EMD FP45 diesel locomotive in Santa Fe warbonnet paint scheme - real world MOC

[Murdoch17]

This LEGO MOC is based on the Electro-Motive Division FP45 diesel locomotive type, which was basically based on the SDP45 but with a lightweight shroud over the walkways beside the engine compartment. It was made from 1967 to 1970 at the request of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (also known as the 'Santa Fe') for use on their passenger trains as the look of a freight engine on the head end of their prestigious trains was something they were trying to avoid. Santa Fe bought nine, and the Milwaukee Road bought an additional five bringing the production total to 14 overall. The Santa Fe engines survived in freight service after the Amtrak takeover of passenger services up until the 1996 merger with Burlington Northern, while all the Milwaukee Road's units were scrapped in the early 1980s. Of the nine Santa Fe units, two were scrapped after being wrecked, another was sold to another railroad (Wisconsin Central) and six are in museums all over the USA.

The front of the MOC. The engine is lettered and numbered as Santa Fe locomotive number 94, and features sliding center wheel of each bogie, so it can traverse official LEGO curves and switches.

The rear of the locomotive. As you might have noticed, the Warbonnet look is inspired by set 10020 - Santa Fe Super Chief - but this is not a MOD of that set. My MOC's use of the striped design here is simply a case of the same paint scheme being applied to different locomotives, and the official LEGO way being the best fit.

The model has a removable roof segment and interior details for the cab. No engine room details are in here, as the roof isn't fully removable, and thus any engine block would not be visible.

A picture of an actual FP45 from 1968, posted for comparison with the MOC. Notice how it has a door located midway down the frame on only one side. I chose to remove this door from my LEGO model, as it made the stripe work difficult to get right. ...that, and I like things being symmetrical!

(Photo of the real loco is from Wikipedia, and it is in the public domain)

Thoughts?

Edited December 11, 2025 by Murdoch17

[idlemarvel]

Nice. You captured the shape very well with a 9V era vibe. It would be interesting to try to recreate the livery of the loco in the picture, instead of reliving the red and yellow warbonnet livery. Dark red and dark grey. You could use arch on its side to get the shape of the red/grey boundary for example.

Edited December 11, 2025 by idlemarvel

[Murdoch17]

29 minutes ago, idlemarvel said:

Nice. You captured the shape very well with a 9V era vibe. It would be interesting to try to recreate the livery of the loco in the picture, instead of reliving the red and yellow warbonnet livery. Dark red and dark grey. You could use arch on its side to get the shape of the red/grey boundary for example.

Thanks @idlemarvel! The real world loco is actually bright red, it's just the picture *looks* dark red due to lighting and other factors. See this album on Wikipedia for better views of the type.

[JopieK]

Nice one @Murdoch17. Perfect addition to your fleet!

[Darkkostas25]

Great capturing of the shaping of the original model and adding LEGO "touch"/ Hope to see it with some of your coaches(passenger)   

[zephyr1934]

That captures the feel of the Super Chief model in the form of its younger sibling. Could you do 1/2 plate offset for one of the rows of cheese bricks on the nose so that it is a smooth surface?

Meanwhile, GN/BN and Santa Fe also had F45's (essentially the same engine but without the steam generator). Oddly, one of the Santa Fe F45's survives in GN paint as a "luxury lodge"

[Murdoch17]

7 hours ago, JopieK said:

Nice one @Murdoch17. Perfect addition to your fleet!

Thank you @JopieK!

6 hours ago, Darkkostas25 said:

Great capturing of the shaping of the original model and adding LEGO "touch"/ Hope to see it with some of your coaches(passenger)   

Thanks @Darkkostas25 - I don't have any coaches planned, but a caboose is in the works!

6 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

That captures the feel of the Super Chief model in the form of its younger sibling. Could you do 1/2 plate offset for one of the rows of cheese bricks on the nose so that it is a smooth surface?

Meanwhile, GN/BN and Santa Fe also had F45's (essentially the same engine but without the steam generator). Oddly, one of the Santa Fe F45's survives in GN paint as a "luxury lodge"

Thank you @zephyr1934, and I did use that method on this MOC already: The segments closest to the sides use brackets, while the inner segments use brick modified parts.

[zephyr1934]

14 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

Thank you @zephyr1934, and I did use that method on this MOC already: The segments closest to the sides use brackets, while the inner segments use brick modified parts.

Ah, okay, the light wound up at the one angle to highlight the corner of the second row of cheese bricks and made it look like it wasn't.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very nice ...the front is my favorite! 

 

[Murdoch17]

1 hour ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Very nice ...the front is my favorite! 

 

Thanks @LEGO Train 12 Volts!