2015 LEGO Trains?

[Lego Dino 500]

I just had a crazy idea. Considering this is only the second generation of Power Function trains (three if you count the red cargo train), what if there's plans for a Train theme again? It'd make sense since they want to establish the practicality of the Power Functions system first. It took a few sets before Lego trusted the financial stability/cost effectiveness of the 4.5/12/9 volt systems. Considering the fact that next year is the 50th anniversary, they must have something big planned. So I'm crossing my fingers big time and hoping we get the new Creator train soon.

[Legoboy22]

I would love the mallard. :)

[Rail Co]

I just had a crazy idea. Considering this is only the second generation of Power Function trains (three if you count the red cargo train), what if there's plans for a Train theme again? It'd make sense since they want to establish the practicality of the Power Functions system first. It took a few sets before Lego trusted the financial stability/cost effectiveness of the 4.5/12/9 volt systems. Considering the fact that next year is the 50th anniversary, they must have something big planned. So I'm crossing my fingers big time and hoping we get the new Creator train soon.

This would check out. I hope they do something big with trains in 2016! Plus there has been rumors of new PF motors so maybe something with trains is happening I just want another train this year too!

[snowvictim]

Orient Express *crosses fingers*

[MusicaRibelle]

I hope *something* gets announced and released.

I think now is the first time in many years that no train is currently on sale for 'experts', afols, 'factory' or whatever 'sub-brand' you want to use.

[legonerd54321]

This is a far-fetched idea, but maybe LEGO would sort-of revise the old LEGO train sets back in the 70-80's, but using modern track & bricks?

[eliminator]

Whoa wait, did anyone else notice that the Horizon Express is now sold out after a pre Christmas sale? I was plan on buying a second. Even the price on Amazon has sky rocketed

Edited January 3, 2015 by eliminator

[legonerd54321]

Who wait, did anyone else notice that the Horizon Express is now sold out after a pre Christmas sale? I was plan I on buying a second. Even the price on Amazon has sky rocketed

Yea, I noticed that. Maybe there is going to be a new creator train this year?

[eliminator]

Yea, I noticed that. Maybe there is going to be a new creator train this year?

Hope so, but I still would like to pick up a second Horizon to make it double. I'm very surprised that it went on sale. I didn't even notice until now.

[dr_spock]

Hope so, but I still would like to pick up a second Horizon to make it double. I'm very surprised that it went on sale. I didn't even notice until now.

It was 10% off on LEGO Shop@Home and sold out at TGV speeds.

[Pief]

My theory about this is that first a English Steam Passenger (EN) Then American Diesel Freight (Maersk), French Electric/high speed Passenger. there is a pattern in this with freight and passenger. If they stay true with the pattern the next one will be a Freight steamer and probably German because that is also a big train country. This makes sense to me but they can do what ever they want so It could be something completely different.

[Paperballpark]

Why do I get the feeling we're all going around in circles here?

1. Ooh, Horizon Express is on sale/has sold out. It must be EOL.

2. That means there must be a new Creator Expert train coming, right?

3. I wonder what it could be?

4. I wonder when it will come out?

5. It must be soon; a few months time, maybe?

Then repeat steps 3 to 5 ad infinitum, occasionally jumping back to step 1. I can see this pattern repeating for the whole of 2015. Somehow, no-one is quite making the leap to 6:

6. I guess there won't be a train coming out in 2015 after all.

[legonerd54321]

Why do I get the feeling we're all going around in circles here?

1. Ooh, Horizon Express is on sale/has sold out. It must be EOL.

2. That means there must be a new Creator Expert train coming, right?

3. I wonder what it could be?

4. I wonder when it will come out?

5. It must be soon; a few months time, maybe?

Then repeat steps 3 to 5 ad infinitum, occasionally jumping back to step 1. I can see this pattern repeating for the whole of 2015. Somehow, no-one is quite making the leap to 6:

6. I guess there won't be a train coming out in 2015 after all.

Jeez, do you have to ruin the fun in making theories?

[dr_spock]

Maybe we can do a prediction contest. Winners could get a piece of flex track.

Here's mine from October last year.

Emerald Night = Euro, steam, passenger

Maersk = North America, diesel, cargo,

Horizon Express = Euro, electric, passenger

-------------------------------------------------------

???? = North America, steam, cargo

[firstofminifigs]

Let's turn the speculation into action. The most supported non-licensed train Ideas project (turntable and roundhouse) only has a little over 2500 supporters and a very small chance of making production.

Why not get a few realistic train projects up with a reasonable piece counts, popular liveries, legal, smart, intermediate to expert building techniques, 3 in 1 potential, STEM undertones, and decent presentation quality. Also, collaborations have seemed to do well so far on Ideas. Then as a community, back and promote these projects all the way to 10,000.

I think the recent Railbricks set design contest was on the right track. However, over half the entries would have made pretty unrealistic Lego sets due to piece count, scale, techniques, etc., including my own entry.

Let's say we get a project to 10,000, at the very least, we show TLG that there is a demand for expert level train products.

[legonerd54321]

I found a nice LEGO version of a Norfolk Southern Dash-9 diesel locomotive that could be a expert level train product https://ideas.lego.com/projects/88841

[v6TransAM]

This is getting as sad as the Transformer forums and Masterpiece figure speculation.

Its over....................ehmagard no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm taking a wait and see, blowing out the TGV made no sense if there wasn't something else in the wings.

Also the assumption that "we" are the only ones buying the Horizon Express are a joke. At the end of the day, regular and casual fans far outnumber the people who frequent message boards by a large margin. Reading reviews on other sights about the TGV backs that up.

Its a good looking train and a fun build, Lego train forum folks are not solely responsible for its success, so I think relaxing and seeing what happens is wise.

[Darth Punk]

Why do I get the feeling we're all going around in circles here?

1. Ooh, Horizon Express is on sale/has sold out. It must be EOL.

2. That means there must be a new Creator Expert train coming, right?

3. I wonder what it could be?

4. I wonder when it will come out?

5. It must be soon; a few months time, maybe?

Then repeat steps 3 to 5 ad infinitum, occasionally jumping back to step 1. I can see this pattern repeating for the whole of 2015. Somehow, no-one is quite making the leap to 6:

6. I guess there won't be a train coming out in 2015 after all.

It's called a speculative circle. In some themes it becomes a spiraling vortex. And in others a massive black hole.

[andythenorth]

Let's say we get a project to 10,000, at the very least, we show TLG that there is a demand for expert level train products.

What if there just isn't? Dumb question I know. But what if Lego creator trains are just a very niche hobby for a very specific bunch of nerds? Most adults I know who buy Lego would never buy trains, they buy Star Wars and Creator sets of vehicles like the Mini and the Batman Tumbler. The foamers (train fans) I knew once upon a time would never have considered Lego trains, far too unrealistic, no matter how much greeble is added. And that's two pretty niche groups already.

Edited January 3, 2015 by andythenorth

[Rail Co]

Well I hope LEGO Does release one this year it is unlikely at this point. If they don't I will be disappointed but that's life. Hopefully they will do something spectacular for 2016 since it is the 50th anniversary for LEGO Trains.

-RailCo

[Lego Dino 500]

I don't see any reason why they wouldn't release a new train this year. Lego has always ensured there will be a train set every year, and there's always been a delay from the discontinuation of a specific train and the announcement/release of a new one. And every time, people bite their nails and worry if there's going to be one for the next year.

[peterab]

Lego has always ensured there will be a train set every year, and there's always been a delay from the discontinuation of a specific train and the announcement/release of a new one. And every time, people bite their nails and worry if there's going to be one for the next year.

I don't think that is factually correct on a number of levels. There were a number of years between the end of 9V and the introduction of PF where there were very few train releases (only the Hobby train, Holiday train, and the RC trains if I recall correctly. Even recently there has been years with no train releases since the city trains are on a four year cycle and the creator trains on a two year cycle, and I'm almost sure the Maersk and last lot of city sets were released pretty close together. I'm also sure we knew about the HE before the Maersk was completely gone (it was one of the things that drove the final sales). There have been other trains but they have either been very kiddy orientated, or tied to a license which essentially means the inclusion of a train is beyond the control of LEGO.

I'd still be surprised if we don't see another creator train this year because we've had them on a two yearly cycle now for six years, but it can't be argued that this year is anything like two years ago.We had already seen pictures of the HE for months, had a launch at a con, and the official video, and they were on the LEGO shop website by this time two years ago, and I was trying to find an local source to guarantee we had one on our layout at Brickvention. So far we have heard nothing of a replacement for the HE.

[zephyr1934]

If the HE sold below expectations, perhaps it was because the set had few unique parts or rare colors, and those it did have were fairly specialized. I'm sure a large number of EN and Maersk were simply parted out for the rare colors. So like the hobby train that had no rare parts (since all of the parts were simultaneously released on P@B), the HE had much fewer sets parted out.

[Duq]

Whoa wait, did anyone else notice that the Horizon Express is now sold out after a pre Christmas sale? I was plan on buying a second. Even the price on Amazon has sky rocketed

Yea, I noticed that. Maybe there is going to be a new creator train this year?

Really guys, did you read any of this thread before you posted?

... blowing out the TGV made no sense if there wasn't something else in the wings.

Really? What about the Lone Ranger theme? That disappeared from shelves way quicker than expected and without being replaced, mainly because it didn't sell after the movie tanked.

What if there just isn't [a demand for expert level train products]? Dumb question I know. But what if Lego creator trains are just a very niche hobby for a very specific bunch of nerds?

Unfortunately I think you have a very good point there. Lego trains just don't sell like police stations and fire trucks. At Lego shows the trains tend to be very prominently displayed but among AFOLs the train builders are an ever smaller group.

If the HE sold below expectations, perhaps it was because the set had few unique parts or rare colors, and those it did have were fairly specialized. I'm sure a large number of EN and Maersk were simply parted out for the rare colors. So like the hobby train that had no rare parts (since all of the parts were simultaneously released on P@B), the HE had much fewer sets parted out.

That's an interesting point I hadn't thought about.

If we want to have any chance of keeping Lego Expert trains alive long term we will have to 'recruit' or 'convert' more AFOLs to buying and building trains. Lego Ideas may help but a lot of the projects there are unrealistic. Here are some of the most realistic train projects in my opinion. If you agree, support them and tweet, whatsapp, facebook or whatever about them to get more support.

Trans Europe Express VT11 is an iconic train to a lot of people (in Europe at least) and it has a nice colour scheme in dark red and tan. 40 tan train windows anyone?

DB E103. For similar reasons as the VT11; same colour scheme but slightly more modern. This could be seen as a re-imagined 7740.

Union Pacific Dash-9. It doesn't have to be the Dash-9; I'd leave it to experts on American Diesels to decide which is the most iconic, as long as it's different from the Maersk model. The Union Pacific colour scheme works well but the BNSF (although done before) might also work. It should be an 8-wide though to allow more details and make it properly different from previous US diesels.

Super Mega Steam Power Train Builder Production is the most interesting project, designed by renowned train builder James Mathis. It's basically modular trains; you can build different configurations of engines and carriages. The German colour scheme is iconic, dark green is still not an easy colour to get lots of and the various options would encourage people to buy multiple copies.

[Heppeng]

Why not get a few realistic train projects up with a reasonable piece counts, popular liveries, legal, smart, intermediate to expert building techniques, 3 in 1 potential, STEM undertones, and decent presentation quality. Also, collaborations have seemed to do well so far on Ideas. Then as a community, back and promote these projects all the way to 10,000.

Bit of blowing my own trumpet here, but Pullman MOC's ( http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=102907 ) would seem to satisfy the above - you would have one car with enough parts to cover the variants. These cars are still in use today on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, albeit diesel and electric hauled. However I think the only chance of success would be if a suitable steam creator train was released, and even then the concept might be a bit close to the Santa Fe cars which lego might not be too keen on, so even if it does get to 10,000 it might still not get made...

But if it has the slightest chance I will put it up!