LEGO Trains 2022

[M_slug357]

6 hours ago, McWaffel said:

God forbid LEGO giving us a couple of spare wheels. Hell would probably freeze over 

When that happens, you could then recreate that scene from the Polar Express movie where the train drifts around on the surface of a frozen lake

[Maple]

6 hours ago, McWaffel said:

God forbid LEGO giving us a couple of spare wheels. Hell would probably freeze over 

LEGO doesn't even give the City sets with road plates two extra 2x4 tiles to actually connect the road plates. 

[Tube Map Central]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:36 AM, Polarlicht said:

One can only hope they do the Ideas Polarexpress, which just reached 10k subs! They wanted to continue Trains, so here you go!!

One can only get real, the one that achieved support a year ago was rejected, and this one will be too. To the untrained eye it is basically the same model. The only IP tie-in that TLG will consider for trains is for a huge franchise such as Disney or Harry Potter, and they have already done those.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Tube Map Central

[Polarlicht]

6 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

One can only get real, the one that achieved support a year ago was rejected, and this one will be too. To the untrained eye it is basically the same model. The only IP tie-in that TLG will consider for trains is for a huge franchise such as Disney or Harry Potter, and they have already done those.

Crocodile was neither of those!

[M_slug357]

@Tube Map Central The Polar Express movie rights are owned by WB, and TLG does have a contract with them for DC comics stuff at least… So if anything, it might actually be Warner Bros. that’s holding off on this?

[Pendra37]

Polar Express is somewhat plausible. I only gripe is that it is another steamer like the Harry Potter train. Those are not as hip and trendy as they used to be like 50 years ago. Nothing modern. I don't see an Under Siege 2 or a Snowpiercer set any time soon.    

[Tube Map Central]

16 hours ago, Polarlicht said:

Crocodile was neither of those!

Crocodile is not linked to licensable IP. 

Lego trains are either (1) linked to their own themes (hidden side, winter village) (2) linked to IP that is HUGE (Harry Potter, Disneyland, Spiderman) or (3) heavily inspired but don't give credit (emerald night, horizon express, current city train set). The only exception I can think of is the Maersk cargo train, I would like to know more about that arrangement, who paid who, or was there no payment because both parties saw this as mutually beneficial?

15 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

@Tube Map Central The Polar Express movie rights are owned by WB, and TLG does have a contract with them for DC comics stuff at least… So if anything, it might actually be Warner Bros. that’s holding off on this?

I can't see it happening, this is just a one-off film (see above) and it is not aging well. Do an internet search for "polar express creepy" and see pages and pages, this is not "creepy" in a good way.

 

[M_slug357]

@Tube Map Central the creep factor is palpable now that you mention it... maybe if WB did a remake of the movie, it could get a Lego set out of it then...?

[Stuartn]

20 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

The only exception I can think of is the Maersk cargo train, I would like to know more about that arrangement, who paid who, or was there no payment because both parties saw this as mutually beneficial?

Lego have made many Maersk sets for years, and for decades before the train, I think there partnership is driven by the fact they are the two most famous companies in Denmark, and I assume it is mutually beneficial like all IP partnerships.

 

[Tube Map Central]

Thinking some more about this, where might an aspiring designer go for a winning IP-tied Ideas train? The Hogwarts express is incidental to the plots but benefits from up to (I'm not going to rewatch them) seven films of exposure. For many films, a train features somewhere, but is not a major component of the plot - "by the way, there was a train in the film too, here it is" - will have a hard time exciting the TLG marketing people. Perhaps you need Back to the Future III level train involvement or better to have a chance.

Most films in which the train is the film are very adult in themes and content, not necessarily a deal breaker, you don't actually see Patrick McGoohan being beheaded on Silverstreak and this is no worse than many gory ends condoned, however indirectly, by TLG IP tie ins.

I think the big problem is one-offs, IP needs to happen twice before TLG will try and grab it, which is a problem for any train film if the spectacular destruction of the train at the end is the finale.

Where does that leave us? Thomas the Tank Engine and Polar Express? Anything else remotely possible?

 

[Black Knight]

Then how about Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express? There is the book and four screen adaptions. And the 241-A-65 from the 2017 film is just awesome!

[Tube Map Central]

That would be one of the best candidates, this one didn't get there:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/13c1077e-0e6a-4488-8f0a-af2702516a82

Would such a set need to follow a particular film?

[*thomas*]

16 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

That would be one of the best candidates, this one didn't get there:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/13c1077e-0e6a-4488-8f0a-af2702516a82

Would such a set need to follow a particular film?

I'm going to sound very (very) harsh, but the locomotive was badly designed. The carriages look 'ok' .

[McWaffel]

Why do you think that? Apart from the locomotives wheels being too small (nothing you can do about that), I think it was very well designed, actually. Much better than most other IDEAS locos 

[Ondra]

Anybody else thinks, that ending high speed train was perfect city train set? It kinda gets feel of old trains with various wagons and colour/design mix?

That new trains is about 20 pieces less than Metroliner, yes famous metroliner. I dont expect 10 minifigures and long platform. But there is alot to be made perfect with this piece count  in 6 studs.

Im really interesting. Trains between 2006 and 2018 were just uninspiring...

[Aanchir]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:10 AM, McWaffel said:

God forbid LEGO giving us a couple of spare wheels. Hell would probably freeze over 

I mean, a lot of the sets that have included the steam drivers have left one or two unused anyway. For that matter, remember that the Big Ben included FOUR 9-piece hand tool packs despite only actually using two parts from each, and likewise The Big Bang Theory came with a 17-piece kitchen accessory pack despite leaving 15 of those pieces (all but two forks) unused!

So I don't think this would really be much of a deal breaker, at least not for an 18+ train. If worse came to worse, they could probably find an alternate use for at least some of the leftover drivers so they don't go completely to waste.

42 minutes ago, Ondra said:

Anybody else thinks, that ending high speed train was perfect city train set? It kinda gets feel of old trains with various wagons and colour/design mix?

That new trains is about 20 pieces less than Metroliner, yes famous metroliner. I dont expect 10 minifigures and long platform. But there is alot to be made perfect with this piece count  in 6 studs. 

Im really interesting. Trains between 2006 and 2018 were just uninspiring...

I do have sort of a soft spot for 7938 for managing to offer a decent likeness of a metro/commuter train like some of the ones I've used to get around in real life, without needing to use a specific train nose or windscreen mold. And its colors and design language paired very nicely with 7937 from the same year. But aside from that, I agree that it was pretty uninspiring.

I definitely agree that 60197 is the most appealing City passenger train so far, thanks to the varied interior (with a standard coach and a cafe car) and flashy multicolor exterior. Continuing the classic LEGO train/transit logo across the entire length of the train as a white stripe is a clever design choice that feels very modern and stylish.

60197's biggest weakness is the lack of doors (a trait shared with all City passenger trains so far), but otherwise it's a pretty phenomenal design, and I love that the nose piece lines up nicely with existing curved parts in the front and with standard 45-degree slopes in the back.

In the future, I would love to see a passenger train and station platform that are wheelchair accessible Trains are a vital form of transportation for a lot of disabled folks, and it seems like including wheelchair access in a future wave of City train sets would be a good way of acknowledging that.

It would also be neat to see a passenger train with sliding doors, which are very common on light rail or subway trains. It's kind of surprising that LEGO has never done this, since some of LEGO's very first sliding door pieces were the ones introduced for freight trains and freight depots. And a passenger door piece that slides along a plate with rail in that same manner could be just as useful for buses and trams as it is for trains, since it would neither take up any interior floor space nor need as much clearance along the sidewalk as a door that swings open.

[Ondra]

11 hours ago, Aanchir said:

I mean, a lot of the sets that have included the steam drivers have left one or two unused anyway. For that matter, remember that the Big Ben included FOUR 9-piece hand tool packs despite only actually using two parts from each, and likewise The Big Bang Theory came with a 17-piece kitchen accessory pack despite leaving 15 of those pieces (all but two forks) unused!

So I don't think this would really be much of a deal breaker, at least not for an 18+ train. If worse came to worse, they could probably find an alternate use for at least some of the leftover drivers so they don't go completely to waste.

I do have sort of a soft spot for 7938 for managing to offer a decent likeness of a metro/commuter train like some of the ones I've used to get around in real life, without needing to use a specific train nose or windscreen mold. And its colors and design language paired very nicely with 7937 from the same year. But aside from that, I agree that it was pretty uninspiring.

I definitely agree that 60197 is the most appealing City passenger train so far, thanks to the varied interior (with a standard coach and a cafe car) and flashy multicolor exterior. Continuing the classic LEGO train/transit logo across the entire length of the train as a white stripe is a clever design choice that feels very modern and stylish.

60197's biggest weakness is the lack of doors (a trait shared with all City passenger trains so far), but otherwise it's a pretty phenomenal design, and I love that the nose piece lines up nicely with existing curved parts in the front and with standard 45-degree slopes in the back.

In the future, I would love to see a passenger train and station platform that are wheelchair accessible Trains are a vital form of transportation for a lot of disabled folks, and it seems like including wheelchair access in a future wave of City train sets would be a good way of acknowledging that.

It would also be neat to see a passenger train with sliding doors, which are very common on light rail or subway trains. It's kind of surprising that LEGO has never done this, since some of LEGO's very first sliding door pieces were the ones introduced for freight trains and freight depots. And a passenger door piece that slides along a plate with rail in that same manner could be just as useful for buses and trams as it is for trains, since it would neither take up any interior floor space nor need as much clearance along the sidewalk as a door that swings open.

6 studs size is very limiting, I made local train from parts of two 60197, and Im having problem fit inside bike.

Wheelchair will be probably problem too, but I would like to see baby carriage, wheelchair, bike in train.

[jus1973]

2 hours ago, Ondra said:

6 studs size is very limiting, I made local train from parts of two 60197, and Im having problem fit inside bike.

Wheelchair will be probably problem too, but I would like to see baby carriage, wheelchair, bike in train.

Yep.  6 wide is too limiting, and as I’ve said before, TLG needs to pause trains for a year or two, and then relaunch in 8 wide.  This way, all the above will fit better, and they’ll look about right next to the rest of the city vehicles.

[*thomas*]

LEGO needs to make the passanger train the main focus again, like they did in the 80s and 90s. Yesterday, my 3 year old and a 4 year old friend of his had a go at my old lego trains. What they mostly enjoyed was opening doors from my 7745 and putting people on top of MOC flat beds... I know tolders aren't the target audience for TLG and their trains, but it shows cargo shouldn't always be the main focus. 

[jus1973]

26 minutes ago, *thomas* said:

LEGO needs to make the passanger train the main focus again, like they did in the 80s and 90s. Yesterday, my 3 year old and a 4 year old friend of his had a go at my old lego trains. What they mostly enjoyed was opening doors from my 7745 and putting people on top of MOC flat beds... I know tolders aren't the target audience for TLG and their trains, but it shows cargo shouldn't always be the main focus. 

Oh yes.  Bring back opening doors too.

[zephyr1934]

17 hours ago, Aanchir said:

In the future, I would love to see a passenger train and station platform that are wheelchair accessible Trains are a vital form of transportation for a lot of disabled folks, and it seems like including wheelchair access in a future wave of City train sets would be a good way of acknowledging that.

It would also be neat to see a passenger train with sliding doors, which are very common on light rail or subway trains. It's kind of surprising that LEGO has never done this, since some of LEGO's very first sliding door pieces were the ones introduced for freight trains and freight depots. And a passenger door piece that slides along a plate with rail in that same manner could be just as useful for buses and trams as it is for trains, since it would neither take up any interior floor space nor need as much clearance along the sidewalk as a door that swings open.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next city passenger train (assuming there is a "next") had a wheelchair rider with it. Though I would not expect the train to actually be accessible to anyone without a brick remover, what with no doors and all (grin).

The sliding passenger door is a great idea, that would also be useful for space/sci-fi builds too. Fitting a glass piece in the door would be a little tricky but doable with a little finesse.

[dr_spock]

It's pretty easy to drop in a wheel chair or bicycle with LEGO 6 wide removable roof passenger cars.

It would be cool if they could mold some pop out sliding doors.

[JopieK]

We used to have sliding doors for freight trains, so they could use the same principle.

[Aanchir]

4 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the next city passenger train (assuming there is a "next") had a wheelchair rider with it. Though I would not expect the train to actually be accessible to anyone without a brick remover, what with no doors and all (grin).

The sliding passenger door is a great idea, that would also be useful for space/sci-fi builds too. Fitting a glass piece in the door would be a little tricky but doable with a little finesse.

LEGO could also potentially make a sliding door with a two-stage mold like they use for minifigure legs with shorts/boots or minifig arms with short sleeves/gloves. The new plane/helicopter nose piece (69953) introduced in some of this year's City sets shows that molds like these can, in fact, allow for a seamless combination of solid and transparent colored sections.

Of course, that would sadly mean not being able to mix and match different door and glass colors like with traditional LEGO train doors. But then, the same was true of the glass doors from a lot of 90s Town/Train sets like 4554. And compared to either those OR the train doors, a sliding door mold could be reversible, rather than every color needing separate "left" and "right" variants.

I agree that there's no reason to expect doors on the next LEGO passenger train based on precedent. But at the same time, the City theme has been deviating from tradition/precedent in a number of ways lately, like introducing a totally new road system last year, and introducing the first school and school bus in the theme's history this year (things we never even got in the World City or Town themes)! Even the Farm subtheme is making a surprise comeback after an absence of more than a decade.

So I feel like it's a little easier to hold out hope for changes or innovations like that than in past years when the theme seemed to be adhering more strictly to a predictable set of norms/standards.

[XG BC]

sliding (or atleast pop out doors) can be made in the same way the doors of the big lego airplanes are made: by using some b1 droid arms and some bar pieces it should be pretty easy