jayhurst

Both these steam engines participate in the Golden Spike ceremony, a re-enactment that takes place every year and celebrates the completing the the United States Transcontinental Railway. Jupiter (on left) and #119 (on right). These are the real steam engines: Both steam engines mocs are built in 7-wide scale, and are PF powered. Each of them utilizes an M-sized motor which is mounted vertically inside the cab. Both the Jupiter and #119 tenders' house a rechargeable battery and an IR receiver. The batteries for both engines are neither stud mounted nor used as a structural component, and can be easily accessed for turning on/off or recharging by the use of a combination of removable panels and hinges (#119), or a lift off car-body (Jupiter). Although they may look similar on the outside, both Jupiter and #119 are built using almost completely different designs. Besides their obvious differences in shape and dimensions, the engines are different from each other in their cab construction, boiler internals, wheel spacings, M-motor mounting, leading truck attachment, and the methods used to hang the pistons. Interestingly, the construction layouts of the two tenders have an even greater level of dissimilarity from each other the then engines do. This is mostly caused by the difference in brick shapes that must be used in order to give each tender's distinct paint schemes some accuracy. The cascade effect stemming from the paint schemes 'shapes' is that mounting points for mechanical items cannot be located in the same spots on both tenders. Hence, each tender ended up needing a completely different build design to enable accessing of the battery box. One thing that I wasn't counting on when I started building this moc is how many Lego parts that exist out there that still aren't available in dark red. That made this build a much tougher challenge then it otherwise would have been. More dark red, Lego! Close up of Jupiter: Close up of #119: Another angle: Yet another angle: How the battery is accessed on Jupiter: How the battery is accessed on #119: Battery access on #119, viewed from rear: My Flickr page: Jayhurst's Flickr Page, Golden Spike Ceremony

Excellent, excellent looking steamer. When I get to Brickworld, I am definitely going to take a close up look at how you did the running boards on that Vanderbilt tender. Vanderbilt's are such a pain in the butt to build, and yours is just about perfect. As to why I'm not in COLTC, I'm actually only about an hour away from the MichLug guys, but I'm about 2 hours away from COLTC. Both groups are appealing, but it's simply all about easier logistics and less abuse on the old gas tank. So, MichLug won out due to proximity. However, MichLug as a group is not going to have a layout at Brickworld this year, so my trains and I are headed up there in a kind of a free lance mode. I'll be there by Wednesday night, and I'll be willing to trade layout setup help to anyone who needs it, for tracktime/yardspace for my steam engines. -Jayhurst

Yeah, I ran into the same problem... so I drove back home, and ordered it from online. Fortunantly, they still had some sets left.

Having purchased 3 Emerald Nights, and several dozen Lego drivers off of Bricklink, I can also concur that BBB drivers fit much, much, tigher onto the axles then Lego drivers do. Several times I've had Lego drivers slip right off the engine's axles while running--- and that has never happened to me with BBBs. My only complaint about BBB wheels is that I wish they were o-ring compatible so I could power the locos from the engine's drivers using BBBs. Other then that, I think BBBs win in every comparison category. I own several hundred dollars worth of BBBs in all sizes and multiple colors, and I would recommend them to anyone. My wish for the future would be that BBB comes out with a 5-stud width driver in both blind and flanged (the largest driver they make currently is a 4-stud wide), and a wheel that's exactly like their small wheel, but with an offset technic hole molded in it so it could be used as a driver. I would buy dozens of each kind if they ever become available.

I have just updated my Flickr site to include lots close up pics of the how the 3rd cylinder's driverod and crank system work, and of how the trailing truck is assembled. Close up pics of the 3rd cylinder's driverod and crank system are here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/3995387832/in/set-72157622490861128/ Close up pics of the trailing truck are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/3995387070/in/set-72157622490861128/ Additional pics and information about the rest of the Union Pacfic 9000 is available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/sets...57622490861128/

Thanks everyone, for all of the nice comments. :-)

ENTERED 4-12-2 Union Pacific 9000 Class Additional pics and information is available on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/sets...57622490861128/ Close up pics of the 3rd cylinder's driverod and crank system are here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/3995387832/in/set-72157622490861128/ Close up pics of the trailing truck are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/3995387070/in/set-72157622490861128/ The Prototype The locomotives of Union Pacific's 9000 class are the largest non-articulated steam engines in the world that were successfully operated. A total of eighty-eight of the these 4-12-2 locomotives were built by Alco between 1926 and 1930. The particular prototype represented by this moc is the 1st engine that was produced for the group, #9000. This engine, when delivered new from the factory, was unique from the rest of locomotives of the 9000 class in that it was equipped with an experimental BL Worthington feedwater heater, which was located on the fireman's side of the engine. The twin water pumps that are prominently mounted on the smokebox front give the 9000's their distinctive look, and most of the engines in the class kept their water pumps in this location during their entire service life, although a handful did have their pumps removed from the smokebox area and relocated, one to each side of the boiler. Those particular waterpump-less smokebox 9000's were referred to by rail crews as "bald-faced 9's". One feature of the 9000's, which was rarely seen on American railroads, is that the engine has a 3rd piston cylinder, valve gear, and drive rod set that is located in-between the two normal pistons, and underneath the boiler. This gives the 9000's a unique off-beat thundering sound while running- there are 6 beats for every full revolution of it's drive wheels instead of the normal 4 beat cadence that the much more common 2-pistoned engines have. The Model This Moc is powered by Power Functions. Two M-motors are located in the middle of the boiler, and are connected to the engine's wheel set at the 4th driver. The battery box and receiver are located in the front of the tender, with easy access for battery recharging/replacing made possible by the removable coal load that covers them. The fully functional 3rd cylinder is modeled in Lego just as it is prototype-- even the axle spacing that exists between the 1st and 2nd drivers on the real 9000's was needed on the moc for the same reasons it is needed on full size engine: in order for the center piston's driverod to clear the 1st driver's axle since the center piston's driverod is connected to, and rotates around, the crankshaft-shaped axle of the 2nd driver. Creating a 4-wheeled leading truck that cleared the 2 outside pistons during corning, while still avoiding the rotating and moving, center-mounted 3rd driverod was the biggest challenge in building this moc. The extra long, fixed wheelbase of the 4-12-2 made getting the engine to round the very sharp curve radius of Lego track quite the challenge. A specially designed trailing truck that pivots as normal, but additionally, allows the axle to slide sideways independently of the trailing truck's frame while the engine is cornering was necessary. An additional complication to the trailing truck is that the wiring harness that travels from the engine's motors to the tender's receiver had to be attached to it, and the wiring harness moves in concert with the frame of the trailing truck. This was done to accommodate the wide swinging cab of the engine, and allow the wiring to clear the bottom of the firebox during corning. The cylindrical-shaped Vanderbilt tender was a fun part of the moc to build, as I have only ever modeled the standard box-tank type tenders before this moc.

Yep, that's my little PF-powered, 0-4-0T yard-goat steamer. :-) If anyone's interested in seeing more pics of it, head to over my Flickr page, located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayhurst/3710...57621181077845/ Enjoy!

For me? Steam. No question. If you've ever stood next to a real-life, coal-fired steam engine while it was operational, and you were positioned close enough to almost touch it as it breathed and hissed even while it sat still, its barely bridled but very visible enthusiasm for motion only momentarily contained and just waiting to be unleashed,...and then the two-tone whistle that was the loudest thing you ever heard blasts its warning as the engineer eases the throttle open and the cylinders chuff and steam is exhaled, and then again, and then again...and with the methodical, repeated churning and turning of the valve gear and driverods acting as the mechanical heartbeat, bringing the engine to life with one piston pushed puff after the other, gaining speed with each wheel rotation, each deep, muscle-powered swoosh of heated air expelling its raw energy,...and if you were standing there smelling the hot, burnt coal, and the feeling the ground rumble in that low pitch that accompanies the movement of such a large creature as it rumbles past you, mere feet away... Well,...if you've experienced that even once, you couldn't possibly NOT be a steam engine fan.

Great contest! Before I start building though, I need some rock solid clarifications concerning the maxiumum allowed width, which is currently stated as "8 studs". Does the 8 studs refer to all of the engines components? Or, is it just refering to the engine's "main body", or as in the case of steam engines, it's "cab" width? For steam engines, can the parts that are used in creating the pistons and driverods extend past 8 stud max width? Before answering, I would like to point out that even Lego's Emerald Night has driverods and pistons that stick out to a width of 9 studs+a little extra. Last question: If running boards are used on a steam engine's boiler, do these also have to be inside the 8 stud max width? This is going to be lots of fun. I can't wait to see what everyone builds :-)