Custom Rod - No, not what you think

[Hod Carrier]

When you say "custom rods" among AFOL train builders it generally refers to some unofficial means of tying the drivers together on a steam loco, but I've taken the idea and run in a slightly different direction. I thought that we could all benefit from a bit of a laugh as it been feeling like things have been a bit tense here recently. I'm calling it the Joke-omotive.

The idea simply was to try and hot-rod a loco, so I came up with this freelance design based on a road-switcher layout. I've cut and slammed the loco about as far as I reasonably can while still allowing enough space for bogies and motors. The original intention was to create a "rat rod" but the parts were not really available in the right colours to go the whole way with that, so I went instead for this dark red and black scheme. The render has a train motor but clearly there's nowhere for any power or control, so I'm guessing that I'll need a car to provide this function. Or maybe I'll do away with the motors altogether and use a powered car instead.

As I think you can tell, I haven't decided exactly what design to go for so I'm presenting some options for feedback. Firstly the enormous Batmobile-alike fins are not really the sort of thing that you see in the hot-rod scene, but the rear of the loco seemed a bit barren without something there. The other option is the front end. I'm calling the design on the left the "Catfish" and the design on the right the "Bullnose", and I like each equally for different reasons. I suppose I could build both and have them as interchangeable parts, but I'd like to know which design others prefer. Please help me decide which version to build. "Catfish" or "Bullnose"? Fins or no fins?

[SteamSewnEmpire]

It's lacking a certain minifigure.

[High_Admiral]

The Left design really sells the hot rod look, mabye add some flames shooting out of fake/real(but rerouted to be more hod rod like) exhaust. 

[Hod Carrier]

@SteamSewnEmpire Ha ha!! 

Yes, the design on the left is a wee bit 1989 Batmobile. It's not really the look I was going for, though. As I mentioned above, huge fins like this tend not to be part of hot-rod style because hot-rodders tend to want to smooth off all details and keep things nice and flush to the bodywork.

@High_Admiral I know that it's not uncommon for diesel locos to have exhaust fires on start-up due to oil collecting in the exhaust and getting blown through. My initial thought was to have a huge plume of black smoke, but maybe flames would be just right. 

 

[ALCO]

Such a great idea! Here in the States, a good hot-rod has a big air intake and supercharger on top of the engine sticking out through the hood (or bonnet in other parts of the world). I would include a photo but I'm on my mobile and linking is a pain. So it looks like this one would be run long-hood-forward? As for the right end...or rear? Maybe a good spoiler as opposed to a fin. I'm really liking where this is going.

Edited March 11, 2021 by ALCO

[dr_spock]

Fun idea.  Do hotrods use 8 cylinder engines back in the days?

[bogieman]

Really like your concept. As a gearhead turned AFOL, you need to go big with the engine, I'd pick an EMD 20-710 and stretch the underframe, "no replacement for displacement" as they say. Also, bigger wheels in the back would add to the look.

[Man with a hat]

Great!

(And personally I prefer the no-fins version)

[Hod Carrier]

2 hours ago, ALCO said:

Such a great idea! Here in the States, a good hot-rod has a big air intake and supercharger on top of the engine sticking out through the hood (or bonnet in other parts of the world). I would include a photo but I'm on my mobile and linking is a pain. So it looks like this one would be run long-hood-forward? As for the right end...or rear? Maybe a good spoiler as opposed to a fin. I'm really liking where this is going.

Yes I've seen the sort of thing you're referring to, but I was unsure how this would apply to large diesel prime-movers. In the end I kept the engine block fairly standard but just added a vertical pipe at the end in place of a silencer. There is space for a pair of turbo "snails" at the front of the block which will be made of a loop of pneumatic hose holding a small wheel hub, which connect to the T-pieces either side of the alternator.

46 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

Fun idea.  Do hotrods use 8 cylinder engines back in the days?

Thank you. As hot-rodding started in the States I think that the V8 was the most easily available and easily modified engine, so it did prove very popular.

37 minutes ago, bogieman said:

Really like your concept. As a gearhead turned AFOL, you need to go big with the engine, I'd pick an EMD 20-710 and stretch the underframe, "no replacement for displacement" as they say. Also, bigger wheels in the back would add to the look.

Thank you too. I based the engine block loosely on the Alco 244 V12 because it had that old-school look that modern blocks lack, and because I could easily find some good photo resources for it. I'm not sure how big engines of this type grew, but I do know that even here in the UK there were quite a few V16's in use on the railways. Not sure about taking up the bigger wheels at the back. I was thinking more of a hot-rod than a dragster, but I guess that avenue is also ripe for exploration.

16 minutes ago, Man with a hat said:

Great!

(And personally I prefer the no-fins version)

Thank you. (Yes, I think I do too. )

[Feuer Zug]

3 hours ago, bogieman said:

Really like your concept. As a gearhead turned AFOL, you need to go big with the engine, I'd pick an EMD 20-710 and stretch the underframe, "no replacement for displacement" as they say. Also, bigger wheels in the back would add to the look.

Truth!

As to the hot rod styled engine, I like it. The wings could give it that 1950's look, like a 59' Bel Air. Add a few cylinders to the ALCO motor and ramp it up to notch 8.

[High_Admiral]

2 hours ago, Hod Carrier said:

Thank you too. I based the engine block loosely on the Alco 244 V12 because it had that old-school look that modern blocks lack, and because I could easily find some good photo resources for it. I'm not sure how big engines of this type grew, but I do know that even here in the UK there were quite a few V16's in use on the railways. Not sure about taking up the bigger wheels at the back. I was thinking more of a hot-rod than a dragster, but I guess that avenue is also ripe for exploration.

I personally would love to see bigger wheels for the rear, most hot rods did have larger/wider rear wheels. Regarding engine block size, I know that EMD had 20-cylinder blocks powering their SD45 and SD45-2 among other engines

(Found this on the internet, absolute monster of a engine if I say so myself)

This seems to be the largest amount of cylinders put into a single block for a loco from what I can tell. 

[kieran]

One on the left for me 

[Hod Carrier]

In response to the feedback received I've given the design a bit of an update.

It looks a bit like the Fat Controller has fallen in with the Chicago mob. 

The loco has been lengthened two studs to permit the engine to be enlarged from V12 to V16 and the style of the bodywork has been changed with the fins dropped. The front end is a little more aggressive but the biggest change is the enlarged cab and the car-like rear end.

I did take on-board the comments regarding wheel sizes, but I couldn't really make it work. The problem with a hot-rodded loco is that the wheels by necessity have to be underneath the bodywork and capable of articulation whereas on a car the wheels are outside the bodywork, which makes things a lot easier. I did explore larger wheels at the rear and even smaller wheels at the front, but whichever option I went for resulted in the loco as a whole getting taller in order to ensure adequate clearance for the bogies to articulate. In the end I have opted to keep things level in order to preserve the "slammed" look.

[Paperinik77pk]

It's an awesome build!!!

I like the idea of an hot rod train!!! 

 

[Feuer Zug]

Nice modification. It now has a 30's streamlined feel to it. Long hood forward? I almost feel it needs an oversized supercharger on top and it'd be perfect.

[bogieman]

Great additions to a neat model.