Eight-wide steam engines and rolling stock of the WXYZ Railroad Wild West MOCs

[Murdoch17]

14 hours ago, Rise Comics said:

Really nice looking wild west steamers and rolling stock you got. Can't wait to see what else you come up with. The lore behind the railroad is also neat.

Thanks @Rise Comics! I'm currently working on revising these three locos to be more in line with my over-all vision for the railroad:

From left to right:

- Number 3, is a 2-8-0 wood-burner bought secondhand from the tiny Wasatch and Nevada Railroad (where it was their number 9) in 1874. The loco, which was originally built in 1870, was repainted into a green, yellow, and red scheme with a Number 3 on the cab, headlight and tender upon purchase by WXYZ Railroad.

- Number 2, is a 4-4-0 wood-burner built sometime in late 1869 for the Union Pacific. Unfortunately for them, the scandal that followed the completion of the transcontinental railroad made them sell it nearly-new to the WXYZ in 1871. Painted mostly blue and yellow and with the number 2 on tender, headlight, and cab.

- Number 1 is a 2-6-0 coal burner, and was bought new for the just-created Wichita Xenia Yazoo & Zephyrus Rail-Road in 1868, it was used to inaugurate service on the line in 1869.  Painted bright red, with green and yellow highlights. It's road number (1) is proudly display on the tender, headlight, and cab.

[Rise Comics]

Those are some neat locomotive builds you got.

At risk of both sounding like a troll and that guy at the same time, I have a suggestion for an almost meme-worthy addition for the WXYZ:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gobernador

No joke, this locomotive has a wild story behind it.

Edit: added a link

Edited August 10, 2021 by Rise Comics

[Murdoch17]

3 hours ago, Rise Comics said:

Those are some neat locomotive builds you got.

At risk of both sounding like a troll and that guy at the same time, I have a suggestion for an almost meme-worthy addition for the WXYZ:

SNIP

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gobernador

No joke, this locomotive has a wild story behind it.

Edit: added a link

Challenge accepted, @Rise Comics.

Now you must do a 4-14-4 in return.  (merely kidding, only I thought you'd like to see it)

Link to Wikipedia on the Russian 4-14-4

Edited August 11, 2021 by Murdoch17

[Rise Comics]

4 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

Challenge accepted, @Rise Comics.

Now you must do a 4-14-4 in return.  (merely kidding, only I thought you'd like to see it)

Link to Wikipedia on the Russian 4-14-4

I mean, I’ve already made El Gobernador, so El Gobernadorsky isn’t really that much of a stretch lol. In any case, Challenge Accepted, eventually.

Edited August 11, 2021 by Rise Comics

[Murdoch17]

So railroad experts say the only 4-10-0 to ever run on US Rails was the 1883-vintage "El Gobernador". (Spanish for the Governor) These same experts it was a major flop, being built as fast as possible and finished before critical parts had been tested properly, if at all, before being scrapped in 1894 at a mere 11 years old.

But what if it HAD been tested better,  or what if it had been bought from Central Pacific, fixed properly, and was able to actually hold steam pressure to do it's job?

Enter the No. 3, a WXY&Z railroad steam engine built from Central Pacific's plans in 1885 and refurbished according to details of the original engine's problems.

The rear of the locomotive. This engine is the heavy hauler of the line, but there is only one of this class of loco, so it is usually reserved for helper service or hauling supply runs to the US military fort's on the line.

(Dark red is blind, tan has a flange)

This engine is basically a stretched version of my Western 2-8-0 (which I'm replacing with this loco), with another driving axle and a four wheel truck in front. The wheel diagram show which six wheels will be blind and which four will be have a flange. I've tried a similar (albeit reversed) setup on my UK 2-10-0, so I know the wheel arrangement works in it's basics, I'm just not sure how the magnetic coupler will like this new arrangement. (My 2-10-0 doesn't like having a magnet, so it's hard-connected to the tender by a lift-arm on that MOC.)

Coming (relatively) soon, and thank you @Rise Comics for the suggestion!

EDIT: First post updated with this loco, and the revised train it pulls!

Edited August 11, 2021 by Murdoch17

[Rise Comics]

Nice rendition of the most nuts train to have ever graced the Wild West

[Murdoch17]

"For a Few Dollars More"

The Good: I've nearly finished my 4-4-0 which now has working pistons and smaller tender.

The Bad: I'm missing just two (2!) 1x4 tiles in blue before I can call this engine and it's freight train complete.

The Ugly: It looks like I'm tacking those two tiles onto a future Bricklink order, as I have none left in my bins. Hopefully said BL order won't cost a A Fistful of Dollars. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Murdoch17

[Murdoch17]

Here goes my head-canon reasoning for having them Loony fellows around my Wild West Railroad: (As if these two needed any introductions!)

- On the left we have train engineer Roadrunner. He and his payroll / mine train are always ahead of schedule, and he is constantly on the lookout to do things to help out other railroad personnel. He is a model loyal employee, never complaining or talking back, is VERY efficient in his duties, and the best part is he works for birdseed!

- On the right is the hobo Wiley Coyote. This "Super Genius" bum is always trying to hop / derail / wreck / obliterate Roadrunner's train. (in which he hasn't succeeded once!) He is possibly formerly employed by ACME Corporation, as he always dynamite or other devious devices of their branding ready at a moment's notice. Wiley being without any money, one wonders whether he stole this TNT from the silver mine the payroll train comes from. (Disgruntled ex-mine worker maybe?)

These two will be on - or around - my Western silver mine train, (loco Number 7, slightly based off set 7597 and shown in WIP form in background) which will be finished in early November of this year.

[Murdoch17]

I finally broke down and bought a Porky Pig figure from my local Lego resale store for use as the conductor on this Western train MOC.

Thus, after much part-finding, hard-work, and dynamite-induced mayhem, the sliver train is just about ready to roll... as soon as the four driving wheels / cowcatcher get ordered! (the two blind ones you see are stand-ins for the actual wheels with flange that I had laying around.)

Here are the parts still needed for Conjunction Junction depot and the steam loco as seen above.

Thoughts?

(sorry for the busy background on the WIP real-world shot)

Edited September 1, 2021 by Murdoch17

[Murdoch17]

(The Looney Tunes train parts that were ordered are assembled into the MOC, minus two missing side-rod parts coming with the loco seen below... so IRL pictures will have to wait a bit for that one!)

The 4-10-0 styled after "El Gobernador" (from the 1880's Central Pacific Railroad) is ordered as of today along with it's corresponding military transport train. (Thanks for the suggestion @Rise Comics on building this loco!)

The parts shown above are what remained to order from Bricklink after finding the rest in my own collection.

Thoughts from anybody? Hopefully the loco fares better than the real world prototype did!

[Murdoch17]

Curse you reddish brown!

Or,

An update on the MOC Wild West military train's IRL progress

Look closely at the unused clip on the Lone Ranger-era cannon on the right. Now, compare it to the one on the left and notice the difference. This happened without provocation, where the broken clip in question (which was holding a cannon plunger since ~2015 with no problem) suddenly decided to dispense of it's load. Not sure where the tip landed, as I can't find it.

Oh, and the train cars in the background are from the 8-wide Wild West 4-10-0 + military train. I've built everything but the steam loco itself, but I can't finish this whole MOC today. I've had to redesign the prisoner car's exploding wall area (twice!) and have realized I'm short a couple parts for the tender that I know I don't have extras of. Frankly, I'm afraid at this point the loco won't work as planned, judging by how this day is going so far!

When this train get's completed, it will join four other trains on the photography table. I'll get the pictures taken at that point, due to this being the last Western train I plan on making. (yeah, I'm not so confident that will argument hold up in the future!)

[Murdoch17]

How I lost my mind building the tipsy steam loco from Hell

(part 2)

Do not adjust your computer screen, for it is not askew. The engine is just drunk and can't stand straight.

In reality, the frame is square and level on this loco, but the boiler is not... a slightly twisted 16-long technic rod (my only one) is to blame, and it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so obvious to me when looking at it. (my OCD isn't going to let that one slide, sadly)

But wait: that's not all! The 4-10-0's side-rods won't move properly, as there is too much give in them, the tender is still missing two green 2 x 2 tiles, plus the exploding rear wall on the prison car doesn't work 100% of the time. (I'm still trying to forget about the broken reddish brown clip from yesterday's post to boot!)

I will have to order about 13 more bricks for this project, but judging how it's going so far I don't have high hopes for a fix anytime soon... this is truly "The project from Hell"!

Edited September 29, 2021 by Murdoch17

[Gordon Werner]

On 8/10/2021 at 3:43 PM, Rise Comics said:

Those are some neat locomotive builds you got.

At risk of both sounding like a troll and that guy at the same time, I have a suggestion for an almost meme-worthy addition for the WXYZ:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Gobernador

No joke, this locomotive has a wild story behind it.

Edit: added a link

hah ... what a beast!

story behind it reminds me of the Fontaine Locomotive ...

was supposed to run faster using that top wheel ... but it did not. Currently building one in Lego (Well still at the finding/ordering parts stage)

https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Fontaine_4-4-0

Edited October 30, 2021 by Gordon Werner

[Rise Comics]

On 9/29/2021 at 12:33 PM, Murdoch17 said:

How I lost my mind building the tipsy steam loco from Hell

(part 2)

Do not adjust your computer screen, for it is not askew. The engine is just drunk and can't stand straight.

In reality, the frame is square and level on this loco, but the boiler is not... a slightly twisted 16-long technic rod (my only one) is to blame, and it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so obvious to me when looking at it. (my OCD isn't going to let that one slide, sadly)

But wait: that's not all! The 4-10-0's side-rods won't move properly, as there is too much give in them, the tender is still missing two green 2 x 2 tiles, plus the exploding rear wall on the prison car doesn't work 100% of the time. (I'm still trying to forget about the broken reddish brown clip from yesterday's post to boot!)

I will have to order about 13 more bricks for this project, but judging how it's going so far I don't have high hopes for a fix anytime soon... this is truly "The project from Hell"!

Just like the real life version, the lego model becomes a train wreck. Best of luck making it work, and making it the first physical lego version of El Gobernador.