Last year, Lego gave us one of my favorite battery powered train sets, 71044 Disney Train and Station. This set, while expensive (but worth it) and at times a challenging build, is still marketed with younger audiences in mind. It’s a proven formula: some kids like trains, but MOST kids love Disney. Put those two things together and you end up with a very desirable product.

I shared some thoughts on that set in an article linked above, and now I have the task of writing about Lego’s newest train again: 10277 Crocodile Locomotive. This new set is the polar opposite of the Disney train; it literally says 18+ on the front of the box, but I’ll touch more on that later. I should also say that once again Brick Model Railroader was not offered a set to review. Again, I went to my local LEGO store (with a mask and practicing proper social distancing, mind you) and purchased the locomotive, Powered Up motor, and Powered Up hub to review.

10277 Crocodile Locomotive sold out very quickly online and is now backordered for a couple months. However, if you’re lucky and able to, you may still find a few on store shelves.

Let’s dive in.

Community Reaction

The set was first in public eye after a leaked (poor quality) image appeared online showing some of the set photos. We did not share the image because at the time it was only a leak. Many people expressed their opinions on these leaks, explaining their beliefs that the image was fake, and citing a failed Lego IDEAS project from some time ago which featured a model of the Swiss Crocodile modeled in roughly 10 studs wide. While I am glad that that the nay-sayers are wrong, I do understand their logic.

There have been very few train sets made with older builders and modelers in mind. The Emerald Night, Maersk Train, and Horizon Express, all in the Creator Expert line, were aimed at teenage builders. The sets were a little more detailed and complex but retained the 6-wide mentality of Lego train sets (Emerald Night being the exception, seven studs at the locomotive cab).

In a slightly surprising move, Lego has now made a set that is aimed specifically at adults, downplaying the playability (minifigures included but not prominently featured) and promoting the “model building” aspect: the display stand and UCS-style information board.

Prototype Information

The locomotive is a model of the Swiss “Crocodile” locomotive, nicknamed such because of the long “snouts” on either end of the central cab and the way the locomotive articulates through curves. The real classification is Ce 6/8 II. The first crocodile was classified Ce 6/8 I and was ordered in June 1917, as a prototype. The II and III classes made up the production locomotives, 33 and 18 of them respectively. These were freight locomotives to boot, built for pulling power to haul trains in the Alpine region of Europe. Traction motors were contained in the nose sections and connected to a large transformer in the cab. The traction motors power a jackshaft which is connected to the driving wheels.

The crocodiles lasted in service until the 1980’s. Nine out of the 51 production locomotives have survived to present day and three are in operating condition.

Box and Contents

The box is about the same size as the Horizon Express but much more attractive. The bottom band is the same as the new Haunted House set, also in the 18+ range. The set name and number is enclosed in stylish line art roughly resembling pantographs on the top, and the locomotive on it’s display stand is shown on the middle and right. While extremely hard to see, the minifigures are placed in the cab.

The backside of the box shows the opposite side of the locomotive and display track (nearly identical), an illustration with the model length and height in centimeters and inches, and an illustration explaining that the model can be upgraded with Powered Up for operation.

The top shows the model in profile and an “actual size” illustration of a flanged drive wheel.

There are ten part bags in the box, labeled, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, and an unlabeled bag containing the couplers, drive wheels, and large light bluish grey plates used in the display.

The instruction book and UCS sticker are in an eleventh bag.

Instructions

The instruction book represents the front of the box with the model and line art. Just inside is another profile view of the model and track with a few short paragraphs detailing different components of the locomotive. These are written in English, French, and Spanish.

A following page explains the order of the build: the display track and minifigures are first, contained in bags numbered 1, and the locomotive uses the remaining bags (2 through 4).

Minifigures

There are two minifigures in this set, which may be a surprise to some, as the minifgures are barely shown anywhere on the outside of the box. However, the figures are far from basic, or not worth showing. Quite the opposite.

The minifigures represent an older-looking male locomotive engineer and a younger-looking female. Apart from the heads, headgear, and accessories, they are identical. Both use the same printed torso and unprinted leg assembly, molded in a light blue (I’m not sure which specific blue).

The male figure carries a red toolbox and has an European engineer’s style cap which is the same color as the torso and legs. The female figure carries a pearl silver crescent wrench and has a black hairpiece.

I absolutely love the torsos. They are very well done and can be easily reused in other figures. I think they would work very well for a British steam-era locomotive crew, or even some American steam-era railroad men. I definitely plan to get a few more of these figure pieces.

The Build

Display Track

As mentioned, the minifigures and display track come first in the instruction book. The display is pretty simple to do, as long as you don’t mind laying down scores of 1×1 plates.

One thing I found was that the instructions make it hard to see which dark brown parts are being placed since they are printed on a black background, but there is a limited number of dark brown parts in the set so it’s not hard to tell them apart.

One interesting thing I found was that wedge plates are used in the base at each end. I would guess this has to do with cost-saving.

Black 1×4 bricks are placed near the center of the base to secure the locomotive when on display.

The UCS-style information sticker is placed on a large slope brick. It is fastened to the base at the right end with a SNOT brick and sits flush with the bottom of the base, leaving no gap between the information sign and the table.

The rails used are 16 stud dark bluish grey rails with grooves, similar to the old 12v or 4.5v rails.

The track is surrounded by a stud of black tile, making the finished base 66×10 studs.

Locomotive

The locomotive begins with the central cab, and specifically, the gear train inside of it. The gearing is simple though not extremely robust (no Technic anchoring the motor into the frame), but for use with other 6-wide Lego rolling stock, I think it will be plenty good enough.

This page of the instructions was particularly nice because it perfectly illustrates how to place the Technic assemblies over the plates.

We also encounter the first of the printed elements here. This tile with clips has a neat pattern on it resembling detailing between the inner most drive wheels. A lightsaber bar is clipped in, and you can use other parts in the set to center it.

Handlebars are added for more detailing.

I’m not sure if this piece was already available in reddish brown, but I’m happy to have it regardless.

We also have another printed part. We get two of these tiles with some printed information on them. I’m no expert on the Crocodile but if anyone is aware of the meaning, please let me know.

We also have two 2×4 printed tiles giving the Lego set number, presumably a builder’s plate, and the locomotive classification.

Beyond that, we have some printed round tiles for fans with sit atop the transformer detailing inside.

The control bench and drivers seat are simple and include some gauges and levers/wheels. One of these assemblies sit at each end of the cab, and they are connected to each end of the transformer section. This assembly does not connect to the frame with studs, it just rests in place and can be lifted out easily with the roof removed.

There are clips on each end to hold the minifigure toolbox and wrench.

Bags three and three begin with the windscreens and roof.

The dark green clips on the roof make for a great accent.

The pantograph is a little tedious with the repeated action of inserting 3L bars into the bar clips, but the assembly looks great when complete.

The pantographs will fold down completely if clearance is given for the bar clips to slide pas each other. If the clips are touching, they fold down until the rest of the parts begin to hit each other, which is an easy way to pose the pantographs.

Finally, the three bags labeled “4” make up the snouts of the locomotive. I found it easiest to build both ends at the same time because they are identical.

The book also includes an illustration which explains wheel quartering. It is important to do this so the wheels and rods turn properly while running.

The small wheel assemblies on each end are tiled on top and connect to the rest of the frame with a ball joint. Each “snout” portion connects to the central cab in the same way.

After the snouts are completed, connect the ball joints and the locomotive is complete.

Adding a Motor

This process is very simple, and instructions for adding the motor are included in the book.

The roof, transformer, cab seats, and a windscreen assembly are removed. The Powered Up hub and motor are put in place with the use of two Technic pins and two 2×2 jumper tiles repurposed from the transformer. Then the model can be rebuilt and completed, ready for operation.

To turn on the model, remove the roof and press the green button on the hub (with six AAA size batteries installed, not included). I first tested the model using the Powered Up app on my smartphone. Upon connecting to the hub, I was forced to update some firmware. It only took a couple minutes.

Operating the Model

This model can be operated by one of two methods: the Powered Up App, using any Bluetooth enabled smart device, or a Powered Up Remote Control.

Powered Up App Control Profile

There is a profile specific for use in controlling the Crocodile, and I must say I really like it.

Going from left to right, top to bottom, we first have an odometer which increases as the model moves down the track. The odometer can be reset with the red button just to the right.

A speedometer is just below. At full speed, the dial will read 65 kmh, which is the given maximum speed of the locomotive (stated in the beginning of the instructions). This was a neat detail to find.

Just to the right are two lights which can alternate between green and red and are both labeled “LEGO”. I’m not sure if these serve a purpose.

In the middle is the speed dial with “backwards” and “forwards” written in German. Turning the wheel clockwise will move the model to the right (when viewed from the side with the dark green clips on the roof) and turning the wheel anti-clockwise will move the model to the left.

This caught me a little off guard. The way the model is presented on the box suggests that if the locomotive were to move left, then it would be moving “forward”. Since the locomotive has cabs on both ends, it really doesn’t matter, however. This can also be changed by swapping the location of the tan bevel gears in the geartrain, if desired.

When the model is moving, a nice effect will play which resembles sounds a locomotive makes when heard from inside the cab.

Below the speed control are sound effects. The first is the locomotive horn. There are three unique sounds for this button> two variations of a long horn and one short blast. They seem to play randomly when the button is pressed.

The second button is a guard’s whistle. We have seen this before on both the City Passenger Train and City Cargo Train, but all three sounds are unique.

Lastly there is a locomotive bell button with two unique sounds: one ding and two dings. The Disney train profile is the only other profile to feature a locomotive bell, and it is also unique from the Crocodile bell. The bell sounds seem to play randomly also.

Above and to the right of the speed wheel are two gauges which move as the locomotive moves. I don’t believe these have a purpose other than looking cool and adding visual interest.

Just to the right of the gauges is a red square button. This is the emergency stop.

Finally we have probably my favorite feature of the profile: a brake. It is labeled in German. This control can be turned from a 12:00 position to a 6:00 position going anti-clockwise. 12:00 means there are no brakes applied, 6:00 means the brakes are full on.

When the model is moving, the brakes can be applied and the model will slow down according to how much the brakes are applied. When the brakes are released, the model accelerates to it’s set speed. A braking sound effect is also played when the brakes are applied.

The locomotive will immediately stop if your smart device is locked, powered off, or the app is exited or closed. Unlocking the device will reset the controls.

Powered Up Remote Control

I also had a Powered Up remote with me from the Cargo Train. I was able to connect the remote to this hub in the same manner, but I was soon disappointed. With Powered Up, each motor type can communicate with the hub. For this reason, only the train motor bogie can be operated in the “set and forget” mode. In essence, you can set the speed with the remote and set the remote down.

With the crocodile, there are three speeds: full forward, full reverse, and stopped. The button must be held down for the model to move. Releasing the button stops the locomotive.

Miscellaneous

I gave the locomotive a very crude pulling test. I held the coupler on one end of the locomotive and turned on the power. I felt a tug but soon the powered wheels began to slip on the rails (BrickTracks R120), even with the red traction bands.

Not long after that, the ball joint which connected that traction motor housing broke free and the rest of the locomotive began moving away from me.

I also found that the best way to pick up and move the model is to use both hands and hold the traction motor housing with your fingers and the cab with your thumbs, like such:

My Thoughts

Here I’ll add some of my own commentary and opinions on the model and the Powered Up method of motorizing and controlling it.

I absolutely love the model. For $100 USD, I think it is definitely worth the money. The model is well detailed and proportioned and resembles it’s prototype very well. The build is interesting and not too time consuming; I was able to finish it in an evening.

I have long been a fan of printed elements in kits. I was surprised to learn that the only sticker in this set was the information placard. The printed elements are well done and add a lot to the final model.

I love that there are more reddish brown parts available for resell now too. The model would look even better in dark green, but I think it is safe to assume there would need to be a lot of parts to mold in that color to do so. The brown is just as nice, though. I’m not complaining here. The tile clips on the roof are great. Thinking ahead, these will be useful in building some passenger cars I have planned.

Similarly, I love that there is another set with black steam locomotive drive wheels out now. You get eight flanged and four blind in this set.

Lastly, I’m a huge fan of the display track. This is something I’ve wanted to do for some of my own models for some time, and I’m glad Lego added a display in this set. The information card is attractive and well placed on the stand and is a neat talking point when showing off the model.

I do have a couple of criticisms to point out about the model specifically. Some of these items may seem a bit picky.

One of the biggets complaints I have seen (and mostly agree with) is he huge gap between the traction motor units and the central cab. Out of the box, the locomotive will handle R40 curves, but there are other ways to build the model and maintain this feature while including less of a gap. Some members of the community have already been modding their sets to do this.

These modifications are not difficult but do require some different parts than what is included in the kit. Also, the grille bricks are separated and some of the grille effect is lost adding the necessary parts to close off the gap (at least in some of the methods I have seen).

The articulation of the locomotive is a little strange. The ball joints make sense to some degree, as the allow for changes in track elevation on multiple axis. However, there is nothing keeping the ball joints from coming out other than the standard lip on the ends of a Technic pin. Under heavy enough loads, this simply is not enough.

Further regarding articulation, it is very difficult to add full connecting rods on the vanilla model given where the pivot points are. Flexible rods would be required in this case. On the real locomotive, the driving wheels are rigidly on one frame which is hinged on the cab frame, so the rods do not need to be flexible.

I understand the design choice though. If the traction motor frames were rigid, the motor would need to be placed inside the snout body instead of the cab unit. This adds many complications as the body is not big enough to house the L motor and there would need to be further modification to the cab unit to allow for a wire to be run to the hub, which would presumably remain placed in the cab.

For the purpose of the kit, I think Lego made the right decision here.

Here comes (probably) the biggest complaint.

It would have been (seemingly, I don’t work for Lego) SO easy to include dark brown 1×1 tiles in this set for use on the display. FOL’s have been asking for these for years, and we still haven’t gotten them yet. The 1×1 plates don’t look so bad, but tiles are just a little more easy to look at in the application of a wooden railroad tie.

Powered Up App

It’s a little out of character for me to say this, but I seriously love the control profile on the app. Its clean, looks cool, and does cool things. The sound effects are not annoying or overbearing, and I can’t get over the brake lever. I spent a good while running the locomotive in a circle playing with the speed and brakes alone.

I still don’t enjoy being forced to use my phone to control a model though.

Along those lines, I was pretty disappointed to find that the Powered Up remote didn’t work like the app did. I don’t remember if I heard somewhere that it would, or perhaps convinced myself that the firmware update would allow that, but regardless I was left wanting for a dedicated remote. This is really the last thing I feel like I need before I try building a locomotive for myself using this system. If I can’t run it in “set and forget” mode, then I have zero interest in using the system without a remote or with my phone.

Looking Ahead

There have, of course, already been rumors about a new adult-targeted train line from Lego with this Crocodile being the first of the line.

I seriously hope that it develops. I think the crocodile seems to have made enough noise before and upon launch for Lego to further consider expanding the product line. I’m pretty sure they sold out online in less than half a day and are now backordered until September, but don’t quote me.

Even though I consider myself to be beyond the point of relying on official sets to continue my own hobby, new adult-targeted train sets mean more than that. For some, they are a way to improve and expand a building skillset. For others, they’re a wonderful addition to a collection, whether kept in a box or a built model proudly displayed on a bookshelf. And for even more, they’re fun to get and play with until the batteries die and motor gives out.

I wish I had the answer to the questions of “Will Lego do more of this?” I would sure love to know, even if the answer is not what I want to hear. I am not one to speculate; I prefer to wait until I have concrete knowledge. But, and I can say this with confidence, Lego has not, and will not, forget about us (adult) train nerds. The Crocodile, at least for now, proves that.

Conclusion

I recommend this set. If you don’t mind using your phone to operate it, then I recommend getting the Powered Up components to go with it (available separately but a bit pricey). This is definitely a good train set and can be enjoyed in more ways than one.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this set. Thanks for reading, and be safe.