LEGO Trains 2022

[Tcm0]

2 hours ago, Lok24 said:

Yes. Please send me 6 extension cables 40cm ..... ;-)

There are some unofficial ones on aliexpress ;)

2 hours ago, Lok24 said:

And for tracks just on the floor: there is no slot to get the cables underneath...

There are workarounds for that. The city trains shouldn't have any problems to climb one plate in height. Or you place the hubs/switches so that you don't need to cross them. or you use the boost sensor to remote control some of the switches.

[Lok24]

3 minutes ago, Tcm0 said:

There are some unofficial ones on aliexpress ;)

 

I see

But ideed: the motors allow to control switches without any gear or clutch.That's nice

[Djmojo]

Rumored train set: 30584 train polybag!  

[M_slug357]

@Djmojo but like... whyyy though...?

[paul_delahaye]

On 2/27/2022 at 11:15 PM, Djmojo said:

Rumored train set: 30584 train polybag!  

Please let it be an accessory for full size train, like a hand pump cart, and not another microscale built train.

[Aanchir]

13 hours ago, paul_delahaye said:

Please let it be an accessory for full size train, like a hand pump cart, and not another microscale built train.

From what I can see online, it's currently rumored to be a City polybag, not a Creator one, which if true boosts its chances of being minifig scale… of course, it could still end up being a minifig-scale model of a miniature railway train or something along those lines.

Edited March 2, 2022 by Aanchir

[Plankton Guy]

Hi everyone,

I periodically see comments that "Lego trains do not sell well enough for Lego to want to make them" ... or "the Lego City train sets are too expensive for parents/grandparents to want to buy them for their kids (birthdays, xmas, etc)".

Okay, maybe I could believe that for a few seconds ... ... but then how does one justify the ever growing number of new $300+ (or even $500+) sets like the THREE football stadiums or the Roman Colosseum or even that Lego Ideas piano? 

If Lego City trains don't sell well, then make more Lego train 18+ or specialty sets (like the Crocodile) and skip the "City" theme.

What if the trains do not sell well enough quantity to justify making them?   I think the small run Lego Ideas line broke the mass quantity issue, and if they can make a Lego "Adidas" shoe (?!!), they can make a 3-in-1 train rolling stock set.   I would easily buy at least six of those 3-in-1 sets ... just so I could have multiple cars.

What am I missing here?    Are there more plastic shoe hobbyists out there than train hobbyists out there?   Lego Ideas has a Lego "Air Jordan" shoe submitted ... if that gets approved, but the trains always get skipped, we may have our answer.

 

 

[*thomas*]

I feel like more and more sets are aimed towards people buying a LEGO set because they like 'shoes', 'football', 'sitcoms', but not because they like LEGO...

[Toastie]

1 hour ago, Plankton Guy said:

and if they can make a Lego "Adidas" shoe (?!!), they can make a 3-in-1 train rolling stock set.

Oh sure, they absolutely can. But why would they want to?

1 hour ago, Plankton Guy said:

Are there more plastic shoe hobbyists out there than train hobbyists out there?

Not hobbyists, fetishists . A shoe is seldom representing a "hobby" in the classical sense, does it? Just count the "shoe stores" in your hometown or the next bigger inhabited place with folks around having enough money willing to spend this money for - Adidas, Nike, Puma, Converse "shoes". I absolutely believe there are not only "more" of these folks than train heads out there, there is a shi*load more of those. Otherwise, there would be way more "train stores". Same line of thinking for almost all other LEGO +X00$ IDEAS sets. This is a money printing approach - for TLG.

Man, trains. How uncool is a train? It runs on tracks and can't decide on its own where to go, it doesn't smell good, it does not let you cruise the streets of Las Vegas, it is big ... an Adidas shoe is hip, slick, in, for whatever reason, it is a must-have. And you can virtually have every single make - as boring as it possibly can get - in your cabinets.

I usually "use up" my shoes. They are mostly from the uncool side of brands. And comparably cheap. To the extent that my daughters are calling me "embarrassing".

I also do like trains >very< much.

Best,
Thorsten

[Aanchir]

1 hour ago, *thomas* said:

I feel like more and more sets are aimed towards people buying a LEGO set because they like 'shoes', 'football', 'sitcoms', but not because they like LEGO...

Why is it an either/or? I mean, LEGO probably only started making train sets in the first place because they felt it would get more train fans interested in LEGO. And even a lot of today's AFOLs only discovered or rediscovered their passion for LEGO building after having a positive experience with a licensed theme that happened to overlap with their non-LEGO interests.

The same applies to a lot of the newer and more experimental sets that LEGO is making — in marketing-speak, they're a great way to "recruit" new fans who might not have previously had any interest in LEGO, and hopefully get them hooked on LEGO building in general.

I mean, I'm sure train fans of all people know quite well how alienating it can be when LEGO doesn't make sets that are relevant to your interests. Now think of how many potential builders there are who might have never had sets or themes tailored to their own tastes or interests. There's no reason for LEGO to write them off just because their interests differ from a typical KFOL or AFOL.

Edited March 5, 2022 by Aanchir

[jus1973]

11 hours ago, Plankton Guy said:

If Lego City trains don't sell well, then make more Lego train 18+ or specialty sets (like the Crocodile) and skip the "City" theme.

To me this seems very sensible.  We have the modular buildings, which are the 18+ versions of the CITY theme, so why not have city trains, and 18+ plus trains.  There’s clearly the desire around, maybe not to the same extent as the Modulars, but enough.

i also agree that there’s a lot of dust collectors being released, often through tie ins, and the adidas shoe is a prime example of the worst kind.  I see it constantly being discounted in stores here, as I don’t think it really appeals.  The ‘studio’ sets also seem to sit around a lot.  Pointless.  

[*thomas*]

9 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Why is it an either/or?

Because, IMHO, with things like the adidas shoe, sitcom-based etc, LEGO targets people who do impulse buys and don't try to increase their fanbase. 

[zephyr1934]

Just about any set lego makes will make money for lego. Lego is just optimizing to only make the combination of sets that will make the most money. Lego builders will buy any good set, but a subject with a large pre-existing fan base allows lego to grab a lot of new adults that would not otherwise buy lego for themselves (tv shows, architecture sets, stadiums, etc). Trains do have that possibility but I think Lego just wants to have one superstar train set at a time, and it is hard to find the single train that everyone will embrace. Trains are also tricky because the are best with a system (choose between cars, locomotives, a station, track geometry, etc.) and they have no desire to do that. The profit is in designing once and producing a million of one set. Every time they change the production line to a different set it is a huge cost, so it doesn't make sense to produce sets that would only sell well in the tens of thousands.

[Kalahari134]

On 3/4/2022 at 11:58 PM, Toastie said:

Man, trains. How uncool is a train? It runs on tracks and can't decide on its own where to go, it doesn't smell good, it does not let you cruise the streets of Las Vegas

The cab of the brand new one I was being trained on the other day had a 'new car smell'.

Stuff Vegas, I'd rather wind up the Albula Valley.

[The Brick Boss]

Man! Why won't Lego hire JANGBRICKS to help out with Lego train production? Trains would be more interesting with him at the decision booth. I'm waiting for a police train (I'm surprised we haven't seen one of those yet), a fire train (I'm also surprised there), some type of maintenance train for the construction subtheme, an auto transporter car, a fuel car, a farm train with cattle cars and a hospital train. A mail train would be good too. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Poodabricks

[M_slug357]

6 hours ago, Poodabricks said:

Man!… a farm train with cattle cars…

A farm train you say…?

*inserts shameless self promotion* 

 

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/0bde23d8-17e6-4de1-8430-bcac974ffefa

[The Brick Boss]

7 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

A farm train you say…?

*inserts shameless self promotion* 

 

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/0bde23d8-17e6-4de1-8430-bcac974ffefa

Whoa! Now that's a train! Looks like something that would be done as a promotional special though. Not really under the City theme, which is where trains are sold under now.  

Edited March 10, 2022 by Poodabricks

[zephyr1934]

15 hours ago, Poodabricks said:

I'm waiting for a police train (I'm surprised we haven't seen one of those yet), a fire train (I'm also surprised there), some type of maintenance train for the construction subtheme, an auto transporter car, a fuel car, a farm train with cattle cars and a hospital train. A mail train would be good too. 

If such train sets were in addition to the city trains that could be neat (e.g., as part of the police theme rather than the train theme).

If they incorporated a police/fire/hospital train car with good play value in a city train set that could be cool (much better than a helicopter car if you ask me). But I would cringe if one or both slots in the apparent 3 year cycle for city trains was an entire train (locomotive and all) being done up as a police, fire or hospital train. I can totally see how they would work well for an AFOL who is lego first trains second, but they would not work for someone who was trains first lego second, which is where I was when I got into the hobby. I was an adult when 4559 and 4560 were on the market and while I thought the train components were cool, as an adult the sets just did not look like something I would ever relate to. When 10020 came out I literally said, "now that looks like a real train" and bought one, then quickly bought a copy of 4560 to use as a parts pack. For AFOL's and "potential AFOL's" who are trains first lego second, I think that the more realistic the trains are the better and the city trains for the last 20 years have done a good job striking a balance between play value and "realism".

There has been a fuel car, a cattle car, and some construction cars in the PF city trains. In 9v there have been auto transporters (including 4560) and mail cars. I bet we will see all of these come back again in the city theme.

[Kalahari134]

Police train, you say? Yes, they really did repaint the loco (and then repainted it back a week later). A class 47 got the "jam sandwich" treatment later too, as a joint exercise between British Transport Police and Virgin Trains to deter vandalism.

 

Firefighting trains do exist, some for fighting bush fires, others for dealing with incidents in tunnels. Ambulance trains were a wartime thing though (more patient transport than medical care) and LEGO won't have anything to do with war.

I too would prefer that such sets get slots in the respective subthemes, rather than taking up the Train slots. I think that construction could be brought into it though, plenty of interesting equipment used to maintain railways.

[zephyr1934]

17 hours ago, Kalahari134 said:

Police train, you say? Yes, they really did repaint the loco (and then repainted it back a week later). A class 47 got the "jam sandwich" treatment later too, as a joint exercise between British Transport Police and Virgin Trains to deter vandalism.

That ad is brilliant.

If they could do something like the Harry Potter Express - a $90 push train - for one of the sub-themes that would be amazing. Especially if they release it on one of the intervening years on the 3 year cycle. I suppose they have done that a few times with trams already.

[The Brick Boss]

18 hours ago, Kalahari134 said:

Ambulance trains were a wartime thing though (more patient transport than medical care) and LEGO won't have anything to do with war.

Who said it had to be war related? I'm thinking futuristic looking. It's more for transporting railway men who have been injured on the job to the hospital. Mostly I places where road or air ambulances can't reach. Nothing to do with war. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Poodabricks

[dr_spock]

7 hours ago, Poodabricks said:

Who said it had to be war related? I'm thinking futuristic looking. It's more for transporting railway men who have been injured on the job to the hospital. Mostly I places where road or air ambulances can't reach. Nothing to do with war. 

They could be useful for those very long train tunnels in the mountains or under the sea.  Transport the injured folks to a spot where a regular ambulance or helicopter can rush them to hospital. 

Rescue Train Car Interior by dr_spock_888, on Flickr

 

[Tube Map Central]

Doesn't do too much for worker morale though: this job is so dangerous we have built special trains to cart out the bodies every day ...

[Vilhelm22]

On 3/5/2022 at 10:24 AM, *thomas* said:

Because, IMHO, with things like the adidas shoe, sitcom-based etc, LEGO targets people who do impulse buys and don't try to increase their fanbase. 

Well I'd definitely impulse buy another train.

 

On 3/10/2022 at 3:31 PM, zephyr1934 said:

If such train sets were in addition to the city trains that could be neat (e.g., as part of the police theme rather than the train theme).

If they incorporated a police/fire/hospital train car with good play value in a city train set that could be cool (much better than a helicopter car if you ask me). But I would cringe if one or both slots in the apparent 3 year cycle for city trains was an entire train (locomotive and all) being done up as a police, fire or hospital train. I can totally see how they would work well for an AFOL who is lego first trains second, but they would not work for someone who was trains first lego second, which is where I was when I got into the hobby. I was an adult when 4559 and 4560 were on the market and while I thought the train components were cool, as an adult the sets just did not look like something I would ever relate to. When 10020 came out I literally said, "now that looks like a real train" and bought one, then quickly bought a copy of 4560 to use as a parts pack. For AFOL's and "potential AFOL's" who are trains first lego second, I think that the more realistic the trains are the better and the city trains for the last 20 years have done a good job striking a balance between play value and "realism".

There has been a fuel car, a cattle car, and some construction cars in the PF city trains. In 9v there have been auto transporters (including 4560) and mail cars. I bet we will see all of these come back again in the city theme.

Yes definitely.

I'd almost like them to abolish the trains theme itself altogether and have trains in all sub themes.  There have been various public transport setts in the past - make a theme - the same for cargo sets.  Airport trains for both passenger and cargo could work - a revamped airport shuttle train would be amazing.  

On the point of realism, my favourite train is definitely the crocodile (I don't have Maersk, EN, or HE).  I don't see why there can't be more.

[Kalahari134]

On 3/13/2022 at 7:01 AM, Tube Map Central said:

Doesn't do too much for worker morale though: this job is so dangerous we have built special trains to cart out the bodies every day ...

Dangerous work, quarrying.

https://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/11689