LEGO #21344 - Orient Express

[Fingolfin]

Considering that the vast majority of trains that LEGO releases are 6w, having a train like this (that really benefits from an increased level of detail) released as 8w would be nice. As long as they don’t do something stupid like they did with the oversized Hogwarts Express. 

[Blacktron2]

16 hours ago, Fingolfin said:

Considering that the vast majority of trains that LEGO releases are 6w, having a train like this (that really benefits from an increased level of detail) released as 8w would be nice. As long as they don’t do something stupid like they did with the oversized Hogwarts Express. 

As long as I can run the new train on my layout, I would be a happy camper.

With regards to the high cost... who knows?  It might include a mini-station suitable for the Orient Express theme.

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

9 hours ago, Blacktron2 said:

As long as I can run the new train on my layout, I would be a happy camper.

With regards to the high cost... who knows?  It might include a mini-station suitable for the Orient Express theme.

I have a feeling they're going to have electronics in the coach to light it up.. given how detailed the interiors are. 

[RedBrick1]

I've been 'saving' for this set since I missed out on the Emerald Night back in 2009, I'm willing to give LEGO the benefit of the doubt to some extent while we await the actual release photos. 

[lego3057]

Would it make any sense to downsize from 10 wide? In that case, it would be too far from the original design, to a point that TLG would be paying the original author only for "having the idea of building a Lego Orient Express" (1% is it?). My guess is it will cost around 400$.

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by lego3057

[Jon Reynolds]

We all have our favourite 'scales' for this model but The Lego Group need to ensure the set is a commercial success.  I suspect the sales performance of that oddball 76405 Collectors Edition Hogwarts Express may push them into making the Orient Express set suit the 6-8 wide 'system' models with compatibility benefits to suit AFOLs and younger markets alike.  Personally, I'd like to see something that  sits well alongside the 7-wide 10277 Crocodile.  By this I mean consistency of scale along the whole model rather than cramming as much detail in as possible.  The latter approach may look better as a static model but when the real excitement begins, the trains are racing around an unfeasibly twisted railway and such details are secondary to the fun we can have.

I'm sure I've heard the phrase 'Just imagine' before somewhere...

Jon

 

[RedBrick1]

I was curious how the process with the fan designer worked after the set was approved. I asked him, and he said that he did work with LEGO through the finalization process and there should be some surprises in the final set design, but obviously couldn't say more.

I've been wondering what that could mean... New rod pieces? New larger drive wheels?

[Shiva]

#14 drives and blinds, would be quite nice, if the rod hole stays close to the center hole. "90840" #15, sadly has it farther away from the center.

[Murdoch17]

12 minutes ago, Shiva said:

#14 drives and blinds, would be quite nice, if the rod hole stays close to the center hole. "90840" #15, sadly has it farther away from the center.

There is no way a 6, or even 8 wide official set would have wheels that big. It would look silly and massively out of scale, especially with other trains by LEGO. Plus, unless it's a single driver loco (which it's not), it would bind on official Lego curves and switches. The biggest we could get is one size bigger than what we have. That's it without serious track upgrades.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Murdoch17

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

8 hours ago, RedBrick1 said:

I was curious how the process with the fan designer worked after the set was approved. I asked him, and he said that he did work with LEGO through the finalization process and there should be some surprises in the final set design, but obviously couldn't say more.

I've been wondering what that could mean... New rod pieces? New larger drive wheels?

I'm guessing he is happy with what LEGO did with his model? Which is a good thing I hope. :)

[Shiva]

Possibe that it is so. #14 drives are 1 step less than the big scale #15's, while 1 step up from BBB and Brick Train Depots.

In 1:48 scale, the #14 would be 2227,2mm wheels. "87 ¹¹/₁₆".

1:48 scale wheels for the locomotive would be either #12 or #13. And as you write, those might not be feasible.

One of the first Orient Express locomotives in 1883, seems to be one of the big wheeler steam locomotives. Sadly I have not been able to find what model it was.

Edit:

Checking a photo from https://trainconsultant.com/2020/05/05/tableau-illustre-des-trains-de-la-ciwl-de-lorient-express-aux-moins-connus/

And then searching for Chemins de fer de l'Est locomotives, I found https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Est_501_to_562 . This seems to be the 1890 steam locomotive model, on the photo.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Shiva
Added 1890 Orient Express information.

[zephyr1934]

I highly doubt Lego will go beyond the size of the current steam wheels they have now unless they make it a non-running train. Even if they wanted to cater to AFOL train heads, the engine either has to navigate R40 curves or it would have to be a different gauge. So my guess is 4-6-2.

[RedBrick1]

20 hours ago, LEGOTrainBuilderSG said:

I'm guessing he is happy with what LEGO did with his model? Which is a good thing I hope. :)

That is how I read into it as well, but obviously, there wasn't much he could convey. 

Once it is all released, I am hoping he is open to doing interviews and such. Getting a Trains themed Ideas set through the pipeline felt like, well, a pipe dream over the past years. 

[lego3057]

If it is 10 wide, it will probably share the same type of chassis of the "Collection Hogarts Express", with the same set of big wheels, same gauge and for display only. 

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:33 AM, RedBrick1 said:

That is how I read into it as well, but obviously, there wasn't much he could convey. 

Once it is all released, I am hoping he is open to doing interviews and such. Getting a Trains themed Ideas set through the pipeline felt like, well, a pipe dream over the past years. 

Hoping to see/hear some good news soon!

Edited July 4, 2023 by LEGOTrainBuilderSG

[zephyr1934]

On 7/3/2023 at 5:29 AM, lego3057 said:

If it is 10 wide, it will probably share the same type of chassis of the "Collection Hogarts Express", with the same set of big wheels, same gauge and for display only. 

You know, according to google, G gauge is 45 mm between the rails. While the 1/32 scale HP express (76405) looks to have 5 2/3 studs between the rails or 45.3 mm. Has anyone tried it on G gauge track??? If it does fit, that could be an interesting new dimension for official lego trains.

[M_slug357]

For @zephyr1934

[XG BC]

lets go. so lego designed a g gauge model?

[*thomas*]

2 hours ago, XG BC said:

lets go. so lego designed a g gauge model?

To be fair: Buwizz did... ;) 

[lego3057]

13 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

You know, according to google, G gauge is 45 mm between the rails. While the 1/32 scale HP express (76405) looks to have 5 2/3 studs between the rails or 45.3 mm. Has anyone tried it on G gauge track??? If it does fit, that could be an interesting new dimension for official lego trains.

You´re right and the movie after your post proves it. But what I think it´s strange is no one trying to remove the yellow rings in all the axes, and put it to work in normal Lego gauge (5 studs wide). Of course you must replace 2 wheels with 2 blinds and do some other modifications. Furthermore, the normal lego gauge is prototypical to 10 wide trains if they represent 10 feet or 3 meters wide, 1/38 scale in this case.

Edited July 6, 2023 by lego3057

[zephyr1934]

On 7/6/2023 at 2:34 AM, M_slug357 said:

For @zephyr1934

Okay, that's cool. I still prefer L-gauge and do not anticipate buying 76405 (too much of it is devoted to the figures for my tates), but the set has just climbed several notches in my personal assessment. If the orient express winds up g-gauge and is attractive I might just jump in though

 

On 7/6/2023 at 6:58 AM, *thomas* said:

To be fair: Buwizz did... ;) 

Splitting hairs here, lego still made it, its just that Buwizz made it work (grin). Did Buwizz ever say what they used for the smoke generator?

 

On 7/6/2023 at 2:17 PM, lego3057 said:

You´re right and the movie after your post proves it. But what I think it´s strange is no one trying to remove the yellow rings in all the axes, and put it to work in normal Lego gauge (5 studs wide). Of course you must replace 2 wheels with 2 blinds and do some other modifications. Furthermore, the normal lego gauge is prototypical to 10 wide trains if they represent 10 feet or 3 meters wide, 1/38 scale in this case.

I've heard is that the jumbo train wheels are difficult to make work even on larger radius curves and I don't think they have blind drivers.

[LordsofMedieval]

On 7/7/2023 at 1:36 PM, zephyr1934 said:

Okay, that's cool. I still prefer L-gauge and do not anticipate buying 76405 (too much of it is devoted to the figures for my tates), but the set has just climbed several notches in my personal assessment. If the orient express winds up g-gauge and is attractive I might just jump in though

 

Splitting hairs here, lego still made it, its just that Buwizz made it work (grin). Did Buwizz ever say what they used for the smoke generator?

 

I've heard is that the jumbo train wheels are difficult to make work even on larger radius curves and I don't think they have blind drivers.

There are videos on YouTube of people who have managed to get the giant Hogwarts train running. Performance is sketchy at best. This thing is a must-buy for me at 8w and a hard pass at 10w.

Edited July 11, 2023 by LordsofMedieval

[Sven J]

On 7/6/2023 at 7:03 AM, zephyr1934 said:

While the 1/32 scale HP express (76405) looks to have 5 2/3 studs between the rails or 45.3 mm. Has anyone tried it on G gauge track???

That 0.3 mm difference is negligible, especially as LGB G-scale track has rather large tolerances anyway.
However, while G-scale track is okay (I use it successfully for years ), gauge 1 track doesn't work with Lego - while it also is 45 mm wide, its profile is lower than that of G-scale rails, so the high Lego flanges rattle over the little screws that connect the sleepers to the rails.

Speaking of the big Hogwarts Express, I was quite excited at first to see those very large drive wheels, but soon became disappointed: The position of the wheels' pin holes results in a much too large piston stroke, which makes the wheels useless for any real 1/32 scale models.

[zephyr1934]

4 hours ago, Sven J said:

However, while G-scale track is okay (I use it successfully for years ), gauge 1 track doesn't work with Lego - while it also is 45 mm wide, its profile is lower than that of G-scale rails, so the high Lego flanges rattle over the little screws that connect the sleepers to the rails.

Ugh! Lego comes so close to something that could be useful to AFOLs and then at the last second swerves and makes it unworkable. Sigh...

[Shiva]

Sven J, the pinhole placement is something I too, dislike.