xboxtravis7992 Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 (edited) Nearly two and a half years ago I posted an early WIP topic on a 2-8-0 Consolidation I was designing on LDD (original WIP here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=82535). Life got in the way, and the project was put on a standstill. Now I have picked it up again, and over a few days I have made some fast progress. Here is the address to my Mocpages folder with the photos of the WIP. http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/420133 I based this model of my hometown musuem's steam locomotive, Tooele Valley Railroad #11. She ain't no superstar in the railroad world, but #11 has a storied history which makes her a desirable prototype to base my Lego 2-8-0 design on. #11 was built original for the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad in 1910 at Alco Brooks in Dunkirk New York, but was never delivered to the B&S due to the railroad's bankruptcy and inability to purchase the locomotive. A few years later the locomotive was shipped from New York to Tooele, Utah (to clarify the pronunciation, "Too-will-uh" is how the locals say it). In Tooele #11 worked a busy short line connecting a large smelter with the busy Union Pacific and Western Pacific railroads. When she was retired in the early 1960's, #11 had become the last steam locomotive in common carrier service in the state of Utah. She was considered to be restored for use on the Heber Creeper Railroad, however Tooele residents decided to keep her on display in Tooele (thus the Heber Creeper choose to instead restore the UP #618, a Baldwin 2-8-0). Now #11 resides at a local museum. So onto my WIP model. I like some of the details, I am happy I choose an eight stud wide width, and I like the piston design (based roughly on dozens of other Mocs I have seen). What is driving me nuts to no end is the cab, once I finished building it on LDD I could see the cab sat one stud to high on its frame, and that the front windows were to big. It is not that fun rebuilding stuff with LDD! I might also rework the walkways on the boiler to obtain a more prototypical shape. Once the corrections are finished, I will work on the steam and sand domes and other details, then add the tender. The tender will be built big enough to house all the PF equipment (the locomotive itself being unpowered). So how is the project coming along. Where can I improve its design a bit more? Edited October 5, 2015 by xboxtravis7992 Quote
greenmtvince Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 Coming along nicely thus far. I'm super stoked to see someone else working on a Consolidation. While the big boys and articulated locomotives get a lot of attention on this forum (and in model railroading in general) the smaller locomotives are the technically more difficulty to build and get right. Here's a few thoughts after looking at some other images of the prototype: -The bottom tip of the firebox should be between the 3rd and 4th driver, rather than the 2nd and 3rd as you have it now. You could also stand to make the profile of the firebox a bit smaller. -The entire cab should come down 2-3 plates. That will close the gap over the rear driver and bring the roof closer to the top of the boiler. -Consider an open or brickbuilt window for the cab to get it closer to the size and shape you want. A 1x6 black arch brick might really do the trick. -At 8-wide, #11's 51" drivers are halfway between Big Ben Bricks' Medium Drivers (~45") and the standard Lego or Large Drivers (~57") so you could go either way. The M's might look more "right." Also, if you take this to brick, get the chassis and drive mechanisms working with the train you intend to pull before you move on to the rest of the design. Especially if you intend to build valve gear. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this! Quote
zephyr1934 Posted October 10, 2015 Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) -The entire cab should come down 2-3 plates. That will close the gap over the rear driver and bring the roof closer to the top of the boiler. -Consider an open or brickbuilt window for the cab to get it closer to the size and shape you want. A 1x6 black arch brick might really do the trick. I would agree with both of these suggestions. While in this case I suspect a straight brick built window would be best, I think this arch: ... for the cab windows would really have the feel of a Santa Fe steam engine... but you are building a specific prototype so never mind that. Scratch that now scratched out bit... looking at the additional shots in your first post, this arch would be a good fit. Perhaps get the height just so that you could squeeze an old style window pane to replicate the actual cab windows. I also think your cab roof is too flat. I personally like the look of 1x3 curved slopes above a normal Nx2 slope, e.g., here for steam cab roofs. Edited October 10, 2015 by zephyr1934 Quote
xboxtravis7992 Posted October 10, 2015 Author Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) I would agree with both of these suggestions. While in this case I suspect a straight brick built window would be best, I think this arch: ... for the cab windows would really have the feel of a Santa Fe steam engine... but you are building a specific prototype so never mind that. Scratch that now scratched out bit... looking at the additional shots in your first post, this arch would be a good fit. Perhaps get the height just so that you could squeeze an old style window pane to replicate the actual cab windows. I also think your cab roof is too flat. I personally like the look of 1x4 curved slopes above a normal Nx2 slope, e.g., here for steam cab roofs. Already made those changes, if you look on the Mocpages file the last photo shows the curved cab window and a roof done with 1x4 curved bricks. Thanks for the suggestions though, helps me to know I am on the right track. On the LDD file I am working on the tender, so hopefully I'll finish this engine soon! Edited October 10, 2015 by xboxtravis7992 Quote
zephyr1934 Posted October 11, 2015 Posted October 11, 2015 Cool! Please do include a few photos of your progress in the posts, a nice photo will elicit more feedback and it is neat to see the progression evolve in the thread. Quote
xboxtravis7992 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 (edited) Alright, here are photos from my last set of updates to the design of my 2-8-0: Edited October 13, 2015 by xboxtravis7992 Quote
xboxtravis7992 Posted April 22, 2016 Author Posted April 22, 2016 Digging up my old thread here; but I finally got around to finishing a tender build! So finally, here is the %90 finished Tooele Valley Railway #11 2-8-0 in Lego (digital) form! I even made a back dated to 1910 version as seen in the photograph here: http://www.alleganyhistory.org/culture/transportation/railroads/buffalo-a-susquehanna-railroad-co/3075-the-last-buffalo-susquehanna-steamer Now all it needs is a caboose... Quote
greenmtvince Posted April 22, 2016 Posted April 22, 2016 Fine looking consolidation there! Can't wait to see it in brick hauling some trains! Quote
KlodsBrik Posted May 2, 2016 Posted May 2, 2016 Its looking really cool. Looking forward to seeing it made with bricks indeed. The shapes are really working well together. Well done ! Quote
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