Hey guys, it's Warren here and here is how to make a cable car out of Lego.
This is a great build to do with the kids.
Firstly, we'll make the top station for our cable car.
This means you'll have to make a tall building on a base with an opening at the front.
Then you'll need to attach some of those Lego Technic bricks (with the holes on the side)
on top of the structure, as shown.
Now feed through a cross-axle with 2 wheels between the Technic bricks then secure into
place.
Then extend the cross-axle with a connector so you can later on attach a motor (to drive
the wheels).
Finally finish off the top cable car station by securing those Technic bricks into place,
then attach a motor with some gears to ensure the cable car doesn't run too fast.
Now we'll construct the base cable car station.
Similar to the station at the top, build a structure with an opening at the front (on
a base).
But this time it doesn't need to be so tall.
Then attach some Lego Technic bricks as shown.
Again, feed through a cross-axle with 2 wheels between the Technic bricks and secure into
place.
This time we don't need to extend the cross-axle because this was only needed for the motor
on the top cable car station.
Finally, secure the Technic bricks into place as before using a few more regular Lego bricks.
Next we need to build the cable car itself.
Using a bit of imagination, build the cable car ensuring it's big enough to fit into the
cable car station and it's not too heavy.
We now need to construct the fitting to connect the cable car to the cables.
We want to do it so the cable car remains level as it moves up the cable way.
To do this, add some raised Technic bricks (as shown) on top of the cable car.
Then we'll construct the part that'll attach the cables to the cable car.
Take 2 pieces of Technic bricks and attach them together as shown.
Next, take 4 single knob pieces of Lego and attach them to the top of the Technic bricks.
Then place a single wheel on top of these.
Now slot this part into the construction on top of the cable car and fix into place with
a cross-axle, and secure.
This is what's going to connect your cable car to the cables whilst keeping it level
all the way up.
Now you have the two cable car stations and the cable car built, we then need to find
somewhere to put it.
The garden is a great place to start.
Take your Lego outside and start by securing the base cable car station to a heavy object
- Using that Technic brick we put into place on the back of the station, and securing it
down with some string.
Then do exactly the same with the top cable car station.
But this time, placing it higher up - Like on a garden table.
Next, we need to attach the 2 cable car stations together with a load of string.
You'll need to measure out some string that's 4 times the length that you want your cable
way to be.
Firstly, detach the fixture we made on top of the cable car and remove the wheel.
Thread the string through the top-left knob brick then tie a knot in the string to secure
into place.
Now using the other end of the piece of string, thread this through the top cable car station,
starting from going under the left wheel.
Thread the string over the left wheel down to the base cable car station, then thread
it over the right wheel of the base station.
Now run the string under the wheel, back to the fixture which goes on top of the cable
car.
Thread the string through through the bottom-left knob brick then back through the bottom-right
knob brick.
Now thread this piece of string under the left-hand wheel of the base station, then
over the wheel up to the top station.
At the top station, thread the string over the top of the right hand wheel then thread
it back down to the fixture which goes on top of the cable car.
You should have 1 knob brick remaining (with no string on), remove it then thread the string
through it and tie a knot in the end to make it secure.
Re-attach that knob brick back onto the fixture that goes on top of the cable car then attach
the wheel back on top.
Re-attach the cable car to this fitting, then your cable configuration should look something
like this.
Now, gently pull back the base station until the cables are nice and tight - until the
cable car rises off the ground.
Run the top 2 cables under the 2 wheels on top of the cable car.
Now everything's in place, your cable car should be ready to run.
Check all the cables are tight enough and the cable car won't hit any obstructions on
the way up or down when approaching the cable way stations.
Then hit that switch on your motor.
On the first few runs, you may need to make some tweaks on the position of the cable car
stations, plus the tightness of the string.
After which, you should have a smooth running cable way.
There you have it, that's how easy it is to make your very own Lego cable car.