2015 LEGO Trains?

[lanesteele240]

I will support trains by buying the parts i want off ebay. I dont like euro trains and the rail cars are stupid. The last one in the line does look nice. The ore crane looks nice as well.

I would rather buy more 60052 and pass on this one

[Redimus]

I'm noticing the AFOL community seems to have a real American/European bias split. For me (as a primarily European trains guy) this set (and the yellow one before the current one) were vastly better sets than the current blue one.

If I'm being honest though, all three sets are *very* toyish (no really?!?), and for me the killing blow for the blue one (other than it simply not comparing to my only other US outline Lego loco) is that cattle wagon. I can just about convince myself that all the flat wagons and the tanker and mineral wagon belong behind a modern loco, but that cattle wagon is at best anachronistic, and, in all probability, representative of exactly nothing in history.

Edited May 29, 2015 by Redimus

[lanesteele240]

I'm noticing the AFOL community seems to have a real American/European bias split. For me (as a primarily European trains guy) this set (and the yellow one before the current one) were vastly better sets than the current blue one.

If I'm being honest though, all three sets are *very* toyish (no really?!?), and for me the killing blow for the blue one (other than it simply not comparing to my only other US outline Lego loco) is that cattle wagon. I can just about convince myself that all the flat wagons and the tanker and mineral wagon belong behind a modern loco, but that cattle wagon is at best anachronistic, and, in all probability, representative of exactly nothing in history.

There was a time that there were cattle cars in the USA. They moved the cattle from the mid west to places like Chicago for processing. But yes. A cattle car in modern times is as dumb or dumber than a full helicopter on a flat bed.

Why not have another tanker car or a nice open gondola or a realistic box car.

[Redimus]

I don't know about the US, but in the UK, even when there were cattle wagons, they were vans, not open trucks (imagine how the cow is going to react to being out in the open at 50+MPH).

[lanesteele240]

Cows be like. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Edited May 29, 2015 by lanesteele240

[Dan-147]

I don't know about the US, but in the UK, even when there were cattle wagons, they were vans, not open trucks (imagine how the cow is going to react to being out in the open at 50+MPH).

Cattle cars in North America were like wooden boxcars but with one horizontal board every two or three missing for ventilation on the sides. So the only things missing on LEGO's cattle car are ends, a roof and sliding doors. That one should have been back to the drawing board...

Dan-147

[Redimus]

Yeah, that's pretty much the same as UK ones. I think one or two narrow gauge railways might have had roof-less van height wagons, but they hardly reached fast speeds.

[pinioncorp]

There was a time that there were cattle cars in the USA. They moved the cattle from the mid west to places like Chicago for processing. But yes. A cattle car in modern times is as dumb or dumber than a full helicopter on a flat bed.

Hardly dumb, but the design of the cattle car was ridiculous. Livestock rolling stock are covered wagons such as this. The helicopter, however, is less realistic.

[eurotrash]

There are a lot of posts that appear to be criticising the more playable features of the set. We mustn't forget that AFOLs are not necessarily the target audience of every set.

Me? Sure I think that some of its features are going to get recycled back into inventory as soon as they are built, but there's enough in there for me to want to purchase the set. It won't look like that when I've finished modding and extending it, but as a starting point I think it's pretty spot on.

[talos]

I got a chuckle that they made the token steer a longhorn...hahaha. I kind of felt they put the set together and they had X amount of budget left over, so made a half pint car and the result was the cattle wagon.. :-) Just another one of my theories.

I too delegate some parts of sets to the parts bin or redo it my way after a short time of leaving it as is, I hope everyone at least considers that, and are not so rigid to 'never' change anything on a set.

[Redimus]

I tend to leave the official builds as is until I either come up with some way of improving them or (more likely) need them for parts in other builds. Should I pick up the blue freight train, that rule will be played out immediately with the cattle wagon, as I'll use the wagon base for some form of open wagon or van (depending on what bits I have to spare).

[dr_spock]

I like what Haddock51 did with the 60052 cattles. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=100476

These sets are toys designed for children. Toy trains do not typically follow prototypical railroad operations. What is good about LEGO for me is they are easy to MOD to my personal preferences unlike HO scale models which involve way more cutting, drilling, glueing, painting, etc. Parts of my 60052 cattle wagon ended up in a LEGO Friends aquarium car.

[Q3671]

i prefer for next year the "Zillertalbahn"

[dr_spock]

i prefer for next year the "Zillertalbahn"

Looks like an easy MOD of the 60098 Heavy Haul engine and add some Zillertalbahn stickers.

[zephyr1934]

I got a chuckle that they made the token steer a longhorn...hahaha. I kind of felt they put the set together and they had X amount of budget left over, so made a half pint car and the result was the cattle wagon.. :-) Just another one of my theories.

I too delegate some parts of sets to the parts bin or redo it my way after a short time of leaving it as is, I hope everyone at least considers that, and are not so rigid to 'never' change anything on a set.

Exactly, I think all of the recent sets since the TTX car have cut corners to make budget. The city freight trains typically have next to nothing for the freight cars, sometimes it works like the container cars in the yellow train and sometimes it doesn't, like the "cattle car". All of the city sets are simplified and are designed to have a certain number of play features. It does not make them bad, just the nature of the designs. I think the heavy haul set might prove to be the best parts pack of the current lot of trains. The gray baseplates are more universal than the blue ones.

[Redimus]

Looks like an easy MOD of the 60098 Heavy Haul engine and add some Zillertalbahn stickers.

Erm, have you looked at that picture? That's narrow gauge low loader wagons carrying standard gauge wagons. Although not *that* difficult to achieve, the fact you'd have to rely on narrower wheel sets and narrow gauge track means this is far from a simple modification of any current set.

[dr_spock]

Erm, have you looked at that picture? That's narrow gauge low loader wagons carrying standard gauge wagons. Although not *that* difficult to achieve, the fact you'd have to rely on narrower wheel sets and narrow gauge track means this is far from a simple modification of any current set.

Hmm, I plead toy train creative license of not having to follow to scale on everything for the "easy" part.

It can be done to 4 wide track. LEGO had curved 4 wide track in the Alien Conquest Mothership. Ashi Valkoinen did a nice 4 wide drive motorized bogie for his Stadler that can be adapted here. The Zilletalbahn D13 diesel-hydraulic engine also pulls passenger cars if one doesn't like freight train.

[davidmull]

Has anyone a release date on when this is out? People are saying summer but that can be anytime.

[scottwb2010]

Has anyone a release date on when this is out? People are saying summer but that can be anytime.

If you mean the Heavy Haul Train, smyths stores in the UK have it in stock @ £139.99

[davidmull]

If you mean the Heavy Haul Train, smyths stores in the UK have it in stock @ £139.99

Are u sure? Don't see it on there site.

[talos]

I thought I read somewhere it was 1 June to be available, so if some are finding it in stores, makes sense.

[Redimus]

Hmmm, I was all for this set, but £139.99 is the same price as the blue train, and argue all you will about the merits of the actual trains, the blue freight train set comes with a lot more for the same price. Very disappointing.

[scottwb2010]

Are u sure? Don't see it on there site.

Its not on the web site yet but saw it in the Falkirk Store on Thursday with loads of othe summer 15 city sets.

[Xian]

Has anyone a release date on when this is out? People are saying summer but that can be anytime.

Already available in Germany for 159,99 EUR in Galeria Kaufhof.

http://i.imgur.com/atFIDeY.jpg

[*thomas*]

The new train set is something different, and the ore crain looks great (and will be a lot of fun for kids). But, the price is a bit steep. will buy one when on discount, that's for sure.