SRW #708 Garratt type Steam Locomotive

[SavaTheAggie]

Sava Railways Garratt Type Double Porter Class (2-4-0+0-4-2) Steam Locomotive (say that three times fast).

Gallery

This is my latest steam creation, a Garratt type locomotive. Unlike traditional steam engines, the Garratt type is actually two locomotives sharing the same boiler. Each locomotive carries a tank of water, with one carrying a fuel bunker, and slung between them is the boiler and cab.

I built her over a mere 2 days, inspired by the Train Challenge #2 over on Flickr's LEGO Trains group (build a 2-4-0 steam locomotive), though we've decided that while it's a clever entry, it bends the rules a little too much. To my credit, however, Garratt locomotives were frequently called "double" of their traditional wheel arrangement. So if a standard 2-4-0 is called a "Porter", a 2-4-0+0-4-2 would be a "Double Porter".

I also had a handicap imposed by my lovely wife, who decreed I was not allowed to spend any money to finish this locomotive. As such, I was forced to work with what I had on hand, and I think I did a decent job. As I've built her, I fear she is too small to power, even with Power Functions, but I plan to build a powered boxcar which should help with that.

--Tony

[Freddie]

Simple, but very nice and original, and I bet a bit more challenging compared to what you're used to. I think it looks good in red, and I personally wouldn't have changed it to orange or dark blue or anything. Maybe get a different colored dome instead of the yellow one, but that's it.

While I don't think this particular moc can be motorised with PF, and would need a tender-pusher, I can definetaly see the possibility of making a self-sufficient Garratt-type steam locomotive with PF; the battery would be hung between the bogies, inside the boiler, receiver placed either inside the cab (alternatively EN-solution) and an M-motor in each tender.