Three and four cylinder rigid frame locomotives are fairly common in Europe, but few American railroads were ever sold on the idea. The American Locomotive Company (ALCO) sold the railroad on the idea of a three cylinder steam engine to improve power and efficiency. They wanted to move more freight, faster, and none of their engines were up to the task. In the 1920s, Union Pacific, like most American railroads, was experiencing a traffic boom. And, of course, I want it to be the most accurate model I think I can make.īefore I go on, a little background on the Union Pacific Type for those who may not know about it. I want this engine to be a showcase of what can be done if you are willing to not be a purist. I want to try out aftermarket electrical solutions for powering, controlling and augmenting my UP 9000 model. I want a UP 9000 I can do that with, too, but I also have other goals. I certainly think the new one looks better but, more importantly, it’s a really good runner, and I run it every chance I get. It may be clear from those two past projects, but I like weird wheel arrangements! Once again, not a great runner.Īnd the rebuild: The new Triplex is probably my favorite engine to date. Here is the circa 2009 original: My first Erie Triplex. It’s only because I have since built several successful steam locomotives that I am making another attempt at the 9000.Ī couple years ago I rebuilt another one of my early locomotive projects, the Erie P-1 “Triplex” locomotive. When I was just starting out, I was not up to the challenge, and might have been better off choosing something a little more straightforward to build. It’s also worth asking if you, the builder, are up to the challenge. While I conduct my research, I am not usually working with bricks, but I am thinking a lot about how I will attempt to build the various features of my prototype. So, in selecting a prototype to model, it is definitely worth asking yourself if it can be done with the tools available, in this case, LEGO bricks. Admittedly, a 4-12-2 steam locomotive pushes the boundaries of what is doable, but I wouldn’t try it now if I didn’t feel like I could succeed. Feasibility is certainly one important consideration in choosing what you want to build. I felt it was time to take on this project again because I think, this time, I can actually do it. It’s been many years since it’s been together. It sat on static display in PennLUG’s early train layouts for a while, but I need my engines to run and, if they don’t, I eventually take them apart. It’s unique 4-12-2 wheel arrangement posed an equally unique set of challenges that I wasn’t able to overcome. Out of all the engines I have built it was, by far, the worst runner of them all. In fact, it was one of my first attempts at a train MOC, completed in, I think, 2008: My original UP 9000 at least sort of looked the part, but ran terribly. I wanted to model the 9000 because I have actually done it before. For this series, I have chosen the Union Pacific’s 9000, or Union Pacific Type, locomotive. Knowing this, I try to do my best with each one, and choose them carefully. If you’re like me, you have way more half-baked build ideas than you will likely ever get around to. It was this project, more so than any I have previously built, that showed me how complex that process can actually be. The first step in building a LEGO steam locomotive is to decide which locomotive you want to build. Part I: “Before You Touch a Brick” – Research for a LEGO Locomotive Project I hope that this will help people who are struggling with what I think is a particularly difficult type of model to build or, at least, be of some interest to the readers of this site. Instead, I will lay out my approach to building a steam locomotive and why I think it is effective. At any rate, my designs are usually pretty fragile and don’t really lend themselves to redistribution via instructions. My intention is to share some experiences and techniques that I hope people can apply to any steam locomotive project, and perhaps other types of LEGO models as well. While I will focus on a specific locomotive project I am currently working on, this series will not include a full set of step-by-step instructions to that locomotive. I intend to cover a variety of topics in this series including research, the use of custom elements, aftermarket electrical devices, and building techniques. This will be the first in a series of articles about my process of building a LEGO steam locomotive.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |