Review: 7730 Electric Goods Train

[BillytheKid]

Name: Electric Goods Train

Set No.: 7730

Theme: LEGO / SYSTEM / Trains / 12v / Train Set

Year: 1980

Pieces: 512

Minifigs: 2

Price (when it was in stores): USD 100.00$ (which equals about EUR 80€)

Price nowadays (2d hand): USD 300.00$ (which equals about EUR 250€)

Time for another great 12v train. This little good looking steam engine is a great view to see. It's design is simple, like the style of the blue 12v area. It came with a circle of track and 2 minifigs. Also a small truck for (un)loading goods. A speedregulator had to be bought seperatly to operate the train.

Now lets see the set itself:

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The right view:

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The left view:

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Lets check the working place of the driver. I've added a 12v light, that's why you see a grey wire at the legs of the driver.

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A closer view of the 7730 with the rare 12v motor:

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And offcourse how the wagons looks inside:

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A nice close up of the little truck for (un)loading the goods of the fridgewagon:

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As common of the 12v grey area you could build a second model and even a 3th of this set:

Now you wonder how I get on 4 of those yellow wagons. Did I build 3 extra? I didn't. The 7727 train is hard to get as set. Even harder, then the rare 7730. I bought 2x 7730 extra, to build the 2x 7727. One for me and one for mine friend. I don't know where the 4th wagon came from. I had kept the yellow wagons as remember that I bought actually 4x 7730. Some wheels are replaced by 9v ones, these have less friction and runs more smootly then the 12v wheels. You can see that in the past I used grey ones. Now they are black.

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A lot of 12v wheels are replaced by 9v ones. So I kept the 12v wheels somewhere stored.

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Playability: 6/10 (It's missing of an included speedregulator and a small station.)

Design: 9/10 (The design of the train is awesome, the wagons are simpel but goodlooking.)

Price: 2/10 (The 2d hand prices are far too high, only because of that red 12v motor.)

Overall: 8/10 (For a diehard 12v collector a wannahave. For a 12v lover, let it be. Unless you can get it cheap.)

In this state I bought mine (first) version of a dutch ebay site. I drove 200 km's to get it. What if the red 12v motor get damaged by mail...... And the red 12v motor is in a great shape.

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Edited November 14, 2010 by AFOL12v

[Legoist]

Thanks for the new review! Are you going to do reviews for all 12V trains?

I voted 3/5 but maybe that was a bit ungenerous. The train design is pretty good... The locomotive is quite standard (i.e. good) design of 80s Lego, and the refrigerator wagon is IMHO one of the very best cargo wagons of that era. I think the other two wagons are less good.

[BillytheKid]

Yes, I want to write all the missing 12v sets. First the trains, then the wagons and later the stations. At least, if it's wanted offcourse .

[Legoist]

Yes, I want to write all the missing 12v sets. First the trains, then the wagons and later the stations. At least, if it's wanted offcourse .

Of course it is!

[BillytheKid]

Thx. I have finished this review. Lets see if I can make one soon again. Hope you like this review too.

[Staalis]

Yes, I want to write all the missing 12v sets. First the trains, then the wagons and later the stations. At least, if it's wanted offcourse .

Keep'em coming! As a kid I got (and still have) the 7725 train set, the 7760 shunter, wagons 7815, 7816 and 7819 and station 7824. Looking forward to your reviews of the wagons and the stations.

[Seehas]

This was my first Lego Train set. I loved it very much, although I would have preferred 7740... But my Grandmother and my Mother couldn't afford it. Nevertheless I got 7725 a year later and bought 7760 with my earnings. and a lot of tracks of course. Unfortunately it is all lost... I am thinking of restarting Lego again, but there are two challenges: Availabilty of space and (much worse) money...

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Unfortunately it is all lost...

This sounds really sad

Start again ...the 12 volts world is fantastic!

P.S.

Maybe, like Panda suggests you can begin with the new Maersk train set and a 12 volts motor

[Gareth]

Great review.

When I was younger and first had the 12volt trains most of the British catalogues never showed this train set, they just showed the 7715, 7727, and 7722 of the small black trains. Also until I got out of the dark ages last summer I was amazed at the other set's they never seamed to sell, such as 7750 and 7755.

12 Volt trains are the best!.

[mrblue]

very good review that brings back very good moments of my past.

this and the brother 7727 were two very nice sets to own also for the red motors and having still both of them with working engine makes me really happy.

unfortunately I never had so many 12v tracks and no 9v at all, so I'll have to replace the engines with the new pf ones in the near future.

anyway this is for me the best ever goods train ever produced by lego, even better than the more recent ones and the white refridgerated wagon is still at the top as the best goods wagons design.

maybe I'm too nostalgic, but the new ones are too "toyish" for me, but this doesn't mean I didn't/will not buy them

have a nice lego day

mrBlue

[Mr Benn]

Great review - love to see this train on a great layout! This was my first ever lego train - got it back in about 1984 - loved 12V ever since!

Since we're moving soon I found all of the boxes the other day and wanted to test everything for the first time in over 10 years - my wife wasn't very pleased to come home to find this in the living room!

12V trains

Edited March 27, 2011 by Mr Benn

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Great review on a neat vintage set These pre-date me but, its nice to see them reviewed! Can't wait for the next one