Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last several months, you’ve probably seen the new LEGO® train sets coming out in August. We here at Brick Model Railroader have been quiet on the subject so far. The LEGO Group has been very quiet themselves on the new line until very recently, and in light of the lack of information, we decided to wait before publishing anything of significance on the matter. Wild speculation and secondhand rumors are not the kind of news we wish to write about; we would rather wait until we have accurate information and can make a fair and educated assessment of the facts. This hobby is very important to us, and we wish to be good stewards of it.
Now with the release of the new trains coming closer, LEGO has begun to open up a bit about the new sets, and the new Powered Up system that will be replacing the Power Functions line as the power/control system for them. LEGO has even released a handful of sets to LEGO Fan Media organizations for them to examine in depth. And while unfortunately we here at Brick Model Railroader have not been able to see a set in person yet, we are grateful to those who have for sharing their findings with the train community. There is enough information out there that we feel we can talk about the new trains in a hopefully informed manor. The two new trains sets in question are of course the 60198 Cargo Train, and the 60197 Passenger Train. While we could say much about the designs of the new sets, we will wait until we have them in person before writing a full review. Rather what concerns us today is the new Powered Up system that is behind them and what it means to us LEGO train fans and our hobby.
These new train sets, more than any others in recent years, will have a huge impact on the way we experience the LEGO train hobby. That is because for the first time since the end of the 9v train era, the LEGO Group is introducing a new power and control system for their train line, the Powered Up system. On the surface, not much may seem to be changing, the trains are still remote controlled, the track is still all plastic, and the trains receive their power from on board batteries. The Power Functions system we’ve had since 2009 has been governed by the same principals. But when you dig deeper into the new system, you’ll find that it has a number of key differences. So let’s take a look at what we’re getting so far.
What we know about the Powered Up System
Sariel has produced an excellent video overview of the new Powered Up system and compared it to the current Power Functions line. The video can be seen bellow.
The new Powered Up system is LEGO’s new system for powering and controlling it’s train line. It consists of a train motor, which receives power from a combination battery box and Bluetooth receiver, which receives its commands from either an included Bluetooth handheld remote, or from a control app on a Bluetooth enabled smart device.
New Train Motor
The train motor itself does not seem to be very different other that the new 6 wire lead and the new plug. The new plug is the same style used in LEGO’s WeDo 2.0 and Boost lines. LEGO is presumably doing this to bring all of it’s electronics lines into the same family and cross promote their use. From LEGO’s standpoint, this will be great to be able to use the WeDo 2.0, Boost, and Powered Up components together, and goes along with their System of Play ethos. But for us train fans, it does present a few issues.
First, the plug itself is incompatible with the old Power Functions plug. For those of us heavily invested in the outgoing PF line, that means that our existing motors, lights, receivers, and battery boxes will not be able to be used with any of the new PU components. LEGO has in the past made available adapter cables to make their older electronics systems compatible with their newer ones and hope fully they will be doing that again. But even if an adapter is released, using it will mean adding another component into our models, when sometimes space can be an issue.
The second new wrinkle with the PU plug is that it is not stackable. With the old PF plug, and the 9v plug before it, you could stack plugs and run multiple motors, lights, etc. off of one control port. With the new system, it is one port, one component. This is going to make it difficult to run more than one motor in a train without going outside the box. Again, LEGO could release a Y cable to solve this, but that again is another component to invest in and to pack into a model.
The New Battery Box and Receiver
Moving on from the train motor, we come to the new receiver/battery box. Unlike the old PF system which had a separate Infrared (I.R.) receiver and battery box, this new system combined the two, and switches from an I.R. based control to a Bluetooth base. The new receiver/battery box is the same 4 stud wide x 8 stud long x 4 brick high dimensions as the old PF battery box, but the power ports are moved from the top, to the end of the box. The elimination of the separate receiver is a huge boost to space conservation in our train models and moving the plugs to the end could also help with packaging in models. The battery compartment of the new box still accepts 6 AAA batteries, just as the old one, but we have yet to see if there will be a rechargeable battery made available from LEGO for the new Powered Up system. Though it looks from the way the new box is designed, that there is at least the possibility of a rechargeable pack being able to slot into the new battery space.
The new receiver portion of the box makes the switch to a Bluetooth based signal from the old I.R. system of Power Functions. This is great improvement as the old I.R. system depended on a clear line of sight between the controller and receiver to allow signal transfer, and the signal could easily be affected by outside light sources or other interference. Bluetooth though is a radio-based control, and thus offers better signal penetration and possibly better range, with less chance of interference. The receiver also does not need to be exposed to get a signal, so it can be positioned more freely inside a model. It can be argued that the I.R. control was the biggest weakness of the old PF system, and there have been many third-party companies that have come along to introduce Bluetooth control systems to retrofit Power Functions such as SBrick, BuWizz, and PFx. This new Bluetooth control system is a welcome upgrade in many respects.
The New Controller
Finally we have the hand held controller. The first observations reveal that this new controller has a different button layout than the old PF controller. Gone are the rotating dials, to be replaced with plus and minus marked buttons for controlling speed. And in the center of each button set is a red, emergency stop button. Presumably this means that each motor could be stopped individually in an emergency, rather that everything at once. And while the button sets can be rotated, this does not have any control over train speed, it is simply an ergonomic feature to position the controls for more comfortable use. The new controller is also a bit smaller than the old PF controller, but uses 4 AAA batteries instead of the three used by the old PF controler.
As stated previously, the new Powered Up system is Bluetooth based, which means the controller needs to be paired with the receiver before use. This also means that for each train you will need a separate controller, unlike PF where you could use the same controller to operate multiple trains. There does appear to be a workaround of sorts, but it’s not ideal. You can’t control the speeds of each train independently on the same port. And with only two ports to choose from, that’s some what limiting. How ever there is still a lot we don’t know about the new system, so it hard to make a final judgement on it. There may be tricks and features that we have not found yet.
The range of the new control appears to be around 4 to 5 meters, which is a bit disappointing to be honest. The old PF system under ideal conditions could manage that, though this new Bluetooth system should be able to maintain that distance under all conditions, which is a plus. We also don’t know what the smart device app will be able to do. The lack of range may be just a limitation of the controller’s Bluetooth transmitter.
Speaking of the new smart device app, there is next to nothing we know about it right now. We can at least assume it will replicate the functions of the handheld controller, but beyond that it’s pure speculation. We can only hope that this new app will open up new features, and ways to control our trains that just are not feasible with the dedicated handheld controller. The app should be released with the new sets in August, at which time we’ll see what it can and can’t do.
If you want to know what is inside these components, JopieK over at Eurobricks has a nice post where he directs all three major new train elements to the new Powered Up system. The link can be fond bellow.
The Future
Now that we know a bit more about the new Powered Up system, the big question before us is; What does this mean for us in the LEGO train community? Well, it could mean quite a lot. We’re not just getting 2 new train sets. We’re are getting a new system to power and control these trains. A new system that at best, may only have limited backwards compatibility with the Power Functions system many of us have heavily invested in. This is the same scenario that our hobby faced when the change over from 9v to Power Functions happened. There were many fans who did not make the switch over and continue with 9v even though the cost is rising ever higher as 9v components are depleted and resale value skyrockets. A few builders even left the hobby altogether with the end of the 9v era. It was an uncertain time in the hobby, and it took many years before the new PF system gained acceptance and builders really started to explore what it could do. This new Powered Up system is a potentially another seismic shift in our community, much as the change over from 9v was.
From first impressions, there is not a lot to like about the new Powered Up system. There are limitations in that we did not have in Power Functions, or 9v and even 12v/4.5v for that matter. There is a sense that this new system is a downgrade, and the LEGO has not put enough forethought into it regarding expandability for the more advance train builders. To LEGO’s credit, I don’t think this new system was designed without any forethought. I think they designed it with the exact market they had in mind. Despite our AFOL protests, LEGO is still very predominantly a toy company making toys for children. And this new system from first glance, appears to be very much geared toward the role of a toy train system. LEGO appears to have designed in some expansion into the system, but not the kind we AFOL’s want. It appears LEGO is looking to integrate this new system with Boost and Wedo 2.0. It’s a side expansion meant to bring other LEGO products into the fold. It’s not the upwards expansion we want, to make ever longer, larger trains, and huge train layouts running multiple trains at once. The old PF system was not perfect for this, but it at least had enough versatility to get by. This new system looks to be geared much more toward toy train ambitions, not crazy AFOL desires. But LEGO is a toy, and TLG has probably done extensive market research into what their target market, i.e. children, want. This new system may be what they need, it just may not be what we need. But we still have not seen all the cards. There may be more information, and more parts to this new system than we know about. It would be a disservice to make any final judgements on the new system yet however. Not until we have it in front of us and can real dig into what it has to offer. It is important to keep an open mind and give the new system it’s fair chance.
One thing that is concerning though, is this ever-changing ecosystem power/control systems. Just as we become comfortable with one system, LEGO turns the tables and launches a new one. 12v/4.5v to 9v to PF and now to the Powered Up. The ever-changing nature of LEGO trains makes can make it hard for anyone to build a long-term relationship with the hobby. Looking at the more traditional model train world, you can for example buy a HO scale model locomotive manufactured in the 1970’s, and with no modification run it on a DC layout built today. You can’t do that with a 12v LEGO train set. You can’t do that with a 9v train set. Sure, thanks to battery power, and the constant track gauge, you can run PF and Powered Up trains on 9v, and even 12v track, but there isn’t a lot of cross compatibility seen so far between PF and PU. So they are still separate systems, just sharing the same track gauge. For many advanced LEGO train hobbyists, this hobby is a long-term commitment. It can take years for a builder, or a club to build a train layout. My club, PennLUG, has over ten years’ worth of building that has gone into our LEGO train layout. Some clubs have much longer than that. A new train system means that our layouts are now built on an obsolete architecture. If we stay with the old system, we are locked into components no longer manufactured. And as motors, and other parts fail, we can only turn to the increasingly expensive secondary market to replace them. And if we switch to the new system we could face limitations that our old systems did not have to cope with. And even if we do switch to the new system, we could be facing yet another change in 8 to 10 years that puts us right back here again. Personally, I feel this could be one of the biggest detriments to the long term health of the LEGO train hobby.
All of that said, we need to remember that this new system will be the main entry point for new members coming into the LEGO train hobby. And for that, this new system has a lot of importance, even if there are those of us out there, who do not plan to use it. Whatever we choose, we at least have to support this new system for that. These new train sets, with this new Powered Up system, will be the gateway for most new fans to the LEGO train hobby. They will be the first sets they buy. They will be on the shelf at the LEGO store and your local toy/hobby shop. They will be the sets available on LEGO Shop, Amazon and other online retailers. The first train a child receives may be one of these LEGO trains sitting under the Christmas tree. And that may be the start of a lifelong love of LEGO trains. It’s important to the health of our hobby that the ease of entry is there, but also expandability for the future. I hope this new system can deliver.
Look for a full, Brick Model Railroader review of these new train sets, and of the new Powered Up system once they become available.
I hope they make some xl m and l motors that are compatible with this system or I will deem it a huge downgrade. I think if they do this is will actually be an upgrade! Does Anyone else has any thoughts?
I’m hoping we get the mysteriously absent S motor!
Thanks, Cale, for drilling deeper into what PU might mean for us brick railroaders. Many of us probably have a little déjà-vu here – I remember very well the discussions ten years ago when TLG dropped 9v for PF, and here we go again.
I’d say let’s just be patient – so far, we’ve only seen the PU train motor, but there’s certainly more to come. TLG sure knows that the success of PU will largely depend on the variety of components they’ll come up with: give us a wide spectrum of motors, lights, and – yes! – sound, and the community will do great stuff with it.
And while we’re waiting for it, I’ll do what I did when PF came up: keep on building 9v diesels that run on metal rails, need no batt boxes in their 4-wide hoods, and use un-obtrusive cables with just two wires 🙂
We can calm down.
I’m sure PU is compatible with PF. The link “powered up – a tear down” on eurobricks leads directly to a pinout of the new plug. The good news is, that only the pin assignment changes, but not the principle or voltage level.
The chance is very high for an adapter. PU offers new possibilies by adding two adress bits tor the connector. In future we can expect to run up to four devices using one plug. Up to then it is not difficult to solder an own adapter if neccessary. There is no need to throw away old stuff.
Ok, it is only a guess: The two adress bits make a multiplex device possible. We will see (or build our own … 😉 )
The train motor is exactly the same as the PF train motor with the exception of the connector.
Most important is the fact that the gauge doesn’t change. Even the mechanical size of the train motor doesn’t change. If now XL, L and M motors will occur with the new connector but usual design, nothing will happen to us. We can continue without any change. The adaption to the recent technical level is completly ok and not a hurdle …
What I find alarming is the behavior of the behavior of the Boost motor in Sariel’s video. Unlike the PU train motor, it behaves in an on/off fashion in response to the controller; hold the “+” button, and it turns forward. Let go, and it stops. Same for reverse. This suggests that the capability to set a speed and have the motor maintain it is a firmware feature which TLG may or may not include in replacements for the PF M, L and XL motors. For a steam locomotive powered through the driving wheels, that could be a show-stopper.