ecmo47

Nice review! Yes, the single stand version that EKae and I reverse engineered is not as stable as your "official" version but works very well. No issue if you keep the stand short, but dicier as you make it taller. This would be a fun project to go back and redo with some of the new parts that Lego now has out that were not available 3 years ago (!) when we all worked on this beauty. Mortesv hinted at a different way to do the fins but never publish the idea that I recall. Maybe an updated set of instructions could capture the blue variant from Rogue One.

Yes, this is Stephan's design. This was his entry into the 2014 Railbricks building contest. It won first place in the locomotive category. That was pretty much the last thing that Railbricks did as they ceased publication right after announcing the winners. I won third place (and a T-shirt) for my third place finish for a water tower. I contacted Stephan and he graciously sent me his LDD file on the train and I built it in the fall of 2014. You can see it here along with my water tower on my very first public layout in the February of 2015...5 years ago already! Here is a link to Stephans Flickr page: And another logging train with an awesome Barnhart log-loader:

Somewhat off topic but what would the scale of these loco's be? Since these are 8-wide and "narrow-gauge", a standard gauge train would probably be some where around 12 studs wide. The Lego minfig would really be too small populate the cab.

AH! I'd recognize D&RGW T-12 #168 in any form! Great job capturing the essence of the locomotive. Very fitting as the Cumbres and Toltec recently got it under steam after a long rebuilding. https://cumbrestoltec.com/about-us-2/168-2/

I still have my LDD files from when I built these way back on page 2 of the thread.

Kewl!

I don't see Lego doing any 8-wide on a regular basis. They may do something special once in while. All we will see in trains is the occasional 6-wide playset.

I use these from Lowes. #35 O-rings. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Danco-10-Pack-11-16-in-x-1-16-in-Rubber-Faucet-O-Ring/3369372

Is that dark red that you are using? If so, you might want to consider using part #60032 for the windows to add more detail and interest. https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=60032&colorID=59 If its regular red, you have lots of different window options. Judging from the prototype picture, the cupola's were not very useful as you could not see over the box car! I wonder if they eventually went to bay windows for better visibility.

Looks like the 1/8th inch comes in 5 colors: red, yellow, blue, green and black. Grey appears to be offered but only in 3mm. Thanks for that link!!

Here is Tony Sava's Bricklink store where you can buy plans for many great loco's to include the Southern Pacific 4-8-4 Daylight and the F-7A/B that everybody has been building in their favorite road names. https://store.bricklink.com/AggieSava?p=AggieSava#/shop

Darthlumpy: You can slog through this thread on how some of us tied the engine block to the spine.

Bricklink is my favorite website to buy Lego parts. If you want to expand, the first thing you will want is more straight piece, part #53401. On BL, they cost an average of $2.00 each. Most of the dealers that have them in some sort of volume are in Europe. Look for one that doesn't change you an extra 4% for Paypal and ask for a shipping quote so that isn't a shock. https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=53401&colorID=85 Here is an ebay lot that is pretty reasonable: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-Of-30-Lego-Gray-Train-Tracks-Curve-Strait/163796727318?hash=item26230bb616:g:MuIAAOSw3rFdL56s:sc:USPSPriority!28562!US!-1

Yeah, I didn't catch that either when I built my four "F" units so I must have had a small stash of them too. I was pretty surprised when I discovered that while collecting parts for a Santa Fe A/B unit. Fortunately I was able to nab twelve of them from a norwegian dealer for a mere $3.60 each. I guess you know how to fund your next project now!

For anybody that is considering building Sava's F-7a/b there are a few parts issues that you should be aware of before you take the plunge. The main problem is the scarcity and, thereby, expensive part #6191 (Brick, Modified 1 x 4 x 1 1/3 No Studs, Curved Top) in Dark Blue Gray. The location is circled in red on my Rio Grande version. My fuel tank is the same color as Tony's plans of the Santa Fe version. You will need 4 of these per unit. There are only 16 dealers that currently have them and they run $8.00 to $18.00 each. https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=6191&colorID=85 The part is not available in Dark grey so no easy substitution there. The only simple solution that I can think is to use eight 1x2x2/3 cheese slopes and a couple 1x8 plates. It would not give you that nice prototypical rounded look but would be passable. The other part that can be a little challenging to find is the part #3849 (Minifig lance) in LBG (circled in green). Your need one for each truck side-frame (four per unit). They are not expensive but a little hard to find in quantity. Fortunately you can get them in light grey or pearl light gray which are very close.