1980's-style Red and Blue passenger train and 4-6-4+4-6-4 (Double Hudson) Garratt steam locomotive

[Murdoch17]

The look of this train was partially inspired by several 4.5v and 12v-era sets, such 7715 / 7818 for the color scheme and 7740 along with it's supplemental sets 7815 and 7819 for the general look of the coaches.

Some parts of this train (the coaches) have already been built from about five years back, while the loco is still a WIP for now.

This steam locomotive was slightly inspired by the Rhodesia Railways "15th class" that was used in what is now Zimbabwe. This 4-6-4+4-6-4 Garratt type was 74-units strong and was built by Beyer-Peacock and Company starting in 1940, and after WWII from 1947 to 1952 in seven total batches. You can read more about this specific loco class on Wikipedia.

My LEGO MOC version is 'fueled' by oil, whereas the real-world 15th class was coal fired. This is one of the reasons why I said it was "inspired by" and not an exact duplicate of a 15th class. However, the front unit does features a prototypical streamlined casing, and the rear unit partially does too.

This LEGO model can take some serious curves (much more than what's shown above!), but that's what you get for building a Garratt: it's one of this type of locomotive's strengths. This picture just shows off the articulation points of my MOC, but technically it could split a switch* and still work just fine with the front engine on one track and rear unit on a second one!

*NOTE: Don't try that with a real-world steam loco!

The doors on the cab of the loco are supposed to be the 1980's ones with blue print on the lower half. Another missing print is on the oil tank hatches, while number / letter tiles go on the front and rear units. (The front unit gets the numbers, while the rear section gets the letters saying LLR, which stands for LegoLand Railroad.)

This baggage / passenger car is called a combine which is short for "combination". All the doors can open on this train, even the sliding ones shown here.

The three passenger coaches are identical in every way.

The observation car, the rear-most coach on the train, features a platform for sight seeing.

 

The steam loco is still being parted out using pieces from the previous streamlined electric engine and from parts from my collection. Until it's done this is a WIP thread, but suggestions / comments / questions are always welcome no matter the project stage.

Drop your thoughts below!

[garmsey]

I like how you have combined inspirations from multiple trains to come up with your Lego design.  How will you be powering the locomotive?

[Murdoch17]

15 hours ago, garmsey said:

I like how you have combined inspirations from multiple trains to come up with your Lego design.  How will you be powering the locomotive?

Thank you for your compliment! I tend to not power my trains, as motors / battery boxes / etc. are too expensive and don't fit my designs, plus I also have no 9v track to power with that system. (though switching out a coach bogie with a 9v motor at my local LUG's shows to push / pull the train along is possible, I think.)

Almost all my trains are also made to roll quite nicely so when I do hand-push them along my home layout, so I can do so without fear of seizing up the pistons / grinding wheels against track.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Murdoch17