[MOC] TRAXX AC3 3.0

[Beck]

Hello Everyone,

After about two years of design, my third prototype of the TRAXX AC3 is finally complete. I built my first version in 2015 which was my first Lego train I had ever attempted to model. I wasn’t aware of any technical drawings as I had just begun the hobby, so I just eyeballed it and did my best. It was powered by two lego train motors and the technic AA battery box. After about a year, I slowly began to notice it wasn’t quite as proportional as I had wanted it to be, so I redesigned it in 2016. Since I had designed my first version entirely in LDD I had used the battery box as as structural member, which made it very difficult to replace. I was also disappointed with the performance of the train motor, so I used 2 XL motors in my second version; however, this meant that I could not accurately model the ribbing on the side that I had modeled in my first version. I made a couple of visual improvements to the cab of the locomotive including the addition of the footplates below the front lights and rescaled the windscreen. To my surprise, the XL motors did not significantly improve the locomotive’s performance; Lego battery boxes just wouldn’t cut it. I also improved the battery box accessibility and overall rigidity of the model. Although I was pleased with the improvements in my second revision, I still wanted to improve the aesthetics without compromising the performance. Up until now, I had used the standard lego PF train wheels, but after a suggestion from @jtlan, I considered using a more larger and more realistic wheel. To me, the large wheels were one of the defining features of the TRAXX, so I knew that I had to include them in my third version. I also wanted to improve the sloping on either side of the windscreen to more accurately represent the curves. I replaced the 4x1 curved slopes with angled 1x2 cheese slopes connected to a 1x1 tile with clip in conjunction with part #25893. The livery was also changed from the rather bland Railpool livery to the eye-catching SwissRail livery. Regarding the motorization, I downgraded from the XL motors to the L motors and replaced the standard lego battery box with a BuWizz. When I tested it on the rails, it was able to pull my nine 8-wide wagons with ease. The video will have to wait because my ME models track came apart due to the unevenly distributed load combined with lateral forces on the rails.

Photos of older versions:
https://bricksafe.com/pages/Beck/train_mocs

 

 

 

 

I think this is my final version... for now.

Thank you for reading.

[Toastie]

Wow.

That is really nice. I am really taken off - because >today< in Wuppertal (don't even Google that, it is simply the train station I am using to get to and from work) such a beautiful loco was passing by. No load, just the engine. Smoothly. It was painted in the red - whatever - DB scheme - but you captured the "surface" so very well. There are so many of nearly the same shape - but this one is really different. Congratulations!

Very, very nicely done.

All the best,
Thorsten 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wow impressive sides  ... excellent construction technique and beautiful locomotive! 

[Man with a hat]

Wow. Really nicely done. That front is stunning. Also the sides are looking good and you can see you put some effort in the top as well. that is fantastic.

[Beck]

On 10/11/2019 at 3:46 PM, Toastie said:

Wow.

That is really nice. I am really taken off - because >today< in Wuppertal (don't even Google that, it is simply the train station I am using to get to and from work) such a beautiful loco was passing by. No load, just the engine. Smoothly. It was painted in the red - whatever - DB scheme - but you captured the "surface" so very well. There are so many of nearly the same shape - but this one is really different. Congratulations!

Very, very nicely done.

All the best,
Thorsten 

Thank you. It's good to hear that I was able to "capture the surface" of the locomotive. 

 

On 10/13/2019 at 1:16 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Wow impressive sides  ... excellent construction technique and beautiful locomotive! 

I, too, am quite pleased with the sides. 

 

On 10/15/2019 at 11:52 PM, Man with a hat said:

Wow. Really nicely done. That front is stunning. Also the sides are looking good and you can see you put some effort in the top as well. that is fantastic.

I really spent waaaay too much time on the front, but the result was realistic. Yeah, I had quite a difficult time finding reference images of the top of the train. Eventually, I settled for a couple of photos of an H0 model of the same train.

https://vasutmodell-szemle.blog.hu/2019/06/25/traxx_3_az_a_c_m_e_-tol  (pictures near the bottom of the page)

[Paperinik77pk]

Great work, this locomotive is impressive!!! The colors, the sides, the slopes on cabin...fantastic!