Posted June 24, 20159 yr Hello, I'd like to update my MOC in order to adapt it to the PF system (I think it's time for me to leave the 9V system), and add some details. It's an SD40 union pacific. So I have decided to transform it from 6-wide to 7-wide (I think that 8-wide is too big for a rolling stock). Well, I need help : With an engine like the SD40: is it useful to convert it to 7-wide, rather than powering it with a coupled freight car ? My main problem with a 7-wide SD40 is that it require a nose of 5-wide, how can I deal with it without end with an ugly nose ? Thank you :)
June 24, 20159 yr 7 wide is definitely a difficult scale to work in! In my opinion 8 wide is the best for American trains. The best way for the nose would be cheese slopes in rows of 2x4 on both sides with plates between them. This also makes it possible to put an headlight there. Don't know what would be handier in you situation, but why does it need to be 7 wide? If six wide is good enough why do 7 wide? Your model looks good enough in my opinion.
June 24, 20159 yr Author 7 wide is definitely a difficult scale to work in! In my opinion 8 wide is the best for American trains. The best way for the nose would be cheese slopes in rows of 2x4 on both sides with plates between them. This also makes it possible to put an headlight there. Don't know what would be handier in you situation, but why does it need to be 7 wide? If six wide is good enough why do 7 wide? Your model looks good enough in my opinion. The main reason i want to build it in 7-wide is to put the batterie box and the IR receiver in. This is simply impossible to realise in 6-wide.
June 24, 20159 yr The main reason i want to build it in 7-wide is to put the batterie box and the IR receiver in. This is simply impossible to realise in 6-wide. I don't know, it looks like you are pretty close to a nice 6 wide PF locomotive. Take a look at the instructions for Maersk Container Train, set 10219 (available from customer service at lego.com or in my Conrail MOD here). The tiles bring the long hood out to almost 5 wide but I think that is okay. Of course it is all in the eye of the builder. If you do not like the look of the Maersk loco you could look around at how other folks have dealt with PF and find a solution you like. Of course packing all of the PF into a boxcar (battery, receiver and motor) is easily done and works fine in most cases. In which case you would not have to rebuild any of your existing 9v locomotives, just make a set of dummy trucks. If you have many locomotives you would likely save on PF this way since you do not need to build it into every single locomotive.
June 24, 20159 yr Author The way lego did to hide the PF's elements is not so good, to my mind . It's another reason for me to build a 7-wide one. I've found a guy that did a SD40 BNSF in 6-wide, he had put a sticker to cover the PF elements. But I think that it's not the best way.
June 24, 20159 yr Could you not just modify the Maersk design? I would mean a radical rebuild (and a lot of new parts), but you'd need a pretty radical rebuild to fit the PF in anyway, and the Maersk design is already intended for PF features. Edited June 24, 20159 yr by Redimus
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