What got you into lego trains!

[Electricsteam]

As we approach the anniversary of Lego trains lets take a minute to think about what got us into our first Lego locos!

(Last I heard it was the 5th shows you how out of the loop I've been)

The first set that got me into Lego trains was the beautiful Emerald Night, none of those earlier sets ever seemed appealing until I saw the large wheels on the E.N. From the day I got it I had it built and on a shelf before the sun set..... and then the next day I took it apart to make more train....

After that I watched a ton of Lego train videos on youtube majorly from Steigfeild and his awesome layout...

Anyways I want to hear how you got into Lego Trains! Come on folks!

[Dutchiedoughnut]

It's Lego and it's trains. What more do you need? :D. I seem to be collecting cargo trains, I have the yellow and blue ones.

[Lego Dino 500]

Pretty much the same as Dutchiedoughnut. Also, I've been getting into model trains in N and HO, and I wanted some Lego trains too for all my Lego cars and buildings and vehicles. So far I have one heavily modded 60052 and a crap ton of track, and I'm saving up for a second one along with the new Ideas Wall-E and Pirate Ship.

[someguy]

When I was a kid my parents bought me the red 9 volt cargo train. Later I went over to a friends house, who is now my best friend, and he had this GIGANTIC Lego layout. There was Lego EVERYWHERE. So I continued to collect Lego trains over the years and just started getting the city building modules. Last year I really got back into model trains and wanted my own big boy 4-8-8-4 engine. Lionel's version is so much money I could buy half a motorcycle. So instead I built a Lego version for a fraction of Lionel's price. Plus if it falls off the table and breaks (which it has, gives it character with that bent ladder), I just put it back together. Plus I like building things.

Edited September 5, 2015 by someguy

[obsidianheart]

My son. He likes trains, I like LEGO. Seemed like a good middle-ground. I'm not super-good at them yet, though.

[LoneBrickerSG]

As we approach the anniversary of Lego trains lets take a minute to think about what got us into our first Lego locos!

Trains have been my life-long love. I thought they were just plain awesome when I was a little 'un, and now that I know how the world actually works their sheer economic power is what makes me drool.

I grew up in the 1990's, but I had no idea Lego made trains until the first 9v sets came out, although I didn't get one until the 4565 freight set.

I am big into North American rail, though, so things like the Maersk train, the Lone Ranger train and 60052 are the ones I really like.

Edited September 5, 2015 by LoneBrickerSG

[v6TransAM]

I've had Lego trains since the 80's. I rocked the 4.5v

Always had train layouts mostly HO with some N scale.

Now its mostly cause I have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old though. We build stuff, wreck stuff, rebuild stuff, make giant messes and repeat

Now with it appearing I have landed the new job, money should be very nice within a yr or two, so I can start working on a few things for dad, like the Daylight and putting together some UP stuff like my own 844, 3985 or 4014 :-) That picture of a turbine is interesting to me as well, the Big Blows were cool locomotives. Maybe a GP35-DD35-GP35 combo as well.

Although the C855 would be awesome to behold as well.

[MGCJerry]

Growing up, I've always wanted a Lego train, but they were way out of our budget. I would constantly build various train stations (without any tracks, trains, etc) hoping at some point I would get a train. Never did until a few weeks ago. Got 60052.

[fred67]

I was just starting (couple of years) to get into model railroading. I was doing N-gauge, as I started while living in an apartment, so went smaller.

When my son was born we moved into a house, and while things were crazy for a while, by the time my son was a toddler I was building my first "real" N-Gauge layout fixed on a table.

My son always wanted to play with it, and being a sucker dad, I let him... and he'd run the train as fast as possible until it flew off the track, and that was a great time for him. Unfortunately, N-Gauge trains break fairly easily, so I put it all down for a while because I didn't like standing there while he was watching and feeling bad that I wasn't letting him "play," too (it wasn't finished, I was still just gluing stuff down).

Then I saw Railway Express at a discount at Sam's Club. I didn't even know LEGO had electric trains, I'd never seen them before. I figured it would be a better fit for my son than N-Gauge. He was still young, so I put it together... went back to buy a second set so that we got an extra motor and track (I didn't even know, at the time, you could buy those things separately). After a while, I started enjoying LEGO more than N-Gauge. I sold the N-Gauge stuff, my son has since moved on, and now I do LEGO Trains.

[THERIZE]

I just like trains A LOT! I had wooden railways and I had a lot of LEGO and I decided I wanted a lego train when I was around 5. And now, 9 years later my collection is: 2X 7898 And 7897. And now I have a PF train kit. (Battery box, receiver, motor and remote control) but I'm tryin to expand my collection with a TRAXX diesel MOC.

[Wookiee]

All i can remember is that it was in the 70's had blue track and a yellow engine that was from another set that i still have, that does not work.

Got back into lego about a year ago or so because of the memories of these sets and seeing the new sets, playing with them takes me back and i can't wait until my son is old enough to enjoy what i have now.(he is six months old)

[Rijkvv]

My LEGO train journey started with the 4559 train which I got for my 8th birthday. While I thought it was awesome back in the day, as an AFOL I think it has to be one of the most unrealistic trains ever released by LEGO. Maybe I'll rebuild it one day as a Res-Q one.

My first post-dark age design was a red diesel locomotive, in 6 wide, not based on a real model. It seems all pictures are lost, but it was not that special.

It took a while before I started designing trains again, but now in 7 wide, based on real models, mostly Dutch and mostly from the 1980s till now. Sometimes 6-wide as well.

Now I'm working on a Dutch train again, in 7 wide, but from an era decades before I was born.

[DanFraser]

I used to stare at 4558 and its club car like crazy when I was young even when I had transferred to Technic as my Lego interest.

Over the last few years I have been buying the odd Technic set (I lost all of my original Lego) such as 8275, 42009, 42030. Then my kids noticed.

First came 60052. Then 60051 and 60057. Then I had a fair bit of money come and added 60050, 60098 and 10218. The kids go mental about it, the eldest tries to build them. She's 5, and the only thing stopping her from doing any of it is lack of belief and maybe 'boredom'.

[Andromeda]

I started my Train collection with the 7710 push along for my 8th birthday, and I was fortunate to have had the 7861 lighting set, 7864 Transformer, 7865 motor along with the power rails for Christmas... Over the coming years I had the 7867 light set, 7862 decoupler, 7860 signal, 7859 remote points, 7821 repair car, and the 7838 freight depot.

There ended my childhood collection until I was in my 30's, that's when I decided to aquire the sets that I'd drooled over in the toy stores as a lad, and more....

[PeteM]

My original entry into Lego trains was receiving 7710 and 7720 at some point between the ages of 5 and 8. Then I got the 12v motor and associated track to motorise the former on my 9th birthday, just in time to learn that they were replacing the whole line with 9v :( However my parents quickly snapped up any 12v stuff they could find and then rationed it out over several years of birthdays and Christmases so I got a few more sets and accessories for a while afterwards :)

The whole lot was packed up in the loft from the ages of 15 to 29 and only rediscovered when I was moving stuff out into my own house. A frantic period of re-building followed and this was enough to reignite the Lego bug, especially for trains! I managed to get the Emerald Night before prices got too crazy and the last Maersk train in my local Lego shop before it was discontinued, as well as the Horizon Express and the red 2010 City passenger train. I'm going to introduce my 18 month old daughter to the latter at Christmas (when she'll be nearly 2) to see what she makes of it all :)

And now I'm just waiting to see what Lego has for us next!

[Dan-147]

When I was young in the early 70's ( yah, I'm that old!) there was an advertisment for a blue era train. I wanted it badly and I let my parents know, but I never got it. Flash-forward to the mid-80's when I got back into LEGO. I got the 4,5 volt sets. I would drool over the 12 volt sets that were unfortunately not availible here on North America (I always wondered why, can anyone enlighten me?). Then I went into what I call my Gray age (when I was aware of and desired LEGO but I just couldn't afford it and didn't have any free time). When 9 volt trains came out I barely managed to afford the small cargo set (I did drool over the Metroliner but only got it when it was reissued in the 2000's along with the Clubcar). When LEGO LDD came out I started tinkering with it to make train MOCs. Eventually I made them in real bricks. Now, the official LEGO sets just don't appeal to me anymore since I can make what I want.

Dan-147

Edited September 5, 2015 by Dan-147

[dr_spock]

I have a spotty LEGO trains history. I barely remember some blue tracks and red hook couplers when I was a wee little one. My familly moved and I didn't have LEGO again until I moved out. That's when I bought 7710 Push Train. Then another period of no LEGO trains until 10233 Horizon Express was released. I wanted a TGV back in my HO days and I always love modern passenger trains ever since my grandfather took wee little me on the Amtrak Turboliner to New York City. I bought a couple of HE sets and I was hooked. It would be nice if LEGO made more modern passenger trains. Since they don't, I do the MOC thing. That works out well as my LUG doesn't display sets at events.

[Murdoch17]

My dad was into Lego before LEGO gears came out. He got me started with his nearly-complete 9v collection, and now I have probably more custom trains (~60 MOCs) than his sets (~55, not including multiples)!!

[Aaron]

I received some old LEGO pieces from relatives, and built my first MOC (a small, multi-colored caboose) at the age of two. It had tires for wheels, as did every other train that I built, until I received my first proper train set when I was nine years old, which was the #4561 Railway Express.

Growing up, I also had Thomas the Tank engine toys, wooden Brio trains, and an HO scale layout, passed down to me, that my great grandfather had built himself.

I always had an obsession with freight trains (especially hopper cars for some reason) and used to count how many cars passed by at each railroad crossing. Eventually I got the full (5 cars + the diesel) Santa Fe Super chief lineup when that was released, which is when I really started to take interest in streamliners.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Aaron

[Younge]

I got a the 7710 as a Christmas present as a child, but it was the only train set that I had (although I wanted all of the others that appeared in the catalogues!). Because I was so young I didn't have the money to get any kind of add-ons such as lights or even a motor!

When I came out of my dark ages back around 2008, one of the first sets I bought was the 7897, and obviously, every new train set thereafter (apart the last few actually).

I often think about this subject, and why I am so drawn to Lego trains, rather than, say, model trains. I think it's the allure of moving parts, lights, the renderings of actual trains that you can actually go see or ride on (or at least check the real life pics on the Internet). For me also, it's also that link back to my childhood where I could play for hours either building or playing with trains - a simpler time, where the worries of the world never seemed to come to mind.

[pirzyk]

When I was young I had no access or even knowledge of LEGO trains, but my dad had 2 O scale trains we used to put out at christmas. I used to collect the Universal building sets. I really did not like the themed sets until classic space came out. My HO layout and modeling was what killed my LEGO interests as a kid. My SO bought me the Emerald Night as a Christmas present in 2009 and that is what brought me out of my dark ages and into LEGO trains. I have collected every Creator train set since (and have a few city, MOCs, and PF converted 9v ones).

[Rumpelmuck]

I grew up within the blue aera and I started with the "monster" 113. In the late 60's my parents gave me a complete 12V layout with 721 as x-mas present. After my dark ages I tried to reactivate those beautiful sets and during the www search of missing parts the virus TRAIN infected me again........... Now I'm collecting the exclusiv Train sets, i.e. Emerald, Maersk, HE

[Legoboy22]

For me it was my father who bought me a 4.5 volt train when I was 4 years old after it had exhausted it's playability I converted it into the TGV so I have always had an interest in lego's bullet trains, especially the horizon express A.K.A TGV :)

[CisFran]

I first started collecting Technic but got a chance to buy a used freight train 3677 for a cheap price (bnew condition). My son and daughter loved it so now we have 2 sets of 7939 cargo train, 3 sets of Horizon Express, a 60052 Cargo train and a Constitution Train Chase. I'm currently working on modifying the tram from 60097 City Square to run in PF.

[engineermax]

Well I like trains, my dad got me 9V stuff for christmas way back when and that was that.