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Hello, friends! I'm pleased to present my first custom train MOC, a representation of an EMD GP7 in the livery of the Maine Central Railroad (MEC). The Maine Central Railroad operated passenger and freight service in northern New England for roughly 100 years. It's main line, running between South Portland and Bangor, Maine, passes within a half-mile of my house. The particular engine I've chosen, the 573, was purchased new by the railroad in 1950. It was favored by the railroad's longtime president, E. Spencer Miller, and was often used to pull the MEC "business train." Outside of that operation, the GP7s frequently hauled pulpwood and other cargo to and from the region's paper mills. Here are some source photos I used in the design and building process, courtesy of the RR Picture archive: http://www.rrpicture...e.aspx?id=11524 And here is the MOC. She's 8 wide at the cab and 42 studs long. Powered with the standard train motor; there is plenty of room on the inside to add a second motor and polarity switch, once I have enough rolling stock! (This is the best shot of the top I have -- sorry for the poor quality). I built this engine as part of a larger working yard layout that I exhibited --my first time ever-- at Brickfair 2014 in Manchester, NH. (I'll do a separate post on the layout soon). I was honored by and very appreciative of the nomination for one of the exhibition awards, which was ultimately won (and deservedly so) by ShaydDeGrai's wonderful and mammoth representation of Barad-dur. The time crunch to get the exhibit finished in time forced me to cut short some of the finishing touches on the engine. I'd like to add working lights, which will require a redesign of the front and back of the engine, probably with cheese slopes instead of the current 45-degree sloping bricks. And I also need to "fix" the platforms at either end, adding stairs and replacing the buffer magnet assembly with free standing magnets and train. Decals to really finish off some of the logos and paint treatment would also be nice. One final note, the 573 is still in use today. The MEC closed in 1981 as part of a merger with Guilford (now Pan Am). The 573 went through a number of transfers within those rail networks until it was purchased in the 1990s by the Conway Scenic Railroad. Today the 573 hauls excursion trains for tourists. Here it is in its current livery (perhaps a future project), enjoying its active retirement gig: I welcome your comments, criticisms and suggestions. This site has been invaluable as I have journeyed out of my Dark Ages and into the new world of L-gauge. I'm still a novice in the world of train design but all journeys must start somewhere... - MBF
