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A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing eBay and noticed several knock off Lego trains by a company called Ausini, some with wagons or coachs very clearly based on old Lego designs, some with random new design coachs, all with locomotives that are different to existing Lego designs. One in particular actually looked rather good, and being very cheap (£25 inc postage), I thought why not? I received the set, and was happy to see that, while the bricks were far from Lego quality, they were more than good enough to blend in with proper Lego, and that the set was a fun build. It wasn't, however, perfect. The main problems were the asymmetrical cabs, naff under loco detail, stunted pantagraphs, doors that were too far inset and lack of motive power. I briefly mulled over just using what I had, but I knew I'd need a lot more of certain green and blue bits, and that proper Lego versions would stand out for not being the same shade. So, I decided to buy a second set (irritatingly, it had gone up £5... but still a bargain, considering I was getting another couple of wagons too, oddly enough, I looked after I ordered, and sure enough, it had gone up again by £5... strange strategy by the seller). I already had most of the general Lego pieces I needed to add, and the PF battery box and receiver, but needed a couple of motor bogies (which I duly ordered). Before. Cheating! I like my locos to have 2 motors because I like big heavy trains. Unfortunately, I have yet to pluck up the courage to open up the motors and reverse the polarity, so have generally had to resort to having one end riding on it's wire, causing the loco to wobble at speed. I decided to try something different... I cheated! I left a gap in the floor of the slight overhang the cab is built on at one end, and cut a bit of plastic off of the middle of the end of the (not-Lego) trainplate, to allow the wire to pass into the loco without anything resting on it. Other than that, the construction was a fun and easy process that happily took up an otherwise rather useless morning. The Finished Loco. Notice the use of dark transparent studs to indicate lights that aren't lit, both on the cab ends, and next to the currently not in use pantagraph. I also needed to come up with a way to fit in the sensor and the on button into the roof, which took some modifying of the original design (a shame because I liked it). I fashioned a free floating block of Lego with the round and rounded upside down plate at the bottom to act as the switch.

When I was a child (a looong time ago), I dreamed of such cool trains. Today, we have created a railway section outside. And I think, the "my first train"-set 10507 and the older one, 5608, are both cool. I say that as a father and an AFOL. So, this is my little video:

Hello everyone, a spot has just opened up on my layout for one more lego train. I was wondering what everyone thinks is the best, and i already have the 7939 yellow cargo train, 7938 red passenger train, horizon express, hogwarts express that is motorized with power functions, one extra set of power functions and 2 4.5 volt trains from the blue track era. I was thinking in the maersk or emerald night but they are both expensive so i can only really get 1 with my budget for lego trains. So please give your feedback and thank you in advance:)

Hello, when I have seen the new LEGO City Town Square (60097) first in Nuremberg at the international toy fair, the Tram of this set was really the highlight. Since then, I thought about, how to motorize this train - and if it is possible. The good answer is: It isn't a big deal - and looks really cool. Now, the tram is a kind of 9V highspeed-train - if you want. This is my video - lets start the journey: What do you think? Best wishes Andres

Hi all For our project "Fully automated train layout" (more information can be found here: https://siouxnetontrack.wordpress.com/), I have designed an automatic train decoupler. A video of the first test run can be seen here: .For our Lego World 2015 layout, we have adapted the decoupler (expecially more speed) but the basics remain the same: The wagon(s) behind the train are pushed away to overcome the magnetic force of the coupler Loco moves forward (this is needed otherwise the magnetic force pulls back the wagon if it is not too heavy like the one in the picture above) Because our train layout is fully automated, Mindstorms is used for the controls. But the same principle can of course be made using a PF motor and PF receiver. Enjoy. /Hans

Hi all, Long time lurker, first time posting. I came out of the dark ages (15yrs +) last year, saw all the amazing trains I'd missed (damn Maersk and EN) and decided to try my hand at a MOC - The new(?) pieces on offer these days are amazing! The following is all made up btw, it's loosely based on real engines and a bit of the LEGO Lone range train thrown in "The Persian Blue Express is one of the fastest in it's class, with almost unmatched speed for it's pulling power. Shown here is the model T version, which was used to carry the King and Queen through the Great Western plains. Following it's retirement in 1910, it has since made a comeback in 2015 with passengers from the city wanting to experience the regalia and nostalgia of the past." - Longer story is also WIP WIP, CC welcome please. I have a black clips and gold clips version. I'm learning towards the gold, although I haven't got any of those in my collection, but may well be brick-linked tonight! I've managed to build one side in bricks, have ordered all the blue bits I'm missing. I've also order enough parts to make an Emerald night carriage, so I'll hock that up when the parts arrive, before designing my own. Black Clips: Gold Version: Front: Cab: LDraw version, sometimes easier to see: And finally in real life! I built it in brick first, and then went to LDD, where I made some changes along the way..... I like the LDD file better than the brick built version now! The PF are in the tender, and it works well going round the track. (not with those Blue pegs though, annoying friction) - The T.C.R.R is from the Lone Ranger, I've yet to print my own stickers! Can anyone tell me how long the Engine of the EN is please? Mine is exactly two straight pieces long. Thanks Dylan

Hey guys, I have seen about 3-4 different types of packaging for the old blue 4.5v rails and I am wondering If I can date them easily by the box style without opening it This is my sealed box: Lego 155 MISB with plastic shrink warp fully intact. by Railco1, on Flickr Lego 155 MISB with plastic shrink warp fully intact. by Railco1, on Flickr I hope someone can help me date this without opening it accurately! Thanks -RailCo P.S. Should I open it?

Hello, Some weeks ago I built some train elements to be used as "atrezzo" in my pictures, they were intended to be decoration elements, but friends suggested me to build the complete engine and wagons, so I did it and this is the final result. The pictures are a bit blurry due the lack of light, sorry.

A MOC based (loosely) on the Imperial Hovertrain as seen on Kessel in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. As the game has such low-resolution textures, the task of making an exact model seemed pretty pointless, and so I have simply modeled the main features of the car, leaving the rest to my own design. The main car, carrying stormtroopers, is followed by a prisoner transport (which is simply a rougher, boxier, more primitive version of the main car instead of being modeled after the game equivalent), and the train would be transporting prisoners between the Kessel spice mines and the planetary Imperial prison. A few pictures: The sliding guillotine-doors were achieved through the usage of opposing grille-tiles: A couple of close-ups on the doors (the doors in the stormtrooper-carriage were meant to bear a resemblance to riot shields): And the cockpits/controls, eventhough non-visible (without partial disassembly), are still existent:

My first project on the LEGO Ideas site is an Inductive Charging System for Power Functions LiPo batteries for Trains, Technic and Mindstorms. The project concept enables a train LiPo battery to be charged without manual intervention. The train stops over the charging coil. The charging coil would sit between the rails, powered from the standard charger. The receiving coil would be held between the bogies of a wagon, plugged into the charging port of the LiPo battery. The device would be compatible with use for Technic, Mindstorms and other themes, so that a robot could return to a charging station and charge itself. It might be possible for the charging and receiving coils to be two of the same device, minimising cost. This would bring LEGO products up to date with the charging of mobile phones and tablets. It may be a key technology to enable more development of Power Functions trains because it would make it easier to run them at shows. Please add your support to the project. We have 90 supporters so far, which is good for a technological project (as opposed to a populist project). Let's see if we can reach over 100 supporters, perhaps 150 in April! Even if the LEGO Ideas route is not the best route, your support adds weight to the case for pursuing another route, such as third party production or crowd funding. Thanks, Mark

HZ 2041 (in fact HŽ 2041, as "Hrvatske željeznice", Croatian Railroads) or Djuran (Đuran) Train Engine as a nick name is diesel-electric engine dating from early 1960 from Croatian Đuro Đaković Factory and Franch Brissonneau et Lotz (registered in former YU as JŽ 642). According to data from www.zeljeznice.net, today there are 28 working engines in Croatia in two colors: red and blue. This is a model of red Djuran: ( http://www.bricksafe...an/DSC06438.JPG in high resolution) ...and this is a photo of the working (real) one captured in summer 2014 by Laurus (http://www.zeljeznice.net/forum/index.php?/topic/11180-hz-2041-jz-642-dhuran/page-13; photo published with permission of the author): Model is fully working powered by standard Lego 88002 motor and PF with working lights in the front and in the back of the engine. Djuran is mostly used as cargo train engine and for that reason (and for more fun for grandchildren, as well) this model is accompanied with five boxcars in the same color scheme. Hope you like it. Comments and suggestions appreciated Some more photos with one not very perfect video follow. (hi-res: http://www.bricksafe...an/DSC06437.JPG) (hi-res: http://www.bricksafe...an/DSC06433.JPG) (http://www.bricksafe...an/DSC06441.JPG) And the short video of cargo train:

After 5 months of planning, 7 weeks of building and 3 weeks of testing, my latest creation is finally done. Well, all the major work is complete and much of the minor tweaks that need to be made as a result of continued tests will have to occur, but for the most part, this is the final model. Detailed, high resolution pictures can be found here:

Good morning, Quick question . . . and I have looked through the forum for answers and come up empty handed thus far, there's lots of DIY stuff, but I'm working on a theory and I've found the parts that I think that I need on bricklink. I have a working theory and just want confirmation. If I have . . . . .the two rails with the missing triangle, a regular remote control like 7863 would I be able to control trains stop & go or no. I've never had a 7860 set, and I still mean to get one. But does the remote work the same way as others do?? Then you add the whole red light/green light thing and that only gives you the visual in terms of if the train can go or not? If I had one of these sets I'd just do all of this experimenting on my own. While I'm asking stupid questions. The 7864 set (the actual Transformer), if you assemble the whole technic top assembly and remove the dial, does that thing actually stay together well or does it disintegrate the second that you try to use it?? Third question. If you disassemble a PF cord at one end and plug it into a 12V track while it's already plugged into the 12V transformer and then bridge the positive and negative sides of the track, is it possible to create a time portal that will take me back to 1985?? Thanks in advance.

Hello This creation isn't that new anymore, however after publishing pictures on brickshelf and flickr, I think it's time to present this train here in this forum. The prototype was the RAe TEE II 1053 which is today a historic train and was used on the TEE-Network some decades ago. The train consists of 6 cars: two cab cars, two coach cars, a dining car and a motor car. This train only had first class seats and was (or maybe still is) one of the most luxurious trains of the swiss federal railway SBB. The four passenger cars in my model have each 13 seats, in the dining car there is enough place for eight passengers. The passenger cars have gender seperated toilets, the women toilet even featured a make-up table. I tried to make it look like theres a mirror in this toilet room, since there is very limited space on creating something like that. Well, now let's continue with the pictures. Cab car by StefanEris, on Flickr Cab car front by StefanEris, on Flickr Toilet by StefanEris, on Flickr Dining car interior by StefanEris, on Flickr The whole train by StefanEris, on Flickr And here is a picture of the real train: RAe TEE II in Zurich by StefanEris, on Flickr The front of the train was quite a challenge to build and I still want to make some improvements, however the parts I need don't exist (yet) in dark red. There are more pictures on flickr if you are intersted. I also have a video there:https://www.flickr.c...157633185923370 Thanks for looking and reading, critics and comments are welcome! Regards Stefan

I'd like your input on this set I made recently: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/95531 It's based on a very famous event in US history in 1869, when the rail networks of the East and West coasts were symbolically connected for the first time with the driving of a final golden railroad spike with a silver hammer. To the best of my knowledge, this would be the first non-fictional Wild West Lego train set. The 150th anniversary of this event is only a few years away, so I figure now is as good a time as ever for Lego to release something like this.

So . . . by now some of you may have seen me lurking around here. I registered back in 2011, introduced myself and then didn't make an impact. Things have changed a little, especially with the acquisition of lots of late 1980's lego and very early 90's lego and my first new lego sets in an eternity. I got a pair of 60051 trains, I do already enjoy the RC trains . . .minus the batteries that they use. I'm a little unique as I grew up looking at those catalogues that came with the sets and wanting the 12V stuff, even though we didn't have it in Canada . . .where I'm from. So . . . starting around 1999, I just started piling up Ebay transactions from everyone world wide. I once got a feedback of: "Good to dial wet" originally I thought it was something really perverted, and refused feedback. 2 years later I realized that I was "good to deal with." I can't really complain, my German is rather non-existent and I have a good amount of German blood in me. I play a lot of ball hockey (not field hockey, it's basically ice hockey without the ice), that's me, I'm big, strong extremely agile goalie. That's what makes me unique in my eyes rare traits to put together . . . . that and my 5' tall box of Kraft Dinner. I do a lot of hockey photography (ice hockey), I'm no pro, I don't even own an SLR camera, but it's something that I enjoy. I love just about all things from the 1980's: Transformers, Lego, Hair, Music (specifically pop rock and hip hop). I also love my Grand Prix's, I have three in total. In 2013 for my birthday one of my closest friends treated me (at my request, you can request free crap) for a photo shoot of AJAM & AMY (below) later in the shoot we had a hot air balloon land in the background of a shot (I also requested this about 30 minutes prior to happening, but jokingly), I'm active on the car scene on the internet and attend 3 meets a year, all in the US. I'll blame my nephew for sparking my interest in Lego again lately. He loves the stuff, my home is like some kind of theme park to him!! It probably needs some work (lots of work??) but I made 90% of this car 20 years ago and then never put a front end on it. Not sure I'm happy with it the way it is, but much the passenger jet conversion of my 6544 plane, tonight it's a true sign that I'm back in the lego fold. There will be a Youtube channel . . . and it will be epic. This is me about 6 years ago. I had bought a wrench for the house since I didn't have a BFW, but was shocked to find it was no ordindary wrench (rated PG-13): Will have a new Youtube channel for lego related stuffs). Thanks for being so welcoming already, for me the best is yet to come . . .and "ALL OF YOUR IDEAS IS BELONG TO ME." Some sets that I have kicking around: Trains: 182 727 7715 7722 (partial) 7745 60051 X2 Town: 6354 6358 6375 6378 6380 6382 6386 X2 6389 6391 6392 6394 X2 6395 6396 6397 6398 (and wish I had a 6399 . . . . maybe some day)

So I've been steadily increasing my collection of steam era 7 wide wagons over the last few months. Most of them came out remarkably well and remarkably quickly and needed little or no modifications to the original design, others (well the brakevan) needed a little work but didn't take too long all the same. Then there's the van conundrum. I just can't get these right, and it continues to bug me that the most simple shape a railway wagon can be is causing me the most issues. The original design took a lot of time to perfect, and in LDD looked pretty good, but it turned out to be less than solid in the bricks, and whilst it basically looks really good, it's also a bit too short compared to the other rolling stock I have and am designing. After a fair bit of faffing, I was still not altogether happy, so I decided to pad around the net for other people's ideas, and I stumbled across H.A.Brick's PF battery van kit. It arrived, and I enjoyed building it (there's an extra instruction book and some extra pieces to build it without the sensor hole), but it only served to highlight the problems with my existing design (too short, not sturdy enough). Never the less, it gave me some ideas, such as using some black Lego to represent the frames the van is sat on to bulk up it's height, so after slightly modifying the (upper part of the) build to closer fit my needs, I set upon one of my existing vans to have a look at the idea with my standard truck chassis design. The height was good, but the bufferbeam was terrible, in order to line up with the rest of my rolling stock, it needed to be lower than the 'frames' which just doesn't look right at all. The current line up, L-R: modified H.A.Bricks van, modified version of my cattlevan MOC (with some random colours and random gaps), my original standard van MOC. The modified H.A.Bricks design. Internally strengthened and black plate/rail removed from between the body and the roof to bring down to my preferred height. (See also the rather ugly bufferbeam of the truck next to it.) Modified version of my cattle van. Although now the correct hight, I really don't like the fact the bufferbeam isn't inline with the 'frames'. Original design. See the less than perfect panel alignment due to less than perfect internal structure plus old and chewed bricks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still not exactly happy with any of the designs, I went back to LDD. First I married the H.A.Bricks design with my own frames, and it wasn't bad but I was still not sure it was right for my preferred style and level of detail. Another thought I had was to add an extra plank to my existing design (and drastically redesign it internally). I've come up with several variations, none of which feels like a complete winner to me. H.A.Bricks inspired vans, both short and long bodied (whichever style I settle on, I will eventually produce long and short bodied versions). Several variations on the 7 high version of my van and cattle van. At the moment, my preferred normal van is the one with the 1x8 tiles running down the side and preferred cattle van will probably be a long bodied version of the one with the 1x8 tiles hanging down the side (although I can't decide on plain doors (middle version) or slatted doors (other two). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any ideas or suggestions are very welcome, also if anybody wants the LDD files to play with (complete with engine and brakevan), feel free to PM me.

So, one of my cats (Schrödinger) finally got over the noise of the railway and decided to inspect further. After merely observing for a while, then following behind, he decided it was time to try to actively effect this new and strange beast. I'm sure you can all imagine what happened next, and sure enough, one round trip after the photograph... Let's just say that red van didn't take well to it's swift trip to the floor, nor did the cat who got somewhat deluged in a shower of Lego fright wagons!

After 7 months of engineering and building, I'm proud that I can present you my new video! In the video you'll see three coal trains riding around. They can load at two silos and unload at the main terminal. The unloaded coals are delivered by conveyor belts and an excavator to the loading silos, so a continuous loop is possible! The unloading part is the most complicated part of the structure: pneumatic cilinders will push a conductor to the bottom of the wagons, where also a conductor is located. These conductors power motors in the wagon which open a hatch in the bottom of the Lego coal wagon. The coals drop on a conveyor belt and are transported with other conveyor belts and an excavator to the silos. It's all automated by 6 Arduino controllers (including the arduino that controls the passenger trains). I cleared out the living room (GF was away for a few days, as planned) with a friend of mine and after 12 hours of setting the whole thing up we could finally begin with running some trains and commission the whole thing! Obviously the whole thing didn't work at once, so a hilarious fails-video is on the way too. Enjoy, share and let me know what you think of it!

Hey guys, I have found a cool way to use the minifigure style head piece to go inside boilers. I just used that and an upside down 1x1 to give it some depth. Lego train Boiler by Railco1, on Flickr Lego train Boiler by Railco1, on Flickr I think it adds a small touch to the boiler and I hope you like it! -Rail Co [How you can use it for cars!]: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=105602

Just learned about this tiny Intel Compute Stick Wondering if it might be practical for use with LEGO Wedo, Minstorms NXT and EV3 BTW how are LEGO Train configured. Does it need a computer?

Alright, so I first want to explain this project that I have been dreaming about doing. The summer of 2013 I started to build a table to be specifically used for a lego moc. It was to be around 3 feet by five feet and feature an underground section. Well, after tearing it apart and rebuilding it several times, I finally finished in the summer of '14. Now I have moved out and have my own super tiny room and have the ability to devote some time to actually building the moc. The moc is going to be a hybrid. The majority of the buildings and scenery will be made of lego, while all the figures (except maybe a few statues) and 90% of the vehicles use will be mega bloks, specifically the Halo, Assassin's Creed and Call of Duty brands. Now this will be classified as a Halo Moc, while some weapons will be from custom lego weapons shops and painted by me. Now I do realize that some people like to keep mega bloks and lego separate, which I used to believe in. While I prefer the Mega bloks articulated figures, I still massively respect the Lego figure. What I need hep with is actually 100% to do with lego. I ave never built a lego train. Never even held a train track in my hand. Fear, mostly, because there seems to be so much to learn. Well, I ran into a slight dilemma. I wanted to make a new halo vehicle, because halo is limited in it's vehicle, and I wanted to add my own flare to this hybrid moc. Six months of looking at vehicles that looked like pre-existing halo ones and still nothing. Then out of no where, I got inspired. I was watching a review of a train set on youtube, when this piece caught my eye. And thus the idea for a halo train was born. Now the train itself I do not necessarily need help with. It's the tracks. And the engine. You see, I want the train to act as a supply/weapons platform, but I want it to wrap around my room, which has three HUGE problems. My room I live is essentially a bedroom where I share a bathroom with one guy and a kitchen with two others including him. So I have three doors to deal with. So then I thought, I can have the track wrap around the ceiling. Sounds cool, except that I have no idea how to make a train even run on flat surfaces. I don't even know how the darn things work. I have seen train tracks that were used to enable a train to go from ground level to another height, except that those systems tend to be larger than my table. I really only want the track to cross the table once, maybe twice. My idea is to have a train that can run in two direcetions, so that I don't have to create a loop. The wall that I intend to use to get a rail-ramp, for lack of a better word, gives me a good 6-7 feet to go from 3 feet of the ground to about seven feet off the ground. If anyone can help me, I would appreciate it. What I need advice on: 1) I need the smallest engine possible, but with enough power to move uphill and pull one of the previous mentioned pieces 2) What is a good angle to use for the incline that won't let the train shoot back down uncontrollably on its way up OR on it's way back down. 3) How do I make a train go two directions? What kind of engine would allow me to control it? I was thinking Infrared, so I can just stop it at any given time 4) How to stop the train without damaging either it OR any lego pieces Any advice anyone can give me will help. I literally have no idea what I am doing when it comes to lego trains. Thank you!

My son just got his first lego train set for christmas the cargo train). I'm looking for extra track for him, can only find the straight, curved, flex and switching track. Is there really no junction track, or bridges, for the lego trains?

Review - 60052 Cargo Train Lately I've been watching the "Train Tech forum" here on Eurobrick's after I came across the "weirdest/silliest train MOC's or ideas" post in the forum. Since then Iv'e been haunted by the idea of making a TARDIS train, and a CMF series 14 hotdog guy train MOC. To get started, I offcourse had to get the basic stuff needed to make a fully functioning locomotive. I came across the 60052 Cargo train with a 25% discount and found that this would have what I needed to make these MOC's a reality. To begin with i didn't have high expectations from the set itself, as the different builds look blend compared to all the MOC's Iv'e seen in the train forum. It was "just" one of those set's one get to expand ones brick collection with useful parts. Lets se if the set changes my mind during the build. As i couldn't find a review of it here on Eurobricks, I decided to make a review as well. Now, im all new with trains, so please comment on all my mistakes and errors, as the terminology is new to me. Here we go! An overview of the locomotive and all the wagons included in the Cargo Train set. Year: 2014 Theme: City Set name: Cargo Train Set number: 60052 Pieces: 888 Minifigures: 4 Stickers: 39 on one sheet price: 199.99,- US$ / 1699,- DKr LEGO Wikia Brickset LEGOShop LEGO Shop wrote: Front of the Box: Click for larger image. The box is huge for a set containing only 888 pieces. The boxart makes it look very promising with lot's of stuff going on everywhere. The usual minifig representation in one of the lower corners that's almost always present, have been scrapped, and instead wer'e showen that the box contain's the LEGO powerfunction speed controller and all the different tracks included in the set. There is also an overview of the track layout you can put together with all the track pieces included in the set, and it's measurement. Box size comparison: Before moving on to the back of the box I'd like to do a comparison with other sets,that most people are familiar with ( im guessing). A box this size containing "only" 888 pieces might sound like overkill. Here's the Tower of Orthanc (10237 - 2359 pieces), and The Millennium Falcon (7965 - 1254 pieces) lined up together with the Cargo train box. Tower of Orthanc being the same size. The Millinium falcom is somewhat smaller. Back of the Box: Click for larger image. The back of the box shows all kind of different scenarioes. It also reveals that the box will contain 8 bags og LEGO, and the rest of the power function part's included. Also, it presents you with possible set's one might want to get, to expand and upgrade one's train layout, this being the train sets: 60051, 60050 and track set's 7895 and 7499. For a box of this size containing "only" 888 pieces seem's redicioulus, and the box doesn't even weight that much, but opening the box reveales that it's stuffed. And it really is! ( I hadn't expected this as Iv'e read another review. That person claimed that their was lots of extra space in his box. It must have been really compressed, because I had problems packing all the bags, boxes, tracks and the manual pack back into the box after I had first gotten it all out. But here look look look ! The content: Yes, first of all 8 bag's of LEGO for the building instructions. These bags might not look like much, but seriously. Each one of them are barely the size of a baseplate. I first tried to fit everything from the box in my light room. But gave up. It wasn't possible without making it look like a mess. So the box content will take up some four images. More content: Here´s another bag with additional tracks, and parts for the Cargo train station. Also two other boxes and additional tracks. Still doesn't look like much. Lets open the boxes to get more LEGO revealed. They are stuffed ! Opening the boxes: Opening the boxes reveals all the baseplates for the trains as well as wagons, and the baseplates for the Cargo train station as well. The big white box also contains 20 corner tracks, and the brown box holds all the power function parts. 888 part's might not sound like a lot but considering how many big part's this set holds, im already convinced by its value ! This made me extremely excited indeed. It's really overwhelming trying to fit all these parts around ones "work space". (Note: I didn't discover that i had left the Power function battery pack in the box until during the build as it was well hidden. Well, it's sort of visible in the picture however). Bag containing building instructions and sticker sheet: Last of all, the bag containing all the building instruction booklet's (6 books. Yes, there is 6 building instructions included ) , and the sticker sheet. Time to start building ! Everything needed to build the first instruction booklet's content: The pieces in bag 1: Click for larger image. So this will build the Cargo truck. From the boxart, I wasn't to excited about it. Lots of pieces that will come in handy for other builds however. Cargo truck finished: Afterall it was a fun build and it's looking more fantastic and smooth than from the boxart I think. Also the weight and feel of it is marvelous. Im once again surprised by this set already, as this truck is really awesome! Everything needed to build the second instruction booklet's content: So all this will let one build the Cargo Train locomotive. Beside's bag 2 and 3, the power function battery part and the power function IR reciever is needed, as well as the power function train motor, the baseplate for the train, and for some reason the two splitting tracks, though the only instruction given for those, is to put the yellow bricks on them and your'e not able put them together yet. Here's a look at all the pieces in bag 2 and bag 3! Pieces from bag 2: Click for larger image. Lots of usefull parts, to me at least, as this is my first train set. so this whole experience is to me like stepping into a candyshop for the first time ever. But on top of it, the diversity is really nice and I can se all these pieces used in a lot of MOC's in the future. Lets build. Lets Build, lets BUILD !! Bag 2 emptied: Having emptied bag 2 and builded what the instructions suggested, this is what we are left with. Im assuming those are sparepart's. Time will tell. Moving on to Bag 3. Pieces from bag 3: Click for larger image. Once again lot's of usefull pieces. And woohoo. A printed tile. I was almost certain that their weren't any printed bricks in this set, but that everything had to be "sticky arted": Adding the powerfunction battery pack: Now during this build its time to add the power function's IR reciever and Battery pack. It swallows 6 AAA type batterie's ( and just a note, the controller takes up 3 AAA type batterie's as well ). You will need a small screwdriver to acces the battery pack. As train set's are new to me im loving this build so far. Many techniques are offcorse familiar, but a lot is quite different from what im used to. It might just be all these part's that it's the first time Im introduced to. Battery pack and IR reciever addded: Easy task. Though, the instructions make's their wires look as they are lined up very smoothly with the build. Im not to sure mine are ! Lets finish this train. Been awesome so far ! Cargo locomotive finished: Click for larger image. This was an awesome build, and the finished result is to me just stunning ! Looking at pictures and the boxart, they just doesn't do it justice. It looks way smaller than it actually is and the detailing just really dont get justified by the pictures. Besides, the unstickered version to me, looks very very good. Also, this might not in any way be new to all you guys and gal's that already own a power function train set, but I was really astounded by the technique that is used to turn the power on and off for the battery pack. Just two sparepart's left from bag 3, however the finished build justifies it. Now im convinced that the price one have to pay for this set, is really worth it ! Moving on to bag 4, and instruction booklet 3. This let's you build the Cattle transport. Everything needed to build the third instruction booklet's content: This will let you build the cattle transport wagon. From the look of it, the bag doesn't contain a lot of parts. Here's what's in this bag. Pieces from bag 4: Click for larger image. Again surprised. Not that many parts, but most of them usefull for every MOC enthusiast. The bull is a must. I dont own one, and have never seen it in any other set. It's really quite beautifull, and I will be using it a lot in future MOC's, im pretty sure. Cattle transport wagon finished: An easy and not that satisfying build. Nothing unexpected, and no nice new building techniques introduced. Overall a bland build that looks ok, and BEWARE its getting worse from here on, however YOU have to read the conclusion as Iv'e figured TLG out with this set ! Now moving on to the Cable drum wagon. Everything needed to build the fourth instruction booklet's content: Time to build the Cable drum wagon. Not much else to say about this. Seems like Its just a fill in to expand the otherwise lovely set to make it look bigger. Pieces from bag 5: Click for larger image. Again again, lots of useful parts. However once again a way to easy build with no big surprises, and it ( once again ) doesn't really deliver the "building experience" that I love LEGO for. At this point im afraid that all the fun with this set is over ! The Cable drum wagon finished: Do i have to say anything about this ? It look's as it does. Nothing to roll around those cable holders, and "only" one chain included that really doenst have any function as well. Its not even connected to the wagon in any way. Indeed lot's of useful parts but it just looks like a rushed build. Next build, the fuel wagon. Everything needed to build the fifth instruction booklet's content: All these pieces will turn into a fuel wagon, and a cargo truck, along with a wheelbarrow. Pieces from bag 6: Click for larger image. All the pieces. The color of the wheelbarrow is nice and again the parts for the build is usefull for any MOC enthusiast. The Fuel wagon finished: Click for larger image. However the build experience once again doesnt deliver any fun and just feels like a repetition from the Cable drum wagon build. Also the lift look's awefull in my oppinion. Something's wrong with the roof of it. Besides the way everything is organised onto the wagon looks weird, and off. But, the pieces are all usefull and that's what plusses i have to say about this. Moving on to build the Cargo train station, the last instruction book from this set. Everything needed to build the sixth and last instruction booklet: Pieces from bag 7: Click for larger image. First, the content from bag 7. Lateron bag 8 which is the last bag for this whole set. The content of these bags let's one build the Cargo train station. Do I have to say again, more usefull parts, but also some not that interesting for once. However the usefull once, wins the battle as all the pieces Iv'e seen in this set is mostly not to common pieces, and not pieces that I personally would never expect to make use of. Two more printed pieces in this bag ( but these are common pieces ) the keyboard and the computerscreen. So overall the whole set delivers three printed pieces. Lets begin to build the Cargo train station! Build from bag 7 finished: So far so good. It's looking better than expected and was a fun build so far ( much needed from the last three NOT funny and blend looking wagon's). Lets move on to the last bag of LEGO for this set. Pieces from bag 8: Click for larger image. More rather usefull pieces, and rather special one's indeed, but not the diversity that we have seen from the prior bags. Iv'e become curious as to wether it's possible to use the "old school" LEGO track's to make larger train lanes with ? Haven't tried it out, but my instinct is that it's not possible. Surely one of you train expert's will tell me all about it in a comment (please !!). The Cargo train station finished: Click for larger image. I somewhat likes the Cargo train station. It is taking me back to my chilhood where LEGO set's weren't that complex, yet had that feeling of delivering a setup for your mind to play with it, and let your imagination make everything possible. Playing with it surely delivered exactly that feeling. Now the MOC nerd in me see's tons of stuff that can be done with this, and i surely will. But the overall feeling is great. This last build somewhat corrected the experiences from the last two wagon set's. Only negative i have to say about this is that the heavy lift seem's to be a stud of in width, as it will all collaps if you aren't carefull when lifting cargo. However the moving of the whole lift is working gorgeous and it's fun to push it in one end and seeing it speed towards the other hoping it will fall of. But it doesn't, unless you are really putting some strengt into it. So this ended with a good experience after all. Are we finished ? No, there is still all this left: Minifigures and bull, frontview: I have no clue as to how common these minifigures are, but i kind of like all of them. My only issue should be that all wears cap´s. Now, im not supressing womans at all. But find it funny that the only female in the set is the one who get's to wear hearing protection. ( It should be the other way around ). In fact, all personel working close to machinery, shoud wear those. That's personal experience ! I love the bull. Might be cause it's new in my collection. But its a cool animal to have and the horns could be used for lot's of useful organic building techniques. Minifigures and bull, backview: Well, a few backprints. Still some nice ones. Glad to have all these figs in my collection. All the builds lined up: Click for larger image. Last ( not really ) but not least. Lining all the builds up around the Cargo station build. It looks somewhat a mess. But this is not how LEGO intended it to be im sure. In fact, were not quite done yet. Remaining tracks and the Power function controller: Offcourse i dont have a lightroom huge enough to layout the whole of this track. Conclusion: My first thought about this set was that it was a set like most others. Here, build these trains and make them roll around the track endlessly. However there is a lot of hidden bricks in the set that suggest something else. I have always been removing usefull parts from set's that's not visible after the set have been put together. Most of the time LEGO have included these parts ( changes of colors, tiled bricks ) to make it easier for people to read the instructions. Mostly the colored pieces are ordinary ones, and tiled pieces the same. But, with this set its so very different. Dark grey plates that you will never see. Tan bricks hidden away for no reason. Jumpers where plates would have been obvious to use. 3 blend wagons that didnt even deliver the building experience, but however was packed with usefull parts. This set to me, is screaming for AFOL's to mod and MOC it ! Im guessing offcourse, but it seems that LEGO wanted to make a set that would make it possible for everyone to start building train sets, but offcourse couldnt sell it as a creator set. So to make it reach an audience that weren't only FOL's, they decided to do it this way, and at the same time be able to justify the price of it. Follow me. All the tracks, the power function parts. The parts for the wagons, which is much needed to make trains for oneself. In fact, buying two train motors from LEGO( IR recievers and battery pack as well offcourse), and you will be able to make two additional locomotives with this set! At first, the playability value I would have given this set was aimed at kids. LEGO turned the table 180 degrees. This does have playability value for kids as well. That's to me why LEGO decided to make it this way. But the way I look at it, they really aimed for the adult market with this set and they hit point blank ! In case your in doubt, im loving this set despite the blend builds. So many usefull parts, so many things a MOC dude can do with it. Ton's of different large pieces and to top it, all the power function parts needed to start making one's own collection of LEGO trains. Scores are based on my personal experince with the set. Parts: 10/10 So many useful parts, even when considering the price of the set. Cant give it less than max. Design: 7/10 The Locomotive and the Cargo station is awesome. The score is based on my assumption that LEGO had AFOL's in mind putting this set together. Playability: 7/10 It's a train that can run on track's. For kids the score might have to be a 9, but for FOL's it cant be more than 7. But will score it all again having modified everything. Minifigures: 6/10 I have no clue as to how rare these are. They are nice, but thats about it. Price: 8/10 I got it 25% off, so that was a nice price. But honestly. I cant wait to get the funds to buy yet another one of these sets. It's so much worth it. Honestly ! Overall: 9/10 Cant give it less. This sets Screams for all FOL's to get it and start MOCcing it ! .. You should get one too ! I hope you enjoyed the review, and do give me input on where im wrong and why. As said many times already: This is my first train set. So teach the n00b please ! Please do comment and ask questions, or come with suggestions if any. KlodsBrik.

It has been a while, but here is my latest build BR Class 04 by Erwin, on Flickr It is a small shunter locomotive from the british rail. BR Class 04 by Erwin, on Flickr The doors are black because the needed windows would have cost me a fortune in dark green. BR Class 04 and small train by Erwin, on Flickr The reason I used 1X1 tiles instead of 1X2 is pure economical, the were about a third of the price, and available in a bricklink store about 15 minutes away from me. reference image from wikipedia.org Thanks for reading!