BREAKING: The Orient Express Train approved in LEGO Ideas

[zephyr1934]

Wow, that's a surprise.

Hope #1: Lgauge compatible (R40???) OR they introduce a wide radius curve (yeah, never gonna happen)

Hope #2: the make it a single car per set but provide enough of the rare colors (e.g., windows) so that it could easily be modified into different cars (sleeper, coach, etc)

[Doom2099]

13 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

Wow! First the Studgate second chance, and now a real option at a classic steam train. 

Can I ask what the Studgate second chance was?

This is great news from Ideas! Now as everyone has said, if it runs on regular track, this will be fantastic. Of course it would be a dream then to be able to order more carriages. Could try try something through a new Bricklink crowdfunding program? 10000 backers, $100 each kind of thing?

[LordsofMedieval]

It's interesting to me, now that I'm not looking at it on a cell phone, how the locomotive basically lacks all running gear. The creator's solution is essentially a non-solution: two of part number 42445 appear to just be hovering nonfunctional above the wheels. 

I get that Lego has never really developed a good running gear design, but it seems strange to see a project submitted (and accepted) that doesn't at least try to tackle the issue in a functional manner, but is instead what amounts to the creator throwing up their hands and saying "yeah, Lego can figure it out." I wonder if this is the set where Lego finally does conjure up something "real" to fill this design gap.

Edited October 26, 2022 by LordsofMedieval

[RedBrick1]

40 minutes ago, Doom2099 said:

Can I ask what the Studgate second chance was?

This is great news from Ideas! Now as everyone has said, if it runs on regular track, this will be fantastic. Of course it would be a dream then to be able to order more carriages. Could try try something through a new Bricklink crowdfunding program? 10000 backers, $100 each kind of thing?

Studgate was released in limited numbers as a Bricklink set a few months ago. 

[JaBaCaDaBra]

17 hours ago, koraldon said:

Hopefully this will be fully motorized

Hopefully this won't be a set with 1000 useless rail-stand-parts.

[Vilhelm22]

2 minutes ago, JaBaCaDaBra said:

Hopefully this won't be a set with 1000 useless rail-stand-parts.

Or 20 expensive licensed minifigures, or a pointless station platform with a further 1000?

3 hours ago, Doom2099 said:

Can I ask what the Studgate second chance was?

This is great news from Ideas! Now as everyone has said, if it runs on regular track, this will be fantastic. Of course it would be a dream then to be able to order more carriages. Could try try something through a new Bricklink crowdfunding program? 10000 backers, $100 each kind of thing?

The Train Station: Studgate was part of a previous Bricklink Designer Program round earlier this year, limited to 10k made, by designer BrickyBrick who also made the original Pirate Bay.  

[vincelam58]

I was so exited for this news today until I read the 8/10 wide part...
I saw the new Hogwarts Express in my local Lego store, the size really turned me off...

[GoHabsGo]

I hope it will not be a fail as the Hogwarts Express (for train fans)

[Feuer Zug]

5 hours ago, Vilhelm22 said:

Or 20 expensive licensed minifigures, or a pointless station platform with a further 1000?

The Train Station: Studgate was part of a previous Bricklink Designer Program round earlier this year, limited to 10k made, by designer BrickyBrick who also made the original Pirate Bay.  

I think we're all hoping it's not a minifig pack dressed up as a train. We don't need a platform with this set. Give us a viable, working train. And thank you for answering the question about Studgate.

8 hours ago, LordsofMedieval said:

It's interesting to me, now that I'm not looking at it on a cell phone, how the locomotive basically lacks all running gear. The creator's solution is essentially a non-solution: two of part number 42445 appear to just be hovering nonfunctional above the wheels. 

I get that Lego has never really developed a good running gear design, but it seems strange to see a project submitted (and accepted) that doesn't at least try to tackle the issue in a functional manner, but is instead what amounts to the creator throwing up their hands and saying "yeah, Lego can figure it out." I wonder if this is the set where Lego finally does conjure up something "real" to fill this design gap.

LEGO did have some "running gear" way back in the 12v era. Today, they could have a look at what's out there, then fabricate their own option. I'm thinking lots of thin beams with specific spots for connections, so any of the parts they could use for a simplified running gear could carry over to Technic.

[Ondra]

I just read that locomotive with wagon is 130 centimetres long...

I dont have any room for this, if this set will be classic lego gauge, there is no problem. Curve can fix it easily... But it will still looks bad...

If it will hogwarts express blunder, they totally lose the plot... Seriously they are doing models artificially bigger without any practical usage. Who is asking for these inflated sets like Hulkbuster? Is now minifig scale a bad word?

Seriously Imagine if they did something like EMERALD NIGHT, but full working train with 4 wagons mimicking whole Orient Express. That will be something epic!

Edited October 26, 2022 by Ondra

[LordsofMedieval]

10 minutes ago, Ondra said:

I just read that locomotive with wagon is 130 centimetres long...

I dont have any room for this, if this set will be classic lego gauge, there is no problem. Curve can fix it easily... But it will still looks bad...

If it will hogwarts express blunder, they totally lose the plot... Seriously they are doing models artificially bigger without any practical usage. Who is asking for these inflated sets like Hulkbuster? Is now minifig scale a bad word?

Seriously Imagine if they did something like EMERALD NIGHT, but full working train with 4 wagons mimicking whole Orient Express. That will be something epic!

I'm willing to extend them the benefit of the doubt until we know more. Lego likes to make big changes to the Ideas sets - maybe they heard all the noise regarding the Hogwarts express and took heed.

I mean, ultimately, it's their buck and not mine. If they do a good job, I'm a buyer. If they don't... well, their silly mistake for wasting all that cash on marketing, etc. 

[Toastie]

26 minutes ago, LordsofMedieval said:

I mean, ultimately, it's their buck and not mine. If they do a good job, I'm a buyer. If they don't... well, their silly mistake for wasting all that cash on marketing, etc

It sure is!

The thing though is that the HogEx was not designed for train fans that like to see moving trains, it was for Harry Potter fans. I blieve the #HP fans is >> than the #train fans. And then they have very well invested wisely into marketing etc ... the disaster is a disaster for train fans, but who cares, when all the HP fans are happy ...

I don't know about the Orient-Express ... I believe there are many fans out there as well ... so again, TLG would rake in ...

At this scale I am, for some reason, skeptical about the self-propelled   thing; that would need even more expensive LEGO gear.

We'll see.
Best,
Thorsten 

[RedBrick1]

Looking at past LEGO Trains releases in the Creator Expert vein, I am pretty convinced that we will see the locomotive, tender, and single-passenger coach in the final set. This is combined with the fact that the designer of the new OE originally submitted it with (I believe) two coaches. LEGO removed the original submission after it received around 3K supports, as it exceeded the theme's piece count limit. The designer says he designed this with track compatibility in mind, so the wait is on to see if LEGO follows through on that. 

[dr_spock]

I think 10+ wide would allow for more details and room in the passenger car to recreate scenes from Murder on the Orient Express. 

 

[Yoggington]

For me, a definite purchase if it can be motorised. Even if they have to design a whole new track set-up.

If it's just a display piece? Nah. It's nice but not that nice.

[Duq]

Realistically they have two options:

1. The Hogwarts approach. Make it wider than L-Gauge and make it a display piece. Pretty sure that's how the project was intended.

2. Make it L-Gauge and heavily modify it to run Lego track; that means changes to front and rear bogie, cylinders etc to create clearance, and probably shortening the carriage.

They can't do both. They can't release an L-Gauge display set that won't get through R40. My money is on option 1.

[Barkmi4]

I’d be surprised if they released another model that didn’t fit L gauge.  Lego trains have been around for a long time.  They recently changed their wheels (well axels) to plastic, to reduce cost with the promise of releasing more trains.  And it’s been a while since we’ve had a none city train available (thinking more creator expert than Harry Potter..)
Wouldn’t surprise me if they refreshed the EN running gear and based the model around that.  I could see them doing a 7-8 wide carriage.  Pretty sure the EN exceeded 9 studs on the locomotive itself..

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Barkmi4

[Toastie]

14 minutes ago, Duq said:

My money is on option 1.

Mine as well.

Which means: Should I gamble, I would make a fortune: +winning +!OE cost.

I never bet, though - which comes down to !OE cost. And that will allow me to look for some good DS/DD floppies for my IBM 5160.

Win-win.

Best,
Thorsten

[Shiva]

Would be nice if LEGO would release a new wheel size.

Or they could use the Hogwart's Express wheel. Personally I would have preferred if that wheel would have had the rod connection on the regular place. A stud from the center.

[lego3057]

I think it will be like the Hogart Express, display only. But at this size (10 wide) it wil be awsome (and around 300$ probably). If you motorize it, it´s better to think of motorizing the coach, but it wont run on Lego standard tracks. I have the feeling that Lego has 3 types of trains in their mind. 1-The "standard"  6 wide trains; 2- 7/8 wide Locomotive/train, 3-and recently they "discovered" that big is beautiful, so they produce beautiful prototypical 10 wide trains.

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by lego3057

[M_slug357]

@Lyichir there’s always a first time… lol

[JopieK]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:21 PM, Toastie said:

No chance - Ms. Toastie (CFO here) will not approve that.

  Hide contents

 

There is also a good reason for that: Two weeks ago, I found an original IBM XT in one storage room of the Theoretical Chemistry group: A 5160 with IBM Color display, IBM keyboard - all made in 1985. The mother board played dead - and there are simply too many things that may cause such a behavior. Got then a clone board from 1986 (there goes my budget ) and - it worked with all the other cards. For some reason, I had the idea that this former "passing out" - every time after powering on (voltages all there, clock fine, just the 4164 memory chips only got 3 refresh cycles and then flat line) - may be caused by a faulty (AMD) 8086 CPU - replaced that with the (Intel) 8086 from the clone board - and - bingo. In 1986, my wife did some stuff on a similar machine during her industrial training and I had the chance to just have a look. Since then, I worshiped this thing, but 10000 D-Marks was an incomprehensible amount of money. Cleaned the thing (they did smoke in the office, back then) and now I have a shiny, looking-like-new IBM XT system.

I am sure you can envision, what happens now - there a two 5 1/4" original IBM approved Tandon floppy drives on that one - for monstrous 360kB DS storage - it boots into IBM Basic 1.1 (BIOS #2) or into DOS 3.1 (!) from floppy drive A. Yes, exactly: I need to save up for all sorts of things now ... no >>€300 LEGO set even remotely thinkable.

 

Best,
Thorsten     

Great find!!! Maybe you should apply for a grant for that project. Legacy computing...

[dr_spock]

19 hours ago, Toastie said:

Mine as well.

Which means: Should I gamble, I would make a fortune: +winning +!OE cost.

I never bet, though - which comes down to !OE cost. And that will allow me to look for some good DS/DD floppies for my IBM 5160.

Win-win.

Best,
Thorsten

I think LEGO will go with the one they think will have the greatest "reach".

I still have some IBM branded 5.25" floppies and one working 5.25" floppy drive left.

 

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, dr_spock said:

I still have some IBM branded 5.25" floppies and one working 5.25" floppy drive left.

(sucking in air ...) Left as in left for you - or as in left for making someone happy?

Best,
Thorsten

[Unbrickme]

It reminds me a lot of the emerald night train