The South Australian Railways (SAR) 400 class

[Daiman]

Some years ago (2015) a user started a topic on here of the same rail car a  South Australian Railways (SAR) 400 class.

I came across this post in research mode as I was embarking on my own version of the car and added my bit to the end of that post some time in 2021.

Since that was some time ago and it was little seen at the time I thought it deserved it's own topic both for myself and the newer users in the forums to enjoy.

The SAR 400 class was known by the nickname of the 'Red Hen' due to the similarity in colour with a breed of chicken and had a drivers box at both ends of the cars with a door leading out next to it.

The cars were often used in groups of three or four as commuter carriages ferrying people to and from their daily duties and that is where my first encounters with them took place.

Every morning I'd grab my kit and head off to art college on one of these, my favorite part being that you could ride with the doors open sitting either side to watch the jouney to or from as you clickitty clacked along the rails.

Switch to years later and I wanted to build one in LEGO so I ordered a bunch of brown bricks and set to it.

Originally I had no free train bases so I used regular plates for that and due to the scale mine is one window less than the actual rail car but hey, I'm a 75 pc kind of guy and happy If I capture the feel of the train I'm building.

Here's a view showing the front/ rear section where the driver would be located to one side.

Side view showing one less window...(well that's the bit you can't see actually)

Close up of some hair and dust for added realism.

and finally a top shot showing the roof configuration.

There a re still quite a few of these left over here run along with older Steam locomotives by railway historic groups and they are in top notch condition.

This build is to feature in my eventual layout based on 1980's rural Australian railways and towns which is the era when I was most influenced by all this.

[idlemarvel]

Nice unusual model. You have captured the feel of the prototype very well. I'm trying to figure out where the diesel engine(s) was/were in the prototype. Are they mounted under-floor?

[Daiman]

10 hours ago, idlemarvel said:

Nice unusual model. You have captured the feel of the prototype very well. I'm trying to figure out where the diesel engine(s) was/were in the prototype. Are they mounted under-floor?

Thank you, The car has two motors known as a layover engine I think. which probably means that they are a flat layout.

The closest i could find is this configuration of a bogie that contains motor along with the  brakes amd suspension.

http://www.railway-technical.com/_Media/bogiept_med_hr_med_hr.jpeg

from this sites page.

http://www.railway-technical.com/trains/rolling-stock-index-l/bogies.html

[Feuer Zug]

Nice work recreating this railcar. The frame isn't that important since everything above it looks good. NPU with the wheels for fans.

[Daiman]

2 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

NPU with the wheels for fans

Thank you, although a bit small in lego scale i feel it works. I thought it was quite ingenious lol...

[zephyr1934]

Great job recreating a quirky prototype

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very nice and intriguing model!

I like how it is compact but well characterized.

[Daiman]

@zephyr1934 thank you very much, glad you like it.

 

@LEGO Train 12 Volts Cheers, as always with trains and other models it's what you put in vs leave out and what you have

to exaggerate vs what you have to par back according to bricks so I hope I managed to capture it well enough.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wow if the pieces were also limited this work is incredible! 

I like the part of the story where you talk about the journey with the doors open looking outside ... it must be beautiful!

[Daiman]

 

Now with extra window, much more satisfying...