[MOC] REAL BRICKS - PRR class E44

[RickyWasAYoungBoy]

 

I'm opening a new topic for the completed work of my MOC PRR E44 locomotive

 

Plenty of adjustments from the Stud.io model: 

The trucks are completely redesigned, using technic structure.

The pantographs, windows, handrails and panels are also adjusted.

RC receiver is moved to the short nose.

 

Around 1350 bricks. Powered by 2x PF M-motors.

 

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

Such a unique locomotive!

Very clever design for the windows on the cab. Love all the tiny details that you've added, not over doing - just nice. 

Seeing as it is powered, I think you might have problems pulling rolling stocks across switches as the couplings will swing out with the train body and not with the bogie. I had this problem on my locomotive and had to redesign the bogies. 

 

[SteamSewnEmpire]

The frame is superb. I feel like the trucks need a bit of work (they look too short in terms of length, and leave the locomotive riding a bit low). 

[RickyWasAYoungBoy]

4 hours ago, LEGOTrainBuilderSG said:

Such a unique locomotive!

Very clever design for the windows on the cab. Love all the tiny details that you've added, not over doing - just nice. 

Seeing as it is powered, I think you might have problems pulling rolling stocks across switches as the couplings will swing out with the train body and not with the bogie. I had this problem on my locomotive and had to redesign the bogies. 

 

 

Thank you !!

You mean this one?

To be honest I really didn't consider this problem...I only got straight tracks in my hands...But thanks for the reminder. I'll try figure this out....

 

3 hours ago, SteamSewnEmpire said:

The frame is superb. I feel like the trucks need a bit of work (they look too short in terms of length, and leave the locomotive riding a bit low). 

Low? You mean short in terms of height or length?

I've spent a lot of time on the trucks, got 3 designs and abandoned 2 of them.

Edited July 28, 2020 by RickyWasAYoungBoy

[SteamSewnEmpire]

1 hour ago, RickyWasAYoungBoy said:

 

Thank you !!

You mean this one?

To be honest I really didn't consider this problem...I only got straight tracks in my hands...But thanks for the reminder. I'll try figure this out....

 

Low? You mean short in terms of height or length?

I've spent a lot of time on the trucks, got 3 designs and abandoned 2 of them.

At least in terms of length, yes, they need to be perhaps 1-2 studs longer. You might also consider raising the locomotive one plate higher off the trucks themselves (though I think this is more down to personal taste, so don't worry so much about it).

In this photo, the trucks are well over 1/4th the length of the locomotive. Your trucks are about 1/5th the total length. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by SteamSewnEmpire

[Viscount_Prime]

Awesome model!

Great to see it in real bricks.

[zephyr1934]

great job!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wow you have perfectly captured the lines and the shape of the original ...I'd like to see it in a video while running on the tracks!

[Beck]

Very very nice train! The decals are fantastic! Out of curiosity where do you obtain bricks living in China? I agree that the trucks are slightly too short. After referencing a scale drawing each axle is 0.5 stud too close together. The distances from the central axle should be 4.5 and 5.5 studs respectively. 

13 hours ago, RickyWasAYoungBoy said:

I've spent a lot of time on the trucks, got 3 designs and abandoned 2 of them.

This is very typical with lego trains. Sometimes it takes me ten iterations to perfect a bogie design. If you could take more pictures of the bogie itself, I'd be glad to design one in LDD for you.

 

[RickyWasAYoungBoy]

1 hour ago, Beck said:

Very very nice train! The decals are fantastic! Out of curiosity where do you obtain bricks living in China? I agree that the trucks are slightly too short. After referencing a scale drawing each axle is 0.5 stud too close together. The distances from the central axle should be 4.5 and 5.5 studs respectively. 

This is very typical with lego trains. Sometimes it takes me ten iterations to perfect a bogie design. If you could take more pictures of the bogie itself, I'd be glad to design one in LDD for you.

 

Thank you ! There are a lot of brick sellers on Taobao.com (Alibaba). Not as many types as on Bricklink especially some very old or rare parts. But my Paypal is dead so I can't buy bricks from Bricklink. Also many ChinaLUG members say they payed thousands of RMBs for "lessons" on Bricklink, which made me a little afraid..

 

Here's my bogie structure. ⬇⬇⬇

To run on curved tracks the middle axis of each bogie is not fixed. It should move left and right a little (0.5 studs). The whole bogie should be able to rotate some 24 degrees for curves.

It can be very hard to adjust its wheel distance based on this structure. Maybe try add some details on the middle of its both ends should make it look better.

 

[SteamSewnEmpire]

I think you're going to have to thin the interior framing of the steps in order to accommodate larger trucks (maybe go to one plate snotted on the inside, or possibly eliminate the interior step frame entiry), but, in the end, it will be worth it. As railfans, we tend to spend a lot of time looking at wheels (they are often at eye level when you are standing next to a railway berm), so they are arguably the most important aesthetic element of a locomotive.

You're 98 percent there. Beef up those trucks and it will be perfect.

Edited July 29, 2020 by SteamSewnEmpire

[Coal Fired Bricks]

Here are some numbers:

I hope this ends the truck size dispute so the measurements here can be scaled to test model accuracy.  For 8-wide f=foot  s=scale studs:  f*0.8=s

[Beck]

Here's what I came up with: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Beck/ideasexplained. The final design set apart from the others. I tried to stay as close to your original design as possible.