LegoMavrick

Here in the UK, last night 60098 was listed as out of stock but right now its showing available at the same price as 60052 at £139.00. Personally I think it looks great and surely it can only be a good thing to see another Train set released not that long after the release of both 60051 and 60052. I know my three year old son is going to just love the fact that it has both a helo and a "digger" ( as he loves to call a back hoe). As always I'd have loved to see more cargo but I really dont see why some here have ranted about the helicopter and the tractor. Mind you it seems to me that there are those that bleat about anything that Lego does in the trains range. For me I absolutely prefer and love the American style range such as the Maersk and 60052 but this new one really grabs me. The crane and double width crossing are a great addition to the set as well as a good quantity of straight and curved track. Whenever I have spoken to Lego here in the UK the train sets are extremely popular and that can only be a good thing. I hope we see some more American style perhaps the new ES44AC loco next!!!

Many thanks for the warm welcome Zypher1934. Thank you for pointing me in the direction of LDraw, thats very handy indeed. Richfilth thank you so much for the step by step guide. Im going to give it a bash right now. Oh dear wallet watch out!!!

Having played with Lego since I was about 3 years old I have seen Lego change in ways I never thought possible. What Lego creates nowadays in terms of the type of bricks and parts that are available is just staggering.. Having looked at several documentaries on Lego factories, what goes into some of the design moulds etc, this is no cheap and nasty Chinese rubbish knock off product. Lego has never been cheap and from an engineering point of view is hardly ever going to be cheap. I hesitate to use the word expensive because I look at this whole thing of price as being relative. A quick example. I have just started Lego Trains. Starter box set from Lego £139 for the Cargo Train set. What do you get? Full motorised loco complete with decoder receiver, rolling stock track with two points plus the crane gantry vehicles etc. Now compare that to traditional DCC model train setup. Ive spent a huge amount of time on this so lets take N Gauge scale as the most affordable. The most effective good quality DCC controller I could find was the Digitrax Zypher rocking in at £156. A good quality Kato N Guage Loco similar to the Lego one between £69 and £89 and thats just the loco. The DCC decoder is an extra £25 to £30 some of which need specialist fitting setting you back a further £20. Now Im going to stop there as I think you guys cansee where Im going. Ok the Lego controller cannot control 99 loco or have 9999 addresses. Frankly 8 functions is more then enough for me. I dont have to fiddle with extensive electrical wiring for the rails with the Lego system etc.. A different point of view and perhaps an unfair comparrison. For me I dont see it that way so no i dont see Lego as being over the top expensive and certainly do not see it dying out.

Thanks Doc!!! Thank you for that. I did find my way around but thanks for clarifying the way to find the parts. I thought my only chance of getting a Maersk train was through ebay and i just could not bring myself to pay the money they are asking. I know i should have bought this set while it was still available. Seriously kick myslef for that one. Heres hoping Lego brings out another set as good as that one was. Yes LOL I can definitely see that bricklink is "dangerous" :tongue: I suspect it'll take a bit of patience and searching to get all the bits together for the complete Maersk train but I'm not particularly fussy on the paint scheme. I always wanted to go Norfolk Southern black scheme if I cant go the Maersk colours. Its the containers and their carriers that I really want to add to my rolling stock.

Many thanks for all your advice chaps. Greatly appreciated. Im convinced and have started my venture into Lego trains. The New Cargo train and Train station arrived just yesterday. I actually got a message on my phone from Lego themselves in connection with my query about the transformer. The recharge battery seems the logical way to go. Thanks again chaps.

Well chaps I have finally started my Lego trains Journey. Firstly apologies if this post is in the wrong place, just seemed relevant. Just purchased and taken delivery of the New Lego Cargo Train and Train Station. I paused at getting the passenger train only because I just prefer American style Model railroading. May well get it anyway just so the kids are happy and as they are a big part of this venture thats important. What took me so long to settle on Lego was for many years now I always wanted to go the DCC model train route with a big N scale layout. Through much discussion and thinking it through with the family its just not possible. Space and cost wise it just did not add up. Straight off the bat I looked at the Digitrax Zypher starter controller. Best and most affordable DCC controller I could find at £156. Then N Scale train with decoder N Scale Kato SD70M £69 plus compatible decoder at roughly £30. Compare that to the Lego Cargo Train set I just got for £100 from ASDA direct (of all places). Says it all really doesnt it? Bottom line Im going to go a lot further in Lego trains than the traditional model train route. Now that I see the amount of options available to produce American Locos and rolling stock. Seriously excited and hope to learn a lot from you chaps.

I just have registered on Bricklink and see how you call up an inventory list for the Maersk Train. Can you elbaorate on how you find from there who has the parts to fit the inventory? This thread is absolutely fascinating. You guys are brilliant at all these different versions. Very inspiring i must say and look forward to add a Maersk train soon.

Good Morning chaps, Looking at starting into Lego trains and I am currently looking at buying both the newish train sets from Lego the Cargo and Passenger train. I just had two querys to you chaps out there. I have noticed on the two Lego train sets available now some of the reviews, albeit very few in number, listing concerns about the battery box. Problems getting Duracell or other make AAA batteries to fit. Train not working dueto no power etc. Some mention only to use Kodak batteries. Is this really an issue or just some numpties who are clueless when installing batteries and or building lego fullstop? I find it difficult to believe Lego would make a dud battery box. Secondly, despite its price, Im very tempted in buying the rechargable Lego battery box for both trains. The one thing Im not sure about is that I dont see the recommended Lego transformer on the Lego shop website here in the UK. Is this included with the battery? I have sent an email to Lego direct to inquire but I thought I would ask you chaps here as well. Is this a good buy and whats your experience with this Lego product? Greatly appreciate any feed back before clicking the buy button.

All the best on your move and hope it all goes well. Best thing with Lego though is that you get to rebuild it all again. I really feel for chaps thats say have an N Guage or HO gauge layout to move ....OUCH. Look forward to see the layout back in place.

Hi Rick, thanks for this, I thought this topic my be under the General discussion so thanks for that.

Hi Folks, As a parent, who loves LEGO and has two little girls who have taken to the new LEGO friends range like a duck to water, I was shocked and angered when a friend of mine in the States sent me the link clip below. Its got to be read to believe it but the lunatics have been let out of the looney bin I could hardly believe the level of lunacy the world has reached when I read this article. SSpeaking on behalf of my wife and I we are absolutely thrilled with the new LEGO friends range and how our girls have taken to this new range. To call this a range and idea perfectly suited for girls is simply an understatement and I cannot put in words how much our girls enjoy LEGO friends. One of the chaps in the train section made a friends train of which my girls want me to get the pieces to build. Enough said there really. Dont know what you folks out there think of this but for me I have some sane advice for The LEGO Group...Ignore these lunatic maniacs!!!! Lego friends is brilliant and hope the range expands big time. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/20/activists-outraged-by-lego-line-for-girls-to-meet-with-company-executives/

...is the cat still alive?

Lego Trains has brought me out of the Dark Ages thats for sure but what really put LEGO back in our lives was the new Police Station 7498. My wife and I both had our own hobby which sadly we did not share, however, thanks to LEGO we now have a joint hobby with our children and that is LEGO City and Trains. The Maersk Train 10219 when I saw it in the Lego Shop for the first time was my "Exit" from the Dark Ages moment.

Ran a Yamaha R1 back in South Africa. Almost landed me in divorce court that did!!! With the price of petrol the way it is and just heading higher, the wife is starting to see the light..... My My does the 2012 R1 look good or does it look good....

Like I say I am going to check this as I know I have an excellent diagram giving radius recommendations and also max overhang from rolling stock and lococs. @AussieJimbo, I see modern track laying actually incorporates a banking into turns nowadays so very cool that you can get this effect with Lego Flexitrack. I see Railbrick has an excellent ballast guide.

Being very new to LEGO trains and currently building up our collection. We have just received our Maersk train and I have ,over the last couple of months, started building up our stocks of track by ordering a box set each 7499, 7895 and 8867 each month. This is starting to give us a healthy start in flexitrack and track in general. Fascinating insight into flexitrack which confirms to me that it is again another great product from LEGO. Noise does not bother me at all. I had one query, on the LEGO website there are a number of descenting comments to flexitrack specifically about derailments especially on the Maersk train. I'm not sure if I should take these comments too seriously. I have not run the Maersk train as yet (awaiting the arrival of the cargo tain set) however a close friend has quite a collection of Lego Trains and much of his layout has flexitrack installed and he has not had any problems at all. Seeing it with my own eyes I must say its a cracking product. Now he currently runs the Passneger train and the two cargo trains (yellow and Red)and for the hours we and our kids played I did not witnessa single derailment....well not on the flex track anyway. Would be interested to hear what you chaps have to say about it. I remember back to my days of when I started collecting N Gauge, (which sadly never got off the ground due to space, time and costs. For us Lego has changed all that)I had purchased some excellent Model Railroader publications on track design and installation and I always remember the in depth explanation on radius factor and track spacing.It occurs to me the same would apply to LEGO and especially LEGO Flexitrack. Make the radius too tight and you are going to have problems just as you would have with N Gauge or HO flexitrack form PECO especially if you do not take the wheel base of your locos as well as rolling stock. If I remember it rightly, In a turn lets say a righ hand curve, the left hand side body face of your train at the midpoint between bogeys should not overhang past the left rail. If it does the curve is too tight. I think this is right but will check. Point being as Lego Trains we should follow these recommendations.

Well I did not need to spend too much effort on getting my two girls into Lego trains, this just seals it. Friends is an excellent line to get more girls into Lego andhas certainly got my two hooked. Still getting my head around a possible pink train but hey whatever makes them happy.

Here in the UK I can highly recommend the products done by a company called "Really Useful Boxes" Most of their storage boxes have excellent compartment tray holder options. I use the 21 litre boxes with two deep trays per box and use 3 optional type trays, which come in 6,12 and 16 compartment options. I have just gone onto the 35 litre boxes which also come with excellent tray options. They also come out with "Tower" storage options which come on castor wheels, which I can see is the way we as a family will go. Well worth checking out there website www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk

Based on the videos and models seen in recent times I would see no reason as to why Lego trains cannot be classed as model trains. Saw a youtube video of the NMRA train show and it was truly astonishing what the Lego guys had put together. That wooden girder bridge on a radius as well was as good as anything I have seen in N of HO Gauge. Based on my many years of model building be it scale aircraft or armour there has always been those that want to take it to the ultra realistic level which is fine and incredibly good to look at but that is what is great about a hobby, it up to the individual how far they want to go. I remember the arguements some of the guys used to have just on various makers of say a 72nd scale F14 Tomcat. Which one was true scale Airfix, Revell, Tamiya, Hasegawa etc etc. Personally the Hasegawa kits for me was the dogs whatsits. And then the arguing over the right paint job high vis low vis.....gives me a headache just remembering these guys. At the end of the day as long as the individual modeller was happy with the best he or she could do that was it all that mattered. If you became obsessed with what other people said or what others could do, pretty soon you found yourself not finishing anything and sadly giving up on the hobby. Back to model trains, speaking for myself I wanted to get into N Gauge American railroading with DCC, the whole shooting match. My plans were to make the scenery as good as my diaroma level but not once did I want to take my brand new locos and rolling stock and weather it and make it look all dusty and dirty which many a railroader does of course. I'll bet there is just such an argument between the various advicates of each model railroad gauge. When I wanted to get into N guage I had many a model railroader saying it was rubbish and the only true scale was HO. I'll bet the garden rail boys have experience an equal amount of flak as perhaps us chaps in Lego now. Anyway in the end my N Guage dream was a case of too little time and no designated train room to bring this to a reality. Then I found Lego trains, well not only can you make a track layout but build the locos and rolling stock yourself and make it as toy like for my kids or more adult like. Never had the fun of having a train set being a kid but this for me is definitley the answer and the best thing is my two girls are thrilled about playing and building Lego model trains.

Hello Brickster, A Pleasure to meet you and apologies for that. Still looking around the site. I'll check the guidelines now and apologies agian for the bumping.

Excellent topic actually and has been really useful to read everyones advice. I'm going with the Yellow Cargo starter set and before it goes the Maersk train. I hope to still find an Emerald Night. One question I had was on the train kits available on the Lego Shop website, I see that the level crossing is no longer shown so I assume that this item is being discontinued. Would I be right in saying that an item like this comes back in a new form? I see the level crossing kit is still available at a toy shop nearby so not panicing just yet. I suppose like other chaps have suggested when train related kits come out...grab them while you can! Appreciate any comments on this especially some insight as to how Lego operates on these themes.

Delightful welcome. Who rattled your cage?

My name is Michael. New to this forum of course but not to Lego. Born and grew up in the colonies of Africa but now settled with my family in the UK. My Grandparents sent me Lego every Christmas from Germany and have been hooked ever since. (any of you chaps remember the old space range)Naturally fully corrupted my two girls into Lego and the wife is a big fan, which is always a bonus. Sadly all this "life" business got in the way of my Lego building and collecting, however that is now being rectified. My wife and I are expecting a son in February. The wife has already acknowledged we are now in big trouble where Lego is concerned and toodamn right!!! I always wanted a train set growing up and tried to get into N Gauge however time and space always preventred this getting off the ground and then I came across the amazing Maersk Train in the Lego shop last year. Well what can be better than a train set that you can build and despite yes Lego is no cheap hobby...its a damn site cheaper than "Real" model trains. Saying that looking at what some fine chaps can do in Lego...looks pretty real to me and would put some Model Railroaders to shame I wager. So very new into trains and may be bugging you chaps with daft questions so I hope you'll bear with me. To begin with I'm looking at the Cargo Train and the Maersk Train along with extra track box set , followed by the station and the level crossing and taking it from there. Motorising the Maersk looks fairly straightforward. Amazing forum and can see much of my spare time being spent here. Look forward to meet many of you chaps. Michael

Only an hour or so for me. Absolutely yes to being there!!!