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One more thing, unless you've used a cleaner that actually works (like wasbenzine, paint thinner, or better: a track cleaner that you can buy at a hobby store) then it is 100% certain that the track is dirty, regardless of how clean it might look like. It gets dirty even when you're not using it (even when it's properly stored). Also, it is 100% certain that if the track hasn't been cleaned in some time by the right cleaner, then the trains won't work well. Cleaning the sleepers helps only a little bit because when the train runs over the track, they'll pick up the dirt on the track (even if you can't see the dirt, trust me, it's there). The only thing that really works is cleaning the track. With a freshly cleaned track, you can let the train go very slowly without it stopping anywhere. That's when the 12V system really shines, because 9V/RC trains can go fast, but only 12V trains can run smoothly at low speed.

What did you use to clean the track? Without the right kind of cleaner, it doesn't matter how much you cleaned the track, or how shiny it is. It's not the dirt that you can see that blocks the electricity, it's the dirt you can't see. Regular household cleaners do not help. After trying many cleaners, I've found that the only thing I could find in our house that actually works is paint-thinner. However, I think it's much better to go to a hobby store and ask them for a good track cleaner (that's what I'm going to do the next time I set up the track, because I worry that the paint-thinner might not be so good for the plastic parts).

Most of these old battery trains have a motor that is still perfectly fine, but have a battery box that has been corroded (over a time span of several decades, it's easy to see how someone might forget to remove the batteries before storing the train). That's why on bricklink, the motors are very common (in other words, they're cheap).

A crossing piece with an angle of less than 90 degrees would also be very nice. Or, a slight modification of the no-longer-available Double Crossover Rail. That would have been a very nice piece of track if only one could control both sides independently. A stubby switch (a switch with a part of the curved-out track cut off) is also very useful.

I have a number of coaches from older train sets, but the color of the EN coach clashed with the color of the other cars. To solve that, I could either: buy more EN coaches, or, sell the one that I had. I waited about half a year to make up my mind, then I listed it on bricklink for $58, and it sold within a month.

That only saves a small amount. When you sell the item, you'll still be charged the same percentage. Selling prices are considerably higher than what the set costed, so if you set your price right, you should still have a good profit after eBay/Paypal or bricklink/Paypal expenses. Check both to see what the selling prices in your country are.

They're listed on www.bricklink.com for $14 and change.

Available now, it is $20, so if you count the 16 flex as 4 straight, then 8+4 straight cost $20, or $1.66 per track (about the same price as 9V straight track used to cost on lego.com). I just noticed that the "straight + curved" boxes of tracks have sold out. Perhaps this explains why my eBay listing (all the track that comes with the new cargo train, $49 + $10 shipping) sold quickly.

9V would take longer to acquire, getting a good deal on a 9V train requires quite a bit of patience, waiting for a good price on eBay (note: anything that has the words "9V" and "track" in the eBay title will tend to sell very high, if you are looking for just track, then it's hard to get a good deal). I managed to buy most 9V trains at good prices (i.e. less than what they costed when they were new) but this costed a significant amount of time. If you like the trains lego is currently selling (they're quite nice I think) then that's a lot easier. If you plan to run the trains a lot, you can consider buying the rechargeable battery that lego sells (it's the same size as the battery box in the current trains, and it's also great for running motorized lego technic constructions because it is light weight and can deliver plenty of current. The remote control parts that come with the current lego trains can be re-used to make lego technic things remote controlled, so they're pretty useful).

You're right that the price for the MOC is usually lower than the price of the pieces. I bought an MOC train (an engine with a 12V motor) and paid $25 for it, which is about half of what just the motor by itself would sell for on bricklink. And this is despite the fact that the engine looks really neat (I bought it with the plan to disassemble it, but it is too nice to disassemble). I've sold a few items (not MOC's but regular sets). The main reason for selling is not the $ but just to make some room! Tell your kids that the best thing about lego is creating things, and that most people on eBay want to create their own things. They should disassemble their things, and build something else while they are waiting for Santa.

I've bought a number of 12V motors over the last couple of years, and I opened up half of them because they needed lubrication. They're difficult to open, but the lubrication did make them run much better. Some of the motors, before lubrication, would not start moving until there was 6 volt on the track. Now they all move with as little as 2 volt. Actually, that sounds like the track needs cleaning. Dirty track can explain why the train has troubles in the beginning but runs better after a while. 12V track needs cleaning, because if you don't, then the train might not start moving when you turn on the electricity. Unfortunately, it gets dirty quite quickly. And it's not the dirt that you can see that blocks the electricity, it's the dirt that you can't see.

When Cafe Corner was listed on lego.com as sold out, I bought it on bricklink, used, for $110 plus $20 shipping. The price more than doubled in less than two weeks.

That's not correct. The lowest setting is about 3 volts, and after that it goes up about 1.2 volts per step.

Sometimes you have to try a couple of times before they connect properly (the magnet inside it doesn't always turn the right way in the first try).

They do sell a set like this, the Emerald Night. (Of course, Sava's polar express train is more spectacular, but still, it's great that we can buy a wonderful steam train for only $100).

I would buy the Emerald Night, and two boxes of tracks (not the flex track, but the Straight & Curved Rails). Whether or not to motorize it, you can leave that decision up to him. If he does want to motorize it, there are two options, one is to buy one of the other train sets, plus one XL motor. That gives you the parts you need to make the Emerald Night run. The other option is to buy just the power-functions parts that you need for the Emerald Night (I did that, but it's not cheap). But I think that you don't have to choose between those two options right now, you can let him decide that. In any case, I would definitely buy the Emerald Night before it sells out (my guess is that won't happen for at least another year but there's really no guarantee, it could also sell out earlier than that). The other two trains 7938/7939 are sure to stay around for at least two more years because those ones arrived on the market in 2010. If for any reason he doesn't like the Emerald Night, you can be pretty much certain that when you wait until it sells out, then you can sell it used for more than what you paid for it new.

Lego designed these trains during the 9V area, so the easiest way to motorize them is with a 9V motor. That way you can motorize them without any change to the design of the trains. One motor should certainly be enough for a train, you definitely don't have to put a motor in every car. To motorize them with RC or PF have to find a place to put the battery box (to see the battery box, go to www.bricklink.com click on catalog items, then type bb466) and the receiver (catalog item 58123c01). That will likely involve making modifications to the train. I'm wondering though, if you buy all the stuff you need (the battery box, receiver, remote control) would you still have saved money compared to say lego train 7939? The Enlighten trains are cheap, but shipping is not cheap because it has to come from a country that does not care about obvious piracy. Resale value (if you want to sell the trains after the kids grow up) is probably tiny on the Enlighten trains, while if you sell a used 7939 train set ten years from now, it will probably sell for roughly the same amount that you pay for it now.

Has anyone else compared the lifting capabilities of the old LA versus the new LA? I did a very rough comparison: In the 8043B model, I counted how many wooden blocks it could lift with the old LA's, versus how many with the new LA's. This lead to a rough estimate that the new LA's lift about twice as much weight (using the same M motor). My measurement is not very accurate though because I did not carefully compare the torque. Has anyone done a more precise measurement? (comparing the lift, while making sure to use the same torque in both measurements?). I'm also wondering about something else: Assuming for the moment that a more precise measurement would still show a difference in performance between the old and the new LA, then the question is: What causes this difference? Is the performance difference solely due to the grease, or does the new screw contribute as well? To figure out this question, we'd have to compare "an old LA with some grease added" with "a new LA". Dluders, you've mentioned that you lubricated some LA's with olive oil, do those lubricated old LA's have the same performance as the new LA's? For instance, the front-loader with lubricated old LA's, using the same amount of torque, does it lift the same weight as it does when you put new LA's into it? (looking at the picture in the first post, it looks like there is no need to add lubrication to the new LA's)

This may have already been discussed before, but I'm wondering, is it a good idea to try to get some lubricant into the LA?

I think that most of the creator sets are very good, especially the ones where the models are quite different from each other. For young lego users it can really be an eye opener to see that with the same pieces, you can build three things that look very different. Seeing that makes you wonder, what else can I build with this? The lego hobby train set 10183 was also very good. Thirty different models! The Mini Telehandler is also a nice set. It has only two models (this set is only $10 so that's OK) but the two models are quite different from each other. Makes a good gift for the younger ones, as a first technic set.

I think you need to look at this from the viewpoint of kids. A set can be very good for one age group and be really not good at all for another age group. It should be challenging but also doable with enough effort. When I got the 855 Mobile Crane as a little kid, it was just the right level, challenging but at the end a feeling of accomplishment. I was still young and I remember being fascinated by how the gears worked. If I had gotten a set that was either more complicated, or less complicated, then it would not have been as good at the time. The best set I got as a kid was the car 853. But it wasn't the main model that made that set so good. The main reason that was such a good toy was that on the box, there was a picture of a Jeep. Obviously it should be possible to build that Jeep, however, there were no instructions for it. Building that Jeep from just 1 photograph was a major challenge that lead to hours of fun, building, rebuilding, improving things, etc. And it also occurred to me that if I could build something from just 1 picture, then how about making something from 0 pictures? If it stirs the imagination, is age appropriate, encourages MOC'ing, etc, then it is truly a great set. There have been lots of those. Take for instance the recent Tractor with Log Loader. As a pneumatic set it is about as simple as it gets, definitely not the right set for those that have built more complicated pneumatic sets. But now put yourself in the situation of a kid who doesn't know pneumatic. After building this, you suddenly start to understand a little bit how the construction equipment you see everywhere, how those things work. Now that's a great thing. So there is an age group for which this set is very good. For older kids, it's not so good.

So far I've only built the B model (I decided to wait with the main model until I received the service pack). The service pack arrived on Friday. I tested them by putting them in the B model, and it lifts almost twice as much weight now.

I think most people would prefer the swiss crocodile in the hobby train set, especially when it was on sale a few years ago at 50% off. By the way, why are you switching away from 12V? Is it because 12V is too much work? (I'd certainly understand that, every time I set up a 12V track I have to clean it, otherwise the trains won't run.)

I think that once you receive the new LA's, you'll be able to lift the arm with an M-motor, you won't really need an XL motor anymore.

I received the service pack today. The new LA's have much less friction, they're way better than the old ones. Now I can disassemble the B model and start building the main model. Or wait, I should first put them in the B model and try out to see how much more weight that it can now lift (double? Or even more? Will have to try it out).