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'Industrial' Locomotive Updated [0.7]

Updated to 0.7 version while preserving original design.

An attempt on constructing a steam locomotive capable of pulling a decent size trains without the use of Peaceman's propellers. It should be treated as a proof of concept rather than a finished construction. Max speed: ~40km/h. Can be safely operated at full speed on curves of up to 15deg (per 15m length rail section). Operating on bends tighter than that requires very well graded immediate vicinity of tracks as the driving wheels will veer off the track. Since it is composed of two main grids (the support frame and the driving unit/power plant) and 14 smaller (shafts, suspensions, bogies) and relies heavily on rope belts it may not be viable for multiplayer (untested).


Important: The construction exploits an undocumented feature: when two one-sided catch blocks are put back-to-back, their rotating subgrids are treated as one. Thus it is sufficient to provide the propulsion to only one side of each axis.

It is a 'compact' design: the bottom part of the chassis (below the 1/2 block tall recommended platform height) fits well within 1 block space. Regarding height, it is well below 1.5 block (counting from the base of the rail).

The blueprint contains a 'prefab' which after pasting has to be set up:
1. Paste the blueprint over a relatively straight section of the rails.
2. Connect the ropes as shown on the illustrations (same configuration for both sides).
Rope belt configuration: each steam engine connects through nearest adjacent central shaft to the wheels on two axes below it (each side -- different wheel axel). Additionally it is recommended to directly connect axels 1-3 and 2-4 by rope belts (under the chassis). Also, to limit jumping of the driving unit one may connect two main grids by ropes (rope eyes located near the seats). However, if the train needs to be able to pass switches at full speed this last connection is not recommended.
3. Remove the planks connecting the shafts.
4. Put medium reinforced bombard wheels (8 in total) on the heads of the drive shafts.
5. Remove the planks connecting the drive unit with the support frame. They are located right under the fuel intakes of the engines.

Running both steam engines requires inverting the throttle of one of them. If despite two engines running the locomotive is not moving then shut down one engine, invert the throttle (using remote control) and restart the previously shut-down engine.


Special thanks to Equinox and Peaceman for wonderful mods, use of which has made this construction possible.

Disclaimer: Before uploading this blueprint to the Workshop I searched for existing construction in order to check if the similar 'engineering solution' (locomotive propelled by wheels with two grids free to shift in just one dimension) has been already published here. If I missed such, I will be happy to credit the prior construction when notified.

Update notice: Originally the blueprint used just the weights under the chassis. I've replaced them with chests following the solution by Xaerthus.

Operation tips:
- When pulling shorter trains or maneuvering just one of the two steam engines may be active for fuel efficiency.
- For longer/heavier trains it is highly recommended to operate both engines in sync as otherwise the forces involved may 'tear' (desync) rope belts.
- If after connecting to a train the wheels are sliding over the rail, add some weight (stones, ingots, weights, etc.) to the chests located between the wheels. These chests have lids on the top and should be easily accessible from the sides. Do not add the weights to the chests next to the operator seats as they are on a separate subgrids.
- Some clanging noises during operating the locomotive at higher speeds are normal (due to interaction of main grids).

Required mods:
Rails modpack by Equinox (necessary for obvious reason): https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1534495186
Sittable chairs by Equinox (necessary for all practical purposes): https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1368392195
Steam engines by Peaceman (necessary - the engines): https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1552483203
The Bombard Cannon by Peaceman (necessary as the vanilla wheels will not withstand the forces): https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1411037313
Balloons mod by Peaceman (optional: only avionics for speed control): https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1411037313

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This blueprint is a (some) working solution. If you are interested in what can be done once a lot of thought and optimization is put into a design, please look up the Heavy & Medium Steam Locomotives by Xaerthus:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1603674360
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1605185799