SavaTheAggie

As was said, Pacific is just a name for a wheel arrangement. To answer your first question, the majority of my locomotives are based on actual, specific American locomotives. The two Pacific class locomotives, the green pacific and the blue "advanced" pacific are based off of the Texas State Railroad locomotive #500 and the Blue Mountain and Reading locomotive #425, respectively. The only non-American styled locomotives I have are the two Garratts, and only the larger "Emerald Garratt" is based off of a real locomotive, the New Zealand Railways G Class. --Tony

Thank you for the interest in my instructions. Each of my instructions comes with a full bill of materials (parts list) so it should very easy to order all the necessary parts off of Bricklink, which would be cheaper by far compared to any service offered by LEGO. I have only ever found a handful of parts that can be had for cheaper on LEGO's online Pick a Brick than Bricklink. Regarding the new buffers - it'll work fine on the tender, but you'll still need the old style couplers for the locomotive, unless you connect the tender to the locomotive semi-permanently with a beam or bar. As for the new cow catcher, I too a screenshot to illustrate what it might look like on the Berkshire: Personally I highly dislike this part - it's too big, especially the height. As you can see it won't cause anything on the Berkshire to be too tall, but it will prevent you from using the handrail on the front unless you raise it up a plate, and you won't be able to add in the front coupler (which on the Berkshire is entirely decorative). I hope that answers your questions. --Tony

If you look at the picture in terms of scale - the main body of the locomotive is wider than twice the window. I think a five wide body would be best in terms of scale, not to mention the aforementioned ability to hide the battery box. As for the windows, for this application I'd be tempted to suggest you SNOT the windows and use a standard 1x2 transparent brick. I've used that several times now for cab windows and it works well. --Tony

Power Functions is an awesome train system and I plan to be using it for the foreseeable future. But I won't be selling my 9v system, either. I think 9v rails look better than plastic rails, so I might as well use the metal rails while they're still usable. I may be late to the party, but I think #7939 is the best starter train set. It may be more expensive, but there are some great parts and great designs in there. I wrote a review on it over at RAILBRICKS. http://www.railbricks.com/railblog-categories/power-functions/208-7939-cargo-train-mini-review-and-power-functions-trains My batteries last 4-6 hours. And I'd like to see any other LEGO train system do what my Power Functions Allegheny can do: --Tony

The cab always belongs on the back of the locomotive behind the boiler. I only know of a few engines that run cab forward. --Tony

The mail poster is very clever, but the Metroliner one is just stunning. I'd love to do something just of that sort with my Henry Dreyfuss Hudson, but it'd probably end up looking near identical to the real art deco posters of those locomotives. :) --Tony

I rendered a new and "pretty" image of the station. Thought I'd share. Palestine Scene by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Thanks much! I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks in real bricks. Me too! Oh, I plan to build it no question. The TSRR has two stations - this one in Palestine and another in Rusk, and I'm not sure about building the Rusk one - very challenging and extremely parts intensive no matter how I decide to build it. Hehe... thanks! Thanks. I have the shape of the roof done, but I haven't figured out how to hang it yet. I'm hoping when I get real bricks starting to come together I'll be able to work something out. The Texas State Railroad is a great place to visit. They can be a little pricey, but that's the cost of keeping the beautiful steam engines running. As for me, I'm several hours away from the TSRR (otherwise I'd be going there frequently for references photos!), down here southeast of Houston on the coast of Galveston Bay. Thanks much, I'm excited at the prospect of staring construction. I've seen quite a few shanty like railroad buildings, but there are quite a few beauties like this one, too. I'm still trying to get some info on it from the TSRR, like if this building was purpose built for the TSRR or if this building had another life. I don't know how much of a layout I'll create of the TSRR - but I can't deny that have dreamed about coming up with a room-sized back-and-forth layout with all the basic "essential" TSRR features - the Palestine depot inside a giant wye, with the Palestine Engine shed on one side, the Rusk depot on the edge of a lake on the other, and a forested length of track between with a split in the middle allowing trains to pass. That would require a lot more brick than I own. --Tony

I'm a code monkey, though not a strict one. I have a degree in IT, so while I'd love to say I'm a software engineer, I'm not entirely sure I could be called one. My father is an electrical engineer, though. :) --Tony

Palestine Depot WiP #6 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Along with my goals of creating the locomotives of the Texas State Railroad, I also want to build a few of their buildings. The most beautiful, in my opinion, is their Palestine, TX, depot. I've decided to make a few changes to the design to make it easier to render in LEGO, but the spirit of the building remains. There is no interior, and I don't know if I'll put one in - it'll depend on how easily it will be to remove the roof, and how delicate it ends up being. A few shots of the real thing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redslapstudio/4089922129/ I won't be able to build it with real bricks for some time, though some of the parts are on order (LUGBULK). So I felt like sharing what I have thus far. --Tony P.S. For those who don't live in Texas, it's pronounced "Palehsteen".

I'm not an established and accepted Eurobricks member, but you're doing fine as far as I can tell. Thanks for the compliment. I started off building a big engine first, and I have to say that it isn't getting your feet wet so much as diving in feet first. Building a small steam engine helps you ease into the hobby, building a large one can be (but not always) quite frustrating. Not all locomotives need two motors, but larger ones benefit from it. I don't think you'd need more than two motors unless you're planning on powering the drivers directly, and you see the need for that extra power. None of the ones I've built so far have more than two. The only thing you'll need, as far as Power Functions are concerned, for two motors is the obligatory battery box, and if you want to use it the IR receiver. As matter of preference, I use the Power Functions polarity switch (as I did on this MOC), so I could point the wires on the Power Functions train motors towards the middle of the tender. I wanted the floor of the tender to be strongest around the edges, so it was necessary to put the holes for the wires in the middle of the floor. This causes the motors to naturally turn in an opposite direction to each other, so using the polarity switch fixes that. Thanks! Yup, she's a bit 2-10-4, and she still runs around the track like a champ. I'm pleased to say the TexLUGgers were impressed by her at our recent get together. --Tony

I've been a member of Bricklink for over ten years, and I've only placed a few hundred orders, so I really don't go too crazy. However lately, the amount of money I have available to spend is directly related to how many Train MOC instructions I sell on Bricklink. I've turned my LEGO hobby into a self-sustaining thing - I come up with a new set of instructions for my BL shop, people buy it, and I can build a new train MOC. So the more of my instructions I sell, the more I spend on Bricklink. Sometimes its only $20 in 3 months, sometimes its a few hundred. Usually get my large number of orders when I release a new set. --Tony

Thanks much! I got the hose off Bricklink, so I don't know what specific set it comes in. If you're looking for one you'll need to look in the Hose, Rigid 3mm category. I'd love to run my trains on a new layout, not sure when I'll find myself across the pond but I'm looking forward to when I do. Thanks much! I don't know if I'll ever release instructions for this one. The hoses are pretty hard to render in LDraw with all those bends and kinks, and the construction of the boiler becomes very difficult to where I don't know if it'd translate into instructions well. While building it I began to question if it'd ever work. --Tony

Thanks much! I've gone through Swoofty's photostream, but I can't find the photo I used to build the trucks. I built them quite some time ago, so I don't remember exactly where I found it. I knew Swoofty used the design, and here are some photos of it: Turns out it the specific design I used was designed by talltim, but I can't find the photo I used in his pictures, either. I'll keep looking. Thanks. I addressed your concern both in my first post and in the pictures I took. --Tony

Gallery Texas State Railroad ALCO MRS-1 Diesel-Electric locomotive #8. Built in 1953 by ALCO and General Electric, the locomotive was first owned by the United States Army, and then later by the United States Navy. I have not been able to discover any additional information on her. TSRR #8 carries passengers between the Palestine and Rusk, TX stations, and occasionally specials as we first saw her at 'A Day Out With Thomas.". My LEGO version is unpowered, but is fully track compatible. The sliding middle wheel three axle truck was completely stolen from Swoofty. --Tony

Yeah, the #610 is currently all black with (I think) a white pinstripe and a red roof on the cab. Actually if you visit her you can see the red, white and blue paint on her tender peeking through the cracks in the black paint. Thanks much! Thanks much! I was a little worried about how I'd articulate her for multiple reasons, but everything seemed to just click together, so to speak. Thanks much! You know, I do sell steam engine instructions in my Bricklink shop... Thanks much! I've actually spent relatively little time on this one compared to others, I can only say that it's because of all the others I've built that I was able to come up with this one so quickly. Thanks! To be fair, the stripes are not entirely bricks. The red and blue stripes are bricks, SNOT'd cheese slopes, but the white pinstripes above, below and between them are thin strips of white sticker paper to continue the horizontal white brick-built pinstripe. --Tony

Gallery The Texas & Pacific #610 is the sole surviving example of the earliest form of the super-power steam locomotives built by the Lima Locomotive Works from 1925 to 1949. The super-power locomotives were the first to combine a high-capacity boiler with a modern valve gear and a four-wheel trailing truck. The performance of these locomotives was unprecedented, and they were the prototype for the modern American steam locomotive through the end of the steam age for rail. Number 610 was the first of the T & P's second order of 2-10-4s delivered June 1927. The I-A1's differed from the first order slightly in that they were built with American multiple-valve throttles that allowed room for their stacks to be capped with decorative flanges, a favorite detail on the T & P. The boiler pressure was also raised from 250 to 255 psig, which increased tractive effort to 84,600 pounds, plus 13,300 pounds for the booster. By 1953, all but two T & P steam locomotives were scrapped -- the 610 and 638 went on exhibit. It was proudly displayed on the Will Rogers Colliseum Grounds near Casa Manana. Slowly, however, the city lost interest in the old engine, and in 1969 it was stored at the Fort Worth Army Quartermaster Depot. T & P 610 sat at the Quartermaster Depot for six years - until plans started being drawn up for a reenactment of the American Freedom Train to help celebrate our nations Bicentennial. The AFT's decision to use the engine during the Texas leg of the tour furnished the impetus for restoring 610. After pulling the American Freedom Train, the locomotive was leased by the Southern Railway in 1977 for use in its steam excursion program. It was used by the Southern for four years until being returned to Texas in 1981. In 1987 it was donated to the Texas State Railroad historical park where it resides today. While in serviceable condition, the TSRR keeps the #610 as a museum piece, rolling it out of the shop on weekends for public view. My model of #610 has been built in its American Freedom Train livery, rather than the Texas & Pacific livery she wears today. She is powered by two Power Functions train motors in the tender and is fully track compatible including switches and S curves. From the limited testing I have performed I predict she will be a regular performer at events. --Tony

This isn't actually a steam engine, it's just the tender. It's an oil tender, specifically, since all of the TSRR steam engines burn oil as opposed to coal or wood, which is why the coal bunker is enclosed. The pieces on top are just bent flex tubing. --Tony

It makes me wonder - has anyone opened up one of the new PF train motors? I wonder how similar (or dissimilar) the innards of the PF train motor are to the 9v one. --Tony

I've begun working on building one of the Texas State Railroad's locomotives, #400. Since I've already built one of her sisters, #300, which looks very similar, I found myself very fortunate that #400 has one design challenge I had yet to attempt in LEGO: her Vanderbilt tender. What is a Vanderbilt tender? From Wikipedia: While I have not built her in bricks, I have built her in LDraw and I am 100% certain that she is buildable, and usable, here in the real world. Sava Built Vanderbilt by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Vanderbilt by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr She will most likely get changed and tweaked before all is said and done to better match the prototype (see the notes on the flickr pages), but as is it makes for a great average Vanderbilt tender suitable for any medium class of steam engine. --Tony

Nicely done. It's got a nice look and the color scheme works. I especially applaud your follow through with the red pinstripe around the features of the building. --Tony

I'm not usually one for modern styled train buildings, but this is really great. You've done a great job capturing the look of the building, and your attention to detail is fantastic. Well done. --Tony

Brick Fiesta will be held in Austin, Texas this year, early July. It's our first year to do it, and I doubt we'll have as much train representation as Brickworld... but hey, my steam engines will be there! And that has to count for something, right? --Tony

There's nothing wrong with the 9v and PF points. If it weren't for the 9v points, building 8 wide trains would be impossible, as 8 wide trains couldn't pass each other with no gaps between. --Tony

LUGShow_01-01-11_02 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr TexLUG's January LUG Showcase display in the Baybrook Mall LEGO Brand Retail store, built by me. Santa Claus brings a family of dragons a few Christmas presents to their hillside cave. More photos in my Flickr gallery. --Tony

Christ Mass by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony