fred67

Because a limited run of something is very expensive, and it interrupts the production of other, newer sets that one would assume are selling better. I love LEGO, but we can't forget TLG is a profit driven company, and it's not just about profits - it's about maximizing profits. Very rarely to they step outside the norm to appease fans like us.

My problem has always been how choppy and shaky the monorails have run, but that looks like it runs really smoothly - great improvements to your original! @LegoMonorailFan's solution was smooth, but limited. I still have a solution in mind, I just don't have time these days to work on it.

Well, my point was not to sell you all on the MB train, but to suggest that if TLG, or some intrepid third party developer, wanted to make a killing, they could probably do it by providing something we can use to have motors and wheel sets at a standard gauge (be it O or G). That allows us to use more than a century of developments in model railroading; all the existing track, turnouts, speed regulators, couplers and decouplers, crossovers, DCC... IOW, make a motor, wheelsets, and maybe new couplers (three things) instead of five different radii of track, several variants of short track, left and right turnouts, a few different angles of crossovers, flex track, and all the other already existing things we can get from using a standard gauge. Yes, guys, I get that G gauge, for example, is expensive track - but not as much as trying to get LEGO 9V track, and it's a lot more flexible, the curves and flex track already exist - and that's the important part: it's all there for the taking, it's not some "maybe," "someday" thing - it's already there, ubiquitous, you can buy as much as you want right now. EDIT: I want to add that I have been looking, and I don't see where you can just get a generic G gauge motor, for example, that you could rig to attach LEGO to. Building something like that is beyond me, and I have very little time to devote to it.

Yes - been yearning for a compatible straight rail in that gauge for some time.

I wasn't expecting LEGO to do anything. Let's take @coaster, for example, and all the work he's put into making tracks, couplers, the talk about metal rail and motors.... If, instead, someone (not me) focused on making a motor that just had studs, and wheelsets, everything else would take care of itself.

I was just wondering around the internet and came across this MB set. So, OK, I know this is a LEGO site, and I want to talk about LEGO, and what I think is the ideal solution to the LEGO train "problem." I would not buy this set - I don't like the figures, I wouldn't want to mix this in with my LEGO, but what I found really interesting about it is that it specifically is built to G-Gauge. I get that it's not "system" (what is, these days?) but every single problem people have related to track - be it 9V or PF, could be solved by the ubiquitous availability of standard gauge track if we only had wheel sets and motors that were easy to combine with LEGO. I would suggest O instead of G, but think about it - given an O-gauge compatible motor and wheel bases - all manner of straights, curves, flex, switches, crossovers would suddenly be (relatively cheaply) available. Also speed regulators, uncouplers, automated switches. It would just solve so many problems. Now, I've actually suggested this before, but I hadn't run across a LEGO compatible train that is supposedly a standard gauge, either. I get how it might affect ballasting and so forth, I just submit it would solve a lot more problems than it would create.

I'm actually not enamored by this solution. First, you have the problem where the second connector is also suffering from dry-rot and losing it's insulation. This solution makes the wires going into the second connector really stiff, maybe not even flexible enough to connect. Secondly, the stiffness itself is bothersome to me, although I would prefer it over non-working trains at all, of course. I also feel like the dry rot may have gotten far enough inside to still cause a short. I admit I'm only halfway towards making them work (I need more wire), but my biggest problem was getting the 9V connector to open up. Now here's where flexibility doesn't really matter, so using this solution to fix the wires going to the 9V connector is great (and I wish I'd known before absolutely destroying both of mine trying to open them). But separating the track connectors was not that bad using a set of jewelers screwdrivers (which you can find on clearance tables at places like Ace Hardware for a couple of bucks for the whole set). I also saved the noise suppressor, although I don't know that it really matters. It's just a plastic housing for a magnet loop. No big deal to put back on. So my solution is short PF cables (like these) that have the old 9V connector on one side, and splice in new wire (I'm thinking 18 or 20 AWG) using the technique described in the OP, running it through the noise suppressor (why not?) and then having ONE wire go to each of the track connectors. I may run both through, like the original connector, but I don't know why bother (just remember to flip the polarity in between). In any event, no matter how you do it, you can at least now choose wires insulated in the color of your choosing - I will definitely make one white set for Christmas trains.

Well... I already took them apart and took the wiring out. Interesting to try on my own anyway. I can make a set with white wires for the Christmas display, too.

Thanks for the replies. I had already opened the track connectors and see what I can do (I ordered 22g wire, though, not 28). For the life of me, though, I cannot open the power connector. I will almost certainly break it. I think I will just buy some of the shorter PF cables (that have compatible 9V connections on one side) so that I don't have to worry about that connector.

Any suggestions? I have two - both are around 20 years old. The plastic is simply dry rotted and cracking. I could go the traditional route and just wire up a connection (believe it or not, the short PF cable you can still buy will connect to the 9V speed regulator), solder directly to a track, perhaps, but I like the flexibility here. I'm wondering if anyone's replaced the wiring in theirs, and if the noise suppressor is really all that important.

Very nicely done! I agree with @Pdaitabird.

I admit - I keep the sets built, and extra pieces go into a "not-LEGO" bin so that I don't mix.

This post should be moved to "General Discussion." When I buy using wanted lists, I go to the "buy" page and select the wanted lists I'm interested in. I do filter by country: N.A., because of shipping, but if nobody has what I want I will expand to worldwide. If the price is below the minimum buy, I look for other stores first; if I can't find any, I see what I can do to bulk up my order. There are always basic parts that I know will be useful. I always read and follow store terms. There are other places to buy, like BrickOwl and LEGO's Shop at Home (S@H) "Pick-a-Brick" (PAB) and "Bricks and Pieces," which, for some reason, do not always offer the same parts.

Well... if that's really the main issue, I think I can live with it, even if I don't agree with it. Bricklink has actually always had a lot of problems, even after the acquisition and subsequent improvements - which came along with some debatably bad decisions, too. How about BrickOwl?

The "won't somebody please think of the children!" argument is only that most clone brands are far from the quality of the clutch/release that LEGO branded bricks have. I have no problem with clone brands (as long as they don't copy LEGO sets), and I actually have a few I couldn't pass up (like a USS Enterprise from Kre-O, which I still wouldn't have bought if it wasn't on Woot for a fraction of it's MSRP). So imagine a kid gets a spaceship from a cheap clone brand (some of them are actually not bad - LEGO is the best, but MB seems to have come a long way), and the ship keeps falling apart because of poor clutch? Then they get frustrated and ditch it, and think that "LEGO" (generically) sucks.

Being lazy and just letting Google do the work for me. Long story short, Hillary Fisher Page, one of the founders of Kiddiecraft, is generally credited as inventing what Kirk Kristiansen (founder of LEGO) copied. It's true that LEGO eventually made improvements that actually made the building bricks more usable (what we use today), but what LEGO originally started producing was patented in another country at the time. LEGO actually ended up buying Kiddiecraft out, ostensibly to avoid "they did it first" defenses when LEGO sued companies for copying them.

Ahh... whatever. My two cents: TLG does not have a legal obligation because TLG is entirely held by the family and the foundation created by the family (it's not publicly held - you can't buy LEGO stock, period). They have no obligation to shareholders, only themselves, and can do whatever they want. It behooves them to protect their trademarks, copyrights (sets) and patents (parts), of course, or risk losing legal protections, but the courts have already ruled in competitors favors when the patents have expired, and when the knock-off doesn't violate current patents (as would be the case here). The "moral" wrong is tying up the court system for a case they won't win when the courts could be used for more productive matters. As far as "slimy and unethical," all I can say is what goes around comes around; we don't have to repeat the LEGO story again, I hope. This is not a justification for copyright violations (like what Lepin does), or trademark violations (what a lot of clones do w.r.t. IP), it's that some company made compatible, but not identical, figures of unlicensed characters. It's a waste of a lawsuit.

I guess this is where the argument lies - I don't understand the need for all parts boxed to be included to be considered a complete set. The complete set is what you have when it's built, the extras are extras, and when I'm selling used sets I use bricklink inventories to make sure I'm giving the buyer a complete set. I wonder how Brickset is. I guess, if you have the instructions for newer sets, they list the set inventory on the last pages.

With all due respect - let me know when you find train wheel sets, bases, and couplers on the PAB wall.

Awesome work - thanks so much for sharing.

I don't know what you're getting at - PAB has a wider selection and greater quantities than nearly any bricklink store. It also typically carries a premium price, but there are plenty of times I needed something in quantity that would have ridiculously expensive on Bricklink because people with quantity often charge more. My wanted lists on Bricklink total 91 different parts; the greatest match when I click on "buy" and select everything is 29. That's less than a third of what I have on my wanted lists - and the store with the most matches is one of the most expensive stores on bricklink. Granted, there are maybe a dozen pretty rare parts, and three or four old sets that most are not likely to have, but I'd have to order from a half dozen different stores to get everything else, and then you get killed on shipping and yes, often not great prices. So here's the thing - if I need one or two of a specific part, it's almost a no-brainer to go to Bricklink; if I need a lot of parts that aren't available on PAB, it's a no-brainer to go to bricklink (to complete old sets, with old minifigure parts, etc.), but if I need a lot of something, or a lot of several different parts that are current, it's often a lot cheaper to go to PAB. As far as shipping goes, I've gotten some of the worst shippers lately. 5 out of my last 6 orders took two weeks to arrive (I even ended up leaving a neutral - the first one I ever left, because it took nearly two weeks for the seller to even put it in the mail), so it's entirely hit and miss. I do "favorite" good sellers, and "dislike" slow and expensive stores, but there are a LOT of stores, so that only goes so far. Don't get me wrong - my first choice is bricklink, but sellers on bricklink don't sell reasonably priced "train" packs, either.

@TeriXeri, exactly. PAB is not a substitute for a "trains" pack - it's tedious and expensive and, yes, you might end up with parts you don't need, but that's how most of the creative boxes work anyway.

Yes, I just wish they'd step outside of the cycle of city passenger train, city cargo train, and do something more "traditional," like a steam train. Now, the WV train is actually pretty nice, as is Hogwarts Express, but an old-timey set like Bachmann General or Durango Silverton as a "real" set would be nice. It's what I've been saying - it's not about making a profit, it's about maximizing profit. People are like "I know MOT could make a profit" (I'm one of them - it could make a profit), but if constractions are cheap to make, and they can ship a lot of them, and they are really popular, they can make a higher margin and overall profit, even if they ultimately made too many and have to use clearance sales to move the remaining ones. Having so few parts they use fewer molds and are simply easier to make and package. I agree - the WV Train was actually a "small" set, but it's Christmas - not really anything like 4534 ("LEGO Express") or 4535 (Express Deluxe). These appeal to LEGO fans, but also Rail Fans - I was into N-Gauge before I "discovered" LEGO 9V - that TLG actually made trains the way traditional model railroading worked. Having young kids at the time, I jumped on it and fully switched to 9V - just before they pulled the plug. But they can still appeal to Rail Fans with a nice enough set, and like @Aanchir mentioned, it becomes a gateway for people to build entire cities for their layouts. If it hadn't been for LEGO trains, I wouldn't have bought every modular building and a whole lot more - thousands of dollars just on modulars, and thousands of dollars on other train sets, tracks, MOT, and Creator Expert trains, as well as a lot of the "other" themed trains because I actually preferred them over the city trains they've been releasing since the switch to PF - Toy Story (because it was fun - yes, I even motorized it), all of the Hogwarts Express sets, The Lone Ranger Constitution Train chase (this is actually, IMO, the best "small" train set they've ever released - I would point to the 9V Express, but with the addition of the large train wheels, the newer ones actually look more authentic). Ultimately, though, we just need to understand and accept the fact that TLG actually really only cares about profit (well... mostly, and I support the free market, so I accept I won't always get what I want), and they do throw out a "gimme" every once in a while to keep people like me interested, but they mostly string us along in the hopes we'll get something good, and then we'll eat up whatever they feel like releasing because we hadn't had anything decent in so long. I think the train fans that work for LEGO know this, and put a lot of effort into the themed ones (like what I mentioned) because they serve the dual purpose of serving the licensed theme as well as giving us train fans something. As far as MOCing goes, TLG has abandoned making MOCing something like trains easy. There are no "train parts" sets; buying the parts separately becomes tedious and expensive, and yes, not all of us are all that creative - they could just post some instructions online, along with selling some basic train packs; then again, I wish they sold "castle" packs of grays, too, or "builders packs" with a pile of masonry bricks. They love that we show off amazing MOCs, it's great publicity for them - but they don't make it easy.

I think four sets over 10 years is not enough to set any kind of precedent like "they release a new set every x years" or that they've given up on it. With such a limited sample, only time will tell. I doubt they ever really considered it to be some sort of "line" or "theme" as much as "hey, let's do this this year!" or "Hey, Maersk wants to do another set with us - we've done so many ships, let's do a train this time!" Along the lines of other discussion, trying to be brief: I also think something like MOT could work better now than it did in the past. However, I also understand that it's not a matter of making profit, it's a matter of maximizing profit, and if TLG can do that with other sets and themes, then that's where they are going to put their effort. Now, in retrospect, I don't think many train fans would pass up another set like EN - most people realized they seriously missed out, and every EN buyer would likely buy something similar, and everyone who missed out on EN would likely buy something similar, and I think if they did offer matching rolling stock - be it a passenger car or a cargo car (not both), it would probably end up selling more units than the train itself for obvious reasons. However, if they sold a caboose it would almost certainly sell less. I would like to see more variety in their trains, though. It seems like every few years we get yet another cargo and passenger train. How about an Old West one, just to stir things up?

Honestly, as beautiful as I thought the EN was, my favorite Steam Engine from LEGO is The Constitution from the Lone Ranger sets. You can get them NEW on Bricklink for $150, including an oval of track. It's the same dark green coloring. I did remove the play features and add a caboose to mine. EDIT: to add my two cents here, instead of giving us a new passenger train and cargo train every couple of years, they should try an old western set like this one. I'm sick of essentially an update to the same two sets every couple of years with nothing really cool or new added.