I've been obsessed with steam locomotives since I was a child, and had always dreamed of building one from LEGO. Unfortunately, I was never able to buy the Emerald Night set as a child, but as an adult, I decided that I wanted to design my own LEGO Train. When I saw the movie "Murder on the Orient Express", I was amazed by the power and might of the SNCF Class 241-A steam locomotive, and decided to design the locomotive in LEGO.

I would have loved to visit the surviving locomotive 241-A-65 in person for inspiration, but since I was unable to do that, I had to rely on pictures of the steam locomotive, as well as schematics of locomotive 241-A-002, to design my LEGO set. I decided to go with 8 studs for my width, since I felt that I would be able to give my steam locomotive more realistic proportions, and because it would allow the cab to be wide enough to fit both the engineer and fireman onboard.

Since this was the first time I was designing a model in a digital designer (aside from minor attempts I made as a child), I had some difficulty in getting the details just right for my satisfaction. The part I struggled with the most was the pilot truck, which went through nearly a dozen iterations and increasingly advanced SNOT (Studs not on top) techniques so that I could be satisfied with the results. Overall, I'm satisfied with how the locomotive looks, and personally think that it's a decent first attempt at designing a LEGO set.

About the model

This is my LEGO MOC of the SNCF Class 241-A steam locomotive, which is made up of 1,377 pieces. The model includes stickers that are not represented in the renders, such as the red lines outlining the tender, cab, and smoke deflector, as well as gold stripes on the boiler. It features two minifigures: The experienced engineer, responsible for keeping the locomotive in motion, and the enthusiastic fireman, responsible for keeping the fire alive throughout the entire journey.

Features

The model can be motorized with two Large Power Functions motors or one large Powered Up motor (two with an extension cable). The front and rear lights are compatible with Power Functions and Powered Up lights. The tender can fit up to two small Power Functions or Powered Up battery boxes, as well as the Power Functions IR receiver. The model also has a firebox door that opens to reveal the fire in the firebox!

Inspiration

The SNCF Class 241-A is a 4-8-2 "Mountain"-type locomotive that was used in France in the 1930's, and was one of the largest locomotives in Europe (the surviving 241-A-65 is currently the largest operating locomotive in Europe). It was most famous for pulling the Arlberg Orient Express in real life, as well as pulling the Simplon Orient Express in the 2017 version of the movie Murder on the Orient Express.