[MOC] IFI ammonia train

[EWay]

Presenting the IFI ammonia train, as operated by Irish Rail until the collapse of IFI in the early 2000s.

This was a pretty massive undertaking, as it consists of six separate models: a locomotive, three ammonia tankers and two barrier wagons. The diesel is powered by two Circuit Cubes motors, although as yet they're untested because I barely have enough track to hold this lot.

I'd been wanting for a while to design an Irish Rail diesel of some sort, in the old orange livery. I considered a few options:

• The 001, old 201, 113 and 121 classes, which I quickly dismissed as they're so old I've never seen them
• The 141 and 181 class, with distinctive narrow mid-sections - too narrow for a battery box
• The GM 201 class, still in service, but with 6 wheels on each bogie instead of 4, making them very difficult to work with for train motors and difficult to scale to a length short enough to navigate standard Lego curves

I settled on a 141 class, using circuit cubes to get around the space issue - I figured worst case if it doesn't work out I can buy an old 9v train motor and electrify my plastic track with copper tape.

It wasn't possible to get the thin upper white stripe to continue along between the windows unfortunately, due to the use of some SNOT techniques, and I decided not to tackle the challenge of a brick built CIE logo - it's been done before but I think it would be impossible to do right without severely plagiarising!

Having settled on a diesel, the cargo of ammonia seemed fitting. I owe my Irishness to IFI, as my parents moved here in 1990 when my dad took a job at Marino Point. This highly recognisable and sometimes controversial train transported ammonia between IFI's three factories at Marino Point, Arklow, and Belfast.

Here's a closer look at everything individually:

For the ammonia tankers, it was the first time I've ever found the Lego colour "bright light orange" useful - it looks just right for the stripe. Supposedly the chassis was dark green but these things were constantly so dirty that it's hard to verify that from photos.

And here's a barrier wagon - these carried water which acted as a defence against spillages of the highly flammable ammonia in the event of a derailment. These were also rarely clean enough to look green in photos, but it looks nice so I decided to persevere with the colour despite the more limited part availability!

There are more photos on flickr - the photos above are linked.

This is my last train for the foreseeable future - now it's time to focus on city building and having somewhere to actually run the trains!

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by EWay
mixed up the photo links

[Feuer Zug]

Well done. It's not often we see industrial trains like this here. The 141 class locomotive is a bright, nearly garish scheme. The ammonia tankers look good. The bright orange does do well as the stripe color.

[ColletArrow]

That's very smart! It's neat to see a whole train presented, rather than just a loco or wagon.

I think the tankers are my favourite of the set, they look simple but have a beautifully clean shape. The barrier wagons and loco both have a good level of detail for their size. The loco especially stands out in it's livery, I always quite like that scheme!

Good work overall, I can't wait to see them running through whatever space you build for them.

Edited June 9, 2022 by ColletArrow

[Andy Glascott]

I remember these trundling past when I was growing up and fishing on the beach or rocks in Killiney, I could feel the vibrations! The IR locos are notoriously difficult to model in 6w because of the curved fronts, narrow bodies and so on, and the white stripe in brick is really tricky. I did a push-pull set with the class 121 and settled on squared lines rather than curves, but am tempted to redo it with stickers… This is a good take on a 141, something that is on my “will build eventually” list, the older locos have a bit more character to them than the 201s. 
 

The ammonia is cars and barrier wagons are instantly recognizable, well done. (Note to self about the shade of orange for future reference!)

[ThePhatController]

Another fantastic model! 

The white stripes surrounding the black are excellent on the loco and really make it pop.

The tankers and barrier wagon are very slick also.

👏 

 

[Ropefish]

absolutely love the brick usage in the tanker cars. wonderful build.

[zephyr1934]

Nice clean lines throughout, you make it look easy

[Brickwolf]

Excellent prototypical! freight train!

[XG BC]

nicely done! especially like the loco with the brick built stripes.

[Toastie]

I like the "ammonia" bit a lot - the train (engine and tankers are simply superb!) is hauling what many trains are hauling throughout the world: Basic chemicals, used everywhere on this planet to make our lives what they are - or what other inhabitants would like it to be. No ammonia, no fertilizers, and so incredibly many no "things" we use every day. (Unfortunately: No ammonia, hardly any standard explosives - it is what it is)  

Very nice build, judged from the perspective of a LEGO freak, as well as a chemist.

Thank you very much for sharing!

All the best,
Thorsten