Duq

Iarnród Éireann freight train

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It's been a while since I posted a new model here and technically my Class 201 is not a new model... I built it a few years ago to go with some carriages that a fellow club member built. Unfortunately those carriages were fairly heavy and the combination of M-motors and wrong gearing meant that my engine couldn't cope. As a result it spent most of its time at shows parked up.

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In real life the class 201 engines have also been side-lined as loco-pulled passenger trains have been replaced by multiple-units in recent years. A number of these InterCity branded engines are now being used in freight service. So I figured it was time to give my model 201 a freight job too. For a start that meant fixing the lack of power. That in turn meant a rebuild from the ground up.

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PF L-motor mount by Duq, on Flickr

Based on this motor mount on either end I rebuilt the body mostly as it was before, except that it had to grow by two studs

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Irish Rail Class 201 by Duq, on Flickr

Once I had the engine sorted I needed some cars to pull. There's not an awful lot of choice in Ireland but I found these 'spoils' wagons and quite liked them.They are used for maintenance works. They are bright yellow boxes that sit on dark red container cars and I just liked the colours.

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30130, Portlaoise PW, 22/8/14 by Kieran Marshall, on Flickr

These wagons have since been modified a little, with plates at either end to stop the gravel getting stuck in the chassis.

My first attempt was entirely 6 wide to go with the 6-wide loco. It just didn't look right. Back to the drawing board then for a 7-wide container on a 6-wide chassis. It took a lot of jumper plates to make that work...

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Irish Rail Spoils Wagon WIP by Duq, on Flickr

Nearly there, but I wasn't happy with the bogies. It took a few nights of fiddling to come up with the idea of using pneumatic hose for the side of the bogies.

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Sambre et Meuse freight bogies compared by Duq, on Flickr

All that was needed now was a few Bricklink orders to build a set of 3:

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Nice. Excellent work on the bogies.

Overall it looks good. The shape of the front of the locomotive is very nicely done.

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When artistry satisfies and engineering motivates, the entire package rules the rails. Expertly conceived and delivered!

-James

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Thanks for all the compliments guys, much appreciated!

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