Not dedicated

[BrickingMyself]

Why isn't Lego so dedicated to Lego trains like they were back in the 80's when they sold electronic switches and signals etc? Obviously there are elaborate workarounds, but it just feels like they don't care anymore. Unless im mistaken Lego don't even sell straightforward boxes of straight or curved track. Obviously you can buy the track you need on eBay secondhand but the point is Lego don't bother producing what would obviously be popular, again giving the impression they don't care.

Looking at the train accessory offerings on Lego.com is almost depressing. Sorry to be so negative. It's just that after returning back to Lego trains after 30 years I hoped to see some progression, but the minimal offerings look like a backwards step.

Fingers crossed that they have some new and exciting offerings in the pipeline.

[Dan-147]

You can blame the lukewarm sales of train related products over the years for their low diversity.  Like almost all companies, LEGO is in the business of making money and will therefore concentrate on products that sell very well (such as Bionicles) even if certain customers (like me) don't care for them.  Contrary to what some think, LEGO train fans are not LEGO's most important customers.  It would seem to be kids from 4 to 12 years old (and their parents, grand-parents, uncles, aunts, etc. who buy LEGO for the kids) that are the biggest cumsumers of LEGO products.  The fact that there is always at least 2 or 3 train sets as well as the occasional station available tells me that LEGO does care about trains.  Add to that the fact that some small companies (such as ME-Models) are making train related LEGO compatible products.  The future of the hobby is more towards the custom MOCs and layouts and in that perspective, LEGO is providing the necessary parts (wheels, motors, train baseplates, couplers and track) to keep us going.

Check out some of the great MOCs some AFOLs are making if you are looking for new and exciting offerings!

Dan-147

[BrickingMyself]

11 hours ago, Dan-147 said:

You can blame the lukewarm sales of train related products over the years for their low diversity.  Like almost all companies, LEGO is in the business of making money and will therefore concentrate on products that sell very well (such as Bionicles) even if certain customers (like me) don't care for them.  Contrary to what some think, LEGO train fans are not LEGO's most important customers.  It would seem to be kids from 4 to 12 years old (and their parents, grand-parents, uncles, aunts, etc. who buy LEGO for the kids) that are the biggest cumsumers of LEGO products.  The fact that there is always at least 2 or 3 train sets as well as the occasional station available tells me that LEGO does care about trains.  Add to that the fact that some small companies (such as ME-Models) are making train related LEGO compatible products.  The future of the hobby is more towards the custom MOCs and layouts and in that perspective, LEGO is providing the necessary parts (wheels, motors, train baseplates, couplers and track) to keep us going.

Check out some of the great MOCs some AFOLs are making if you are looking for new and exciting offerings!

Dan-147

Thanks for your detailed reply. I struggle to understand why Bionicles are more popular than trains.

Hopefully when I have enough spare Lego ill be able to copy some of the MOCs and also hopefully get creative myself.

Edited January 14, 2017 by BrickingMyself