[moc] Virginian AE 2-10-10-2 Mallet

[SteamSewnEmpire]

These were so large that the cylinders had to be removed when ALCO shipped these to the Virginia tidewater. They had the largest diameter boilers of any locomotive in history, and were considered the ultimate slow drag freight engine.

 

[Murdoch17]

Only one word can describe the real-world prototype: Massive.

I add another one (and two extra letters) on to the end of that word to sum up your model: Massively Impressive!

[bogieman]

Excellent work as usual. All these different models of steam locomotives you've created have been really educational for me, all my knowledge is on diesels. On this prototype the tender seems small relative to the loco.

It appears both "bogies" swivel re the boiler at the middle driver so it should handle curves pretty well, maybe even R40 without excessive swingout.

[deraven]

Impressive.  I appreciate that you took the time to capture the hump of the boiler that could have easily been ignored.  Great build!

[SteamSewnEmpire]

Bulked up the boiler (hightened, but lost one stud in the front) and ditched the rear top downslope (I decided it just wasn't worth the accuracy to make the locomotive appear less burly. The forward and side slopes remain), as well as shrinking the tender.

I think this is much closer to the mark, frankly. The minifigure gives some idea of scale. He's probably still a bit too big for this size, but it's at least close. 

The only thing I'm not so happy about is the front wheelset being unpowered (the loco is driven by a single XL motor). I would have preferred 2x XL motors, but it would have come at the expense of aesthetics, and I don't think it would have been worth the tradeoff.

Edited August 8, 2020 by SteamSewnEmpire

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Epic work! 

This beast looks like the original locomotive! 

[mark6399]

Looks good! I like the update you made with the beefed up boiler.

[Pdaitabird]

Great work, especially the subtle slope of the boiler. It's nice to see someone building an articulated locomotive that isn't yet another Big Boy. There are so many interesting prototypes like this one that aren't modeled very often - you've certainly done it justice!

[Coal Fired Bricks]

On 8/8/2020 at 1:31 AM, SteamSewnEmpire said:

The only thing I'm not so happy about is the front wheelset being unpowered (the loco is driven by a single XL motor). I would have preferred 2x XL motors, but it would have come at the expense of aesthetics, and I don't think it would have been worth the tradeoff.

Tender power?  Cale did it with this y6b's and em1(and one other one that I can't remember)

 

 

The loco looks fantastic

[SteamSewnEmpire]

22 hours ago, Coal Fired Bricks said:

Tender power?  Cale did it with this y6b's and em1(and one other one that I can't remember)

 

 

The loco looks fantastic

Thanks. It's definitely a top contender for building

I'm not going with tender power for a few reasons: 1) I am not confident about a 4 axle tender being able to push a 12 axle locomotive and maintain stability 2), I am a purist, and like my engines to pull, and 3) that particular tender is pretty small - not sure I could even get 2 can motors in there.

One thing I likely could do is get 3x large PF motors in the loco - 2 for the trailing drivers, and one for the front set. The question then becomes: is 3x large motors a better tradeoff than 1x XL motor? Especially with all 3 nursing on one battery pack?

Edited August 12, 2020 by SteamSewnEmpire

[High_Admiral]

I think I'd be worried about the differences in power between the two engine sets, maybe some sort of shared drive train with measures allowing a bit of slippage between the two driver sets would do better? Almost certainly, the L motors would probably be a benefit over a single XL, but as I said, power transmission to the drivers has me worried. The big Virginian looks great, and I think it should run as well as it looks. Can't wait to see it in the plastic.

[SteamSewnEmpire]

8 hours ago, High_Admiral said:

I think I'd be worried about the differences in power between the two engine sets, maybe some sort of shared drive train with measures allowing a bit of slippage between the two driver sets would do better? Almost certainly, the L motors would probably be a benefit over a single XL, but as I said, power transmission to the drivers has me worried. The big Virginian looks great, and I think it should run as well as it looks. Can't wait to see it in the plastic.

Yeah, I was wondering if that would cause problems. I might be able to just run a shared technic axle through the boiler. I'll see what I can work out when I get back from vacation.

[Craig Strader]

It looks great. But I can't imagine as to why none were preserved.

[SteamSewnEmpire]

4 minutes ago, Craig Strader said:

It looks great. But I can't imagine as to why none were preserved.

Virginian was a smallish, kind of no-nonsense railroad. Only three total locomotives from the entire line were spared.

[Craig Strader]

Ok. Where are they at then?

[Andy Glascott]

23 minutes ago, Craig Strader said:

Ok. Where are they at then?

According to Wikipedia there is one steamer preserved, on display in Roanoke, VA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginian_Railway

[zephyr1934]

10 hours ago, Craig Strader said:

It looks great. But I can't imagine as to why none were preserved.

Big steam was obsoleted on the VGN when they electrified in the 1920's. Most preserved steam locomotives were pulled from the scrapping lines at the very end of steam (ca. 1950). A few significant steam locomotives were preserved, e.g., many railroads kept their "first locomotive" (off the top of my head: B&O, NP, GN, SP) and some significant locomotives (NYC 999), but many locomotives that should have survived didn't, e.g., I think one of the golden spike locomotives was cut up in the 1920's even though it's significance was recognized. That is also why there are so few preserved streamlined steamers. Some had their shrouds removed as they were relegated to secondary trains or freight, while others were scrapped outright because they represented a losing bet and were out of fashion (Hiawatha's) which happened 5-10 years before anyone thought much about steam preservation. It did not help that the crack passenger trains were usually the first to get diseasels but many of the displaced high speed passenger locomotives were very specialized and did not have much else they were good for. Most of the preserved big steam survived because they were among the last steamers to be replaced by diesel and by that point people recognized how unique these machines were compared to their replacements.

[Craig Strader]

1 minute ago, zephyr1934 said:

Big steam was obsoleted on the VGN when they electrified in the 1920's. Most preserved steam locomotives were pulled from the scrapping lines at the very end of steam (ca. 1950). A few significant steam locomotives were preserved, e.g., many railroads kept their "first locomotive" (off the top of my head: B&O, NP, GN, SP) and some significant locomotives (NYC 999), but many locomotives that should have survived didn't, e.g., I think one of the golden spike locomotives was cut up in the 1920's even though it's significance was recognized. That is also why there are so few preserved streamlined steamers. Some had their shrouds removed as they were relegated to secondary trains or freight, while others were scrapped outright because they represented a losing bet and were out of fashion (Hiawatha's) which happened 5-10 years before anyone thought much about steam preservation. It did not help that the crack passenger trains were usually the first to get diseasels but many of the displaced high speed passenger locomotives were very specialized and did not have much else they were good for. Most of the preserved big steam survived because they were among the last steamers to be replaced by diesel and by that point people recognized how unique these machines were compared to their replacements.

Explains the fate of the Norfolk and Western steam engines

[BurkusCircus]

Yep, makes sense

[Lego4loco]

@SteamSewnEmpire, Incredible work on my absolute favorite locomotive. I am new to Eurobricks, and am actually a locomotive collector. Would you be able to help me perhaps? I wanted to buy the AE class in o scale, and due to these crazy times couldn't afford the very expensive asking price. I would love to have two of these to display as pushers in a display in my home.  

[Toastie]

6 hours ago, Lego4loco said:

@SteamSewnEmpire, Incredible work on my absolute favorite locomotive.

I am not sure, but there were some issues with comments from SSE or the like. His status is "Banned outlaw" (as it says below his avatar) - which in turn (I believe) means that he may not be able to reply publicly. I have no clue, but personal messages may still work. A moderator would know for sure.

Sorry.

Best regards and welcome to EB!

Thorsten