First things first; the wheels have to come off in order to get two axles installed. The motor drives the front axle via gears and the rear axle by means of a belt. A shortcut, powering only the front axle, would have let us keep the SSD in the locomotive's body, but it proved ineffective because the front wheels just can't move the train on their own. Moreover, with the front axle not under tension, it simply rattles around too much.
So, this needs to be done by the book. Shortcuts don't work. And with the SSD permanently moved, we're ready to continue.
When I tried to remove the screwed-on cover plate, I discovered that it had been assembled prior to Lian Li's powder coating process. Thus, paint held the piece in place. It finally came off with enough force, though the finish ended up a little marred. Luckily, that's the bottom of the locomotive. Even still, though, I don’t think the cover plate removal procedure was well thought-out by Lian Li.
Anyone who has ever played with Legos or Erector Sets as a kid should have no trouble mounting the axles. However, I recommend slipping the belt off of the gears to relieve tension. Screwing the bearings into place otherwise would be a challenge.
The motor’s electrical cable should be mounted to the case bottom by means of supplied cable clips. The double-sided adhesive tape on the clips is good enough to hold the clips and the light cable in place. Finally, the wheels are attached to the new axles.
- A Chassis That'll Start Conversations
- Packaging And Contents
- Power Supply And Wiring
- You'll Never Guess Where They Put The Optical Drive
- Mounting Our SSD
- Fun With A Fan
- Motherboard And CPU #1: Pulling Out The Stops
- Motherboard #2: Common Sense Prevails
- This Locomotive Needs Propulsion!
- Unboxing And Initial Thoughts
- Installing The Propulsion Module
- The Motor's Power Supply And Switch
- Wireless Communication
- Video And Audio Without Cables
- A Day At The Museum, Part 1
- A Day At The Museum, Part 2
- A Day At The Museum, Part 3
- Though Niche, Lian Li's PC-CK101 Is Certainly Cool



But since the PC era is coming to an end, who can blame Lian Li for having a little fun while they still can?
Taking the mobile computing theme further, and addressing the limitations on computing power, if you had a Dell Precision M6600 or 6700 laptop with a broken screen, how about mounting the components, motherboard , PSU, batteries, drives, Wifi and all? Then, there could be an i7 CPU and a Quadro 4000M, all very quiet and still getting more air than it's used to. And, appropriately, no power cord!
The idea of a serious, self- propelled workstation steam train model seems the best use possible of this fantastic enclosure idea. That the computer is itself the game is on the borderline of being art.
And congratulations to Igor Wallossek for an excellent description of something so wonderfully out of the ordinary.
Really enjoyable read, Igor! Also got to know about that Gigabyte wireless streamer, should prove useful!
Nice house btw
Great Article!
Possibly if even then yes like more go.
You both destroyed thousands of my brain cells processing that, lol.
My 4 year old son who loves Thomas the Train would have a fit over this, especially if you could get a thomas the tank version. I'll have to admit, I'd love it (and my wife) just as much watching him with it and I would have an excuse to work on computer stuff for a few hours. =D
I do see this as a possible future purchase! Great article and awesome product!
I'm using this mostly as HTPC now but I've programmed for him a special distance control and a small game to play with animals, colors etc. (like memory game). In this age he knows all basic colors (and pink
Now if you get to install a third rail and make it completely wireless, it would be absolutely amazing.