[MOC] ÖBB 2095 narrow gauge diesel locomotive a.k.a whizzy-cranks

[idlemarvel]

This is my first attempt at 7-wide trains. This locomotive was first built in 1958, only a few years after I was born. It was used on a number of narrow gauge (760 mm) railways in Austria, including Pinzgauer and Waldviertel, and a few made their way to Romania. Quite a few still run on heritage lines. Their outstanding characteristic was that their relatively small wheels (900 mm) were coupled. Their top rated speed was 60 kmph so if my maths is correct at top speed these couplings were revolving 6 times a second, hence their nickname "whizzy-cranks". Here's a picture of the prototype from Wikipedia:

These narrow gauge locos work out quite well in 1:45 scale. The prototype was only 10.4m long and 2.4m wide, which translates to 30 studs long and 7 studs wide. The wheels are a bit smaller than standard gauge locos so normal Lego train wheels fit quite well, and being only 30 studs long means R40 curves are no problem. Here's my first digital build of the MOC.

There's plenty of room inside what is basically a 7-wide box for PUP hub and lights. I'm not sure how the cranks will work out in real life, whether they will keep falling off especially at speed. I'm thinking I may need to have some internal gears in the non-powered bogie to keep the wheels aligned. Also not sure if I will have to redo the lower body skirting (the light gray layer) as the 5 wide space underneath may not be enough for the bogies to rotate. All will be revealed if / when I try to build this.

They come in a variety of colour schemes - all red, all "blood-orange", cream and red, to mention a few. I'm tempted by the blood-orange colour scheme but I have no idea if all the required pieces are available in Reddish-Orange, I suspect some adjustments may be necessary.

 

Edited March 25 by idlemarvel
Correction

[zephyr1934]

Looking sharp!

 

The reddish orange would look great but I bet the profile bricks aren't available... nope, they aren't and I don't see any "obvious" alternatives.

[lego3057]

Good work!

Now working on 4 wide tracks will have a more prototypical narrow gauge looks. (By the way this is the first time I saw a pratical solution for connecting  rods to normal small train wheels)

[idlemarvel]

17 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

Looking sharp!

 

The reddish orange would look great but I bet the profile bricks aren't available... nope, they aren't and I don't see any "obvious" alternatives.

Thanks @zephyr1934. Having looked into many parts aren't available in reddish orange, it would need a redesign. Pity.

9 hours ago, lego3057 said:

Good work!

Now working on 4 wide tracks will have a more prototypical narrow gauge looks. (By the way this is the first time I saw a pratical solution for connecting  rods to normal small train wheels)

Thanks @lego3057

Narrow gauge track would be more prototypical but TLG only make tight curves, a bit limiting.

I saw the connecting rods solution on the Bricklink Designer Program logging train, but there may be earlier occurences. The problems with it are the crank pieces only have a 1/2 module depth axle hole to grip the end of the wheel axle, and they stick out a long way, making the model 10 wide. But (without using 3rd party wheels) I don't think there is any other solution.

[Shiva]

Nice. I think this would deserve 3rd party wheels and rods. + an option to have it at 4wide as lego3057 wrote.

[TeddytheSpoon]

13 hours ago, idlemarvel said:

Narrow gauge track would be more prototypical but TLG only make tight curves, a bit limiting.

If you're open to 3rd party elements, Trixbrix have a good selection of 4-wide track with some slightly more realistic dimensions. I use them for my 1:64 trains and they're great.

[kozoz]

On 3/24/2026 at 8:14 PM, idlemarvel said:

I'm thinking I may need to have some internal gears in the non-powered bogie to keep the wheels aligned.

If you install the coupling rods on both sides rotated by 90 degrees, you do not need to synchronize the wheels with gears. This is how the tie-rod drive is solved on real locomotives as well.

[L-Gauger]

On 3/24/2026 at 2:14 PM, idlemarvel said:

I'm not sure how the cranks will work out in real life, whether they will keep falling off especially at speed.

I've tried this technique before, and if you're using standard 6-stud long Technic axles on the wheels, the cranks will definitely chronically fall off. Their clutch power is quite weak. My recommendation would be to get some Blu-Tac (or a competing brand of non-permanent putty adhesive) to stick the cranks in place. I know that's not quite purist, but at least using Blu-Tac would mean you can reclaim all your bricks if you ever decide to disassemble the model later (and yes, Blu-Tac does come off of Lego bricks without leaving much residue, at least in my personal experience.) 

I second @kozoz on quartering the drive wheels, but adding gearing inside the non-powered bogie might help the cranks stay in place better as it'll reduce the amount of stress transmitted to the cranks. Alternately, you could see if it's possible to build the model with two powered bogies. 

[Selander]

Charming little locomotive, and in 7-wide 😍. But I really dislike your side rod design....it is too clumsy for such a delicate loco. I'd either completely dismiss them, or replace with a static red bar (rigid hose or similar) depending on what looks best....

Edited March 27 by Selander

[idlemarvel]

On 3/25/2026 at 7:40 PM, Shiva said:

Nice. I think this would deserve 3rd party wheels and rods. + an option to have it at 4wide as lego3057 wrote.

Thanks @Shiva I'm a bit of a LEGO purist so 3rd party stuff is not my scene. If I ever produce MOC documentation I may add a 4 wide track option. Not being able to use the train motor as the bogie means I could make the bogie wheelbase 5 studs instead of 6 which would be more in scale.

On 3/26/2026 at 7:10 AM, TeddytheSpoon said:

If you're open to 3rd party elements, Trixbrix have a good selection of 4-wide track with some slightly more realistic dimensions. I use them for my 1:64 trains and they're great.

See above. I have seen the Trixbrix products and they are good quality IMO.

On 3/26/2026 at 12:22 PM, kozoz said:

If you install the coupling rods on both sides rotated by 90 degrees, you do not need to synchronize the wheels with gears. This is how the tie-rod drive is solved on real locomotives as well.

Thanks for the tip @kozoz, I didn't know that.

16 hours ago, L-Gauger said:

I've tried this technique before, and if you're using standard 6-stud long Technic axles on the wheels, the cranks will definitely chronically fall off. Their clutch power is quite weak. My recommendation would be to get some Blu-Tac (or a competing brand of non-permanent putty adhesive) to stick the cranks in place. I know that's not quite purist, but at least using Blu-Tac would mean you can reclaim all your bricks if you ever decide to disassemble the model later (and yes, Blu-Tac does come off of Lego bricks without leaving much residue, at least in my personal experience.) 

I second @kozoz on quartering the drive wheels, but adding gearing inside the non-powered bogie might help the cranks stay in place better as it'll reduce the amount of stress transmitted to the cranks. Alternately, you could see if it's possible to build the model with two powered bogies. 

Thanks for your words of experience @L-Gauger Not sure about the Blu-Tac option but I'll definitely be quartering the wheels and will keep adding gearing in reserve.

7 hours ago, Selander said:

Charming little locomotive, and in 7-wide 😍. But I really dislike your side rod design....it is too clumsy for such a delicate loco. I'd either completely dismiss them, or replace with a static red bar (rigid hose or similar) depending on what looks best....

I agree @Selander the side rods are ugly, and static ones would be easier and more in scale, but part of the unique charm of the whizzy-cranks is the whizzing cranks! If they turn out to be unreliable in practice then I will resort to static rods.