Locomotive Annie Posted March 28, 2013 Posted March 28, 2013 Two new locomotive crews arrived in Kotanga this morning all the way from Holland via PostNL. While having a bit of an explore about the Kotanga yard they found the preservation society's vintage railbus parked outside the loco shed so they thought they'd have a got at seeing if they could start it. They tried and they tried all of them taking their turn with the odd oversized starting handle, but the old railbus just wouldn't go. When Olivia found them she was very amused, 'Of course it won't go if I've got one of the pistons for the engine here in my hand,' she laughed. Yes that's a Lego clockwork motor The railbus does run at a nice steady speed, though not terribly far and it only travels in one direction and can't run in reverse. The rubber tyre grips the track nicely and the small guide wheels keep it on the track. In the last photo the front bogie has been moved back one stud which looks much better. I've only got that car body part in tan and I don't know if it's available in red or not. If I can't get it in red I might just make some stickers to cover the sides up so it blends in better. I deliberately used a mix of old and new and faded and not faded red bricks because I wanted the railbus to look as if it's had patch repairs to its paintwork, but hasn't had a complete repaint yet. The railbus seats four passengers which wasn't too bad I thought as it's not that big. I fitted a pin type trailer hitch on the back of the railbus, but I don't think it can haul very much. Possibly a small luggage trolley, but that would be about it. Edit: Apparently that vehicle base is available in Dark Red and not ordinary Red. Dark Red would look as much out of place as Tan does already so i think I'll make up some stickers. Quote
Spitfire2865 Posted March 28, 2013 Posted March 28, 2013 Oh very nice. What brand are those side steps? They look interesting. Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted March 28, 2013 Posted March 28, 2013 The lady with the piston in her hand is a nice touch! She looks so real! Quote
Hrw-Amen Posted March 28, 2013 Posted March 28, 2013 That is a odd looking little railbus. I have never seen anything like that before, really it is most peculiar? So have you based this on a real life type or is it your imagination running wild, whatever, it is very interesting and that is good. Nice to see interesting and different things even if at first glance they are unusual as often it is those unusual things that spark ideas of your own leading to the most wonderful creations. For example your little railbus has made me think of a Postman Pat Van on rails!! Will i ever build one, who knows? One thing though, I have been wondering if there was anyway to get those clockwork motors to run on rails and if so what would the performance be like? I have seen a few on Bricklink whilst searching and often considered them, but have not yet bought any. Maybe I should experiment with one when I next order? Thank you for the spark! Quote
Dan-147 Posted March 28, 2013 Posted March 28, 2013 I have to say, Locomotive Annie, that you have really inspired me with this post (not that your other posts were not inspiring). I have two of those clockwork motors from my first awakening from my dark age (just before my gray age). I had pulled the wheels off one of them and replaced them with train wheels from a 4,5 volt motor. I wanted to make a rail-sprinter but it never looked right. Your model reminds me of the Galloping Goose railcars built by Rio Grande Southern Railroad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galloping_Goose_(railcar) Now, I have to get to it... Dan-147 Quote
Locomotive Annie Posted March 29, 2013 Author Posted March 29, 2013 (edited) Oh very nice. What brand are those side steps? They look interesting. Thanks Spitfire I think those side steps are a mounting piece for the landing gear on some variety of helicopter or another. I'm afraid I don't remember the brand, but they make very nice side steps and I wish I had more of them. The lady with the piston in her hand is a nice touch! She looks so real! That's my custom Olivia from the 'Friends' series. I modified her to have a hard hat and safety boots after a friend teased me that Olivia should be given the sack for her lack of Health & Safety compliance. That is a odd looking little railbus. I have never seen anything like that before, really it is most peculiar? So have you based this on a real life type or is it your imagination running wild, whatever, it is very interesting and that is good. Nice to see interesting and different things even if at first glance they are unusual as often it is those unusual things that spark ideas of your own leading to the most wonderful creations. For example your little railbus has made me think of a Postman Pat Van on rails!! Will i ever build one, who knows? One thing though, I have been wondering if there was anyway to get those clockwork motors to run on rails and if so what would the performance be like? I have seen a few on Bricklink whilst searching and often considered them, but have not yet bought any. Maybe I should experiment with one when I next order? Thank you for the spark! Glad to provide the inspiration Hrw-Amen My railbus started out as a simple exercise to see what I could do with a Lego clockwork motor, but as I became more drawn into the project I guess I took inspiration from timber tramway railbuses used here in New Zealand as well as some of the railbuses that were used on the narrow gauge railways in Ireland. I'm still fiddling around with some of the details at the moment as I'm not entirely happy with the look and fit of the engine cover, but what started out as a bit of fun might well end up as a permanent member of the Kotanga Tramway's rolling stock roster. I've got one of those radiator and headlamp pieces in yellow as well and I've just purchased a yellow clockwork motor on ebay so I was thinking I'll build myself a railtruck for the permanent way dept guys to scoot about in. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=fabaj3 I have to say, Locomotive Annie, that you have really inspired me with this post (not that your other posts were not inspiring). I have two of those clockwork motors from my first awakening from my dark age (just before my gray age). I had pulled the wheels off one of them and replaced them with train wheels from a 4,5 volt motor. I wanted to make a rail-sprinter but it never looked right. Your model reminds me of the Galloping Goose railcars built by Rio Grande Southern Railroad. http://en.wikipedia...._Goose_(railcar) Now, I have to get to it... Dan-147 Thanks Dan the great thing about this forum is seeing other members MOCs and being inspired by their approach to loco building. I hope I give as good as I get because some of the ideas I've picked up have been absolutely amazing. I didn't know that the wheels could be removed on these clockwork motors which is why I used the road wheels that were attached to it when I got the motor. The last thing I wanted to do was break such a nice mech by trying to pull the wheels off if they weren't supposed to come off. Edited March 29, 2013 by Locomotive Annie Quote
zephyr1934 Posted March 29, 2013 Posted March 29, 2013 Yes that's a Lego clockwork motor The railbus does run at a nice steady speed, though not terribly far and it only travels in one direction and can't run in reverse. The rubber tyre grips the track nicely and the small guide wheels keep it on the track. In the last photo the front bogie has been moved back one stud which looks much better. I've only got that car body part in tan and I don't know if it's available in red or not. If I can't get it in red I might just make some stickers to cover the sides up so it blends in better. I deliberately used a mix of old and new and faded and not faded red bricks because I wanted the railbus to look as if it's had patch repairs to its paintwork, but hasn't had a complete repaint yet. ... Edit: Apparently that vehicle base is available in Dark Red and not ordinary Red. Dark Red would look as much out of place as Tan does already so i think I'll make up some stickers. There's no future behind you! So what's the problem only gong one way (grin). Still, I think dark red for the seats could look good, especially if you either explicitly incorporate it into a red/dark red color scheme or if you sprinkle a little more dark red in the build. That's my custom Olivia from the 'Friends' series. I modified her to have a hard hat and safety boots after a friend teased me that Olivia should be given the sack for her lack of Health & Safety compliance. Shouldn't she be wearing safety goggles though? (grin some more) Quote
Locomotive Annie Posted March 29, 2013 Author Posted March 29, 2013 There's no future behind you! So what's the problem only gong one way (grin). Still, I think dark red for the seats could look good, especially if you either explicitly incorporate it into a red/dark red color scheme or if you sprinkle a little more dark red in the build. Shouldn't she be wearing safety goggles though? (grin some more) Yes I think going with the red-dark red colour scheme would be the answer Zephyr. I tried a few experiments to see if I could improve the railbus's appearance and none of them really worked. With railbus type vehicles on the timber tramways here in New Zealand it was common to build a simple turntable arrangement into the chassis at the balance point and the turntable could be jacked down to lift the flanged wheels clear of the rails so the railbus could be turned around for its return journey. On my railbus I hinted at this with projecting pieces either side of the chassis to represent the built in turntable. I wouldn't have a clue where to begin with actually building a working turntable on the chassis, so if there are any visitors to my layout when I'm running the railbus I'll have to do a, 'Gosh look at that!' - and while they're looking away quickly turn the railbus around by hand. I did actually start to modify a pair of Lego goggles for Olivia so she would have safety glasses, only the Friends minidoll heads are narrower than minifig heads so I haven't had much success just yet. Fortunately the spacing for the eyes is the same which does help to make the conversion a little easier. Eventually I'll take up an 000 brush and use my old military modelling skills to give Olivia a pair of overalls as well. She should be a proper Health & Safety poster girl then Quote
zephyr1934 Posted April 4, 2013 Posted April 4, 2013 Speaking of the Galloping Goose, while looking for another photo I stumbled on this one I took at BW 2009, I don't know who built it, possibly Tony Sava. Quote
SavaTheAggie Posted April 5, 2013 Posted April 5, 2013 It is a fine Galloping Goose, but it is not mine. Quote
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