Steam Locomotives

[rday1982]

Hi there y'all.

I'm after any tips people have on constructing realistic looking 9V steam locos... I've been trying to build one for a while, and got it about right, when the dog came and knocked it flying. Sadly, I kept no record of how it was constructed, and my delicate piston and connecting rod arrangement is going to have to be re-figured out. I can't seem to get it right again. The damned thing keeps wanting to come apart as the loco traverses corners.

I've got a few ideas of what I want to build in the near future, which will involve searching bricklink for parts, and trying to find a few cheapish assortments of bricks on eBay... but what I could really do with is advice on steam locos in general, as I'm experiencing a frustrating feeling that it doesn't look quite right very regularly. Which means breaking it down in frustration, and racking my brains as to how to fix it.

LDD has been quite helpful, but they don't have the BBB or EN wheels that I'd like to use. I made a nice Olton Hall in LDD (see attached), but I'd like to get the "top" part without the rolling chassis, and convert the model to run on EN wheels with pistons and connecting rods.

Plus, I'm going to have to wait a while to order it, as LDD seems to be about 1.5x as expensive as buying a set from a store.