Some quick questions about the new trains

[Karl]

Has there been any official word yet on the track the forthcoming power function trains will use? Will it be the same as the track used with the current RC trains?

I did a search but I couldn't find any answer from Lego themselves. Sorry if it's been asked before.

[paksu]

Has there been any official word yet on the track the forthcoming power function trains will use? Will it be the same as the track used with the current RC trains?

Well, officially the gauge will remain the same, and the rails will be plastic. So there'd be no reason to get rid of the current RC train tracks. Still, there may be new kinds of track geometries to look forward to.

Edited January 16, 2009 by paksu

[Joebot]

With all the new '09 sets hitting the shelfs, and new pictures of upcoming City and Star Wars sets starting to leak out ... how is it that we've seen NOTHING about trains for '09?? It's hard to believe that we haven't seen anything yet.

If I were the cynical, suspicious type, I might start to worry about the future of Lego trains ...

[paksu]

With all the new '09 sets hitting the shelfs, and new pictures of upcoming City and Star Wars sets starting to leak out ... how is it that we've seen NOTHING about trains for '09?? It's hard to believe that we haven't seen anything yet.

If I were the cynical, suspicious type, I might start to worry about the future of Lego trains ...

Well, I'd like to think it's just that TLG has finally been able (to some extent) to hold the leaks. And keep in mind that last year, at this point, we hadn't yet seen the first Green Grocer pics. And we only knew about sets such as GC, the Taj Mahal, and Town Plan because of the replacement part list leak.

If I were the optimistic type, I might be happy for TLG for advanced security. And not bite my nails in bitter anticipation of ANY KIND OF PICS OF THE NEW TRAINS.

Edited January 16, 2009 by paksu

[legotrainfan]

Maybe the new train line will be released in autumn. So it might be a bit too early for leaked pictures. Maybe we'll have them in early or late spring. Who knows! But even though I'll be sticking to 9V forever, I'm also eagerly waiting for news on the new trains. I hope that they are going to release some cool train buildings and waggons. Those I could easily use in combination with my beloved 9V stuff.

[Badsneaker]

Maybe the new train line will be released in autumn. So it might be a bit too early for leaked pictures. Maybe we'll have them in early or late spring. Who knows! But even though I'll be sticking to 9V forever, I'm also eagerly waiting for news on the new trains. I hope that they are going to release some cool train buildings and waggons. Those I could easily use in combination with my beloved 9V stuff.

I too hope they come with some train buildings too! I only have the RC stuff. If money was no object, I would be 9V all the way! I think that era was the pinnacle of LEGO trains.

[Brickthus]

Given the recent introduction of the double crossover, it is logical that Power Functions trains would use the same track system as the current RC train. This would make them compatible with the track from RC and 9V trains, which is best for AFOLs.

The switch to plastic track made the development of new track pieces easier and cheaper. The double crossover is one example of this ( ballasted here). There may be more different pieces in the future. Remember that any new LEGO piece as complex as a track piece has to have a good business case.

The release of leaked pictures has to be kept in for long enough so that a competitor would not have time to create a rival product before the launch date. A strategic leak may occur at a later date in order to whet our appetites. With the assumption of an autumn release date it is, as others have said, too early for a leak yet.

Rest assured that AFOLs involved in the Power Functions and Trains programmes are working to ensure the best backward compatibility with RC trains and 9V trains, such that maximum use may be made of these products. For instance, any battery box may power a 9V train motor on plastic track. The PF extension wire has a 9V plug on one end, to drive 9V devices.

There are two parts to the new Power Functions trains: good train sets and good Power Functions technology. Both of these have to be right for the product line to succeed. You will be able to judge whether the trains are good when pictures are released. The technology will have few surprises - the official messages have already stated that there will be a rechargeable battery box and infra-red remote control. I'm surprised more people haven't made their own PF trains already: all you need is a 4x14 battery box, a PF pole reverser, a 9V train motor, a PF IR receiver and IR handset and a few PF extension leads. The pole reverser sets the power from the battery box the right way round to turn on the IR receiver. The IR receiver is mounted in the train roof and drives the motor. The train would go full speed with an ordinary handset but an NXT with IR link sensor can send the codes for intermediate speeds. It is likely that something similar to the RC train handset will also be able to set intermediate speeds.

Train lighting has taken a step forward with Power Functions. The new PF light bricks have been designed to fit well with PF trains. The split LEDs enable their use for headlights in 6-wide or 8-wide trains (not restricted to a particular width as 12V prisms were), as well as using one LED at each end of the loco if the body is short enough. I made a circuit to set the lights automatically to the direction of travel and keep them on when the train stops. This makes good use of the on-board battery power. These PF Loco pictures show the circuit inside. The loco has 2 9V train motors, 2 light bricks, one IR receiver, the light direction and latching circuit and a battery box (not shown).

Mark

[Karl]

Thanks for all your replies. The reason I asked is that my girlfriend (very kindly!) gave me my first Lego train, 7898, for my birthday last week, and I'd hate to have to scrap most of it once the newer stuff comes out.

[Loganwan]

I had read an article some time back where someone was asking why TLG was going away from the 9V to the newer style trains. They commented that this new style would allow for a greater variety of products and would be more flexible with the next set of ideas coming out. That tells me that they were planning for the move for quite a while.

I am in the same boat as you Karl. I just finished putting together my first LEGO train set less than an hour ago, and would really like to be able to build into it.

[Diamondback]

The other thing to do would be, if you can get 9V track and motors, use the 9V for continuous running on the mainline and the IR for switching and trains that have to stop and take sidings.

Personally, I think it'd be really cool if that PF+9v solution ends up being the tack LEGO takes, mainly because having a fixed IR chassis really cuts down on flexibility for MOCing or retrofitting the Super Chief and other older engines.

Better still would be if they could either use IrDA (computer's infrared-port) or Bluetooth, and ship a software-package to control your trains from your computer...maybe even something like DCC, where you can set an 'address' for each piece of equipment and control the whole taco using a 'dashboard' styled after a real locomotive cab or CTC center?

[Lockt]

*Nice and elaborate post*

Thank you for your post! Since I emerged from my Dark Ages I am looking around what to do with trains. I already have 2 different systems (i entered my dark ages just after the introduction of the 9V system, so I ended up with a 9V system and the battery driven 4.5V (?) system, which cannot be combined properly).

The latest train system could not appeal me very much, also because I didn't like to introduce a third system in my collection. Backward compatability to 9V would make the new system very appealing for me.

Equally important as the train system it self I think is the "environment" around the trains. One very positive feature of the 12V system, where a lot of asscesoires where available. Maybe I am hoping for to much, but I at least would encourage any step in that direction.

For its just a matter of patience ;-)