4-6-0 - first ever engine attempt

[Covenant84]

Hi all.

Here's my (WIP) first attempt at a steam engine. So far I'm pretty happy with the boiler and tender. The cab, wheels, centre coupling and some details need work but they'll have to wait until I can get more bits. The chasis isn't very strong when handled at the moment, may redesign from scratch. It's also having derailing issues on corners - I think the problems the current centre coupling.

C&C welcome.

[Srbandrews]

Really great start. The boiler and tender are particularly good.

A possible contributing factor in the derailment may be your centre of gravity. You currently have quite a skeletal chassis, meaning all the mass is up in the boiler, making it easier to tip.

Love what you've done so far.

[Electricsteam]

I think you did really well for a first attempt! I remember when I made my first one it looked so bad XD

[zephyr1934]

The boiler, firebox and tender all look to have a good start. I Think most steam engines of this vintage would have had two domes on the boiler, one for sand and the other the steam dome (at least they would in the US, but this looks to be a British locomotive, which I am less familiar with). The cab windows do not look prototypical, but that only matters if you are trying to reproduce a specific locomotive. In the side view the underframe looks quite bare, definitely needs cylinders and some detailing... but if you are having running problems that lack of detail will make your life a lot easier since you do not have to figure out how to preserve the details while redesigning. Also, the way you built up the boiler on plates should make redesigning the running gear a lot easier.

Often times the biggest challenge with a lego steam engine is simply getting it to run the way you want it to. That just takes a little trial and error... and upon stumbling over an error, forensic analysis to figure out what needs to change. To this end, building up "quick sketches" is a great approach. That is to say, don't worry about colors, or if your bricks are too long, etc. Just get the axles in the right place. Once you have an idea, run it by hand over the track to see if it binds anywhere, if yes tweak and repeat, if no, try it with the tender, then add the boiler back on, etc. until you are happy with it. One last suggestion if you built it by hand (rather than CAD first) you might want to preserve your current frame in case you accidentally go in the wrong direction when redesigning the mechanicals.

===========

edit- scratch that, indeed, it looks like many British locomotives only had one dome

Edited February 5, 2015 by zephyr1934

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Nice first work!

Now you need to complete the underside body of your locomotive with valves, piston rods and some details (like fake brakes) to fill the gap between the train baseplate and the wheels.