idea to put the magnets under the section of the tracks and that seemed to work. But it seemed placement was important as the car must be before the magnet and not over it. I had taken too much time, I felt, and thanked him and packed away the kit. His final comment was that if I replaced the batteries with new ones (and not cheapo ones, I thought to myself) the controller and motor unit might operate more consistently. That's where it stands now as I spent the time after that photographing the components. I think that the idea of a battery run B-Train wasn't very successful in practice as Bandai hasn't continued producing other kits. As recently as last summer, I occasionally saw the kits offered for sale at Tam Tam but the kits quickly disappeared. Volks has the tracks for sale but I've not yet noticed spare motor or battery car units. I haven't been looking for them nor would easily be able to identify the boxes but will keep my eyes peeled for them. I prefer replacing the trucks and installing a Kato motor and running them on the Thomas the Train set as it's more reliable, easier to understand and easier to operate.

Best wishes,.
Grant

[gmat]

After some searching on the web, I found out what all of the buttons on the controller do.



The two on the left are easiest to understand as they start the unit and control direction. The clerk said that the ones on the right control speed. The top on makes it go faster and the lower one makes it go slower. The brake button stops it. We couldn't guess what the T and C buttons did, but later I found out that the instructions on the back of the box says that they're for controlling more than one train.

Instruction in Japanese.
http://www.1999.co.jp/image/10072645a2/20/6

The rest of the illustrations, courtesy of Hobby Search.
http://www.1999.co.jp/10072645

http://www.1999.co.jp/image/10072645a4/20/2

http://www.1999.co.jp/image/10072645a/20/5

Best wishes,
Grant