[MOC] Logging Lilly Fork

[Roadmonkeytj]

 

So there was a Logging company in WV that logged a place called Lilly Fork - They ran Shays, Amarican Log Loaders and a Bobber Work Car.  I was impressed with the consist and decided to build my own.  The Shay has been shared on here before ( Stephen Pakbaz as seen here  was the original designer but Murdock shared the lxf I used) so it is a Mod of a Moc but the rest is my own work with techniques borrowed from one place or the other,  

The log loader hides (not very well) the battery

The flat cars all had rails for the log loader to run on - they would set a short set of rails for the loader to cross from car to car

The crew would ride in the caboose where there was a stove to warm

  Comments and Criticisms are welcomed

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by Roadmonkeytj

[Laura Beinbrech]

Very nice logging train, Roadmonkey!  It was, indeed, Murdoch who came up with the design for a Shay locomotive with working drivetrain & steam pistons (I remember seeing it a while back & being really impressed that he pulled that off).

 

[Unfinished_Projects]

Great build! I like the design of the caboose windows!

Unfinished_Projects

[supertruper1988]

Lovely little setup! 

[Daedalus304]

3 hours ago, Laura Takayama said:

Very nice logging train, Roadmonkey!  It was, indeed, Murdoch who came up with the design for a Shay locomotive with working drivetrain & steam pistons (I remember seeing it a while back & being really impressed that he pulled that off).

 

The design was not Murdoch's, it was by Stephen Pakbaz as seen here  Murdoch is indeed a very prolific modder of other people's work but very often people miss that the majority of the base model is often someone else's. It's an understandable mistake since usually the original author posts their work only once in a few places while the mods are reposted every few months in every LEGO group known to man. 

No offense to Murdoch, of course, since he does usually attribute the work to the original designer and is modding things to his liking, but I honestly recommend always going and seeing the original work since it tends to be more detailed and giving the original builder some of the attention seems only fair.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very cute train ...I like the caboose and the crane!

[Roadmonkeytj]

5 hours ago, Daedalus304 said:

The design was not Murdoch's, it was by Stephen Pakbaz as seen here  Murdoch is indeed a very prolific modder of other people's work but very often people miss that the majority of the base model is often someone else's. It's an understandable mistake since usually the original author posts their work only once in a few places while the mods are reposted every few months in every LEGO group known to man. 

No offense to Murdoch, of course, since he does usually attribute the work to the original designer and is modding things to his liking, but I honestly recommend always going and seeing the original work since it tends to be more detailed and giving the original builder some of the attention seems only fair.

Yes thank you I edited the post...  I actually  had seen his first and couldn't remember who lol. .    Honestly Murdock did not change much at all in his lxf.  I mostly stylized it as the running gear remained unchanged mostly. 

I also used his side wall construction because I liked how it afforded wood paneled interior in the caboose however it got major rework from what he had. 

9 hours ago, Laura Takayama said:

Very nice logging train, Roadmonkey!  It was, indeed, Murdoch who came up with the design for a Shay locomotive with working drivetrain & steam pistons (I remember seeing it a while back & being really impressed that he pulled that off).

 

He wasn't the original but he made the file available.  My issue was in its form it's a north western with large hard wood.   Apalachicola never saw such large trees so I had to devise a new method to hide the battery. 

6 hours ago, Unfinished_Projects said:

Great build! I like the design of the caboose windows!

Unfinished_Projects

 

1 hour ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Very cute train ...I like the caboose and the crane!

 

6 hours ago, supertruper1988 said:

Lovely little setup! 

Thanks guys! 

[Daedalus304]

28 minutes ago, Roadmonkeytj said:

Yes thank you I edited the post...  I actually  had seen his first and couldn't remember who lol. .    Honestly Murdock did not change much at all in his lxf.  I mostly stylized it as the running gear remained unchanged mostly. 

I also used his side wall construction because I liked how it afforded wood paneled interior in the caboose however it got major rework from what he had.

I would like to apologize real quick - I realize now that I completely neglected to comment on your work beyond trying to help correct the attribution. I tend to feel very strongly about situations where an artists work is mis-attributed to someone else, especially in situations where the modifier's re-distributions out-number and drown out the original work. I was not trying to blame you for this having happened! I apologize that it came across as though I was blaming you for that, and for the fact that in my tangent I did not actually comment on the focus of this thread (Your work!!) and now I realize I've been rude. So please forgive me for that.

That out of the way, I'm actually really fascinated by your string of log cars and your crane. I've never before heard of having rails along the car for the crane to traverse to load them up - those logging railroads are were ingenious! But the way you've presented the detail for these rails in the cars is really cool, and the crane very well fits the part and looks like it could indeed roll across. Plus, the crane is a really good place to hide the battery box. Without the wires rendered, I would have hardly noticed it unless you'd said something.

 

 

[Roadmonkeytj]

1 hour ago, Daedalus304 said:

I would like to apologize real quick - I realize now that I completely neglected to comment on your work beyond trying to help correct the attribution. I tend to feel very strongly about situations where an artists work is mis-attributed to someone else, especially in situations where the modifier's re-distributions out-number and drown out the original work. I was not trying to blame you for this having happened! I apologize that it came across as though I was blaming you for that, and for the fact that in my tangent I did not actually comment on the focus of this thread (Your work!!) and now I realize I've been rude. So please forgive me for that.

That out of the way, I'm actually really fascinated by your string of log cars and your crane. I've never before heard of having rails along the car for the crane to traverse to load them up - those logging railroads are were ingenious! But the way you've presented the detail for these rails in the cars is really cool, and the crane very well fits the part and looks like it could indeed roll across. Plus, the crane is a really good place to hide the battery box. Without the wires rendered, I would have hardly noticed it unless you'd said something.

 

 

No worries I'm actually glad you did because for the life of me I could not remember the original designer. I had been trying to reverse engineer his design and in the process came across the file of it Murdock shared...  Which saved me a lot of work honestly.  Plus I loved seeing the working valves (something I wanted as all I had seen was static running gear).  

 

I've always loved the way the logging was done in WV, VA, TN, KY  they mostly used mules to pull the logs to the tracks 

Some interesting reading

[supertruper1988]

1 hour ago, Roadmonkeytj said:

I've always loved the way the logging was done in WV, VA, TN, KY  they mostly used mules to pull the logs to the tracks 

Some interesting reading

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing such cool history!

After re-reading, this wonderful loader contraption is STILL OPERATIONAL. You cant believe my excitement that something so "old" still operates! Sure not a working capacity but this thing is such a weird amount of awesome!

Edited February 14, 2019 by supertruper1988

[Pdaitabird]

That's a nice looking train! I especially like the detailing on the flatbed cars. Are the frames SNOT or tiled over?

Logging trains are a fascinating subject, as companies cut so many corners and often used outrageously cheap equipment. I've even seen photographs of an engine with special grooved wheels - it was designed to roll on crude "rails" made of rough-hewn poles! 

[zephyr1934]

That is a very nice looking loco and consist, great work!

 

15 hours ago, Daedalus304 said:

it was by Stephen Pakbaz as seen here 

That looks like an updated version of the Shay from 2003 that SteveB discussed in RailBricks #3,

 

 

[Laura Beinbrech]

I wanted to add that I also really like your flatcars, Roadmonkey:  The East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Co. has several flatcars with removable poles much like those ones, but in 3' gauge that were mostly used for hauling the occasional load of timber down from the mountain along with their usual coal runs from the Broad Top mountain coal mines in Robertsdale & Alvan.  Most of the flatcars have since been converted into open or semi-open passenger cars, but they still have a few in their original state & you can see the loops where the poles were inserted when the flatcar was used for hauling timber.

[Daedalus304]

11 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

That looks like an updated version of the Shay from 2003 that SteveB discussed in RailBricks #3,

Oh, very cool! That could well have been an inspiration for Stephen Pakbaz's model, I don't know! But the "Pakbaz Shay" is a very important and unique evolution of LEGO Shays because he has a pivot point connecting the trucks directly to the locomotive frame, whereas in the one you shared the universal joints appear to be the only connection. While on they surface there are a lot of similarities, I'd argue that these similarities are a necessary by-product of dealing with LEGO, and the fact that the "Pakbaz Shay"'s locomotive frame is fundamentally different (Motorized, a proper frame-to-frame pivot instead of relying on the drive train, lower profile), I'd say that the "Pakbaz Shay" is a very unique model that absolutely re-defines and sets the standard for LEGO Shay locomotives going forward.

There's, of course, no problem with anybody copying or modifying or building a version of their own - I just feel that, with a design this revolutionary, it's very important to make sure the credit is given to the proper builder for their contribution.

[Roadmonkeytj]

On 2/13/2019 at 9:46 PM, supertruper1988 said:

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing such cool history!

After re-reading, this wonderful loader contraption is STILL OPERATIONAL. You cant believe my excitement that something so "old" still operates! Sure not a working capacity but this thing is such a weird amount of awesome!

The Cass scenic railroad is a neat place!  Steam cranes have always fascinated me.   Oddly enough it seems more of the American loggers have survived than the barnharts.

 

On 2/13/2019 at 9:54 PM, Pdaitabird said:

That's a nice looking train! I especially like the detailing on the flatbed cars. Are the frames SNOT or tiled over?

Logging trains are a fascinating subject, as companies cut so many corners and often used outrageously cheap equipment. I've even seen photographs of an engine with special grooved wheels - it was designed to roll on crude "rails" made of rough-hewn poles! 

Thanks ...  Snot frame tiled on the side the main structure is sandwiched to hold it all together.  Loggers were a very creative bunch anything to get the job done. 

23 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

That is a very nice looking loco and consist, great work!

That looks like an updated version of the Shay from 2003 that SteveB discussed in RailBricks #3,

Thank you... It never ceases to amaze me how "small" our Lego world really is and how much we all inspire each other

19 hours ago, Laura Takayama said:

I wanted to add that I also really like your flatcars, Roadmonkey:  The East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Co. has several flatcars with removable poles much like those ones, but in 3' gauge that were mostly used for hauling the occasional load of timber down from the mountain along with their usual coal runs from the Broad Top mountain coal mines in Robertsdale & Alvan.  Most of the flatcars have since been converted into open or semi-open passenger cars, but they still have a few in their original state & you can see the loops where the poles were inserted when the flatcar was used for hauling timber.

Thank you Im glad the details didn't go unnoticed!

11 hours ago, Daedalus304 said:

Oh, very cool! That could well have been an inspiration for Stephen Pakbaz's model, I don't know! But the "Pakbaz Shay" is a very important and unique evolution of LEGO Shays because he has a pivot point connecting the trucks directly to the locomotive frame, whereas in the one you shared the universal joints appear to be the only connection. While on they surface there are a lot of similarities, I'd argue that these similarities are a necessary by-product of dealing with LEGO, and the fact that the "Pakbaz Shay"'s locomotive frame is fundamentally different (Motorized, a proper frame-to-frame pivot instead of relying on the drive train, lower profile), I'd say that the "Pakbaz Shay" is a very unique model that absolutely re-defines and sets the standard for LEGO Shay locomotives going forward.

There's, of course, no problem with anybody copying or modifying or building a version of their own - I just feel that, with a design this revolutionary, it's very important to make sure the credit is given to the proper builder for their contribution.

Those reasons mentioned are all what drew me to his model.    I have a thing about trains having to move under their own power.

[sed6]

Fantastic train! I can't wait to get my log cars built now!

[bogieman]

Really like what you did here Roadmonkey. When do you plan to build it?

[Roadmonkeytj]

2 hours ago, bogieman said:

Really like what you did here Roadmonkey. When do you plan to build it?

I'm wanting to have it built this year...  But I have five trains and a yard to build this year so.... 

On 2/16/2019 at 2:11 AM, sed6 said:

Fantastic train! I can't wait to get my log cars built now!

Thanks I'm excited to see yours! 

[Man with a hat]

Nice. Hopefully we can see it build, if not this year then maybe next?

It is great mod, but the first thing I was attracted to was that crane. That is really nice and classic crane there!

 

[Roadmonkeytj]

13 hours ago, Man with a hat said:

Nice. Hopefully we can see it build, if not this year then maybe next?

It is great mod, but the first thing I was attracted to was that crane. That is really nice and classic crane there!

 

I originally got the inspiration from Cale he had a Barnhart loader with claw attachment,  if I remember correctly on the layout in BrickWorld Chicago (moving scrap)    Immediately it reminded me of the log loaders so after the better part of a year I got the idea down in brick...  Well digital brick lol. 

[ecmo47]

A bit of history. Stephan's shay won Best locomotive in Railbricks last contest back in 2014. That was pretty much the last event of that fine organization. I won a Railbricks t-shirt for second place on my water tower in the structures category. Stephan made the plans available and I built a logging train as soon as I could. Both builds are seen here in my first ever public event. Hard to believe that was 5 years ago.  

 

[Roadmonkeytj]

6 hours ago, ecmo47 said:

A bit of history. Stephan's shay won Best locomotive in Railbricks last contest back in 2014. That was pretty much the last event of that fine organization. I won a Railbricks t-shirt for second place on my water tower in the structures category. Stephan made the plans available and I built a logging train as soon as I could. Both builds are seen here in my first ever public event. Hard to believe that was 5 years ago.  

 

Thanks for sharing!  It's amazing how we all inspire each other...  I love your emerald consist any pics of it? 

[ecmo47]

Roadmonkey: Sent you a PM so as not to get your thread off topic.

 

Edited February 21, 2019 by ecmo47

[Laura Beinbrech]

I just found out something interesting that is related to this topic recently:  Remember how I mentioned that the East Broad Top RR had 3' gauge flatcars for hauling timber that were very similar to those designed by RoadmonkeyJ?  Well, a recent topic that came up on the semi-official EBT Facebook page mentions that the some of the local timber companies ran Shays on one of the branch lines, even as far as the main EBT yard at Rockhill Furnace (some people even posted pics of said shays in the topic), so it might be an interesting challenge to try building a McKelvey Bros. Logging Co shay for the LEGO narrow-gauge track.

[Roadmonkeytj]

14 hours ago, Laura Takayama said:

 it might be an interesting challenge to try building a McKelvey Bros. Logging Co shay for the LEGO narrow-gauge track.

Did they run two truck or three truck shays?  There was a "light shay" as well

Honestly I'm confident this design could be reworked to a narrower gauge...  Might have to get creative on the connection point though.