2016 Lego trains

[Mr Hobbles]

I actually really like it. I think it's cute, and fits in well with the winter village theme. With a 9v motor it'd look great going round the bottom of my Christmas tree and the rest of the winter village.

[pirzyk]

What I noticed from the designer video is that zephyr1934's idea of using rollerskates as micro (1w) train wheels was used.

I am a bit disappointed that this is not a worthy replacement for the EN but that is clearly not what the designers intended. I think it does hit their design criteria well. I'll be buying at least one of them, maybe more for parts.

[Paperballpark]

Exactly. It's a Winter Village set that happens to be a train, not a Train set that happens to be Winter Village.

[Capparezza]

I'd love to see Morten stick that ugly, big PF battery box into that tiny, little train. Too bad he didn't show that in the video...

Edited August 11, 2016 by Capparezza

[JopieK]

Finally the official message ;) http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138700

[Brick_Dad]

I don't think it's all that bad...especially for not what Lego appears it to be intended for: a moderately priced Christmas train that families can enjoy. Not everyone has the disposable income for a $299 set, and not everyone wants holiday. So I think this fits the bill pretty well. I know I'm "arm-chair quarterback" as much as the next person, but it kind of makes me laugh when people criticize TLG's approach...not like they're a privately-held company that reported $5.4 billion in revenue in the US in 2015. I think they know what they're doing

I for one, being a father of a 6 and 3 year old will definitely be buying one for my kids. It'll suit them (and me) just fine.

[xboxtravis7992]

Yes I am not super impressed. I do feel the mini-toys in the build are far more impressive than the train itself. The small size of the train is lending itself more to the Winter Village scale, but even next to the Lone Ranger Constitution the Winter Train will look awfully small. I think I will still get it to continue my Exclusive Trains collection, but it definitely lacks in many regards.

With that said the comments on the Brickset article are very positive responses. I figure that's proof that the reason Rail-FOLs hate the set is oblivious to most FOLs who seem to like how it looks. If the general audience feels that way to then Lego might have a hit on their hands.

[dr_spock]

It's a nice Winter Village train set that will complement other Winter Village sets. I don't think I'll buy it since I've already made my own Holiday Train a couple of years ago for the LEGO Store community window. Come to think of it, I had a small engine, small flat car, small passenger car too. I prefer diesel over steam. I really like the micro train going around the Christmas tree. Dang, why didn't I think of that with the micro Horizon Express I had in the flat car with the tree.

[Sarah]

I don't think it's all that bad...especially for not what Lego appears it to be intended for: a moderately priced Christmas train that families can enjoy. Not everyone has the disposable income for a $299 set, and not everyone wants holiday. So I think this fits the bill pretty well. I know I'm "arm-chair quarterback" as much as the next person, but it kind of makes me laugh when people criticize TLG's approach...not like they're a privately-held company that reported $5.4 billion in revenue in the US in 2015. I think they know what they're doing

I for one, being a father of a 6 and 3 year old will definitely be buying one for my kids. It'll suit them (and me) just fine.

I also think it will work well for my 5 and 9 year olds. I'm thinking an annual tradition of putting together the Lego train -- perhaps after opening Christmas gifts (since the period before is often too busy to add anything too)

[pirzyk]

I'd love to see Morten stick that ugly, big PF battery box into that tiny, little train. Too bad he didn't show that in the video...

In this pic from the press release https://c1.staticfli...4fbef9f16_c.jpg you can clearly see the battery box and the IR receiver. I assume it is using the train motor, hence the 4 in 4-2-0

Wonder how long it would run on a charge with ME model curves? The rotating tree would slow it down a bit.

Really need to skin that IR receiver green :D

Edited August 11, 2016 by pirzyk

[ElectroDiva]

Not a good sign when the designer video doesn't bother to show the motorised version....

[Paperballpark]

Wonder how long it would run on a charge with ME model curves? The rotating tree would slow it down a bit.

At a guess, with a rechargable battery box, I'd say about 5 hours.

Really need to skin that IR receiver green :D

I thought that too! Oh well.

[dr_spock]

Maybe they should include a green sticker sheet. It could be an possible aftermarket sticker offering from Jopiek or Ben.

Not a good sign when the designer video doesn't bother to show the motorised version....

Perhaps the marketing people said no. They didn't want to give the false impression that it came with Power Functions. Somebody will eventually post a YouTube video with the PF installed. Then we'll see how well or not well it works.

[paul_delahaye]

I wonder what this dual manual's is all about, hopefully not 2 copies of the same manual included in the box.

And to think, this is basically same price point as emerald knight or horrizon express, and you get a £2 circle of track, which is barely big enough to circle most Christmas trees. I think this is a bit of a cop out.

[parsom]

Do I need all this power function parts (8879, 8884, 88000, 88002) to motorize it? Or maybe some of them aren't necessary?

[finish-last]

If you want IR controlled yes but I assume you can bypass it with a switch too, haven tried it though:

http://shop.lego.com...rol-Switch-8869

Edited August 11, 2016 by finish-last

[Duq]

You can see the PF solution in the images on Brickset. Check the reverse of the box. In the top right corner you'll see that you need 8879 + 8884 + 88000 + 88002.

The battery goes in the tender but is too tall so there's dark and light grey visible above the sides. The front of the batter box will also be visible at the front of the tender.

The connector end of the receiver sits in the cab, the tall end goes where the raised section of the boiler is.

All in all not a particularly elegant solution...

Edit: if you use rechargeable battery 8878 instead of 88000 then you can leave out the receiver 8884 and still have speed control.

[Breakdown]

Do I need all this power function parts (8879, 8884, 88000, 88002) to motorize it? Or maybe some of them aren't necessary?

The parts are:

8879: Remote control (not 100% necessary, and if you have another train set you can just use it's remote on a different channel)

8884: Receiver for the remote control (not 100% necessary, but close)

88000: Battery box - necessary

88002: Motor - necesssary

You can run the train with just the battery box and the motor, there's a reverse switch on the battery box to change the direction and the only pain in the . . . . thing would be that you'll have to chase the train catch if with your hand or press the button to stop it while it's in motion. I can't really say that I'd recommend that, but I also wouldn't recommend against it either. You can always add the other stuff late anyhow.

For the $7.99 that they are asking for LED lights, I'd add them to the train somehow.

[parsom]

Thanks guys!

[Rail Co]

Is it just me or does the dummy bogie look like it uses a red bogie plate or am I just imagining (hoping) things? These were only used on the 7750 and are very rare it would be very cool to have them back in red. I just want to say I will probably buy this train but the battery box and receiver look like s*** if you ask me the should have at least included stickers to cover those up.

-RailCo

[Duq]

Is it just me or does the dummy bogie look like it uses a red bogie plate or am I just imagining (hoping) things? These were only used on the 7750 and are very rare it would be very cool to have them back in red.

Good spot! I think you're right. If you look at 10254_Bottom_CallOut_02.jpg on Brickset you can see that the red tile on top of the bogie is a fraction lower than the plate beside it and that would suggest it's a bogie plate. To die-hards it wouldn't be the same as the plate used in 7750 though, as the current mold has a shorter pin.

[James Mathis]

My family enjoys building the Winter Village sets and setting them up for the seasonal display.

I intend to buy this train set.

[Capparezza]

The battery goes in the tender but is too tall so there's dark and light grey visible above the sides. The front of the batter box will also be visible at the front of the tender.

The connector end of the receiver sits in the cab, the tall end goes where the raised section of the boiler is.

All in all not a particularly elegant solution...

Yeah, that came into my mind as well. You could tell from the video, that the tender would be too small to cover it all up. Well, one could improvise and build it a tad higher on the sides to conceal the battery box

I'm still undecided buying it...

[AlmightyArjen]

I was about to suggest to convert it to the 9V system, then you loose the battery box. But then you loose unfortunately the red wheels on the locomotive. Unless you extend the tender so a motor fits beneath it.

[Paperballpark]

Yes, it uses a red bogie plate. You can see it on the top of the box in the hi-res photos. Good stuff!