SavaTheAggie Posted July 6, 2009 Gallery In 1928, the New Zealand Railway took delivery of three new Garratt type locomotives. These double Pacifics, named the "G class" were purchased to satisfy heavy hauling needs over the tight curves and steep grades of New Zealand. Unfortunately, these locomotives proved to be too strong, damaging the light freight cars used on the line, and were too hot in the many tunnels that dotted the landscape. They were eventually scrapped in 1937 and rebuilt as six standard Pacific class locomotives. This is my kit bash of two copies of LEGO's set #10194 "Emerald Night". This "Emerald Garratt" is equipped with two medium Power Function motors, one inside each tank. The IR receiver is placed in a similar position as the Emerald Night, but the battery box (while I as of yet do not own one) sits inside the boiler where the firebox would be. There is also a Power Functions switch inside the cab (plus a bunch of wires) to reverse the direction of the rear motor so all the wheels turn in the same direction. While the original G class garratts were scrapped and each turned into two Pacific class locomotives, I took the opposite route and rebuilt two Pacifics into this G class garratt. I quite literally built the locomotive on top of the chassis of the Emerald Night wheelsets. I tried building this locomotive without using any outside parts, but it proved impossible. However, the number and type of extra parts were pretty low, and the majority of them were basic bricks and plates. No extra cheese slopes were needed. --Tony Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Zuloo Posted July 7, 2009 That's a fantastic train SavaTheAggie! You did a great job. I'm not familiar with the actual train, but from the image you provided, you did a supurb job of replicating it. But would this loco have pulled by Pullman coaches? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CopMike Posted July 7, 2009 Nice build there Sava ! It looks really true to the original, and I like that you didn´t have to use so many "outside" pieces. The 10194 set has so many great pieces and you´ve used them to their full potential! CopMike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Holodoc Posted July 7, 2009 It looks a bit weird - but so does the original. Well done Sava! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SavaTheAggie Posted July 7, 2009 That's a fantastic train SavaTheAggie! You did a great job. I'm not familiar with the actual train, but from the image you provided, you did a supurb job of replicating it. But would this loco have pulled by Pullman coaches? Thanks! Outside of Africa and areas in and around Australia, the Garratt type locomotive is pretty unheard of, and the fact that there were only 3 G class Garratts ever made makes these truly rare. They were unique even among Garratts - they had a total of 6 cylinders, were built with parts exposed that were usually hidden, and carried its' coal bunker fixed to the cab. In fact finding pictures of these suckers was so incredibly difficult, that in the end I only ever found four photographs and one drawing, and only half of them answered any of my questions. As for the coaches... well... I had to do something with them :) Besides, it proves I didn't have to scalp parts off of them (well... one part, but I finally found a replacement in my collection). Nice build there Sava !It looks really true to the original, and I like that you didn´t have to use so many "outside" pieces. The 10194 set has so many great pieces and you´ve used them to their full potential! CopMike Thanks! I had to do a lot of calculations before I started, I had to be sure I wouldn't run out of cheese slopes and dark green in general. In the end I think there are 8 extra dark green cheese slopes and a handful of 1x4 bricks. I ought to take a picture of the leftovers, there's quite a bit. I plan to finally make a few more pieces of rolling stock with them. It looks a bit weird - but so does the original. Well done Sava! Thanks! I never can resist the oddballs - they're just like me! --Tony Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted July 12, 2009 Hi SavaTheAggie, I really like the trains you build. I've been scrollong through your folders. They are always full of detail. This one is great as well. And yes, it is an oddball train. But you've captured the essence of the original perfectly. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Green Hair Posted July 12, 2009 You've captured that weird science project very well Sava! I like that fact that you made something that is rarely seen and even less known, something i like to do as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dragonator Posted July 13, 2009 Hurray for New Zealand!! Apart from that though, you've built a very nice train Sava. It certainly looks like the sort of crazy thing only New Zealand could think of buying. I'm surprised it could fit around some of the crazy curves we have here. Great to see an example of something we haven't seen before in Lego form, I know that train builders are always struggling to find new material these days. Good work, especially getting it so accurate to the original picture! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grand Duke Piettington Posted July 24, 2017 Ah, this is truly amazing! I also heard that there are instructions for sale somewhere. Might I have a link, if at all possible? Ah. Never mind; I'll find it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
