sed6

The EMD F7 was the SD40-2 of its day, the first true "common" diesel locomotive; thousands were built and could be found powering almost any train. When production had ended some 2,366 F7As and 1,483 F7Bs had been produced by 1953 just four years after the locomotive was first cataloged. According to an article by Don Strack, published in the November/December 1991 issue of "Diesel Era: Volume 2, Number 6" the, "base price on two cab units was $161,000 and the base price for two booster units was $147,500." This was also the first instance of the Electro-Motive Division's new General Motors Diesel (GMD) subsidiary filling orders. Read more from this article about this historic loco on this site. My model was inspired by the Union Pacific 1471 and 1476B pictured below. It was really the only photo I could find of a UP F7 A/B pair. My initial inspiration came after recently obtaining sets 10020, the Santa Fe Super Chief, and 10022, one each of the dining, sleeping and observation cars. I can see why they are so coveted, each is beautiful!I set about to modify 10020 in several ways to make it look better. I decided on the UP scheme because my dad left me his LGB scale UP loco when he passed (just like his LGB BNSF that inspired this build, here). I modified the sides and doors to more closely resemble the F7a and F7b units (which I'm presuming the 10020 was based on). While the windows are not round (yet) the vents between them, the doors, the grab rails, plus the square sand fill doors are all details I tried to capture more accurately than set 10020 did. Plus the battery box and fuel tank underneath look better. I decided to add twin train motors to the a-unit to propel it because my trains are heavy, my curves are tight and one motor just doesn't have the traction necessary (power yes, traction no). The PF receiver blends in nicely on the rear and the middle fan on top acts as a power switch. Seven of my eight locos have a concealed power "button" accessible from the outside, the Super Chief being my only one I have to remove the top on. Speaking of consistency between locos, my BNSF and CSX have a distinct side window look with the two vertical tiles. I'm considering that same look for my UP. The taped up windows look okay, especially from a few feet away, and while I like the slightly more detailed or scale appearance, the tape looks unfinished and I'm not sure it is necessary. I also applied minimal detailing on the inside. The b-unit got an engine you can see thru the windows and the a unit got a hint of an engine hidden in amongst the wires. The lettering and numbering I did myself on my inkjet printer using Testors decal paper. They are applied wet then they dry nice and smooth. As usual I'll share my LDD file for anyone who wants to examine, build or modify my design. I'll upload that soon. Here you go. https://bricksafe.com/pages/sed6 Hope you like! Edit: just realized I didn't print the X1471 decals that go by the headlights for the nose! Also in the pic above the stickers peeling off are actually just static cling stickers, they work well enough but show some bubbles and don't handle tight radius curves like on the nose. The final water-slide decals are applied in all the above pictures, except this one.

You are very welcome! Glad my work can be appreciated and replicated by others!

I love your 0-6-0 Saddle Tank! Fantastic!

This is finally back in stock at Lego online store, and I have mine on order. Two questions; Is there an LDD of this available anywhere? Secondly, can the silly wheels at the top be removed and that section of track replaced with a slight downslope to get the cars rolling instead? Thanks!

I would love to see the new Airplane, 60262!

Lol, he's right! Just replace that modified 1x1 brick with a 1x1 plate with a clip on top and voila! instant modernization!

I like your train and all three trains that pass by! It's worth a look! I use compressed graphite on my bearings and switches (turnouts). Also I agree with you about the pressure on the end of the axle, so again I use graphite there also. That whole layout is impressive!

Thanks for the bump! Indeed I find that tram to be very inspirational. I might find a way to stuff the old IR PF stuff in there and a train motor underneath.

Very well done! Thanks for sharing!

Fun video!

That's because the pivot point on the truck is behind, not directly underneath the camera. In other words the camera is at the very end of the car. If it were in the middle (the truck in front of the camera) the camera would appear to turn into the corner, giving the opposite visual effect.

I think it looks great! You did a good job closing up the back. I agree with others, add some appropriate accessories on the raised platform. Replace a dozen or so random tiles with 2x2 jumpers, and start sticking stuff and minifigs on there. Ideas will come quickly from there.

If you look through some threads here you'll find a variety of creative layout solutions, large and small. Myself, I went small. Here's a link to my layout. Good luck with yours and start a new thread with lots of pics to keep us updated.

Lots of great tips so far! I'll add, DON'T GIVE UP. I've designed many models in LDD and built them all with BL purchases. With hundreds of recent orders my experience is parts will cost $.10 on average and shipping $4 per order in the US. Your 2100 part loco should run $210 plus shipping plus motor and battery and PF gear. As stated above you need to do two things; substitute rare or expensive parts or colors and then shop wisely on BL. Good luck, you can do it!

Wow, that's great progress! I really didn't mean for you to go to the extra effort of building another. The battery on it's side is an interesting idea.

I love the look and the scale of these. Think I'll build some. My layout is PF the IR kind. Think the green engine with red chassis could fit it? What would you design for PF?

Wow, wow, wow this is so full of awesomeness! Your recolor and changes to the depot look great. Everything looks great.

Doesn't matter, go with buffers. I try to make my train realistic but I also decided to use only stock trucks and buffers on all my cars. They work great, look great and provide a degree of continuity from one car to the next.

I pasted your model above to make it easier to look them over. I like your MOC! I like short train cars that are 6 studs wide. Only changes I would make would be make the connecting doors 2-3 plates taller and maybe replace that large under carriage section with some smaller, slightly more detailed touches to better represent the original. But I would totally run that car on as is on my layout!

Great idea!

Thanks! Let me know if you need more pics or help.

I just finished a marathon session of adding approximately 160 bearings to my rolling stock. I am positively blown away by the results! It took hours and hours to do but cost only about $35 and the result is cars that seem to glide over the rails. I used the standard MR52ZZ bearings that others have used. They measure 2x5x2.5mm. These fit the older Lego 1.98mm axles with the pointed end, the newer 2.00mm axles with the blunt end and your custom .078 inch (1.98mm) music wire axles. I used all three types for this project. Variances in tolerance will sometimes require a hammer to tap the bearings on to the thinner axles, but the thicker ones require quite a pounding for each. I drilled a hole in a board to the correct depth to help seat the bearings when hammering. I used the yellow brick to verify the correct depth on each end and the jig ensures everything is centered. The hammering DOES damage the bearings! Don't be fooled. BUT, it doesn't matter. My cheap Chinese bearings went from icy smooth to "spins very well" after hammering. My cars now roll for yards with just a flick. A few (2-3?) bearings were destroyed; they became notchy and wouldn't spin freely after hammering. So off they came and into the trash they went. At less than $.20 each I could afford to toss a few. I never plan to reverse this mod, nor sell these parts so I don't care about cutting those two tiny tabs off. That said, this mod could be done and could be reversed without removing those tabs. If anyone's interested how let me know. I also used a tiny drop of thin CA to hold the bearings to the truck. That prevents them from popping out and from shifting left or right and rubbing against the inside of the truck. Did I mention I'm thrilled? I can now pull all my cars, at once, around the tightest curves and switches with a single train motor. Three of my engines have twin train motors specifically because they needed the traction provided by four driving wheels. I'm guessing that my battery life will improve also. Now I can start designing longer trains and adding more cars! Hope you like.

Super cool! I run LGB under my tree each year and it takes a beating with kids and presents. I don't have the guts to do that with Lego. Good for you!

Very nice work! I really love the detail some people put into their scenery. My budget and layout size limit what I can do. Your friend makes some nice prints! I won't be buying those 1x1's at $1usd each, but several others piqued my interest. For the record, the last two train bridges I walked, both in the last 12 months, the sleepers stuck out the sides like yours do. Honestly every train bridge I've walked has probably looked similar to yours. Keep up the good work.

This look like a great idea! I'm going to give it a try.