2016 Lego trains

[santaends]

They ought to make it a Creator Expert 2 in 1. Main model includes locomotive and tender. The alternate model makes the 2 different passenger wagons. It will sell like hotcakes.

I am super excited... We haven't had one of these expert trains since Horizon Express.

[jpsirois]

Having it as a 2 in 1 set would be brilliant and we would be all forced to buy two set for sure! Also I’m currently planning a huge holiday Village display for next year, so that would be just a perfect timing.

[THERIZE]

This photo from James Belmont (moderator of the Rails Through the Wasatch page on Facebook) shows what could be a more flashy scheme for UP 844; her greyhound two tone paint: http://www.railpictu...t/photo/315641/

Greyhound looks awesome! I think it would be more likely for LEGO to have that colour scheme instead of plain black. But to be honest I don't think LEGO will ever release something as giant as the 844 as an official set. Not much potential if they'd want to sell it all across the globe.

[BrickFit26]

I can't wait to see pictures of it. It better not disappoint.

[firstofminifigs]

It better not disappoint.

I think we better limit our expectations. If it is being labeled a holiday train it will likely be cartoonish, not to scale, not motorized, not representing any real locomotive. Much like the original holiday train. At best it will look decent around the tree or the WV which a lot if people may be happy with. Hate to be a pessimist but maybe if I set the expectations low I will be more surprised.

[dr_spock]

Over the years, I learned to not get too excited until I can actually hold the box in my hands.

[3797]

On the bright side, I've managed to go almost 6 months without spending money on Legos;

Although i wish TLG would hurry up with the next train set(s) before I...

... give up and spend your money elsewhere? Happened to me. I somehow ended up buying LGB track for the garden and lots of vintage Playmobil.

Yeah, LEGO, I don't care about the friends and star wars sets, I can't stand angry birds and I really don't need any more police or fire stations. What I want is a proper steam engine with dark green cars that have real (NOT brick built and no cheap panels as windows!) LEGO train windows and doors in dark green. Surprise us and make a 3 wide train window. It can't be that hard nowadays. Whatever you do, don't complain that train sets don't sell well enough, if you don't even try to get the average Joe interested. Also, the PF remote and receiver need to be updated. The potential new receiver also needs to a lot smaller.

[andythenorth]

Whatever you do, don't complain that train sets don't sell well enough, if you don't even try to get the average Joe interested.

I am intrigued. It's pretty rare for Lego to talk in public, outside of pure product marketing, and almost everything they say is positive, rather than complaining. I'm fascinated that you heard or read them complaining that train sets don't sell. Where did you find this?

[1974]

Not everything comes directly from TLG's mouth

[wooster]

I think we better limit our expectations. If it is being labeled a holiday train it will likely be cartoonish, not to scale, not motorized, not representing any real locomotive. Much like the original holiday train. At best it will look decent around the tree or the WV which a lot if people may be happy with. Hate to be a pessimist but maybe if I set the expectations low I will be more surprised.

Yes, this exactly.

I would love something like EN. But it's going to be colorful and bright for the holidays. It will be neither realistic nor scale.

[Man with a hat]

....

But it's going to be colorful and bright for the holidays. It will be neither realistic nor scale.

That's what I am afraid of. But who knows. Maybe they surprise us.

[ncx]

I am intrigued. It's pretty rare for Lego to talk in public, outside of pure product marketing, and almost everything they say is positive, rather than complaining. I'm fascinated that you heard or read them complaining that train sets don't sell. Where did you find this?

That is absolutely not true, LEGO trains sell out around the holidays and that is what LEGO wants, having them available all year is just a plus for AFOL's and train fans.

Nesquik, can you chime in on this?

also, if they do a new 2-6-4 steam loco, they should make it height proportionate too, like mine. as far as the colors, I love seeing decorated LEGO sets, especially the Winter Village sets which this new train should fit nicely into.

Edited February 5, 2016 by ncx

[davidmull]

That is absolutely not true, LEGO trains sell out around the holidays and that is what LEGO wants, having them available all year is just a plus for AFOL's and train fans.

Nesquik, can you chime in on this?

also, if they do a new 2-6-4 steam loco, they should make it height proportionate too, like mine. as far as the colors, I love seeing decorated LEGO sets, especially the Winter Village sets which this new train should fit nicely into.

Wishful thinking. Will be a mini train prob

[1974]

This time, I do not have inside info as such, but if was to guess I would think the next train would be 4W with several wagons and include a small station .. loads of extra chrismassy stuff as usual (trees, santa, helpers and reindeers)

So no PF, no tracks, no fun ..

But what do I know?

[Duq]

4W wouldn't be so bad if that was an excuse to finally make straight (flat!) 4W track pieces to go with those 4W curves...

[Hod Carrier]

Amen to that.

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for the information, nesquik and 1974!

This is good and bad news both at the same time:

I really like to hear that there'll be a new Christmas train since I regrettably missed the one from several years ago!

But that it should only be four studs wide is really too bad!

So you won't be able to use it as a real train put on PF rails and you won't even be aible to let it drive by adding PF stuff to it. You only could use this train like some small train on the road for tourists to drive around - but for Xmas that really doesn't fit imo. Plus I really don't need all that kitsch with santa, elves and reindeers - better would be to get more real minifigs and more additional stuff or a bigger building with more interior!

From TLG's point of view, 4 studs wide is even much less profitable since these costumers who normally would buy PF stuff and rails in addition to the train won't do so - so less money for TLG. Plus disappointed (train) fans.

So well, let's see! If it was really only four studs wide and then maybe even the station only a train stop and no real building, it's highly likely that I'll pass this one like I did with the Santa's Workshop set.

Klaus-Dieter

Edited February 6, 2016 by Klaus-Dieter

[CM4Sci]

This time, I do not have inside info as such, but if was to guess I would think the next train would be 4W with several wagons and include a small station .. loads of extra chrismassy stuff as usual (trees, santa, helpers and reindeers)

So no PF, no tracks, no fun ..

But what do I know?

So a polybag?

[Hod Carrier]

Hello Klaus-Dieter,

Naturally you're entitled to your opinion and I know that 4-wide won't be to everybody's tastes, but your summary is a bit bleak. There are some of us who have had some success at powered 4-wide modelling. As one of those, I'm quietly hopeful that there might be some innovation in the narrow gauge track system to look forward to, but we shall have to wait and see.

My own feelings are that any Christmas train is likely to tend towards the "play" end of the spectrum, be small in size, even if it is 6-wide, and will actually be of limited interest to train fans. All the discussion about even medium-sized steam engines of any type strike me as being optimistic bordering on fanciful.

Only time will tell.

[ncx]

I don't think that type of reference is necessary...

BOT, Normally I wouldn't give away Exclusive details, but I believe the train community deserves some good news for a change.

It's all but confirmed that there will be a Christmas train in Q4. It features lots and lots of presents/gifts and some minifigures. From what I could tell it's not a re-release of the 'previous' Christmas train, but that's all I know for now.

Please take this with a grain of salt, as plans can (and do) easily change throughout the year.

Here is where I got that from Nesquik (see quote above) (and below)

I've followed this thread for some time, and there does seem to be a common belief that LEGO trains themselves don't sell well, or not enough to warrant an additional Exclusive release. This simply isn't true. If the company does have a problem - and I know this first hand - it largely comes down to merchandising.

City trains are incredibly popular around the holiday seasons; these are the times when children have saved up enough money to get one, their parents are kind enough to purchase one as a treat, or the parents have a responsibility to purchase "the first train set". Regardless what the motivation is, they are important products for many families and open a whole new level of expandability within City. More so than any other model, there is also the legacy factor - a parent had a train set when they were younger, and now they want their child to have one. Also, the product is complete with everything you need to get going (important for Christmas day!). What's not to like?

Then, you have Exclusive (or Creator Expert) trains, which are sold in a product line that continues to be ambiguous for many fans. We take it for granted now that these models are gauged in difficulty by having an 'Expert' label, but it was not so long ago that these products had very little visual impact on a store shelf.

Even so, the models continue to appear in different scales to one-another and the pricing is mostly higher-end for a variety of reasons.

If this isn't confusing enough, the customer then discovers that the train requires a motor, battery box, I.R receiver and controller on top of the model itself, which takes the price up considerably.

So this is when merchandising becomes very important; if the product can be appreciated for either play or display purposes, you broaden your audience dramatically. But it's not so easy when components many fans expect for compatibility are missing...

It's a huge hurdle, but the lack of Exclusive train releases does not mean that the company is abandoning this sub-theme. Rather, timing is absolutely crucial. Three City trains have been released in almost two years to appeal to different markets, so customers are already spoilt for choice.

All I can suggest is, try to relax and keep in mind that the company is well aware of its train hobbyists. The past three years in particular have seen unprecedented growth, and it's only natural that the Exclusive line-up has been experimented with

Edited February 7, 2016 by ncx

[James Mathis]

I wish the best to everyone who seeks the magic formula for a train project at LEGO IDEAS.

I tried 3797...I tried.

I tried my hand at two LEGO IDEAS train projects. But, I didn't have a good enough design, promotional effort, a mass-appealing product, nor the requisite compelling presentation.

The first was "Super Mega Steam Power Train Builder".

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/86744

I think the SMSPTB concept may have spoken to your desire for a steam locomotive with dark green doors and train windows (but not 3-wide). I attempted to deliver a multiple-build creator-style vision reminiscent of the 10183 Hobby Train, and offer compatibility with legacy 9v and Power Functions. Alas, into oblivion at 660 supporters.

My "Winter Village Express" train idea froze at the station with a frigid response of 307 supporters.

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/85295

My interpretation of a train befitting the quaint and charming Winter Village envisioned the pioneering days of rail travel with a locomotive of the likes never before on offer. The entirety of the set would be convertible, accentuated with optional bits of accumulating winter snow which could be removed upon Spring's fairest thaw.

Again, I wish the very best to all who aspire to realize an IDEAS production. At the very least, hopeful of the expectations in yet to be new official train sets.

Aloha,

James

[ncx]

I personally think LEGO uses alot of the projects that don't even make it as inspiration for their own sometimes. I can see the designers seeing some of the projects and thinking "that seems like a neat idea, i'm gonna try that" blah blah blah

[James Mathis]

The foundation of Super Mega Steam Power Train Builder was to build on basic running gear and tender structure. I wanted to offer a platform on which a builder could start with a solid functioning drive train and wheel configuration. With this as a starting point, the builder could top it off with their own creative ideas as to what the boiler, cab, and tender enclosure and decorations would be. My idea of a basic platform certainly is not universal enough for all type of steam locomotives, but, I hoped, it would give the aspiring train builder a good beginning to a greater end, and the advanced train builder a nice parts-pack.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=6195361

I offer the LDD lxf files for your examinations.

Super Mega:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=550498

Winter Village Express:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=549642

Should you download and explore these train designs, I hope you find them interesting, if not inspiring.

I add my thanks to all of you who supported my LEGO IDEAS projects.

-James

[legonerd54321]

That is absolutely not true, LEGO trains sell out around the holidays and that is what LEGO wants, having them available all year is just a plus for AFOL's and train fans.

Nesquik, can you chime in on this?

also, if they do a new 2-6-4 steam loco, they should make it height proportionate too, like mine. as far as the colors, I love seeing decorated LEGO sets, especially the Winter Village sets which this new train should fit nicely into.

-snip-

Ugh, now I need the plans for that engine. I blame you

[OmgItsNitro]

Any tips for a new track build? I love trains, but don't know where to start!