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The Brave Locomotive, Katy Caboose, and Conjunction Junction freight train - real world MOCs
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
This is *almost* a Disney train - Linus the 2-4-0 steam engine is from "The Brave Locomotive" that was started by Disney animator Andrew Chatsworth before he got hired, Bill Peet wrote "The Caboose who Got Loose" some years after being let go from Disney, and Conjunction Junction (part of "School House Rock!" educational TV series) was created by ABC, which is now owned by Disney. What am I talking about? Keep reading to find out! Meet Linus the Brave Locomotive, and his driver Henry! (from Andrew Chatsworth's animation on Youtube as seen here. ) I decided to make this 2-4-0 out of LEGO after watching the short over and over, as it's an inspiring tale and very well done animation-wise. I did make some changes to Linus' design from the cartoon, such as adding a number 2 to his tender and cab. I also borrowed heavily from the 2019 Disney train and 2010 Toy Story Western Train Chase sets. (Linus is actually missing one part - the smokestack from the Orient Express. The stack seen above is a stand-in and will be replaced at some point.) The rear of the engine. Sorry for the color issues with some of these photos, it's because my phone camera doesn't like taking pictures of blue objects.... no idea why. On September 29th, 1973, a new School house ROCK (link to wiki page for those unfamiliar with what that is) music video was played for the first time alongside your regular American Saturday morning cartoons such as Scooby-Doo, old Rocky and Bullwinkle show episodes and maybe some Johnny Quest. This new music video featured a diminutive stereotypical train conductor, two hobos (one fat and tall, and one small and skinny), and a train with words on it... not just any words, but CONJUNCTIONS, as the name of the video and location is Conjunction Junction. This train is shown in order above, with comments about what it could possibly be carrying in the fictional ROCK-verse. The first two (NOT + THIS) are obviously Boxcars. The BUT tanker (most likely hauling Butane) and THAT boxcar. Finally, AND (which is possibly a refrigerated goods wagon) plus an OR (ore) hopper. All together, these train cars taught (and entertained!) generations of school-age children and some older adults about Conjunctions, and other videos taught about American history, the environment, math (multiplication tables up to 12 but skipping the number 1), science, money and even early home computers! (among MANY other subjects) All of them can be found on Disney +, as Disney owns ABC, which is who made the original music videos. Heavily inspired by @zephyr1934's MOC of "Katy" from the classic children's book "The Caboose who got Loose" by ex-Disney animator Bill Peet. Zephyr's version can be seen here in his own topic. I didn't want to use stickers for Katy's eyes like what's being done by the original builder, so I decided to use the eyes from set 43186 (Bruni the Salamander buildable character) from the Disney Frozen II line . I also added a actual mouth, as just the two eyes without something between them looked kind of odd, most likely because of the specific eyes I chose. The MOC I based this on used a different method for the mouth using a lot of SNOT-work.... I used a brick with 2 studs on the sides and two quarter tiles to give her a open mouth. The roof has also been modified, and a different stove pipe added compared to what the original MOC has. However, what's a freight train without someone or somewhere to tell it where to go next? Enter the railyard dispatch center, which is not just any old building: it's the Conjunction Junction dispatch office as seen in the education cartoon series Schoolhouse Rock "Conjunction Junction" episode from September '73. I've made some changes to the original cartoon design, such as adding a removable roof to the building (for getting access to the inside details), and placing a water tower nearby for thirsty steam locomotives. The tower top rotates a full 360 degrees with the water pipe, allowing the engineer to pull up, get his loco full of (imaginary) water, shove the pipe away, and move on. Also, there is a dilapidated boxcar behind the water tower for the Junction's two resident hobos. Inside the openable building is a typical furniture for the 1930-'50's time period which I think the cartoon takes place in. This includes: - corner desk with telephone, a railroad oil can, and lantern, plus two chairs - oil fired heater / stove - time clock next to a day-at-a-time calendar showcasing a exotic locale - potted plant, just because! EDIT 11/28/23: Added Katy caboose and Linus - the brave locomotive to the main post, which has been completely redone! Thoughts welcome! -
This green 1930's streamlined caboose was inspired by a very similar real-world Wabash caboose (Katy didn't own streamlined cars like this as far as I know) located on the Katy Rail-Trail at St. Charles, Missouri. The caboose model is also inspired build-wise by the Katy Caboose (as in, "The Caboose who got Loose" from the children's book) model I copied in late 2021 from @zephyr1934's MOC, The one shown later in this post is my own version of that caboose, which you can read about in it's own topic here, or you can see his original version in his own topic. I was going to put MKT (standing for Missouri - Kansas - Texas Railroad, the same owner of Katy caboose, and from where she gets her name) on the sides of the new caboose where the printed brick is but in printed 1 x 1 tile letters, but the needed green 1 x 4 Technic bricks were problematic, as was the two letter T's that I don't have. Also, the doors to the inside open, but there are no interior details. There are a number of similarities between the two caboose models. However, they are more different than alike for several reasons. For example, Katy has A LOT more SNOT-work compared to her newer cousin. Why, you ask? Katy's walls are all sideways to better represent planks of wood (typical in caboose construction up until early-1910's), whereas her opposite number has only SNOT in the base of the body / stairs and regular bricks everywhere else to represent more modern steel construction. (I also left the mouth and eyes off the new arrival.) Thoughts anyone?
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1880's-style 2-6-0 steam engine - heavy 7597 MOD with working pistons and freight train
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
I've already built the Conjunction Junction freight train and The Caboose Who Got Loose (a MOD of a @zephyr1934 model), which you can see in the topics linked and in the pictures directly below. Until recently, however, the fact this freight train had no engine had been a major stumbling block: I looked up the 4-6-2 "Pacific" steamer from The Caboose Who Got Loose book, but it wasn't very eye-catching in the all-black color scheme. I also watched the Conjunction Junction music video and realized the engine pulling the cars is never actually seen / mentioned. This is just about where the steam engine I started this topic about comes in. Originally I had found a late-1930's 7-wide 2-8-4 (the link is to the designer's Rebrickable page) to pull this special freight train, but then I found out how expensive the eight driving wheels would have been from Bricklink. (two blind drivers by themselves are CRAZY pricy - about as expensive as the pre-packaged bag of one blind and two with flange!) So, late last week I went back to the drawing board, taking my set 7597-style MOD engine and tinkering with it. It emerged from the shop a late 1880's 2-6-0 instead of a mid-1870's 4-4-0 as it originally was. Adding working pistons is what forced me to stretch the frame and thus add in two more driving wheels. (NOTE: A four-wheel bogie truck can be easily added instead of the two-wheel one seen above... I just wanted to be cheap and not have to buy more small train wheels than was the bare minimum.) Here is the steamer as far as can be assembled right now. I'm only missing 36 parts until the loco can be completed, and another one part for Katy Caboose. (I slimmed down Katy's roofline to be 6-wide to keep it more in line with the majority of my rolling stock. I also added printed 1 x 1 letters saying "KATY" on the long sides... Not very accurate to the book I know, but it makes for people to understand what it is better.) I also took apart the original, generic green caboose I made for the Conjunction Jct. consist as I needed the parts, and because it was being replaced by the Caboose Who Got Loose. Also, if you are wondering what "WFP" stands for, it is a nod to the 12-inch gauge steam railroad I've ridden on MANY times as a child and adult. I've even displayed there some of my LEGO trains in the past as a part of Gateway LUG displays. To read more about the real Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad, check out their website with awesome 15 engine roster and history sections. NOTE: They don't have a 2-6-0 at the real WFP railroad or a engine numbered 289. This was a gap I naturally filled in, kind of like a fan-fic story but with a steam engine instead. Two boxcars from a part of the Schoolhouse Rock educational cartoon series. This specific early 1970's Grammar-themed rock-n-roll music video featured a diminutive stereotypical train conductor, two hobos (one fat and tall, and one small and skinny), and a train with words on it... not just any words, but CONJUNCTIONS, as the name of the video and location is Conjunction Junction. A tanker and a third boxcar. Refrigerated boxcar and stone hopper. Heavily inspired by Zephyr1934 / Trained Bricks MOC of "Katy" from the classic children's book "The Caboose who got Loose" by ex-Disney animator Bill Peet. Zephyr's version can be seen here. I didn't want to use stickers for Katy's eyes like what's being done by the original builder, so I decided to use the eyes from set 43186 (Bruni the Salamander buildable character) from the Disney Frozen II line . I also added a actual mouth, as just the two eyes without something between them looked kind of odd, most likely because of the specific eyes I chose. The MOC I based this on used a different method for the mouth using a lot of SNOT-work.... I used a brick with 2 studs on the sides and two quarter tiles to give her a open mouth. The "rear" of the caboose is the forward facing part closest to the engine, which is a part of Katy we never see in the book. Confused yet? I took some liberties with Zephyr's design, such as changing the ladders at each end to black from red, removing two wheelsets + the roof chimney, and redoing the roof itself to be much simpler. (This last one was done because I couldn't figure out the original MOC roof's curved design!) I did keep the basic SNOT-work design for the body, but made it so both halves would be stud-inwards. I also changed the roofline to be six wide instead of eight as on my inspiration's model and added the name KATY to the left and right sides. All of this makes the models less accurate to the book it's based off, but I don't really think anyone in the general public will notice. (The general LEGO community might know of some discrepancies and fellow train modelers not of the LEGO-type will not care even if I did make it accurate, as it's not a "real" train.) - More to come when the engine is completed, hopefully by March 1st! - Comments, questions, suggestions and complaints welcome! -
Katy, The Caboose Who Got Loose - a MOD of a MOC based on the children's book
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
Heavily inspired by @zephyr1934's MOC of "Katy" from the classic children's book "The Caboose who got Loose". His version can be seen here in his topic. As for the book itself, it is a children's picture book written and illustrated by ex-Disney employee Bill Peet. (You might know him from his work on film "The Sword in the Stone" which he storyboarded and designed the characters of.) Anyway, Wikipedia had this to say about it on it's entry for the (quite wonderful and well-done) book: The Caboose Who Got Loose, published in 1971, tells the story of Katy Caboose, a caboose who is tired of being dragged around at the end of the train by the Engine. She dreams of being part of the beautiful sceneries she passes during her trips, but she cannot because she is always on the move. One day, when the engine is pulling the train up a steep mountain grade, the caboose is jolted loose from the train and flies back down the track towards a turn. Upon arriving at the turn, she has too much speed and she flies into the air off the track. Luckily she gets wedged between two trees, and she spends the rest of her days happy living in a beautiful place. I didn't want to use stickers for Katy's eyes like what's being done by Zephyr1934, so I decided to use the eyes from set 43186 (Bruni the Salamander buildable character) from the Disney Frozen II line. I also added a actual mouth, as just the two eyes without something between them looked kind of odd, most likely because of the specific eyes I chose. The MOC I based this on used a different method for the mouth using a lot of SNOT-work.... I used a brick with 2 studs on the sides and two quarter tiles to give her a open mouth. The "rear" of the caboose is the forward facing part closest to the engine, which is a part of Katy we never see in the book. Confused yet? I took some liberties with his design, such as changing the ladders at each end to black from red, removing two wheelsets + the roof chimney, and redoing the roof itself to be much simpler. (This last one was done because I couldn't figure out the original MOC roof's curved design!) I did keep the basic SNOT-work design, but made it so both halves would be stud-inwards. All of this makes the models less accurate to the book it's based off, but I don't really think anyone in the general public will notice. (The general LEGO community might know of some discrepancies and fellow train modelers not of the LEGO-type will not care even if I did make it accurate, as it's not a "real" train.) Now, as a train head, this model and the book it's based on only bother me in two ways: There is no red light for the end of train, and where in the heck did the conductor go when Katy landed in the trees! It certainly makes a guy wonder what kind of Mickey Mouse-organization this railroad is running here! As usual, comments, questions, and complaints welcome!