33 replies to this topic

[SavaTheAggie]

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Southern Pacific's GS-4 4-8-4 (Northern) Daylight #4449.

This marks the 20th LEGO locomotive I have built.

This model is fully track compatible with a fully functioning 4 wheeled leading/pony truck.  However, in order to do so I was forced to build her so that she swings out in curves more than any other locomotive in my collection.  She currently sports 9v motors, but will eventually be rebuilt as completely Power Functions.

--Tony

[Kristel]

This is impressive! The colour combination works great for the locomotive.

[bjtpro]

That is awesome! I've seen the real engine several times, once in about 1976 in the bicentennial colors and once in the Pacific NW about twenty years ago painted in this motif.

If you have an LDD plan to share of a PF model, I'd love to have it.

Edited by bjtpro, 24 September 2012 - 07:27 AM.

[L@go]

She's a looker, for sure. Heading over to Flickr now for a closer look :)

[Legoroni]

You never fail to amaze me with the locomotives you build. Well done! You will make instructions for it, right?  

[lightningtiger]

Another brick-built masterpiece from your genius mind 'Sava', I the orange stripe down the entire length of engine and tender.
Please keep them coming and Brick On !

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Nice new MOC Tony ...or I have to say master?  
Twenty locomotives are a great result, and this beauty seems to be the perfect steam engine to reach this goal!
I like livery orange, red and black!  
I'm currently working on a new BR and I have a similar problem about the swing movement ...I hope to finish my new project before Christmas  

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Beautiful engine and tender SavaTheAggie! I love the sleek lines and the colors. Another fine train you've built  

[lostdriveway]

AMAZING build!       

And yes... any LDD files or instructions would be awesome!

[harnbak]

Congrats on this beast. The bulky tender is not my aesthetic favourite, but

I am speechless - you are a true pro:
selection, preparation, measuring, colour studies, prototyping,
implementing, improving, documenting, some history, ...

You master all aspects!

[PsyKater]

What a great combination of colors! Really nice!

[Man with a hat]

Very, very impressive. Again!
You never dissapoint us with your great creations. And this one is no exception.
I really like the way you brick built the colored lines. And of course the rest of all the details you put in there.

[Hrw-Amen]

I want to say something good about this as I really like it, however most all of the good things have been said so I will just have to agree with everyone else.

[Anticyclone]

Excellent job, Sava. Your locomotives are amazing.

[DmChylde]

Awesome MOC Tony!!! You level of detail is outstanding, only thing better is the real deal I got to see in her new home last weekend in Portland.

[Cirkit]

That locomotive is a thing of beauty.
In brick form it isn't any bit less.

I saw it on TV when I was younger, and I was attached ever since. Maybe it was the twin front lamps that moved, maybe it was that whistle, or perhaps the bright orange stripe running down the locomotive.. you know what, that was probably it. I really REALLY loved the orange.

You've captured The Daylight in brick form almost perfectly. It's just how I remember it, just needing the steam- can't have a steam engine pounding along the rails without it, right?  

[SavaTheAggie]

Thank you all, I really appreciate the feedback.  I really had fun building her at the end, but towards the beginning it was very frustrating.  Like with another streamliner of mine, I just about gave up on ever building her on several occasions.  I'm happy I didn't, though.  

To answer the question -  I am currently considering making instructions available in my Bricklink shop, but there's a lot of odd construction in the boiler to get everything to work right, and she's never been under her own power so I don't know how stable she'll be.  I'll find out next weekend.

I don't work in LDD, so sorry, I can't help any of you there.

LEGO Train 12 Volts, on 25 September 2012 - 08:45 PM, said:

Nice new MOC Tony ...or I have to say master?  
Twenty locomotives are a great result, and this beauty seems to be the perfect steam engine to reach this goal!
I like livery orange, red and black!  
I'm currently working on a new BR and I have a similar problem about the swing movement ...I hope to finish my new project before Christmas  

It's rather amazing to me that I started building trains for the first time in 2006.  It's been a fun ride, and I'm not anywhere close to done yet.  I look forward to seeing your next MOC, I'm currently working on some mass-producable freight cars.  I have so many locomotives with very little for them to pull.

DmChylde, on 28 September 2012 - 11:26 PM, said:

Awesome MOC Tony!!! You level of detail is outstanding, only thing better is the real deal I got to see in her new home last weekend in Portland.

I am very jealous of all the folks who got to see her in her new home.  Someday I'll make it out there.

Cirkit, on 29 September 2012 - 03:42 AM, said:

That locomotive is a thing of beauty.
In brick form it isn't any bit less.

I saw it on TV when I was younger, and I was attached ever since. Maybe it was the twin front lamps that moved, maybe it was that whistle, or perhaps the bright orange stripe running down the locomotive.. you know what, that was probably it. I really REALLY loved the orange.

You've captured The Daylight in brick form almost perfectly. It's just how I remember it, just needing the steam- can't have a steam engine pounding along the rails without it, right?  

My first experience with her was in an old children's book, it was a mostly picture book that followed the train on a journey somewhere.  One of those one sentence per page deals.  I never saw a real photo of her until well into  my college years, and I've yet to see her in person.  Someday... someday...

--Tony

[Teddy]

Dear Tony,

I really like what you did with the boiler it looks excellent and really gives the locomotive the same feel as the original.
Kind regards,

Teddy

[domboy]

This train is awesome... I love the Lego orange color, so a steam engine in orange and black (and red) is just incredible! I wasn't familiar with the real locomotive so I had to go read up on it. You really did a great job, as it really does look like the real thing!

[SavaTheAggie]

Daylight Compare by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr



--Tony

[SavaTheAggie]

If anyone is interested in knowing, I was forced to make a significant change in my locomotive's design.  I knew the back end swung out an increcible amount in curves, but after the Galveston Railroad Museum train show I discovered is swung out enough to hit a train on an adjacent track.  This posed a problem twofold - first, obviously, it would cause derailments if on an interior curve.

But second, and more importantly, if place on an outer curve, it might be a risk to the public, especially children, who usually get right up against the table at shows.  I couldn't have that at all.

So I was faced with a choice of making the train a simple show piece, which hurts my pride as a builder, or making a serious, drastic design change that I feared I might have to make.



I decided to go with the latter.  My pride as a LEGO builder prevents me from simply accepting a locomotive as a show piece - I consider any train of mine that cannot negotiate standard LEGO track as a complete failure.  Much like my T1, the Daylight could not fall into this category.

Changes included:
Raising the entire boiler/cab/firebox assembly one plate to allow the drivers to clear the skirting.
Attaching the rear truck to the firebox via a bogie plate.
Removing the driver and pony truck assembly from the rest of the locomotive.
Reattaching the driver assembly to the locomotive via a bogie plate, articulating the locomotive.
Redesigning the front of the locomotive to be one plate taller, including changing the way the forward orange slope is built.
Removing the 1x1 round tile from the piston design (one of my favorite bits) because the pistons wouldn't clear the forward orange slope otherwise.



She's gone from swinging out some 9-10 studs in curves down to just about 5 studs.  This should allow her to completely clear any normal track issues.  Unfortunately I have not been able to test her yet, so time will tell if what I've done here will mean anything.

--Tony

[Toastie]

Tony,

your first version of the GS-4 4-8-4 was already way beyond believe for me - I was just sitting in front of my computer and enjoyed this beautiful steamer. Got a bit into the history of American steam locomotives. That was triggered by your LEGO models - in the beginning I could not believe that these were models of real steam locomotives. Well, I was dead wrong.

But as far as I am concerned, your second version is topping it all. The locomotive is still a beauty - I would not have noticed the changes at first sight - but the technology you are applying to match the challenges LEGO track is imposing on every sophisticated train design is breath taking. To me, these "technical" changes are ingenious and make the most out of your MOC. Taking the challenge and coming up with such a stunning solution is incredible. Just brilliant.

Oh, and the swinging was not a risk to the public, it was a risk to the locomotive.

Best regards and congratulations to this 20th master piece (my favorite)
Thorsten

[The Dutch Guy]

Hello SavaTheAggie. Your Daylight is absolutely beautiful and i must congratulate you with it. The Daylight is one of my favourite Americam locomotives. The design is awsome, as is your lego version.I still have more models on my wish list than my money is worth, so i think it this one is way beyond me. But would it make an asset to my collection. Great job.

[El H]

Looks amazing, really enjoy the streamlined yet still big and bold look of it.

In particular the cheese slopes on the very front...a small thting that really looks fantastic and sets it apart.

[Frank STENGEL]

As per usual: SavaTheAggie = amazing build!

Just nitpicking: isn't the 4449 supposed to be on the smokestack's side? I can't see how one could do it, but still...