[MOC] [WIP] Renfe ALVIA 130 high-speed train

[Ferro-Friki]

Hey everyone!

I’m happy to share with you this little project I’ve been working on. It’s a MOC of the Talgo 250 operated by Renfe, known as ALVIA series 130 and nicknamed “El patito” (The duckling). If you haven’t heard of this train before allow me to tell you what makes it so unique.

The Spanish railway is a bit tricky to run on. Currently we have two different track gauges, the wider Iberian gauge for conventional trains, and the narrower International gauge, exclusive for high-speed trains. In order to unify the network across the nation, gauge-changing technology is broadly used to allow passengers to travel all over the country without the need to change trains. Vehicles such as the series 130 are able to do so effortlessly by passing through a dedicated facility at low speed. Not only can this train run on two different gauges, but it can run on both 3kV DC for the conventional lines, and the 25kV AC for high-speed lines, the latter of which allows it to run at speeds of up to 250km/h. And that’s not all! If this train wasn’t enough all-terrain for your taste, by replacing the first coaches on either side with special cars equipped with diesel engines, it can be (relatively) easily modified to run at 200km/h without the need for overhead wires at all! (At this point we’d be talking about the series 730, but that’s a topic for another time)

Enough geeking out, I think you can understand now why I might want to build it in Lego form.

As expected, the nose and cockpit were a bit of a challenge. I’m happy with how they came out, though I might revisit them in the future. The technic modified liftarm 32250 does the job at capturing the shape and the side windows surprisingly well. Since the model is 7 studs wide, the best piece for the windscreen I could find is 51239. It isn’t available in black yet, but it doesn’t stand out too much in dark brown.

If you are familiar with Talgo coaches you already know that their wheel configuration is quite unique, and, as a result, a bit of a headache when attempting to build it with Lego.

The axel on the left is a prototype I know for a fact works reliably. It’s a “simplification” I made of a design for Talgo axels by GONZO http://gonzo.teoriza.com/307 (Check out his Talgo tilting train, it’s still impressive today!) However, in order to have the smallest gap possible between coaches I modified it even more (The design on the right) I haven’t had the chance to test this second iteration yet, so I can’t guarantee it will work, let alone navigate R40 curves. I still have to figure out how to cover the wheels with convincing detailing, not an easy task since there is barely any space and almost no studs to work with. Besides, the structure that holds it together is admittedly weak. This is the part that needs the most reworking before I can bring this model out of stud.io and into the real world.

That’s all I have to show for now. If you have any suggestion/idea on how to fix the axels between coaches please let me know, I could really use some help.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Ferro-Friki
Mistakes and stuff

[Feuer Zug]

Well done on recreating the Talgo 250 trainset. Let us know how the wheel design works.

[Darkkostas25]

Astonishing train!
About axels - sadly I have no idea how or what to do except try it in real bricks :\  

[Paperinik77pk]

Maybe some solution with long brackets to cover the wheel...I've the same problem when working in H0, the more you add, the more it protrudes out of body 

In the meantime....Great Talgo 

 

[Redrado]

Wow! This is very impressive, first time seeing a good recreation of Renfe's 130. While I agree that part 32250 does the job for the cockpit windows, maybe they look too disturbing in a way? Would't it be better to simply use slot studs instead of that part, to make it look more even despite loosing some details? Nonetheless, amazing work!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Beautiful livery and amazing curve shape! 

[Ferro-Friki]

Thank you all! It’s great to see you guys like this train set.

On 12/2/2022 at 5:52 PM, Feuer Zug said:

Well done on recreating the Talgo 250 trainset. Let us know how the wheel design works.

The diagonal axis forces the two coaches on either side of the axel to turn on the same direction when running on curves, and on straight track it also locks the axel in place making it run straight without swerving to either side. It works pretty well from what I have tested, however, it tries to pull itself apart if you force it to drive through two consecutive switches, so it’s not perfect. Here are some close up pictures of a prototype I made.

On 12/24/2022 at 1:54 PM, Redrado said:

Wow! This is very impressive, first time seeing a good recreation of Renfe's 130. While I agree that part 32250 does the job for the cockpit windows, maybe they look too disturbing in a way? Would't it be better to simply use slot studs instead of that part, to make it look more even despite loosing some details? Nonetheless, amazing work!

Yeah, I know what you mean, the real train has a much more flush and aerodynamic cockpit, I should revisit this model and make it more accurate.

[Paperinik77pk]

A spectacular train!  The study behind that "middle wheel" is impressive!

Good work, really! 

Ciao!

Davide

[Redrado]

The bogies look awesome! Despite their issues, it's still amazing 

 

[Feuer Zug]

14 hours ago, Ferro-Friki said:

Thank you all! It’s great to see you guys like this train set.

The diagonal axis forces the two coaches on either side of the axel to turn on the same direction when running on curves, and on straight track it also locks the axel in place making it run straight without swerving to either side. It works pretty well from what I have tested, however, it tries to pull itself apart if you force it to drive through two consecutive switches, so it’s not perfect. Here are some close up pictures of a prototype I made.

Impressive design for the Talgo wheels. Kudos.

[Nikonissen]

I LOVE your model, and especially coupling solution, It seems more stabile than the one I'm using. So when I get back home, I'll definetly try it out!