6 or 8 stud wide trains, where do you think TLG is going for future sets?

[LegoDW]

Went to my local Lego store last week and saw in person the new Disney train (8 studs wide).  It looked nice, but I'm used to all my 6 wide engines and rolling stock.  This got me thinking, which direction is TLG going to go in the future.  Seeing on Youtube a lot more Lego train moc's 8 studs wide.  IMO the 6 and 8 wide trains do not display well together, really need separate layouts to display them.  This is the same for model railroading, you typically don't see multiple gauge trains on the same layout.  

At my Lego store they no longer have on the shelves the current city trains (6 stud wide).  They have them still (I checked) they are in the back, store employee just said they don't have the room to display.  In the past 2 years I have been visiting the Lego store they have always had multiple city trains for sale in the main sales area.  To me the fact they are not displayed means they are not selling.  If they are not selling then this opens the door for TLG to try something new....8 stud wide trains.  It is hard to gauge (lol) how many more bricks (and thus costs) a 8 stud wide train would have vs a typical 6.  Simple math would say around a third.  This is a total guess on my part, but lets say if TLG offered the two current city trains (6 studs wide) as 8 stud wide they would be maybe  25% more.  I am not sure TLG would sell more at this higher price.  Not sure your typically kid or parent really cares if the trains are 6 or 8 stud wide.  For AFOL feel they do, with strong options from both sides. So this is where I am struggling......how would TLG offering larger trains (8 stud wide) moving forward improve their sales.  Would be interested in your thoughts.

For me, I'm staying 6 studs wide as all my stuff is at this size.  Will be disappointing any new additions to our railroad would have to be mocs if everything goes to 8 stud wide.

As a side note, it looks like the Lego Speed Champions is also going from 6 stud wide vehicles to 8 studs wide.

 

[Carefree_Dude]

I'd be shocked if they go with 8 wide going further. I feel that this is a one time thing, or a very rare thing at least. I feel almost everything going forward will be 6 wide due to cost and playability.

[dr_spock]

Maybe 8 for licensed product detailing requirements and 6 for in-house stuff?   With those new plastic axle bogies, the weight of 8 could increase rolling resistance and strain the train motor.

 

 

 

[ecmo47]

I don't see Lego doing any 8-wide on a regular basis. They may do something special once in while. All we will see in trains is the occasional 6-wide playset.

[CSW652]

I don't think they will go 8 wide either, as the curves and their goofy switches are already tight enough for the 6 wides.

[Modeltrainman]

The Disney Train will be my only 8 wide.

[SteamSewnEmpire]

As much as I'd like to think that 8w is the future (since it is far closer to scale than 6w), the fact is that Lego is generally averse to raising part counts for little tangible (or tangible in their eyes as it related to children) gain. 

[ClassicTrains]

Just an idea, but I'm not sure I'm right: could the Disney train be 8 studs wide because of the fact that the original is a narrow gauge one (914 mm), and making the Lego train 6 wide would be very unproportional..?

[Rijkvv]

Going totally 8-wide would be a bad move. While it looks more realistic, it also means everything has to be stretched to have decent dimensions. So I think it'll be much more than a 25% increase. IIRC I once read in Railbricks that it was close to 100%, so double the parts.

I rather see they keep the sets affordable, we can build something realistic in any scale anyway.

[legoman666]

7. 

[M_slug357]

6.75

[Toastie]

22 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

6.75

Huh?

Metric or imperial?

When imperial, elaborate a bit on the fractional part: .75 as in 1/16th (or was it 1/12th?) of 2.54 mm

Ooops - we are talking LEGO dingsies don't we? So it is 6.75 studs, translating to ... uhmm what is the fraction below 1/12? 1/24?  ... love it.

(When living in SoCal for some (wonderful) time, I once asked the guy at HomeDepot to cut about 3 m of some irrigation tubing for the backyard - standing right in front of the stuff. He said: We don't sell that kind here - that was (after getting it) really funny and we had some good time talking ...

So what about the 6.75? Studdic or what?   

All the best
Thorsten

 

 

[legotownlinz]

On 11/21/2019 at 9:18 AM, ClassicTrains said:

Just an idea, but I'm not sure I'm right: could the Disney train be 8 studs wide because of the fact that the original is a narrow gauge one (914 mm), and making the Lego train 6 wide would be very unproportional..?

My guess: It is eight studs wide because the designer didn't care and nobody else at Lego is passionate enough about trains to stop him making a train that doesn't go well with all the other trains. It's just ignorance and indifference but certainly no evidence for future eight-wide trains.

[The Brick Boss]

City has converted to 6 stud wide, which I don't mind one bit. 8 stud is going too far for City, but for Speed Champions, its just fine. As for trains, I think they should stay 6 stud wide. 

[M_slug357]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:20 PM, Toastie said:

Huh?

Metric or imperial?
...

...So what about the 6.75? Studdic or what? 

Approx .75 units of “malarkey”

[raised]

On 10/28/2019 at 2:10 AM, SteamSewnEmpire said:

As much as I'd like to think that 8w is the future (since it is far closer to scale than 6w), the fact is that Lego is generally averse to raising part counts for little tangible (or tangible in their eyes as it related to children) gain. 

This exactly. Remember why they axed 9v? Because TLC said Lego trains were becoming too expensive due to the manufacturing of metal rails. Changing to plastic rails back then was the only solution to make trains cheaper. So except for this AFOL-tailored train, I don't think any other 8wides will follow. 

Point in case: the new hidden side train.

Edited December 4, 2019 by raised

[SteamSewnEmpire]

49 minutes ago, raised said:

Point in case: the new hidden side train.

Which, I might add, is an abomination, resembling neither a European nor North American locomotive in any way.

I like the Hidden Side sets (because they're fine so long as you keep the gaudy ghosts tucked away); the train was the weakest effort in the line by far.

Edited December 4, 2019 by SteamSewnEmpire

[M_slug357]

5 hours ago, SteamSewnEmpire said:

...the train was the weakest effort in the line by far....

You havent seen the images for the “haunted subway” station yet...?

[SteamSewnEmpire]

59 minutes ago, M_slug357 said:

You havent seen the images for the “haunted subway” station yet...?

Can't tell if you're pulling my leg or not. I saw the lighthouse and the carnival funhouse for the January rollout. Do you have a link to pics of a subway?

[The Brick Boss]

1 hour ago, M_slug357 said:

You havent seen the images for the “haunted subway” station yet...?

Ok....I was swearing like a sailor when I saw the official images for that set. 

C'mon Lego! I expected better from you. 

[SteamSewnEmpire]

Nevermind, just saw it.

Didn't realize a tree constituted a station now.

[zephyr1934]

On 11/26/2019 at 5:20 PM, Toastie said:

So what about the 6.75?

Round that up to 6.8 and you've got 6 wide plus 2 snotted plates. I've built several cars at that width before.

[Rustie86]

On 11/21/2019 at 3:18 AM, ClassicTrains said:

Just an idea, but I'm not sure I'm right: could the Disney train be 8 studs wide because of the fact that the original is a narrow gauge one (914 mm), and making the Lego train 6 wide would be very unproportional..?

This is my guess, although I bet room for seating the Disney minifigs may have been another consideration. I would be shocked to see an 8-wide City train. And unless Lego chooses another prototype that requires the extra width to appear proportional, I'd be surprised to see any of the more complex trains appearing in 8-wide. 

[fred67]

On 11/21/2019 at 3:18 AM, ClassicTrains said:

Just an idea, but I'm not sure I'm right: could the Disney train be 8 studs wide because of the fact that the original is a narrow gauge one (914 mm), and making the Lego train 6 wide would be very unproportional..?

I didn't know that bit of trivia.  I think the set looks great for a Disney Train, and possibly because it does fit the look better than a 6 wide would.

On 12/8/2019 at 10:07 PM, Rustie86 said:

This is my guess, although I bet room for seating the Disney minifigs may have been another consideration. I would be shocked to see an 8-wide City train. And unless Lego chooses another prototype that requires the extra width to appear proportional, I'd be surprised to see any of the more complex trains appearing in 8-wide. 

I wouldn't hold my breath for 8 wide, either.

I will say this; I JUST got the Disney set and have been putting it together the past couple of days.  I put it on my Winter Village layout - a figure 8 this year, and to keep it simple it's just got Santa's Workshop, the Cottage, and the Train Station. 

Guess what?  It doesn't work with the Winter Village Train Station, particularly if you put the steps from the passenger car facing the train platform.  But not only that, the crossing doesn't work, either (I had to move the gates out away from the track an extra stud on each side).  If you turn the open passenger car so that the steps are away from the train platform, and fix the crossing, it's fine.

Point being that 8 wide could break some previous sets, like 10027 train engine shed, or anything with a platform.

[Matt Dawson]

LEGO won't go beyond 6 wide due to a couple of factors, mainly price and standards. 

As others have mentioned, they complain sets are expensive/niche product and aren't good for affordability, and moving to 8 wide would increase costs per vehicle of around 10-20% depending on complexity, not to mention the larger plates required for bases. 

The only other trains not 6 wide are the Disney train and the Emerald Night, and the latter was purely down to the cylinders.