MOC: Texas State Railroad Engine #201

[SavaTheAggie]

Gallery

Texas State Railroad Ten Wheeler (4-6-0) Engine #201.

From the TSRR Website:

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Engine number 201 is the oldest locomotive operated on the line. This engine was built in 1901 by the A.L. Cooke Locomotive Works for the Texas & Pacific Railway, and is the only operating T&P steam locomotive in existence. The engine was built for freight service and proudly wore the number 316 during its career with the Texas & Pacific.

Engine 201 is classified as a 4-6-0. This means that it has four wheels in the front, six drivers in the middle and no wheels in the rear of the engine. This type of locomotive is commonly referred to as a "ten wheeler."

In 1949, after years of hard service, the Texas & Pacific sold number 316 to the Paris & Mt. Pleasant Railroad, a T&P subsidiary. In 1951 the locomotive was saved from the scrapper's torch by a remarkable lady who wished to remain anonymous. She purchased the engine and, with the help from the T&P, donated it to the city of Abilene in honor of its seventy-fifth anniversary as a city.

The venerable ten wheeler remained on display in Abilene at the Oscar Rose Park for many years, wearing the number 75 to symbolize the seventy-fifth Jubilee Celebration of the City.

In 1974 the citizens of Abilene graciously donated the locomotive to the newly formed Texas State Railroad. After extensive repair and refurbishing, the engine was again rolling down the rails to thrill a new generation of train passengers.

The 201 was recently refurbished and unveiled during October 2006 and is currently used during steam excursions at the Texas State Railroad.

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This is the fifth of five steam engines of the Texas State Railroad I have constructed. She is currently powered by a single 9v motor, but eventually I will be upgrading her to power functions, with a single power functions train motor replacing the 9v motor.

I will be taking photos of all of the TSRR LEGO locomotives together, for the first time, sometime later this week.

--Tony

Edited August 15, 2011 by SavaTheAggie

[AussieJimbo]

Another great loco, Tony.

I always appreciate the historical back story you include when presenting your creations too.

Top job mate.

:classic:

[drdavewatford]

Beautiful - a veritable work of art !

Only one question : strange that the Technic beams joining the wheels are grey rather than black; is that to make it more true to life ?

D.

[22kane]

Once again you have created a beautiful loco here. This, with the addition of your past work is just amazing. I can't wait to see them all together. Keep up the great work!

[harnbak]

This is truly amazing. This loc is completely perfect! I am looking forward to see the rest of the collection.

BTW, it is interesting to see that most MOCs are made in non 12v - is there any specific reason?

[L@go]

This is lovely - as are all your designs. I should know as I've got a few of them myself :)

And I'm a huge fan of your custom stickers. They look great.

But what will you do next, now that you've completed your Texas State Railroad project?

BTW, it is interesting to see that most MOCs are made in non 12v - is there any specific reason?

As far as I know, the vast majority of Lego train builders stick to 9v or PF...

[SavaTheAggie]

Another great loco, Tony.

I always appreciate the historical back story you include when presenting your creations too.

Top job mate.

:classic:

Thanks much!

Beautiful - a veritable work of art !

Only one question : strange that the Technic beams joining the wheels are grey rather than black; is that to make it more true to life ?

D.

Thanks much! I make the technic beams light grey instead of black to make them stand out. It's more fun to see them spinning when the train is in motion.

Once again you have created a beautiful loco here. This, with the addition of your past work is just amazing. I can't wait to see them all together. Keep up the great work!

Thanks much! You won't have long to wait.

This is truly amazing. This loc is completely perfect! I am looking forward to see the rest of the collection.

BTW, it is interesting to see that most MOCs are made in non 12v - is there any specific reason?

Thanks much! I don't own any 12v, so I don't build in it.

This is lovely - as are all your designs. I should know as I've got a few of them myself :)

And I'm a huge fan of your custom stickers. They look great.

But what will you do next, now that you've completed your Texas State Railroad project?

Thanks much! I appreciate your business.

Next? Oh, there are plenty more related projects on the drawing board...

--Tony

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Another great work Sava!

I like the way you respect the real proportions of the original blueprints!

You have incredible skills

[lightningtiger]

Totally AWESOME classic engine 'Sava', fantastic detailing.....I feel it's one of your finest creations yet and Brick On !

[Cale]

Beautiful - a veritable work of art !

Only one question : strange that the Technic beams joining the wheels are grey rather than black; is that to make it more true to life ?

D.

Thanks much!

Thanks much! I make the technic beams light grey instead of black to make them stand out. It's more fun to see them spinning when the train is in motion.

--Tony

It was also common practice on North American railroads to leave the side rods on steam locomotives unpainted or bare metal. This made it easier to find cracks or defects when the engines were inspected between runs. The only time when you might see them painted would be for a builder's photo, or when they are sitting in a museum. Passenger engines sometimes had their rods polished to a shine but they we're still bare metal. Of course road grime would make them appear black some times but after a wash they would be back to their normal color.

And that is a fine engine Tony

Cale

Edited August 18, 2011 by Cale

[harnbak]

It should be easy for you to participate in the Wild West Train competition...

[SavaTheAggie]

Another great work Sava!

I like the way you respect the real proportions of the original blueprints!

You have incredible skills

Thanks much. I do try my best to capture the look of the original, and in my opinion the only way to do that with LEGO trains is to go 8 wide. 6 wide trains (and even some 7 wides) just can't do the job. I try to get blueprints whenever possible, though for the TSRR locomotives I've had to stick with only photographs. Fortunately I've been able to take many of the photographs I've used as reference.

Totally AWESOME classic engine 'Sava', fantastic detailing.....I feel it's one of your finest creations yet and Brick On !

Thanks much! After building the 610 with more eye for detail when it comes to hoses, I feel the 400 and especially this, the 201, have benefited. So much so that I am not going back to the 300 and 500 to add more details.

It was also common practice on North American railroads to leave the side rods on steam locomotives unpainted or bare metal. This made it easier to find cracks or defects when the engines were inspected between runs. The only time when you might see them painted would be for a builder's photo, or when they are sitting in a museum. Passenger engines sometimes had their rods polished to a shine but they we're still bare metal. Of course road grime would make them appear black some times but after a wash they would be back to their normal color.

And that is a fine engine Tony

Cale

I didn't know that, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I learn something new everyday.

And thanks!

It should be easy for you to participate in the Wild West Train competition...

I would love to, if I can find the time. Though I'm going to have to ask if my train here qualifies, since I've posted wip photos to Flickr prior to the cutoff date.

--Tony