A Lego TGR Y-Class Locomotive in 1960s "Blood and Custard" Livery

Tasmanian Government Railways Locomotive Y2 at Hobart Yard (now the site of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation), circa 1970s.
Image via SDS Models' Y Class page.

My dad was a railwayman, starting as a clerk, studying at night to become a civil engineering technical officer, winding up as the supervisor for track rehabilitation design and works, whiile also being a derailment first responder. I grew up around trains, talking trains. I know what "BO-BO" and "CO-CO" mean. (Number of axles in the bogies at either end of a loco, for the uninitiated.) In short, I love trains. I love trains so much that, the clincher in deciding to move to Melbourne to marry my beloved Linda, was, "Hey, if it goes tits up again, at least I'll be able to get around by train!" It hasn't gone tits up, and I get around Australia's "Paris of the South Seas" by train and recumbent trike. And I still love trains.

Since dad's passing in 2020, I've wanted to build a model railway, a diorama of Tassy's Tasman Limited, but space in Mousehouse is limited, so the project has languished a bit but, lately, The Lovely Linda and I have been considering a garden railway in L-Guage - The Orient Express or the Disney Train, primarily, to sweeten it for Linda. However, having seen a few MOC Lego railway models that immediately reminded me of my first ever rail journey as a wildly enthusiastic 6yo(?), on The Tasman Limited, I figured I could probably brick-up a Y-Class (a Tasmanian spec'd English Electric 800 class) in my sleep. And I have! Wide awake, though, lol.

Now, this design, done in the aging and venerable Bricksmith app, is a draft. The front of the engine housing is blunt and square, because there seem to be no available bricks to round the corners, like Y2 above, but it proves the concept. So, to improve the concept, I plan to 3D print a few custom bricks on my newly acquired Anycubic Kobra S1. Lego kndly publish their branding colours, their first 4 brick colours, in Hex RGB and Pantone, for model makers like me - what other billion dollar corporate in the world is so generous?! And their Red is what I need to find the right filament. As it turns out, the red currently in my ACE Pro is a near-as-damn-to-swearing match!

Lego as an important tool for historical recreation. Who knew? Lego needs to be World Heritage Listed. They ARE that important.

Model Files Downloads

• Bricksmith Y-Class Loco prototype - (Very much a beta version, may not be updated, requires Bricksmith software.)
• OpenSCAD custom bricks file - bricks with rounded corners for the engine bay nose cone and extra long baseplate with holes for cables and power system bogies. A printable battery box housing may also be added soon, in order to match this to Lego red.