THE V.I.P JOURNAL

The engine in your photo appears to be an electric loco with pantographs, and not a diesel?

Tinplate Art posted:

The engine in your photo appears to be an electric loco with pantographs, and not a diesel?

Yowser! My first Letter to the Editor, and you are correct. I will probably remove the pantographs, as I will not be putting up wires for them in V.I.P. I have also corrected my post.

May I ask which manufacturer made that engine, and is it based on a European prototype? Also, what is the track gauge of your engine? I notice you are living in the famous west Mexican state of Jalisco, reportedly the birthplace of both Tequila and Mariache music, and also the location of the famous city of Guadalajara! Viva Mexico, and WELCOME to our forum! ☺

The engine is manufactured by Lego. The track gauge is 1.47 inches, making it bigger than O gauge. If it is based on a real engine, the real engine has a bad design: the front and back are identical (two engineers). If you are pushing a train, neither engineer can see anything.

But I just finished a test run on the floor, and it runs great.

Would it be impolite to ask your age? Many younger folks enjoy LEGO trains.

Tinplate Art posted:

Would it be impolite to ask your age? Many younger folks enjoy LEGO trains.

 

I'm 66 and happily retired in Mexico with my wife. We're both Americans.

I finished the log car, and it is so ugly that I turned it into a flatcar. You can do that with Legos.

I finished the bottom of the crane car, and then decided that it is time for a test run. I used half the tracks to set it up on the floor, and it survived its first run.

I, too, have built my share of LEGO trains, including the Harry Potter set. Mostly for my grandkids, who are now grown up. I am 76. The LEGO engines I built were all motorized. I never saw that electric loco but it looks cool! GOOD LUCK with your plan!

I just finished the crane car. It is better than the Lionel crane car my Dad had that was made around 1953, which I fondly remember.

Vincent Massi posted:

 If it is based on a real engine, the real engine has a bad design: the front and back are identical (two engineers).  If you are pushing a train, neither engineer can see anything.

There wouldn't be two engineers, just one.

Without knowing what country's railroad it's supposed to represent it's difficult to find a prototype photo, but this French locomotive is sorta close:

However, many European diesel and electric locomotives are double ended so they don't require turning.  If in "push" mode on a passenger train, there is a control cab car.

Rusty

Rusty, we had a trackmobile at the paper mill, and it had seats for a driver in the front and back. When it pushed cars, you couldn't see anything, but we had a man on the ground (often me) with a radio. Assuming that that loco is used as a switcher, the problem can be solved.

Vincent Massi posted:

Rusty, we had a trackmobile at the paper mill, and it had seats for a driver in the front and back. When it pushed cars, you couldn't see anything, but we had a man on the ground (often me) with a radio. Assuming that that loco is used as a switcher, the problem can be solved.

These double ended locomotives are pretty much road units.  The Europeans also have hooded locomotives for most switching duties.

Possible the worst "switcher" in the world was when the Santa Fe  added footboards front and back to FT-A units until more switchers could arrive:

I've done some switching also, at the Illinois Railway Museum using the Russian Decapod.  30 feet or so of boiler and 25 feet of tender doesn't enhance visibility much and we always had one or more groundmen as needed.

And the view wasn't a whole lot better from the cab of their Shay:

Rusty

Rusty, that is a good, informative post.

VINCENT: THAT is one cool crane car!

I'm not sure where I grabbed this shot. I don't recall any details on it today, but maybe someone could do an image search with it (that search engine doesn't respond to my browser lately.) It's about the closest I recall to Vincent's. I'm thinking maybe French or more so, Italian.

That is a famous French locomotive called "Femme Enceinte" (Pregnant woman). See here: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/2D2_5500

Regards

Fred

May 1, 2019

Plagued by a long series of delays, construction has officially began on V.I.P. 

Piles of building supplies, along with one overworked fork truck, litter the area. A temporary rail line has allowed the V&N Railroad to move equipment and a large crane around the site.

The chief delay has been caused by my need to go to Guadalajara on Friday and HOPEFULLY buy another train. Another delay involves sorting, storing, and retrieving equipment from several different containers.

Observers expressed surprise at the tight security when night fell.

With everything FINALLY stored where it should be, construction crews led by Vince "Iron Horse" Massi restored a temporary rail line for visitors. Executives are waiting for a final decision on tomorrows potential train purchase before making rail line construction permanent.

Observers also questioned why the security guards are using a 1936 Cord automobile.

V.I.P. PURCHASES NEW TRAIN SET!

Purchase Includes Additional Tracks.

Ending weeks of speculation, V.I.P. has finalized the purchase of a dead rail passenger train, along with a total of 40 pieces of track. The tracks are compatible with V.I.P.'s construction train, which is already in service.

Construction crews hope to have the train running within a few days.