No more straight and curve packs!

[fred67]

If you can sell straight and curved track separately for Duplo trains, then why not for City trains?

I wonder if the gauge is compatible.

[BelValcor]

Some experiences with shopping in stores for trains and track...

A number of years ago when 9v was still around I made a trip to a store that only sold lego (although it was not an official lego store) to buy track. They had about 2 boxes of straight, 1 set of switches and a mountain of curved packs. So of course I bought everything except the curved packs. I recall wondering if the store had to buy an equal number of curved and straight packs. Seemed like customers were in the same position as me... too many curves already. I never did find out. Too far for me to drive there on a regular basis.

Skip forward in time to last summer.

I was in Ottawa and found a toy store that advertised having the largest lego stock in the city.

Great I thought.. I can pick up more track while in town.

Sure enough they had a massive selection. Sets I didn't even know about .

I walked around and looked for a half hour till the owner approached me and asked if I needed help.

Yes. Ummm... lego trains and track?

Sorry Sir. We don't even have the option to order them. They are not in our order catalogue.

At the present time I can only get whatever Toys-R-Us decides to stock which is hit and miss at the best of times.

I can understand Lego wishing to work only with the bigger stores but to cut the trains option right out of the catalogue for smaller stores? I don't care for that much. I like to buy my sets in local stores where possible for various reasons but I guess those days are gone.

As far as track selection I would agree with many that the different tracks should be sold as packs. Straight, curved and flex.

I see so many games and tools on the lego site for visitors and I can't help but think why couldn't they set aside .5% of that energy to make a premade track pack page. 3 or 4 different layouts that could be chosen from. This helps the kids and the parents.

We have pick a brick and design by me... seems to me that the tools are already in place to make this happen.

Bel

[Brickimad]

I've got quite a large amount of blue, to 9v track. It is a shame that Lego are not continuing curved tracks, and other sections like straights and points are getting rare.

Although I've got hundreds of track each, has anyone noticed the "clone" lego tracks? If you don't fancy making your own, how about this?

It fits lego 9V and plastic 9v tracks, although it's brown, rather than blue/grey. Still you could spray it, or just paint the rails grey, leaving the sleepers brown, as in wooden sleepers, rusted rails?

I know it's not Lego, but at least it looks like it...

Here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/C-Enlighten-Train-Series-639-Track_W0QQitemZ260738082301QQcategoryZ19010QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%252BLVI%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%252BUCI%26otn%3D1%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7339297527938032692

Edited February 25, 2011 by Brickimad

[ZueriHB]

I've got quite a large amount of blue, to 9v track. It is a shame that Lego are not continuing curved tracks, and other sections like straights and points are getting rare.

Although I've got hundreds of track each, has anyone noticed the "clone" lego tracks? If you don't fancy making your own, how about this?

It fits lego 9V and plastic 9v tracks, although it's brown, rather than blue/grey. Still you could spray it, or just paint the rails grey, leaving the sleepers brown, as in wooden sleepers, rusted rails?

I know it's not Lego, but at least it looks like it...

That's enlighten train track, let's not talk about it here, opinions vary.

Back to topic:

On one side, it's sad TLC doesn't offer curves anymore, not for us AFOL, we don't have problems getting curves, most of our own unused stock, but for parents and kids, which don't know about bricklink and just wan't to expand the kid's layout. Ok, you can do curves with flex-track, but you need for packs of straight and flex track to get a circle.

[harry27]

I find legos attitude towards their train range and customers very strange. At one point they hit the nail on the head with an excellent set and the next they show a complete disregard for the consumer. I like most have a collection of different powered trains (12v 9v 4.5v), My main hobby is OO gauge model railways and the manufatures always seem to be looking to keep everybody happy as they know its a hobby of all age's and it shows in their ranges. So that said for the serious collector a better track range could be produced with different radius curves and more turnouts etc even if its only available on line.