Hod Carrier

Um, not entirely sturdy but sturdy enough for display I guess. The design is heavily influenced by a Japanese MOC I'd seen on Brickshelf. Although it is designed for 4-wide scale I'm sure it could be scaled up for your chosen scale.

Thank you. But please don't be put off from making a larger model SLT. I'm sure you will make an excellent model too.

Thanks Tom. I know the track isn't right, but at the present moment it's just a temporary way of staging the model. I used 2x6 plates because they would keep the rails square against each other and allow me to join them into a sufficiently long length without the need for baseplates. I'm currently living in a small flat and don't have any space for displaying LEGO, but I'm shortly moving to a larger place and will be looking for a way of displaying these models. At that point I shall look a bit more closely at the details of the track.

Cool. So you could use almost any design of cradle that you like. Nice work.

Brick'd. I'm reconciled to the shape of the front end. The sticker with the headlight details works fairly well after all.

That looks like a good solution. Can I ask, is that picking up the container using clutch power alone?

Not really, no. This is what I was able to knock up quickly using LDD. It's 16x6 studs, the same dimensions as the top of the containers. The frame is free-swinging on the end of the arm so should always remain level even when not loaded. It's a light construction but it could be beefed up if required.

Great vehicles. All you need now is a space large enough for a container yard. The loader could use a little tweaking, though. Normally these vehicles have a frame on the end of the loading arm that grabs the container at the corners rather than a central hook as you've modelled.

I love it. The layout and configuration of the loco clearly follows American rather than European principles, but it has a style that evokes something more European such as a 1960s French electric locomotive. Whether it's the curves or the colour combination I couldn't say but it's very nice indeed. In an age when so many locos look like they've been built out of LEGO, even in Europe now, it's good to see something different.

That's a good idea. Using "cassettes" to store trains prior to deployment is an established model railway practice, especially where space is tight, saving the space otherwise required for a staging or fiddle yard. Something like this could also be used for the same purpose as well as for displaying trains.

A little frontal tweak.

Yes I agree that the headlights are far too prominent. Because of the difficulties in getting them flush with the front of the train I shall probably render them as stickers on a 1x2 tile. Assuming I go ahead with the build using this style of cab front, that is. Yes, I'm beginning to think that I've come to the end of the line developmentally. Therize is correct to point out details like the headlights because these things lend more realism and invoke the real train more accurately, but my real struggle is with the shape. There are just too many compound curves to be able to recreate both the rake of the windscreen and the tapering towards the wedge-like nose. Short of having yet another total change of design philosophy I can't quite see how to move forwards. But thank you for the compliment. I'm not completely unhappy with the design. I think it still looks like a modern European EMU, but just not quite the SLT.

Having completed the DD-VIRM I have been able to turn my attention to the Sprinter Light Train (SLT) that has been languishing my computer for a while. It's the same 4-wide size as the DD-VIRM and has been causing me the same magnitude of headaches. While the body shape is much more straightforward than the DD-VIRM the cabs are a total pain because of the complexity of the shape. I've changed it several times, tried different parts and have never been happy with the results. The pictures below are screenshots taken from LDD of the latest version and, as far as I can ascertain, the closest I can get to the real deal at this scale. However, you only have to glance at the real SLT to see just how unrealistic the model still is. Has anyone got any ideas for improving the look of the model to make it look just a bit more like the prototype? Or am I trying for the impossible in pursuit of my perfectionism? Thanks in advance. Compared to the prototype.

Er, yes. The front end has not got any prettier and is best viewed from a distance.

Thanks everyone for the amazing feedback. You guys have been an enormous help to me with this build with your encouragement and advice.

Thanks JopieK. There were a few NS-DDZs working into Leiden Centraal during my visit and I found them a very interesting train. I wasn't sure precisely what service they were working but they seemed to terminate there before returning in the direction they came. The Bo-Bo-Bo (three 4-wheel bogies) motor coaches clearly replace the locomotives that would have previously provided the motive power when these trains were push-pull sets prior to rebuilding. There aren't many locos with this wheel arrangement but I can't think of any other multiple unit train that has it. I've been working on a Sprinter Light Train in 4-wide on LDD and had considered adding a DDZ too. Lets see what happens.

Thank you, Redimus. That's very kind.

Good Evening, After a lot of faffing, a holiday, a few changes of direction and a dash of procrastination, I've finally got around to finishing my 4-wide DD-VIRM EMU. Drum roll please. Apologies for the quality of the photos. I don't have a lot of space in my flat to lay out the model in it's full extent and the floor really is the only space I have. Consequently the lighting is far from ideal. The markings, including the passenger door seals, are simply homemade stickers knocked up on my desktop inkjet printer using Avery address labels. All very straightforward. I did finally solve the roof attachment problem in a satisfactory manner. The roof sections simply sit on top of the cars but are located in the required positions inside the car bodies. I hope you like the finished article as much as I do. The close-up view is still a little unforgiving, but stand back from it a bit and I think it looks quite good.

I think it must just be the light making them look that way. I stand to be corrected, but I'd say they are ZTO "Trout" ballast hopper wagons or something very similar. You can just make out the handles for opening the release doors on the underside of the wagon peeking out under the lip of the hoppers at one end.

So good to see some British trains across the pond. Are you by any chance an ex-pat? I can't imagine by what other process the great Class 455 would have come onto your radar. Ha ha!! On a point of pedantry, the Class 20s tended to go around in pairs because they were so gutless they wouldn't pull the skin off custard. Even when doubled up they had to be thrashed mercilessly if they were used on any sort of load. It also helped to give a better view of the road ahead because the view with the bonnet leading was appalling.

Winner!! Ha ha!!

Yes that's true, but I'm not sure how you'd be able to differentiate between one train and another. However, I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Legotom: I was thinking much the same thing, but I was imagining a quayside harbour station scene like Oban or Fort William but with the charm of somewhere like Tobermory, or even going back a little further in time and putting in a fish quay with a quayside tramway. However, you could just easily model the wide-open expanse of somewhere like Rannoch Moor on a scale that would dwarf a short formation diesel-hauled train or Sprinter DMU. There's loads of possibilities and the options are endless. FZ: Thanks for the feedback. Sadly this scene is not built yet except in LDD while I wait for payday.

Hi FZ, Thanks for the tip for the wheels. I shall be looking to see how to modify my 4-wide DD VIRM to sit on rails too. If that's a first effort I think it's very good indeed. As a GP9 caricature it works very well because the proportions are spot on, and the backdrop looks fantastic too. Keep up the great work. :o) HC

Here are some of the 1-wide trains I came up with earlier. Starting at the back there is a 1-wide version of the Dutch DD-VIRM I've been working on in 4-wide. I could have added this to the scene, but I actually think the Koploper looks better. The remaining trains are all British in origin. Next to the DD-VIRM is a Class 50 diesel-electric in a livery known as BR large-logo blue (although the logos themselves simply can't be rendered at this scale) at the head of a train of covered china clay hopper wagons with their distinctive blue hoods. The next train down is a classic electric express train from the 1960s with the loco resplendent in electric blue with white cab roofs at the head of a train of maroon coaches. Alongside it is a typical diesel-hauled freight train from the same era. The 4-wheel vans are headed by an English Electric Type 4 loco (later BR Class 40) and the train is completed with a brake van. The last train is much more recent. It is, quite simply, a Eurostar high-speed train.