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Showing results for tags 'saint louis'.
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Sabine River and Northern 408 (NC class diesel switcher) real world MOC
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
My LEGO model of Sabine River and Northern 408 is below the short handrail, just behind the access ladder. This MOC is based on a real loco, one of five NC class switchers built by Electro-Motive Corporation. (which later became EMD when it was bought by General Motors) Some of these five locomotives had General Electric electrical equipment, while others had Westinghouse, since EMC's own designs were not yet ready. Wikipedia doesn't have a lot to say on the NC class (it doesn't even have it own page!), but it does give us the history of this specific loco which is the last of it's class (as far as I know): 'EMC S/N 651 (built May 1937): Youngstown and Northern Railroad 202, to Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad 408 in April 1946, to Marinette, Tomahawk & Western Railroad 408, then finally to the Sabine River and Northern Railroad as 408 before being preserved in the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri.' In addition, the engine's plaque at the museum says it cost $91,500 when new, and arrived at the museum in 1974. During the summer months, you can climb into the cab... although it is a very steep climb. The Lego model was heavily inspired by a SW1500 (which is a later cousin to the NC type) model I saw here. You can also read more about the Sabine River and Northern here on Wikipedia. I couldn't possibly get Sabine River and Northern to fit on the long hood, so just initials were placed instead. I also used a new printed 1x6 tile from set 60401 (Construction Steamroller) near the cab door. Thoughts? -
The Frisco 1522 loco is a 1926 oil burning 4-8-2 "Mountain" type, (4 leading, 8 drivers, 2 trailing) that was made surplus in 1951, donated to the Museum of Transportation (in St. Louis, Missouri) in 1959, and restored to working order in 1988 by the St. Louis Steam Train Association (SLSTA) for it's excursion career. It's new lease on life lasted until 2002 when rising insurance costs made the engine enter it's second retirement, which will be probably be forever. When the engine was running in it's second career, the SLSTA had four train cars in it's excursion support role. They carried parts, tools, merchandise to sell, and crew members not on duty. After re-retirement of the 1522, most of the cars were eventually sold to Milwaukee Road 261 organization and were renamed and repainted into a different paint scheme more suited to that group. This may not be the best interpretation of the Frisco 1522, but it seems to be the one of the few I've seen built out of Lego. The model you see here has been my dream ever since I was 5 or six years old and rode behind the steamer on one of it's last public trips. (I don't remember much of the trip, but I do remember the sense of awe and respect for the power of steam after seeing the loco pull past us on it's journey back to the museum and into what looks to be permanent retirement.) The cab walls on both model and real engine have the name of the railroad (Frisco) on it's side, while the number of the loco (1522) is on the tender sides. One half of this baggage car (named 'Black Gold' after a train the 1522 used to pull) housed tools, spare parts, lubricants and a fire hose or getting water for the loco, among many other things. The other half (usually closest to the engine) had the souvenir shop with shelves and tables for fundraising merchandise selling. The car is now repainted and named 'Golden Valley'. It has been used with Milwaukee Road 261. The 'Firefly' was the crew car. It was also named after a train the 1522 used to pull. The car has been sold to be used with Milwaukee Road 261. It sits in storage currently. The diner-lounge 'Chouteau Club' wasn't owned by the St. Louis Steam Train Association (SLSTA), but by a private individual who was a member of the club. It now is stored / owned by Illinois Transit Assembly in Madison, Illinois, sidelined by side sill rust. The 'Bluebonnet' was a business car and brought up the rear of the train. It was also named after a train the 1522 used to pull. The car has been sold to be used with Milwaukee Road 261. It has been renamed back to it's first name of 'Milwaukee' and repainted into the proper colors for that railroad. The real engine is publicly displayed at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. The Lego model of the loco is sitting on the front of the loco, just above the cowcatcher. This official Frisco 1522 website gave me invaluable info and pictures of the excursion cars and the loco itself. This page in particular was very helpful in getting the window amount / spacing / 'look' of the excursion cars right. NOTE: Yes, I had a thread made in 2016 for the loco only. That thread was last updated in 2017, and I didn't want to mess with the moderators by bumping it. Thus, this new thread was created. I hope that was ok! EDIT: 9/23/23: Real world photos added!
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St. Louis' Eads bridge (modular double track three-arch train trestle) - real life MOC
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
Here is my final design of the St. Louis bridge, commonly known as the Eads bridge because of it's designer, James B. Eads. It uses Indiana Jones roller-coaster ramps for the arches, which looks pretty cool. The bridge is nine tracks total in length and 19 bricks high from base to track. (This means about fourteen bricks of clearance between arch top and floor, so some small ships could pass through!) First, a little background info from Wikipedia (which is also where this picture came from): "The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois. The bridge is named for its designer and builder, James B. Eads. When completed in 1874, the Eads Bridge was the longest arch bridge in the world, with an overall length of 6,442 feet (1,964 m). The ribbed steel arch spans were considered daring, as was the use of steel as a primary structural material: it was the first such use of true steel in a major bridge project. The Eads Bridge, which became an iconic image of the city of St. Louis, from the time of its erection until 1965 when the Gateway Arch was constructed, is still in use. The bridge crosses the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and the grounds of the Gateway Arch, to the south. Today the road deck has been restored, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross the river. The St. Louis MetroLink light rail line has used the rail deck since 1993." This is a rough representation, as it is missing a lot, (I.E. no car deck, missing tunnel under downtown, and lack of the East St Louis ramp approach.) A close-up view of the arches of one of the three identical spans. The bridge as separated out for transit. Here we see the modular connections for transporting dissembling the bridge for taking to shows and such, along with the older deck (the dark bluish gray line) for when the bridge was single track. The modular component of the bridge's design also makes it a LOT easier to carry as the whole bridge with the three sections weighs about 10 pounds total. 4/12/19 BIG UPDATE: Real life pictures / text updated to reflect the newly remodeled bridge. (it now is double track!) Comments, questions and complaints are always welcome! -
This model was inspired by the Siemens SD-460 type light rail vehicles used by Metro Link in Saint Louis, Missouri. They are usually two sets used on every train, so just imagine a exact duplicate of the train above connected to the train you see. Basically it's four cars with only two walkways and four cabs, though only the outer two are ever used on the line. Also, the two cars with the inter-car connection are supposed to share a Jacobs bogie underneath the walkway. I didn't use one because it would cause problems storing the train in my boxes IF I decide to get it. the walkway. I didn't use one because it would cause problems storing the train in my boxes IF I decide to get it. The side of the model. The first set of pantographs on the far ends of the cars are used as ice cutters in cold weather (though they can be used in an emergency for power collection) , while the second, inner pair are actually used as the electric pickup points. This is not my map, I got it off Google. It is used by Metro Link on it's trains to show the stations used by the Light-Rail system. The Metro Bus routes are not shown, as their are too many routes to show on this type of map, though the metro buses usually use the routes of the old streetcars. The train is supposed to feature the "M" logo on it's front and rear ends, but their is no printing on the logo, which is a blue square with a red circle inside, which has a capital "M" in white located inside the red circle. (I used a black 1x1 plate because it stood out more.) Anyone wanting to read more about Metro Link and their plans for any future extensions and such should visit their wiki page here: https://en.wikipedia...ink_(St._Louis) EDIT: forgot to add the LDD file: http://www.moc-pages.com/user_images/80135/1453843587m.lxf