Image: Markus Andersson.

Some of our friends from the Järnvägsmusei Vänner (“friends of the railway museum”) have helped us secure the pieces of decoration on the sides. We have now also tried on the front plough, and the “caps” on the lights.

In recent weeks there´s been quite some progress on track 3 in the UGJ roundhouse (The roundhouse is so called because it was used by the Uppsala-Gävle Järnväg (Railway) at the time when it was in regular use).

We’ve been courted by media: Both television and newspapers have reported on the locomotive project and the Steampunk Festival – and more of the same is on the way. On March the 3rd we were visited by a television journalist from the local news who did a story about us as you can see here. On the same occasion we were also interviewed  by a journalist from the region’s newspapers who wrote this article in swedish. The same article with some variations will be published in six of the region’s newspapers in slightly different guises.

While juggling journalists we also got some good work done, and this last weekend things really took off when we were able to open the roundhouse gates for the first time since last fall and let in the long-awaited spring sunshine! It did wonders for the air quality inside the roundhouse where we work in sawdust-laden air and painting fumes – and also raised the mood.

Now one part of the band that will fit around the locomotive’s boiler has been shaped and has come up. It will then be fitted in with the other half, then dismantled again and painted in a golden color to match the rest of the decorations before it is finally mounted. Other parts of the locomotive’s decorations have also got their final coat of paint and has been test hung – as for example, you can see on the cab.

Instead of building a snowplow from scratch as previously planned, which could be difficult to get stable enough, we are now borrowing a so-called Norrlandsplog that we may enhance without damaging it. This makes it both stable and secure, and we are sure to stay well within the security limits. With luck we can get a traffic license which will enable us to use the locomotive out on the line, and not just inside the museum area!

Work on the steampunk locomotive is moving forward; we´re beginning to see some results of our efforts at last.
We have test hung the decoration on the locomotive’s left side, and had to adjust the height and placement to avoid the coupling rods on the wheels that turn out to move sideways more than we were aware of.

Test hanging

We´re also working to fit together and paint the decoration which will sit on the right side of the locomotive. The curved piece which will be attached to the foot board closest to the cab is made of three layers of masonite which were glued together and bent in a bench-like contraption for it to follow the foot board´s shape. The result was a success! What remains is to get everything in place, which will mean cutting and welding metal for the hanging structure.
On Wednesday, March 5 when we have our work night together with the The Friends of the Swedish Railway Museum, we´ll get a visit from the press to the roundhouse where we work: local Swedish Televison channel SVT Gävle-Dala, and  the newspaper Söderhamnskuriren want to report from our  project.

Pizza with the Friends of the Museum

(More information if you read Swedish.)

The past weekend we had a work day again. Finally we can start painting! Golden profiles and green forms. The first of many layers of paint needed to cover and make the plywood weatherproof.

Lill-Erik has constructed a “park bench” for glueing together and bending the different layers of the piece of decoration that will sit along the curved side of the foot board on our steampunk locomotive.

The design contest is over, and our crowdfunding project En fantastisk steampunkmaskin was successful enough that we can go on with the work on our great steampunk engine. Watch this space for more information in the months to come.

CONTEST: DESIGN A STEAMPUNKLOCOMOTIVE!

A unique steam engine of one’s own of design, truly the dream of every steampunk devotee? What about living up your steam punk visions on a REAL STEAMLOCOMOTIVE? You can be part of it! In co-operation with Sveriges Järnvägsmuseum / The Swedish Railway Museum, the Upsala-Gefle Ångpunksällskap seeks to augment an existing engine with the features and style most reminiscent of the best of the steampunk genre.

Supply us with your ideas, designs and plans for the transformation of this wonder from the original age of steam into something straight from the often wondrous world of the steampunk and help us breathe life into a machine from a world that never came to be. A loco that as a matter of factly will be driven!

CONTEST!

You have vision and imagination?

Sveriges Järnvägsmuseum / The Swedish Railway Museum has a 17 metre and over 60 ton antique steam engine from 1907 that is at our disposal.

We, that is the Upsala-Gefle Ångpunksällskap, have energy and time we would like to spend on painting, decorating, and remodelling the steam engine. Send us your best ideas how this can be carried out. As your starting material, use the drawings of the train at the bottom of this page (or high resolution download here), and the rules we have set up (see below).

The reward for the winning design, apart from the obvious honour and fame will include:

• The winning contribution will be used as the foundation for the final design of the train engine. Feel the pride of having your steam punk visions realised in Steel, Iron and Brass!
• A classy antique telephone
• the winner’s name inscribed upon a plaque installed on the remodelled locomotive.
• A medal, which will be handed over when the finished locomotive is presented to the public. (If the winner doesn’t have the possibility to come to Gävle, it will be sent to them via the post.)
• free tickets to the Steampunkfestival in Gävle, June 27th – 29th, 2014.

The engine is an E2 904. You can find a picture and some information about it among the other locos on the museum’s homapage.

Steam engine model E2. Click to enlarge. NB: the measurements are given in millimeters!

The front. The round door is the smoke box door that we will need to open even after the remodelling. We want the engine to run!