AT&SF #2926 - 4-8-4 Steam Locomotive

[Daedalus304]

8 hours ago, Man with a hat said:

Oh. WOW. This I amazing. All those intricate details. Amazing. And that gear design looks unbelievable.

A pity that it is not possible to achieve this keeping it purist LEGO but that doesn't make this design less impressive.

Thank you! It's always my hope that the non-LEGO bits don't detract from the LEGO build. I've seen instances where the non-lego parts, or sheer amount of stickers wrapping a build, really distracted me from what was actually a pretty good build underneath. I'm glad that these extra features don't ruin it for you, it feels like a tricky balance some times!

7 hours ago, ProvenceTristram said:

When it comes to wheels and running gear, the fault is with Lego, not the builder. If we were provided the tools, we could definitely do without third party pieces. But the staggeringly small selection of official wheel and driver parts is almost insulting at this point, so people are doing their own thing. We want to build better models, even if they aren't 100% Lego.

It's true, if LEGO made these parts, I would of course use the real LEGO version. I understand of course why they don't - the impression I've got is that LEGO Trains as a theme nowadays really is just profitable enough to do what they're doing and not much more. So, I understand that they're going to limit the amount of train-specific parts that they produce.

From that perspective, I try to do as much of the build as purist as I can. The shaping, the functionality, I want the soul to be LEGO. For things like rods and drivers, I'm very lucky to see that the people who are custom producing these understand the feel and the soul of LEGO part design, or at least their understanding aligns with mine. These parts feel like they could be LEGO parts, and I don't feel like they're overspecialized. I think that if LEGO were to produce drive rods, they'd look very much like Benn's. If LEGO were to produce XXL drivers, they'd look very much like Shupp's. If LEGO were to produce a train set like this and have printed parts with a Safety Tread design, I think it wouldn't be far from what OKBrickworks has made for me. To me, even though I know I'm breaking real LEGO "purism", I feel like this is still within the spirit of the endeavor - though I'm perfectly aware and fine that many might disagree.

Things like the Brickstuff lights and the smoke generator are perhaps outside of this ethos a bit. But those... well, heck, they're just so cool I don't care.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Daedalus304

[Roadmonkeytj]

1 hour ago, Daedalus304 said:

Thank you! It's always my hope that the non-LEGO bits don't detract from the LEGO build. I've seen instances where the non-lego parts, or sheer amount of stickers wrapping a build, really distracted me from what was actually a pretty good build underneath. I'm glad that these extra features don't ruin it for you, it feels like a tricky balance some times!

It's true, if LEGO made these parts, I would of course use the real LEGO version. I understand of course why they don't - the impression I've got is that LEGO Trains as a theme nowadays really is just profitable enough to do what they're doing and not much more. So, I understand that they're going to limit the amount of train-specific parts that they produce.

From that perspective, I try to do as much of the build as purist as I can. The shaping, the functionality, I want the soul to be LEGO. For things like rods and drivers, I'm very lucky to see that the people who are custom producing these understand the feel and the soul of LEGO part design, or at least their understanding aligns with mine. These parts feel like they could be LEGO parts, and I don't feel like they're overspecialized. I think that if LEGO were to produce drive rods, they'd look very much like Benn's. If LEGO were to produce XXL drivers, they'd look very much like Shupp's. If LEGO were to produce a train set like this and have printed parts with a Safety Tread design, I think it wouldn't be far from what OKBrickworks has made for me. To me, even though I know I'm breaking real LEGO "purism", I feel like this is still within the spirit of the endeavor - though I'm perfectly aware and fine that many might disagree.

Things like the Brickstuff lights and the smoke generator are perhaps outside of this ethos a bit. But those... well, heck, they're just so cool I don't care.

I would disagree here.  Not on all the detail custom parts.   Sure you could over simplify the rods with technic, and it would have looked OK without the treads.  But the wheels are a must (for this model).  Also this wouldn't have been a show stopper without all the eye grabbers.

As far as the lights...  Lego lit trains in stock sets.   Lego has lit buildings in stock sets.   True the aftermarket lighting picks up where Lego left off but again it maintains the system connectivity of Lego.   

I think the only thing "non legoesk" is the smoke generator.   Saying that...  I intend to do the same on one of my trains...  Why because it's a show piece and smoke/sound grabs crowds attention.   I look at it this way...  Lego could have done it.   They didn't because after all they were built as toys.  As a Lego hobbiest I feel OK with it as like you said "it maintains the spirit of lego"

[zephyr1934]

Wow!... Wow! Wow! Wow! An incredible build... you pretty much went over the top in all possible directions. Detail upon detail (and lots of creative part usage). A true thing of beauty. The running test stand is brilliant! So have you also included a sound unit? V1 was an exceptional build, but V3 has blown it out of the water. Definitely one of the best locos I've seen in a long time

How were the Boxpok drivers, did you have to carve out the axle hole or did they slip on just fine? I've been wanting to get some of these to retrofit some of my engines... oh, wait, I see you answered that here.

What about the builder's plates, are those just blank circles? If so, remind me next time you place an order. I never got around to listing these in my store, but I could toss them in at no cost (as long as I still have some in hand, I can do this for anyone else, too)

 

 

[JasonL]

On 11/2/2018 at 2:05 AM, Daedalus304 said:

Okay, I've finally found the time to put this together:

*snip*

This isn't exactly how it was done, but it's a decent enough approximation. The upper half directly on the frame with the motor has been how I've had the motors situated for several years now and it's never had a problem, so it's sturdy and reliable. 2926 has this set up for both trucks, so even though my tender is enormous it is quite full.

When it came time for Version 3, I felt like I still had more raw torque than I was using. In fact, thanks to the LEGO coupling magnets being a little weak, it was more torque than I could make use of. The 2900s were very quick engines, so I played around with trading some of the wasted strength for speed. This has worked pretty dang well so far.

One other thing to note is that the train wheels on the geared axles have aftermarket O-rings on them replacing the stock LEGO traction tires. These are necessary for this as they provide enough clearance for the bottom plates on the chassis, and the unpowered center wheels are lifted enough out of the rail that they won't bind in turns. 

Oops, didn't see this! Thanks for showing how you did it! I've got a lot of tinkering with my tenders ahead of me now. :)
...Tinkering with my tenders doesn't sound quite right, does it? 

[Daedalus304]

13 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

Wow!... Wow! Wow! Wow! An incredible build... you pretty much went over the top in all possible directions. Detail upon detail (and lots of creative part usage). A true thing of beauty. The running test stand is brilliant! So have you also included a sound unit? V1 was an exceptional build, but V3 has blown it out of the water. Definitely one of the best locos I've seen in a long time

How were the Boxpok drivers, did you have to carve out the axle hole or did they slip on just fine? I've been wanting to get some of these to retrofit some of my engines... oh, wait, I see you answered that here.

What about the builder's plates, are those just blank circles? If so, remind me next time you place an order. I never got around to listing these in my store, but I could toss them in at no cost (as long as I still have some in hand, I can do this for anyone else, too)

 

 

Thank you! The powered stand came about because I don't have much ability to set up my track outside of shows any more, and my most of the displays my LUG does don't have room for a big loop of track. I really like the way the motion turned out and wanted to be able to see it in action more often than once or twice a year, so, I built the powered stand! The other thing I like about it is that for shows out here in ABQ, my #2926 model has always sort of the attention-getter among the LEGO locos since they're restoring it. Having a self-powered display stand is great for that since I can have #2926 "running" on the stand even if it needs to be recharged or if we want to run some other locos on the main lines.

I do not have a sound unit yet - that's something that is planned for a later update when I get enough spare money. The hope is to upgrade the loco later with a PFx Bluetooth unit so I can try out the PFx speaker. The other big thing keeping me back from that is that I'm not sure where to get the right sound files for #2926. I do also want to look into getting a fan-driven smoke unit at some point to get the smoke chuffs synced up to the wheels - I don't know how expensive or complicated any of that will be, but I've got a few other projects I'd like to take care of first before I delve into the "V3.5" upgrade. It would seem that, like real locomotives, there's always changes to be rolled out from the factory. :D

Yeah, I'm not sure if all the Boxpoks will be like that though. A friend bought a set of them very early this year/late last year and they were so loose they don't want to stay on the axle, but every set we've bought the since I got these the axles have been too tight. Either way there's solutions, of course, but I'm not sure the variances in printing will always be the same.

And finally, no, the builder's plates are not blank, they actually have text perfectly matching the real builder's plate. The problem is that for some reason the background of the builders plate stickers were printed gray and not black, so it's hard to see the detail and even moreso in the sunlight. I will probably look into getting these re-printed soon, but I've got a show next weekend and want to wait until after that.

Speaking of the show... I'll be getting some good video of it hauling my new passenger car consist. 11 feet of LEGO train. :D I'll definitely post those videos here, so keep an eye out.

3 hours ago, JasonL said:

Oops, didn't see this! Thanks for showing how you did it! I've got a lot of tinkering with my tenders ahead of me now. :)
...Tinkering with my tenders doesn't sound quite right, does it? 

Best of luck! :D I hope it helps.

[Daedalus304]

Sorry for the double post, but this seemed like a good reason - This last weekend, I got some video of #2926 running at the Rails Along the Rio Grande 2018 train show, pulling my 5 new Streamlined Pullman passenger cars.

 

And here's another video with the Smoke Unit running:

Hopefully soon I will get around to getting some good pictures of my passenger cars.

 

[Roadmonkeytj]

@Daedalus304

She's even more amazing in motion!  How often did you refill the smoke? 

[Pdaitabird]

I don't know which is more beautiful, the engine or the passenger cars! Keep up the good work!

[zephyr1934]

21 hours ago, Daedalus304 said:

Sorry for the double post, but this seemed like a good reason - This last weekend, I got some video of #2926 running at the Rails Along the Rio Grande 2018 train show, pulling my 5 new Streamlined Pullman passenger cars.

...

Hopefully soon I will get around to getting some good pictures of my passenger cars.

 

The engine could easily be mistaken for a high end O scale locomotive, can't wait to see more details on the cars, they look great in the videos

[Craig Strader]

How did you do the Lead bogie on the locomotive to where not only is it functional, but it can tolerate r40 curves?

[Daedalus304]

22 hours ago, Craig Strader said:

How did you do the Lead bogie on the locomotive to where not only is it functional, but it can tolerate r40 curves?

Firstly, I must emphasize your very correct choice of wording, so cue the bolding and italics: It tolerates r40, it by no means does well in them. As built in these pictures, the locomotive's XXL drivers were in F-B-F-B configuration, with the drivers pivoting underneath the boiler. The engine was very soon rebuilt (Again!) to have the drivers rigid to the boiler and directly powered, and with this came a change to the current F-B-B-F configuration. Somehow, still, the pilot articulates enough to fit through r40, with a very small tweak to the length of part of the pivot arm. In both iterations, r40 must be taken very slowly, with much creaking and groaning - I do not run the current variant on r40, if it can be avoided. Nowadays, perhaps I would be better to describe it as "it survives" r40?

In either version, the pilot truck is split into a couple different areas of articulation, very much so inspired by the pilot of Jayhurst's original Big Boy. The pilot axle closest to the the drivers has a double-arm pivot like Jayhurst's model, with a more traditional single-arm link connecting the front axle. The back sides of the pistons have been built to be as thin as possible to provide as much lateral motion as I could squeeze out of it.
 

 

 

[Craig Strader]

On 10/5/2021 at 8:38 PM, Daedalus304 said:

Firstly, I must emphasize your very correct choice of wording, so cue the bolding and italics: It tolerates r40, it by no means does well in them. As built in these pictures, the locomotive's XXL drivers were in F-B-F-B configuration, with the drivers pivoting underneath the boiler. The engine was very soon rebuilt (Again!) to have the drivers rigid to the boiler and directly powered, and with this came a change to the current F-B-B-F configuration. Somehow, still, the pilot articulates enough to fit through r40, with a very small tweak to the length of part of the pivot arm. In both iterations, r40 must be taken very slowly, with much creaking and groaning - I do not run the current variant on r40, if it can be avoided. Nowadays, perhaps I would be better to describe it as "it survives" r40?

In either version, the pilot truck is split into a couple different areas of articulation, very much so inspired by the pilot of Jayhurst's original Big Boy. The pilot axle closest to the the drivers has a double-arm pivot like Jayhurst's model, with a more traditional single-arm link connecting the front axle. The back sides of the pistons have been built to be as thin as possible to provide as much lateral motion as I could squeeze out of it.
 

 

 

Thanks for the tips. Sorry I did not respond a while back. Anyway, I have been meaning to ask you something. If they were available, would you use Baldwin disk drivers to make your engine more prototypical? I know the actual engine in Albuquerque, NM was made in 1944 with Baldwin disk drivers and I was wondering if they were available would you use them?

[Darkkostas25]

Awesome! Just awesome! 

[Ts__]

Oh, I completely overlooked this "monster" until now ;-)

wow, what a giant. And the difficulty with R40 I understand. And even more so that R40 ability is no longer important for all mocs.

Thomas