Paperinik77pk

[MOC] The Milwaukee Road EP2 Bipolar E-2 - in 12V style

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Hi all and Happy New Year!!!

Since I'm waiting for H0 parts to arrive to continue my experiments, I am browsing the Internet a lot to get some inspiration.

Searching for some American locomotives I found (again) the Bipolar, a locomotive which I like a lot...but I always end forgetting its name. I recall the GG1 in my mind...but the name Bipolar name simple does not fit into my 64kb of memory (38911 bytes free)! :grin:

So, I thought it could be nice to try this big lady in 12v, just for fun. In this case, I built the E-2,  the lattest rebuild of one of the Bipolar family, made in 1953.

E2- Bipolar - 12v

It's a massive thing, and the two motors will surely be helpful to move the locomotive and the Hiawatha train (I did not design the wagons, but for sure they would be...heavy!!!).

As the original E2, the locomotive has asymmetric details on the two "big noses". The colors are WRONG - yellow should be orange, black should be dark gray, so I kept a 7740 paint scheme, well suited to the color range available in the 80s.

E2- Bipolar - 12v

As any high-end locomotive it has some expensive parts (all the windows). One note - the 2x2 windows can be also in old gray (from 7740), a bit cheaper option.

E2- Bipolar - 12v

The locomotive has 6 point of articulation, I think it could manage the R40 curves - my real life DB BR78 is less articulated, just to made an example.

As you can see, the whole body seems a bit taller than normal 12v trains, but all in all, the real bigger details are the two pantographs.

I don't think I'll ever build it in real bricks - for the only reason that I'm not so convinced to see it going around R40 curves. Maybe it could be a good shelf queen :wub:

 

I hope you like this one!

Ciao!

Davide

 

Edited by Paperinik77pk
typo!

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as weird as the original looks i think you captured it pretty well in your 8-bit retro style.funnily enough when i saw the model on flickr i immidiately thought gg-1. as much as i prefer german/european early electrics to whatever ugly creation the americans could come up with this one looks nice.

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@Paperinik77pk what a great new monster in your 12 V ++ line! Good to see that you concentrate on colors and elements from the first half of the 1980s and before.

Two motors would be the minimum to move this locomotive around. The height is enormous, with those panthograghs it well not fit under the passenger bridge of #7822 ;-)

BTW, can we filter Bricklink do it shows only parts/colors which were available in a certain year? And peeron.com is still online and might be a good resource to check old inventories and parts availability.

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14 hours ago, XG BC said:

8-bit retro style

:roflmao: - at first I thought: This is not 8-wide, what is @XG BC talking about. Then I saw the bit bit.

So a synonym for "12V era" is "8-bit retro style" - I love it! Did not know that. And it is an almost perfect match! The Intel 8008 was introduced in 1972, my beloved Zilog Z80 in 1976, and it "ended" in the 1980s (the "real" 8-bit architectures) - 1969 the 12V era began and ended about 1986. Did not check thoroughly; but 8-bit retro style is it for me!

@Paperinik77pk another masterpiece! I definitely need to build one of your 8-bit retro style trains and show it next to my 8-bit Z80 powered Sinclair Spectrum!

All the best and thanks for sharing,
Thorsten

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12 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

No, GG1 is one of the greatest locomotives ever created. 

everyone is entitled to their opinion ofcorse! what i may find ugly others will find good looking thats just the way it works.

3 minutes ago, Toastie said:

:roflmao: - at first I thought: This is not 8-wide, what is @XG BC talking about. Then I saw the bit bit.

So a synonym for "12V era" is "8-bit retro style" - I love it! Did not know that. And it is an almost perfect match! The Intel 8008 was introduced in 1972, my beloved Zilog Z80 in 1976, and it "ended" in the 1980s (the "real" 8-bit architectures) - 1969 the 12V era began and ended about 1986. Did not check thoroughly; but 8-bit retro style is it for me!

@Paperinik77pk another masterpiece! I definitely need to build one of your 8-bit retro style trains and show it next to my 8-bit Z80 powered Sinclair Spectrum!

All the best and thanks for sharing,
Thorsten

i it just fit because the loco really drove home the 8-bit videogame look with its pixelated style.

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Impressive job given the restriction to 1980's parts availability. I wonder what it would look like with the pantographs in gray, to visually separate them from the roof of the engine.

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23 hours ago, XG BC said:

as weird as the original looks i think you captured it pretty well in your 8-bit retro style.funnily enough when i saw the model on flickr i immidiately thought gg-1. as much as i prefer german/european early electrics to whatever ugly creation the americans could come up with this one looks nice.

Thanks for appreciation!

I always remember the most famous (and in my opinion beautifully streamlined) GG1, and every time I struggle to remember the Bipolar name!!!:wall:

The first american electric locomotives are a bit boxy, but then the attention to aesthetics improved a lot (also on cars of the same era). Maybe it's an impression, but I noted that Electric locomotives had a "black period" in term of looks (massive, yes, powerful, absolutely...but not so attractive). Steamers still were like top models in comparison.  Then , fortunately , they became again nice (in some cases - recalling the diesels shapes).

What I like of the Bipolar is its number of bogies! *oh2*

20 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

No, GG1 is one of the greatest locomotives ever created. 

Indeed one of the most impressive ones, in terms of look. :thumbup:

10 hours ago, HoMa said:

@Paperinik77pk what a great new monster in your 12 V ++ line! Good to see that you concentrate on colors and elements from the first half of the 1980s and before.

Two motors would be the minimum to move this locomotive around. The height is enormous, with those panthograghs it well not fit under the passenger bridge of #7822 ;-)

BTW, can we filter Bricklink do it shows only parts/colors which were available in a certain year? And peeron.com is still online and might be a good resource to check old inventories and parts availability.

Thanks Holger! I kept the "readily" available colors of the time - I wanted in reality to recreate the EP-3 in full yellow and gray...but it's dark gray. and the only parts began to be available in the 90s - apart sleepers). I'll check both Bricklink and Peeron. I can try to make a recolor to see how it feels! :sweet:

The European 7822 would be easily demolished by that monster :head_back: - I feel it will destroy also European overhead line and all the rest :jollyroger: !!!

8 hours ago, Toastie said:

:roflmao: - at first I thought: This is not 8-wide, what is @XG BC talking about. Then I saw the bit bit.

So a synonym for "12V era" is "8-bit retro style" - I love it! Did not know that. And it is an almost perfect match! The Intel 8008 was introduced in 1972, my beloved Zilog Z80 in 1976, and it "ended" in the 1980s (the "real" 8-bit architectures) - 1969 the 12V era began and ended about 1986. Did not check thoroughly; but 8-bit retro style is it for me!

@Paperinik77pk another masterpiece! I definitely need to build one of your 8-bit retro style trains and show it next to my 8-bit Z80 powered Sinclair Spectrum!

All the best and thanks for sharing,
Thorsten

Thanks Thorsten!!! At the time I was more on 6502/10 side than Z80 - but I confirm that 12v is ABSLUTELY 8-bit for me. Gray Era trains on the floor and Commodore 64 on the desk! (the 38911 bytes free were a good hint). :iamded_lol:

ZX Spectrum is a great machine and as a collector it's a must-have! It will look aboslutely nice near 80s Lego sets!!!:wub:

6 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

Impressive job given the restriction to 1980's parts availability. I wonder what it would look like with the pantographs in gray, to visually separate them from the roof of the engine.

Thanks sir!!! Originally the pantographs were in gray (to look more 7740-ish) but then I noted that the prototype had them in black, so I repainted them. I'll make a render to show you the gray version  and post it here! :laugh:

Edited by Paperinik77pk

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1 hour ago, Paperinik77pk said:

ThanksThorsten!!! At the time I was more on 6502/10 side than Z80 - but I confirm that 12v is ABSLUTELY 8-bit for me. Gray Era trains on the floor and Commodore 64 on the desk! (the 38911 bytes free were a good hint). :iamded_lol:

ZX Spectrum is a great machine and as a collector it's a must-have! It will look aboslutely nice near 80s Lego sets!!!:wub:

lego truly is a hobby shared through the generations. at that time i wasnt even born!

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15 minutes ago, XG BC said:

lego truly is a hobby shared through the generations. at that time i wasnt even born!

Oh man, absolutely (the generations bit ;)) - sorry that you weren't born then :pir-laugh:

And here on EB we have a platform to share ... through these generations!

1 hour ago, Paperinik77pk said:

(the 38911 bytes free were a good hint).

Oh yes! Or setting RAMTOP to 32k - to free a humongous amount of space (16k+) for weird machine code :pir-wink: - loading into the machine via tape recorder - having absolutely NO clue what is going on ... 

Best,
Thorsten 

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10 hours ago, Toastie said:

Oh man, absolutely (the generations bit ;)) - sorry that you weren't born then :pir-laugh:

And here on EB we have a platform to share ... through these generations!

thanks to the internet i can atleast experience a little bit of what it was like so it aint all bad.  imagine eurobricks back in the 8-bit era: a bbs that you had to connect with some noisy acousticcoupler and where kicked out of if someone wanted to make a phonecall!

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This is not one of my favorite locomotives, but it is perfectly recognizable!

Pantographs are truly perfect for the gray era style :wub:

You deserved the first page Davide! :thumbup:

 

P.S.

The wheels have arrived ... I am in the re-design phase! :wink:

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On 1/5/2022 at 2:56 PM, Reker1000000 said:

Davide you've done it again, a beautiful render of a 12V+ locomotive! Those pantographs are truly impressive.

Thank you very much for the positive comment!!! :laugh:

They are big...I wonder hos solid these big things could be!!!:oh:

On 1/6/2022 at 6:54 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

This is not one of my favorite locomotives, but it is perfectly recognizable!

Pantographs are truly perfect for the gray era style :wub:

You deserved the first page Davide! :thumbup:

 

P.S.

The wheels have arrived ... I am in the re-design phase! :wink:

Thanks Emanuele!!! :laugh:

I'm happy that the wheels arrived ! Good Rework on the good old Glaskasten!!! :wub:

On 1/6/2022 at 9:29 PM, XG BC said:

that frontpage was really well deserved! 👍

Thanks sir!!! :laugh:

Edited by Paperinik77pk

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