I've delved into steam locomotives with my latest stud.io model. Always fancied giving it a go and I like the look of GWR locomotives, so I thought what could be better than the Hogwarts Express (actually GWR locomotive "Olton Hall"). Carriages are next on the agenda, but I thought I'd share the locomotive in the meantime.


I borrowed a lot from the designs of builders on flickr who have gone before me, particularly Britishbricks and Zanthera.
There's some dodgy flexible hose work in there - I haven't really got the hang of bending them in stud.io so the bar over the front end of the boiler isn't really connected properly. Also although the 4x4 dish on the front with the "Hogwarts Express" nameplate is available in stud.io, the macaroni black nameplate tile is not. The whole build was made pretty challenging by sticking to the limits of what is readily available in dark red (and pearl gold in a couple of instances). Flexible hoses in dark red may not come in the exact length I need, but I'm not opposed to cutting them - I definitely remember there was at least one Technic set in the 90s where cutting flexible hose was in the instructions so it's arguably still a purist technique!
And speaking of purist techniques... the driving wheels are not actual Lego but BigBenBricks wheels - apparently he makes very high quality injection moulded wheels in various sizes, and these ones are a bit bigger than the largest Lego train wheels. Those wheels don't actually drive the locomotive - there's a powered up train motor in the tender along with a battery box/hub/whatever they call them these days!
This
should be able to navigate R40 standard Lego track, but we'll see when it eventually gets built - it might need some tweaks. I hope that'll be in 2021 but with the sizeable investment in parts it'll require that might not be a realistic goal! It has to join a build queue behind the Grattan Bridge, the Irish Rail commuter and the train station.