Haunted Train No. 25 - cartoon 4-8-2 steam loco inspired MOC (from TV show 'Hey Arnold!')

[Murdoch17]

"Sometimes, late at night,
you can hear the whistle wail
with a spooky, screechy sound
like a wheel gone off the rail;
and up in the smoky clouds,
you can almost recognize
the ghost of a crazy engineer
with fiery cinder eyes;
I say, Whoo-whoo!
Can't you hear the haunted train?
Whoo-whoo!
Waiting on a haunted train
I'm gonna, crash that engine,
you know, only sticks and stones
and old conductors' bones remain..."

This steam loco was from the first animated train cartoon I ever saw when I was very small (three years old, from what I'm told), and is one of my favorites, easily beating The Brave Engineer (1950's Disney cartoon) and only being bested by The Polar Express film! I got the basic looks for the model from a single screenshot of the 1990's Nickelodeon cartoon show "Hey Arnold!". The engine seem to be based on Norfolk and Western K-1 class 4-8-2, but is apparently owned by Great Northern as evidenced by the tender writing. You can read more about the haunted engine, it's known story, and even potential theories for why it crashed here on the Arnold wiki. (yes, that's a thing, and credit to Paul Welch for bringing this info to my attention.)

The following text is from the wiki page for the episode:
"As shown in the episode of the same name (Haunted Train), the legend concerns the phantom locomotive, Old Engine 25. Forty years ago (from original broadcast date, so November 1956), during a movement from the train yard to Union Station, Engine 25's engineer suddenly went insane. Defying signals and warnings to slow down, he intentionally derailed the engine and its train which slid down a high embankment. However, no wreckage was found beyond the engineer's severed hand, still clutching a part of Engine 25's throttle.

According to the legend, the engineer drove the train straight to the fiery underworld, and now once a year on the anniversary of the engine's derailment, returns aboard Engine 25 with the intent of collecting new passengers to return to the underworld with him."

There is even a song used over the closing credits of the episode, sung by the ghostly crazed engineer who drove his train all the way to hell (see first portion of post for that song!) And yes, I know a steam engine is not a entire train... it may partially make up a train, but it itself is not a train.

The engine has GREAT NORTHERN on it's tender in the cartoon, but i can't afford that many letters, so GNRR will have to do. The number 25 will go on the cab sides and smokebox door, as in the cartoon. Speaking of the cartoon, the engine is lit very poorly - sometimes it's black, sometimes dark gray. I wanted people to see the details, so I chose dark gray for most of it.

Inside of the ghost engine's cab.

(Severed engineer's hand not included!)

NOTES:

The engine's boiler is a highly modified version of one seen on this Rebrickable MOC by @Plastic_Goth (only the boiler is partially reused, I designed everything else myself).

...Would you look at that! It's the anniversary tonight of the wreck! Won't you go on a lovely train ride with me? 

(Thoughts welcome!)

EDITED 11/19/22: More info added on prototype engine, and wheel arrangement corrected from 2-8-4 to 4-8-2. Pictures updated as well.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Murdoch17

[Darkkostas25]

7-stud wide - tricky one/ I adore the smooth looks of it. And how you all can band those houses, I swear for me it`s like a real pain in the megablocks. Nice train, good memories of beloved cartoon  

[Murdoch17]

On 11/17/2022 at 3:11 AM, Darkkostas25 said:

7-stud wide - tricky one/ I adore the smooth looks of it. And how you all can band those houses, I swear for me it`s like a real pain in the megablocks. Nice train, good memories of beloved cartoon  

Thanks @Darkkostas25! 7 wide is pretty tricky to build in, that's for sure. And yes, the hoses are indeed a pain in the butt to get to align in LDD: same goes for real life too!

Side note: I've just been informed on Flickr that the engine is actually a 4-8-2 (Mountain), not a 2-8-4 (Berkshire), and is apparently owned by Great Northern RR. I've made the changes to the loco, adding only four parts and subtracting just one! I'm waiting to change the photos until I build it.

[Murdoch17]

Main post edited 11/19/22: More info added, and wheel arrangement corrected from 2-8-4 to 4-8-2. The engine seem to be based on Norfolk and Western K-1 class 4-8-2, but is apparently owned by Great Northern as evidenced by the tender writing. You can read more about the haunted engine, it's known story, and even potential theories for why it crashed here on the Arnold wiki. (yes, that's a thing, and credit to Paul Welch on Flickr for bringing this info to my attention.)

The pictures updated are as well as of now. (And yes, I know the first dome should be bigger to match the K-1, but I've already found a whole bunch of parts and don't want to change it again.)

Edited November 19, 2022 by Murdoch17

[Murdoch17]

"289 parts to find in the bin, 289 parts,
Take one out, stow it away,
288 parts left to find in the bin..."

The above ditty is to the tune of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall", and I think we can all relate to it. The 289 parts are exactly how many parts are left to find for this train MOC. (This picture showcases the older version of the model, but rest assured - all two of the needed parts for the changeover from 2-8-4 to 4-8-2 have already been found.)

[Murdoch17]

Progress so far on the haunted steam loco MOC, with 132 parts left to order later this month.

I was forced to modify the design again to use smaller drivers than originally intended as prices for official LEGO driving wheels are obscene. The trailing / leading wheels' price were also insane, so I decided to purchase small drivers and regular wheels from Big Ben Bricks.

*Rant mode on*

Four each of BBB's blind / flange medium drivers, and six regular wheels w/ flange cost less WITH SHIPPING than the official wheels from Bricklink would have by themselves! ($32 overall from BBB vs $33 before shipping from two sellers from Bricklink) It's certifiably insane what the prices for official wheels are going for these days!

*Rant mode off*

Anyway... thoughts on any of this?