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So I made another train from my stories. This one you might find more elegant than the armored behemoth of a train last time. Meet the Sapphire Express 4-8-4, a mechanical marvel from the years between the first two World Wars. Serving the ARE, this locomotive was fitted to adjust to almost any gauge and tackle slopes not normally suited for its class. As a Lego model, it tackles standard Lego R40 curves with ease. Included is a link for anyone to download the LDD virtual model package and build/customize for their own personal use. 9v, Power Functions, or Powered Up- the train can be made to run on any of those systems. In these trying times, people may find it hard to pay over a grand for a custom or vintage Lego train, much less afford the custom wide radii track to run some of those giant trains; so I released this free LDD model for them to build for far less and possibly with their own pieces at home. Merry Christmas and hope anyone here that’s into trains may enjoy it. I’m sure am.
Cheers,
M.P.Lynes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aT9uSyy9mWLlVqRvITfOQ5LGMo40J0uQ/view?usp=sharingAnd for anyone looking for studio photographs of the train, here’s a few HD shots I uploaded to Reddit…
Lego Sapphire Express MOC 4-8-4 by M.P.Lynes from LEGOtrains
@emperorofthenorthpole have you seen this?
Finally got around to making the passenger car real. It’s actually quite light compared to others of its size at “only” 791 bricks. (Some passenger cars at this size are 1500+, I think).
The LDD virtual model package has been updated to include it with the steam engine via this new link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b-eHGqxtWC6QMaGkIDARln9NOdAeZ8jr/view?usp=sharing791 – 1500 bricks?! That is impressive. My starfighters run anywhere from 600-800, and they are HEAVY.
Hey guys. As a final update to this train, a baggage car has been created. The entire complete train can be downloaded at this link if you want to build one for yourself. I don’t know why Google won’t let me re-use the old link but there’s the new google drive download source:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gq5KqCGMgPxKTveV8aokUhfpyfDok0Dx/view?usp=sharingNeat! I like learning about different large play features within a superlarge build, such as what GBC modules do, cars among a train, floors within a City building.
Does this particular train have a functional playable interior? Some trains do, and some don’t in order to refine the outer surface appearance and detail. That seems to be a tradeoff a lot of the time for trainheads. Am I wrong about this?
Thanks. Yes, the train does have a functional interior array of seating for guests, designed to be light and minimal as the armored train is quite heavy. There’s room for modification by anyone that wants more luxurious accommodations. The outward doors open at both ends to let passengers onto the train while the roof comes off for easy access. The baggage car has sliding doors with locking handles too to keep any precious cargo safe.
I agree there’s a trade off. Depends on what you want to do. Personally, I hope to play with this train with my future children someday so I built it with playable features. Others might want better exterior looks and know no one will ever open up their train cars so they skip the interior design or use it to hold exterior window details together. Or it’s empty all together to keep the cars as light as possible to maximize the number of cars the train can carry.
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing! I’m interested in tearing apart the LDD file to see how it all comes together.
I’m no trainhead, but I am still digging the dark blue / red combination. Is this a commuter train or a long distance train?
This train is so good that I want to see a third car on it. Would the motor handle it during a long display time?
How tall would a station platform need to be (plates above baseplate total) to match the passengers boarding?
Glad you like the color combination. It was a great reason to build in my favorite color. Thii is a long distance train. I’ve got three cars now and it’s all powered by 2 vintage 9v motors. Haven’t tried running this all day but I suppose if you wanted to run something like this for expo’s, you could always snip the thermal fuse like some train groups do already as that fuse prevents them from doing 8hr shifts with long trains. Alternatively, it does have room for the newer Power Functions and Powered Up systems. Just swap motors and plop the battery box in the alternate tender car LDD file. You’ll get extra torque that way too. It’s about four bricks high to get to the floor level but nobody would notice if you do the Lego station standard 2 bricks and a plate. Even the Lego Emerald Night passenger wagon was a little high, if I recall.
I have notied that; most LEGO train stations are at grade or not much higher while the train doors don’t match. Because most trains are built “high”, it seems that most stations need to be dragged upward to match them, quite unlike real life where a high platform makes for a dangerous drop for to the tracks patrons on the platform.
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