Here is my design of a Hood Diesel-Electric like used on
most of America's Rails. The engine started out as the old Lego
Freight train.I made it longer, and move the cab forward a bit,
and raised up the "hood". With all the room left over
in the inside, I decided to make two Engines. I heard from a old
employer that these engines use 12 cylinder engines, with a 1 foot
or more diameter piston. That is massive, no wonder they can string
100 or more cars behind these things. To look at the engines from
the outside I put a few old car doors, on the side. It turned out
to be a pretty good model. If you like this engine, you should also
see Will Chapman's
Train Page. He has also built a good looking diesel engine.
Trying to make realistic looking cars was a challenge all
by itself. I went through a lot of different designs. I tried a
box car, but the sliding doors soon became a problem. Yes, the old
freight train came with a box car, but it was way to small for and
engine of this size. It needed to be taller and longer, and have
two more sets of wheels. I also tried a multiple level car carrier.
Talk about hard to make. Lego cars are just to wide and tall, to
make a realistic looking car. The log cars were my third idea. They
are simple, easy to make, and do not require many pieces. See about
10 of these things hooked up to a train, and it looks awesome. And
as an extra bonus I was able to use another classic building system
- Lincoln Logs, as the wood for the train to carry.
