Motorizing a LEGO Tram with Bluetooth and Powered UP (LEGO City Set 60097)

Transportation is key to any city! In this 3:03 video, we focus on MonoTown's rail systems.

Video Content

The MonoTown tram line has always been a popular fixture within the city. It looks great and the orange color is iconic. While the tram looks amazing, it is unpowered, and after numerous requests to be able to control the tram from my live stream viewers, I set out to motorize it.

All MonoTown trains are in the process of being converted from the 12V, 9V or Infrared based Power functions methods of control to the latest Bluetooth based powered up line of motors and controllers. Bluetooth means no more line of sight issues (which can crop up within my city) but more importantly, it means myself and my live stream viewers can now control the trains via computer, in this case, the MonoTown mainframe. I’ll provide more details about that in another video.

You can also use your phone as a controller with LEGO’s own free app, or the included physical controllers. This tram was originally included as part of the LEGO City set 60097, which was released in 2015 and discontinued two years later. PoweredUp houses the receiver and the batteries within one box, which means one less piece to stuff into the tram, but even so, it’s a fairly small vehicle.

I pretty much have to completely disassembly one of the cars and rebuild the middle section to support a cable pass-thru. Getting the height of the connectors was annoying as well, and took a few tries. You know what they say, fourth time is the charm.

Now we’re looking pretty good. Think that will work. Originally I thought I’d house the receiver within the middle compartment of the tram, but that turned out to not be big enough, so ended up routing the cable through the middle section and the receiver box is housed in the 2nd tram car.

In the end, it all fit and I got it working. Now for the test run, and away it goes.

Watch the Full Video

In this stream recap, we motorize one of our LEGO Trams. This particular tram comes from LEGO City Set 60097 which is now discontinued. We conver...

Duration: 3:03 | Watch on YouTube

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This post is based on our YouTube video documenting the ongoing development of MonoTown, our LEGO city project. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue building and expanding our brick-based metropolis!