My 'first' MOC development

[someguy]

THE M1 SHARKNOSE

Design procedure and notes

Last year I competed a Lego big boy steam locomotive from instructions I found online plus a few modifications I wanted.

Now I want to build another engine, but not flat out copy someone elses design or even recreate a real train in Lego.

I prefer steam engines mostly so that is what I decided to build. There are different things I like about different engines so I decided to list them and try to incorporate them into a single design.

Design details to include:

- articulated engine design

- large cylinders

- 2 axle leading and trailing trucks

- shark nose from the shark nose diesel locomotive

- sloped boiler from the PRR K4

- streamlined look

- large 4 seat cab supported by trailing truck

- the PRR T1 4-4 driving wheels arangement

- that box on a tender someone can sit in when the engine is moving in reverse

- large tender

- special/rare/unique tender axle/wheel arrangement

- possible sloped end of tender

- larger than most engines, but smaller than the big boy engine

- Big Bens Bricks extra large driving wheels

- custom drive rods

- Powerful, yet fast

- all BBB driving wheels connected to motors

- 4 large motors in boiler

- V2 IR reciever in tender

- 2 battery boxes in tender

- not black because I want a brighter colorfull engine like the Mallard and other British engines (blue, green, orange, etc) but not a rainbow of colors either

Now I know I said not copy other peoples designs, but there is an axle design that Nebraska uses and I think it is the best axle design ever created, so I am going to try and re-create that axle design.

- Nebraskas awesome axle design

Additionally I decided not to paint any real railroads name on the tender or name the engine after a real engine. The name also includes some of my favorite ways railroads named there locomotives.

PRR (my favorite Railroad) typically used a letter and number to name a type of engine eg K4, T1 etc. This is simple and easy to say imo. My nick name is 'Moe' thus the "M," "1" for my first MOC design, and sharknose after the sharknose diesel. The M1 Sharknose! I also plan on (hopefully eventually) putting "Moe's Railroad" on the tender. My lucky number is 80, so this will be engine number 80.

United States flags will be on either side towards the front 'waving' similar to Nickel Plate Roads flags.

Still not yet sure what symbol with 80 will be on the front. (PRR's was the keystone symbol with engine number in the center.)

So after this insane list of things I want to include I started working on a design in LDD. The first thing I wanted to do was get a good wheel arrangement down with the correct heights for the boiler to clear flanges. I designed an entire wheel set and realised it was too small. The engine would have been DWARFED by the big boy. I began work on a MK2 version, except I remembered to use BBB XL drivers (represented by backwards lego flanged drivers).

The sets of driving wheels both rotate in the center to provide better turning and less overhang.

I imported my big boy engine into my new train file so I could reference it for height, length, and width while building. I want my engine to be shorter, the same height, and 1 stud wider than the big boys boiler. Medium motors are place holders for the large motors I will install. The two drive wheel boggies are identical except for where the front and trailing boggies attach. The tender will be about the same size as the big boys tender. The tenders wheel arrangement features 2 seperate boggies with 2 sets of trucks.

The wheels under the BBs tender work well except 5 axles are connected and 2 axles are connected making one set of axles cause a large amount of overhang on turns. I simply added a 8th axle and seperated the trucks in the center for better turning. This also meets my goal of having a unique wheel arrangement under the tender! I may change those black and grey turn tables to bogie plates so the boggies dont easily fall off when I pick it up. The 1x6 flat tiles will help the tender slide over the axles. Bumpers are placed on the engine and tender due to the coupler. The coupler is designed to rotate in 3 different places for tight turns when the trailing bogie needs more freedom to follow the driving wheels. Battery boxes will be wired for longer supply, not over supply of electricity. Last, the tender will feature a 'real' coal load (bunch of spare/random black and grey 1x1x1 parts); will hide a handle to lift out the coal to show the battery boxes and IR sensor.

I would like to use the axle design (Nebraskas) from the trailing truck on the tender axles, but am not sure how to make it look good.

Chains will be connected from the trailing bogie to the tender.

Possible coal auger (universal joint?)

I am currently trying to figure out how to get a good look for the front. The boiler would stick out and be so far above the leading truck I just don't know what to put there right now. I might just design from the cab forward and see what I have once I get to the front.

Suggestions welcome. If you see anything blatantly wrong, please let me know, thanks!

Edited September 4, 2015 by someguy

[THERIZE]

it looks good! although I don't see a way to to make a sharpness boiler. I've seen sharpness diesels but a round boiler? succes with the challenge! the big boy?

how did you import the big boy? I don't a way to import existing projects into another project.

[someguy]

it looks good! although I don't see a way to to make a sharpness boiler. I've seen sharpness diesels but a round boiler? succes with the challenge! the big boy?

how did you import the big boy? I don't a way to import existing projects into another project.

Thanks! The sharknose is definitely going to be tricky. I don't plan on making it too drastic because the front coupler has to stick out further than the nose will.

To import a model just go to file drop down menu at the top left and then go down to "import model." "Control+i" works as well.

[someguy]

After thinking about wheels slip for a while I realized the Big Ben Drivers I plan on using have no notch for an o-ring to give the engine traction.

Does anyone know if BBB drivers can still hold an o-ring? I am not sure now if I should power this engine from the boiler anymore. Starting to think I should put 2 XL motors in the tender.

Edited September 7, 2015 by someguy

[Daedalus304]

Big Ben drivers do not have any grooves to hold O-Rings and they slide off rather easily.

There have been many people who lathe a groove into the drivers themselves, and that works out rather well for them.

If that isn`t to your fancy, there is a special product called Bullfrog Snot that lets you create basically a rubber tire on the driver. I've used it on two engines to great effect.

[someguy]

Big Ben drivers do not have any grooves to hold O-Rings and they slide off rather easily.

There have been many people who lathe a groove into the drivers themselves, and that works out rather well for them.

If that isn`t to your fancy, there is a special product called Bullfrog Snot that lets you create basically a rubber tire on the driver. I've used it on two engines to great effect.

Looked up this Bullfrog Snot stuff and it looks amazing! This will actually take some of my engines off the shelf! So many more options with this stuff! Thank you!!

[Daedalus304]

Looked up this Bullfrog Snot stuff and it looks amazing! This will actually take some of my engines off the shelf! So many more options with this stuff! Thank you!!

I have had great results with it! It is really tricky to apply properly, but it's also super easy to remove it if you mess up. I would suggest you set it up on the wheels before you put them on the engine. Also, you will want to only apply it to a single axle, otherwise your loco will have too much grip and hop off in turns. Find the flanged axle that seems to do most of the work and put the snot on that one. If you really just have to put on more, you can put some more on a single wheel of a second flanged axle - but only one. You should have absolutely no more than 3 wheels with Bullfrog Snot on them, but two should be enough.

[someguy]

Update for MOC.

Took a break for a while and now I am working on the cab and firebox. I am trying to give the windows and roof a wooden look. Still need to add an ashpan handle below the firebox and put in all the levers and gauges. Four minifigs easily sit in the cab. Plan on putting more handrails on so I can have 2 more hang out of the back doors waving.

I should probably make the roof a darker brown than the window frames to make the roof look like it has soot from smoke on it.

Also I think the firebox is too far forward.

Edited September 20, 2015 by someguy

[THERIZE]

What is the problem of the firebox? It could just be something like the UP Big Boy with the giant firebox.

[Redimus]

How many drivers?!? lol

[someguy]

How many drivers?!? lol

Just 8 drivers. You probably saw the big boy in the background. I imported the big boy as a reference to make sure my next engine is the right scale. I'm trying to make this next engine look like it could produce (if it were ever real) a large amount of steam very easily and go super fast, so it needs to look some what stream lined and "fit."

[UrbanErwin]

It looks great, but what is the motivation behind the weird texture on the roof? If you just place 1X4 tiles and bows you can change it to dark brown to get the colour difference with the windows.

[someguy]

It looks great, but what is the motivation behind the weird texture on the roof? If you just place 1X4 tiles and bows you can change it to dark brown to get the colour difference with the windows.

I am going for a 'wooden' look. Could be cleaned up a bit and have less tiles there I suppose. Will give it a try!

[Meisterschnorrer]

Wow...this is really great...

I don´t know what to say about this...

[someguy]

Wow...this is really great...

I don´t know what to say about this...

Thank you! I will post some pictures tomorrow of the tender. Finally have the look I want for the bogies under it.