Orient Express Thriller!

[Elysiumfountain]

@Brickviller V2 thank you! I'm hoping to complete a second coach by the end of the summer, we'll see how the budget goes for that! And I also just finished completing more of the station, I should have detailed pictures soon! :) 

[ColletArrow]

I've been watching this all along, and I can't wait for the second coach to really make it feel like a train.

I have, however, just noticed some slight flaws with the mechanics. For one thing, on the small leading and trailing wheels, you appear to be using the blue technic pins 43093, which have friction. You may want to swap those out for the light gray/ light bluish gray or tan version 3749, which doesn't have friction. This will enable your train to roll much better, especially in corners. You are using these on the central axles anyway, it seems. Those central axles (or all of them, even) should be replaced with 6L technic black axles 3706. Not only are these less visible (as they're black), but they allow the wheels to be permanently coupled 90-degrees from each-other, a crucial feature of real steam locomotives that allows at least one piston to be acting on the wheels to ensure successful starting. (More on that here: http://modelengineeringwebsite.com/Wheel_quartering.html)

The detailing elsewhere and the story-telling possible with this set is impressive however, and it's an excellent, original (for a LEGO set) good idea. I can only hope it gets enough votes!
(It's also impressive to see a project with more updates than comments! )

Edited June 14, 2017 by ColletArrow
Added comment

[Zed_43]

Really nice train! I particularly like the coach which has a really nive overall shape and a great color scheme!

Your station looks also really good!

[Murdoch17]

The station looks really epic, but as pointed out above, the engine may need some engineering work. That doesn't distract from the overall styling, as that looks really spot-on!

[Elysiumfountain]

Thank you for all your advice and suggestions, @ColletArrow! I must confess that I have never made a train before, so as this is my first one I'm glad to have people to point me in the right direction! I think some of the parts that I used were in place of parts that I should have used, but I can definitely remedy this later this summer, as I'm working to overhaul some of the project! :) (I've found the large wheel don't move as well as they should, probably as you were saying!) 

Updates here or on the Ideas site? lol

[ColletArrow]

@Elysiumfountain No problem! My first locomotives weren't exactly a success either, especially as the LEGO drivers can have issues on curves. I think you've done well to get such a good feel to the model.

And I was referencing the updates on the Ideas site, it gives the number in blue on the tabs. Currently 164 updates vs 153 comments! It just shows how committed you are to the project.

[Elysiumfountain]

@ColletArrow thank you! Part of the number of updates is because, since I don't have large amounts of social media following, I have to keep the project somewhere near the top of the Recently Updated list! :) 

[Vliebricker]

Hi, Elysiumfountain, nice work! And a huge project in combination with the station. I particularly like the lighting in the coach and yes, you definitely should ad a second coach to your train. How, by the way, is it motorized? I don't see a IR receiver or something at your model. Such a model must for sure do it's tour on a nice lay-out ??.

[Elysiumfountain]

@Vliebricker thank you! Unfortunately at the moment it is not motorized. The engine is almost a solid mass of bricks! It's one of my projects this summer to figure out how to redesign some of the engine/tender to try and make it more fitting to motorization, as well as to add a second coach! :) 

[rahziel]

Beautiful work, especially the coach, nice details ;) A 2nd coach is greatly needed as said before...

[Elysiumfountain]

Good news!! We just passed 1000 on the project today! This gave us a date extension to 436 days to get to 5000. Only 9000 supporters left to get! :) And I included pictures of the proposed second coach in one of the project updates on the site!

[M_slug357]

Congrats on surpassing the 1k mark!

[ColletArrow]

8 hours ago, Elysiumfountain said:

We just passed 1000 on the project today!

Woohoo! Let's see how far we can get this project! Can't wait to see the new coach, by the way. 
(p.s. have you thought about those mechanical MODs I suggested?  )

[Elysiumfountain]

@ColletArrow Yes I have!! I need to reexamine the engine as soon as I get back from my trip. Someone else asked me if I had it motorized yet and at the moment I don't, it's a solid mass of bricks! So I need to do a little juggling around. But I hope to work on it soon :)

19 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

Congrats on surpassing the 1k mark!

Thank you! :) Only 8,981 left to go! :)

[Elysiumfountain]

People have been asking regarding a second coach, so here's the work in progress digital render, the physical model is in the works! :) 

 

 

[Feuer Zug]

Nice observation car. Can we see the inside too? It looks like only seats, but maybe you put more in. Build a baggage and sleeper car and you've got yourself a good train.

[Bricksmith]

This is absolutely fantastic! The gold detailing is just perfect.

I'd really love to see it get through Lego Ideas, I think this has enough unique character to set it apart from the likes of the Emerald Night that i think Lego might consider it!

Edited September 5, 2017 by Bricksmith

[Elysiumfountain]

Thank you @Bricksmith! I really hope it gets through, it's currently in the 1300s. I'm hoping the story is unique enough and I tried to make the engine and passenger coach different. Plus, there will be a second passenger coach coming soon! :) 

[CarrollFilms]

This is a very nice looking train! It would be really cool to see a full set of coaches 

[Elysiumfountain]

Thank you, @CarrollFilms! I'm hoping to have an observation car done by the end of the Autumn, so hopefully it'll start to look more like a full train! :) 

[Elysiumfountain]

 

[Elysiumfountain]

Well it just passed 1500! Slow going, possibly soon to be eclipsed by Winterfield Academy, but I have hope! :) 

[Elysiumfountain]

WOW it's been a long time since I updated this, but here's some updates! This next week is going to move FAST! 

 

However, here's a couple pictures of the exterior of the second coach! The rest of the Bricklink parts arrive later this week, so the next focus on this train will be MOTORIZING IT! I tore the entire engine apart (due to mechanical inconsistencies and the fact that it looked too blocky, and have redesigned it entirely! (Following some well-made solutions given to me by @ColletArrow)  

Keep on the lookout for the newest updates as we zoom forwards into 2018! 

And, if you haven't already, please consider supporting this project on Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/f99d5194-bf98-4302-9181-a5201c4e4b64

(We've got 1589 supporters so far, but we only have 239 days left!) 

Thank you! :) 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Elysiumfountain