It’s a seldom opportunity that we are able to review a new official LEGO train set here on Brick Model Railroader. But, at long, last, we have again been blessed with a new train, even if it has a well-known mouse at the throttle and his friends in tow. Regardless, a new train is a new train, which, I think, is cause for celebration. Further still, this set happens to include a steam locomotive.
I’ll be providing as in depth of a review as I can, detailing the build, some of the interesting techniques and features I caught, and finally I’ll offer some of my own thoughts on the set as a whole. This is going to be a pretty lengthy article.
The full set.
I should say here before getting too far into anything. Brick Model Railroader was not offered a set to review. We were aware of it’s existence at the same time the rest of the world was, even though we’re the only dedicated LEGO train news website around. We would have asked for it, but we cannot request to review sets that we don’t know exist. While annoying, our spirits are not dampened. I personally went to my local LEGO store after work on Wednesday, August 21st and picked up a copy of this set and began building it that night with the intention to write this review from a train modeler’s perspective.
Brickworld Chicago, being one of if not the largest gathering of AFOL train builders in the world, is often a time of incredible conversation about the hobby as well as announcements regarding new models and products.
This year saw new innovations and a wonderful announcement from BrickTracks, which is today’s topic.
BrickTracks’ New Short Straight Track Pack, Box #1, signed by Scott
This is comes as a very welcome breath of fresh air since ME Models stopped producing track. As a community, we’ve largely been stuck to straight track in 16-stud multiples. Unless you’re alright with cutting up track here and there, there hasn’t been anything smaller than that for those of us who need it.
Wait no more. Scott Hoffemeyer of BrickTracks is now offering a solution. Enter the Short Straight track pack, available from BrickTracks for $19.95 USD.
Today I’m writing on behalf of the L-Gauge Modular Standard Oversight Committee.
Last August was the NMRA National Train Show in Kansas City, Missouri. A number of LEGO clubs and LTC’s were in attendance, and it was certainly one of the best non-LEGO shows with multiple clubs I’ve ever seen.
The participating AFOLs from the 2018 National Train Show
Of course, when you put that many LEGO train fans in one place, they start getting ideas. On Saturday evening after the show had closed for the day and everyone had eaten a Bar-be-que dinner, several people invaded the basement of Shawn Lazarz for some good ol’ conversation. There were several topics of discussion (and debate in some cases), one of the biggest being standardization. This was then broken into two categories: electronics and layouts.
Discussions about LEGO train modeling are always fun.
Everyone was starting to get their hands on Lego’s new Powered Up! Train sets and putting them through their paces, finding the capabilities and limitations of the new system. Many people didn’t like what they found, so there was some discussion about the introduction of a “standardized” third party system, be that LEGO-based like a PFx Brick or SBrick, or train-based, like a radio-DCC system, or DelTang.
A suspicious looking group of misfit train builders discussing a Modular Standard.
The conversation then turned to layouts and collaborative displays.
It seems that lately TLC is really trying to release train sets outside of the Lego City theme and by doing so, trying to tap in more different categories of kids that come into contact with Lego trains. All of them use train wheels and fit on Lego track, which is great compared to the old times (I’m looking at you, Time Cruisers 6497!) For example, we have seen several Hogwarts Expresses, but also the Lone Ranger and Toy Story trains. Of course, even more than the Lego City trains, these are aimed at kids as a toy, to actually play with them, and just have them run around. Also, they tend to not have any PUP or PF on board, but can be motorized quite simply (it’s Lego after all).
This week, Lego released a new child in this family, as part of the Hidden Side-theme. Lego is planning to have this theme be a fusion of Real Life and augmented reality (AR), by using apps and whatnot. For more information on Hidden Side, I recommend you have a look over at TBB, who posted the whole press release plus some extras.
For us here at BMR, there is of course only one important thing: set 70424, better known for it’s highly creative name: “Train”.
So, what’s new, and what’s interesting for us as trainheads? Well, let’s shortly summarize:
A new train piece! It seems to be a re-railer, meant to easily get your trains on the track. Since this set only has about 3 pieces of straight track, meaning that it’s meant to play with without track to begin with, this is a great addition to playability. Even more for kids, because now you can run your trains both on the track and seperate from it, without having to fysically remove it from the tracks. For us as trainheads this can be very interesting as well, I for one always have troubles getting my trucks properly on the rails!
“New” couplings! As we all know, the new style of Lego Train Magnets is pretty weak. There is a solution by using 1×2 plates to connect them together, but it seems that even for Lego this wasn’t a viable option anymore. So, they are now using ball-joints to keep the wagons connected in a more durable way. I have the feeling this is just meant for this specific set (also because there is indeed a Lego Train magnet available on the end of the train) but it’s interesting to see nonetheless.
It’s an American Diesel! Yes, it’s not going to win any beauty pageant, but still, after the last two European-styled trains, it’s a nice addition for kids that live across the Great Pond.
A black Front Window and black Train Doors! Now I have to be honest, I have never used either of both, but I’m pretty sure some of use will love this.
The number on the loco says 30877, even though according to the box-art its supposed to be 70424. Knowing Lego’s style to just put the set number on their trains, this seems to be an interesting decision, even more because the number 30877 also doesn’t exist as a set…
It’s also a monster, it seems 😉
Anyways, I know this might not be the absolute masterpiece that some of us are always waiting for, but I’m really glad to see Lego is incorporating trains more and more in their other themes. When you ask me, the more trains the merrier. So, what are your thoughts about this new set?
Recently, to allow for testing and
review, The LEGO Group supplied Brick Model Railroader with a number
of components from the newly released LEGO Powered Up line of
electronics. Powered Up is TLG’s update to the popular Power
Functions line of motor, battery, and remote systems.
Powered Up! Elements
As “mostlytechnic” mentions in his review on EuroBricks, the components have been released in the newer Boost and Train sets, which started in 2018.
The post on EuroBricks is excellent (and recommended), so rather than write another straight up review of something you can read elsewhere, I concentrated on playability as it concerns us train fans.
After a year and a half of trial, failure, and redesigning, and exactly one year after we originally planned to, Cale and I are pleased to announce the first ever Brick Model Railroader steam locomotive kit.
BMR Prototype Model, Engineer Side 3/4 VeiwBMR Prototype Model, Side VeiwsBMR Prototype Model,Fireman’s Side Rear 3/4 VeiwBMR Prototype Model,Nose Profile
This is a locomotive we are very excited about. The Reading Railroad was located in the eastern part of the state of Pennsylvania, and the BMR Model Team (Cale and Glenn) are Pennsylvania residents, making the Reading a home road for us. The Reading T-1 felt like a natural choice for a prototype for both Cale and myself. It has been on both of our “to do” lists for a while, but other projects have taken priority since. The T-1 will fit well with all of our current transition-era Premium Instructions models, as all of them were used on the Reading and could very well have been seen behind a T-1 at any point during their service life.
I’m sure many of our readers are wondering why it’s taken so long to get to this point. Allow me to answer a few questions you may be having.
The new Passenger and Cargo Train sets are our first introduction to the new Powered Up System, and also the first new City trains in a few years. Naturally, these new sets are of great interest to the LEGO train community. The Powered Up system in particular has been a very hot topic, and has many potential ramifications to how we build our trains going forward. However, we didn’t want to confuse the new system with the set, even though they come as a pair. We want to review the new trains on their own merit. We will have a more extensive review of the Powered Up system itself, and what it has to offer the more advanced builder, in an upcoming article.
The new Powered Up battery/receiver, controller, and train motor included in the new train sets.
For these reviews we are looking at the new train sets based on how good they are as actual train sets. A train set is really the gate way to the larger model train hobby. It’s where almost every LEGO train fan, and modeler starts. It may be a set received as a present under the Christmas tree or for a birthday, or a set purchased from a store to add to your growing AFOL collection. The train set is where most of us start our LEGO train hobby because all the basic building blocks to creating a running train are there in a single box, and will be the gateway for new builders in our hobby for the next several years. Let’s take a look now and see what the new Passenger Train set has to offer us. Continue reading Review: 60197 Passenger Train with Powered Up System→
At long last, way too long probably, Brick Model Railroader has built and reviewed the new Powered Up train sets from the LEGO City line!
The complete 60198 Cargo Train set.
Unfortunately, and quite obviously, we are pretty late to the review party for these new trains. While BMR is a Recognized LEGO Online Community (RLOC) and we do have some benefits from that, we were not able to obtain the new train sets before the official release, but we did try. Cale ended up buying one of each anyways so we could provide a decent review for our audience, being the only Train-specific LEGO media around.
Let’s dive into the new 60198 Cargo Train with Powered Up!
Every year, the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) holds an annual convention in order to provide a place for the membership to meet to continue their association with the hobby in a common forum. The convention rotates to a different city each year, and this year the convention was in Kansas City, Missouri from August 5th-12th. In conjunction with the convention, the NMRA also holds a National Train Show taking place on the last three days of the convention. This train show feature operating train layouts, vendors selling model trains and model railroad supplies, and model railroad manufacturers displaying their new products.
BrickTracks, the company behind those injection-molded R104 and R120 (with R56 now available for pre-order) curves has finally launched a Kickstarter campaign for R104 switch tracks.
I won’t be going into every detail in this post, as everything is explained on the campaign page, but here’s a run-down of what’s going on:
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