Class 47 needs some wheels

[Dutchiedoughnut]

Hi everyone,

I've been working on a nice new Class 47 in English Intercity livery. I've looked at some other liveries, but I think I'm sticking with this one ;).

The engine is stuck in LDD for now and will be a little while longer since I haven't found my gold ticket yet.

Here is where I'm at:

The engine already has all its PF components on board - battery box, motor and receiver. I might switch the motor for one or two M motors. Not sure yet.

This is the engine in ScotRail, but I've changed it:

I'm not pleased at all with the bogies at the moment. They are the right size and have the correct amount of axles and wheels, but they don't do the engine justice. I'll be working on them for a while and any input is welcomed ;).

[BricksMcgee]

Great interpretation of the class 47. Like the liveries!

[Nemo57]

Solid proportionate locomotive. And in a great Exploded view layout.

[Dutchiedoughnut]

I particularly love the engine set in the middle. I was inspired by a V200 - which was a 9V model - and I wanted to add PF to that in LDD. The class 47 was next to stick with my British theme. The battery box is (of course) underneath the engine and drops below the floor.

[kieran]

I too really like the look OK the details, very well done

[CrispyBassist]

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I might switch the motor for one or two M motors.

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I'm not pleased at all with the bogies at the moment.

...

In my opinion you're better off with the train motors (two if I'm seeing correct?). I switched my GP9 to train motors from m motors and drastically increased the speed and power.

As for the rest of the trucks, I typically use flex tube to hold details on the sides of the train motors. Lots of bars and arms and clips can make a pretty good looking truck to match this fantastic looking locomotive!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

What a beauty ...you have done an amazing work on this MOC: the nose and the roof are fantastic!

[jtlan]

8W PF design. Co-Co trucks are a real pain to make.

class47_bogie.lxf

Edited December 24, 2015 by jtlan

[Dutchiedoughnut]

What a beauty ...you have done an amazing work on this MOC: the nose and the roof are fantastic!

Thank you :). I'm very happy with the nose and roof. Well, the roof would be a little bit better if I used an Sbrick.

In any case, I've updated the buffers and couplings. They will be attached to the bogies rather than the loco body, but in the same place.

Thank you jtlan! You posted as I was writing this :). I'm sure your LDD file will be an awesome help :).

[Dutchiedoughnut]

8W PF design. Co-Co trucks are a real pain to make.

They are! Unless you have an awesome example to follow ;).

I took your LDD file and modified the bogie. The bogie you posted was a little low, and the wheelbase was a stud too long - still an awesome start.

I pretty much copied the pivot and first axle, added my own couplings. The other two axles got a little more work as I built your bogie around a train motor. That worked really well, so I won't have to sacrifice the interior to make room for a PF motor ;).

Last but not least, I changed the colors from light grey to black. It's an 8 wide bogie under a 7 wide train and it stood out too much in light grey. It's more subdued in black. I changed the panels around the buffers to yellow for similar reasons.

In the end, here it is:

[ScotNick]

Your model really looks great and I'm in love with that ScotRail livery

One problem you ave with the current bogies is that they are 8 wide and the engine is 7.

Carl Greatrix had a different approach on a 3-axle bogie you might want to have a look at:

Deltic Bogie by Carl Greatrix, on Flickr

Another possible way would be a sliding middle axle like here:

Class 66 bogie detail (underside) by Mike Pianta, on Flickr

I hope this helps!

Anyway: any plans on when you'll finish that engine?

[Dutchiedoughnut]

I thought you would ;).

Carl Greatix' bogie is a step too far for me at the moment. I bow to his Greatixness! (okay, I can't figure out his techniques so far, but I have studies that picture).

I had been trying to do a sliding middle axle most of yesterday, but I couldn't get it quite right. I'm sure I'll give it another try in a while but for the moment I'm pleased with the bogies.

[Redimus]

The problem with Greatrix' undoubtedly brilliant designs is that he cheats. A lot. I've always refused to physically alter any Lego element that isn't one of those tubes (handrails would be largely impossible if you didn't). I think it's half the fun, knowing you achieved that without leaving the basic rules of the Lego system as sold to us (perhaps a little hypocritical seeing as I'm happy to use custom rods and wheels, but they aren't actually mutilated Lego... lol).

[Hod Carrier]

Excellent stuff!! You've captured the shape very well indeed, although I must confess that I also prefer the ScotRail livery. Have you tried any other livery options, such as Network SouthEast? There are plenty to choose from.

Are there genuine engineering reasons for the bufferbeam being so prominent? To my eyes is sticks out too far now. The original position looks better. Also, while I understand that you wanted to add contrast, the yellow panels around the bufferbeam should really go back to black to more accurately recreate this livery. I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm being pedantic.

Not sure if you're only using LDD to design your bogies or if you're backing it up by experimenting with real bricks too. Sometimes you can achieve things in brick that LDD says is impossible, as I've been discovering for myself.

Happy Christmas!!

[Dutchiedoughnut]

Happy Christmas!!

I'll go and try to bring the bufferbeam back in. It's a stud too fat and the yellow panels are half a stud too far out. I've changed them back to black in my LDD file.

Meanwhile, here are some liveries:

You can go nuts on the class 47, although I think the green one will be terribly expensive and I'm not sure that the green 1x2x3 windows and the yellow train windows are available...

[Hod Carrier]

Fantastic line-up. Such a great sight. Reminds me a little of the Class 47 line-up at Derby just before the class was retired from Virgin CrossCountry services. Click.

[King Aragorn]

Brilliant design ...I like the last picture with different liveries!