WW Category 1: No. 317 Great West Express

[Jordan S.]

Presenting the "Great West Express", led by the venerable No. 317 2-8-0 "Consolidation"-type steam locomotive:

This train got its start when stores in my area began to put the LEGO Toy Story train on sale. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to build a proper version of that train, with greater size and detail than the original.

I modeled the locomotive loosely on those used by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad's narrow-gauge lines. The engine is driven by a powered tender which contains a Power Functions battery box, receiver, and motor.

For the passenger coach, I kept the spirit of the Toy Story coach but modified the roofline and car ends.

I also wanted to have a dining car with panoramic windows. I tried to include some log bricks on each car to give each one a classic wooden look. I also used a lot of earth tones which seemed to capture the feeling of the Old West.

For the caboose, I wanted to capture the look of a classic caboose design popular with the Santa Fe railroad. The windows on the cupola of the caboose slope inward.

You can view the full gallery on Brickshelf, pending moderation.

-Jordan Schwarz

[BrunoSilva13]

Great work, I've loved the tender and the caboose, but the headtop of caboose can be more detailed and have better look. The passenger wagons, really I don't like the brown modified bricks to wagons, I like their style but not the parts you have used, but still's a great work.