I think there are five reasons. This is what I believe, not necessarily true but it is not very likely that the whole truth would be divulged for commercial reasons.1) Reliability of 9V Manufacture. It seems the 9V rail attachment machines were no longer reliable enough for all pieces of track. As an example, I had to have 3 points replaced because the ends of the rails did not match up with the ends of the plastic parts they were attached to. This meant the metal parts were either loose, protruding, receded or didn't make a good enough electrical connection to the next track piece. Replacements mean the financial return is almost halved for the parts that go wrong; this would not have been sustainable for the company so I guess a decision had to be made whether to renew some machinery or change the system. I guess the machinery had reached its design life anyway.2) Starting Age. Ever since the 1980s system changed to 9V, there has been a desire for kids to be able to start earlier with LEGO trains e.g. a direct transition from Duplo trains.
I started with blue rail 4.5V on my 5th birthday but the 9V system with transformer was really for 6+. With the 1980s system kids could have push-along to begin with, 4.5V battery at 6+ and 12V transformer at 8+. This is similar with Power Functions - push-along 4+, AAA batteries 6+ and LiPo batteries for older kids and adults. The AAA and LiPo batteries fit with the whole Power Functions concept across all themes so the outlet for the parts is not exclusive to the Trains theme and this helps to sustain them.3) Parts Range 1. As the adult fan community has grown, we have been more vocal in asking for more adventurous rail parts e.g. wider radius curves, crossovers, Y-point, double-slip. Quite a few of us would like to make a proper model railway out of LEGO so we need the real-shaped rail parts to do it. Plastic-only rails make this much easier. Some rail modifications have been most impressive by being fully-electrified but more people can have a go at customising rails if there is no electrical connection to worry about.4) Parts Range 2.
Descending from reasons 2 and 3, a piece that facilitates younger children getting into LEGO trains is the flexi-track. This enables a child to make a circuit every time. In theory it also allows adults to make any radius they like but it is not so popular with adult fans, partly because of the check rails; these help keep the train on the track at all angles but look out-of-place for a proper model railway except on the sharpest curves and bridges. The technology became available to do an infra-red receiver and a LEGO LiPo battery so that adult fans would have something better than (heavy) AA or modest-current AAA batteries to power a train. For the Trains theme to remain viable it was important for the adult market to support it; even though adult fans are only a small proportion of the total LEGO market they make up a larger proportion of it for Trains. The LiPo battery gives up to 800mA before the current trip kicks in. Even then it will try to restart the train. The V2 IR Receiver can drive 2 train motors;
it was designed to drive 2 L-Motors in Technic Crawler 9398.Unfortunately some adult fans have trains so heavy that they need more than 2 motors, which is where we revisit the question from the AFOL point of view. Whilst it would be just 2 motors per engine, it is important to control all the engines together. The theory is that each engine with its IR Receiver on the same channel would be fine with that but tunnels or the larger distances involved at exhibitions could cause a problem of derailment if only one engine received the speed command. This is why a slave H-bridge motor driver module is needed - driving many motors from a single IR Receiver. This was much easier with the 9V system even though a bench power supply or high-current regulator would be substituted for the 300mA 9V controller.At the moment the LiPo battery needs a plug to charge it. This needs to move towards inductive charging - stopping the train over a pad between the rails.These issues mean I still have reservations about Power Functions on the main line but I have built two shunting & trip-working engines with it.
I have committed to making it work as best I can and sharing this with the community. I just hope Power Functions lasts a lot longer than the 12V or 9V systems lasted as new products because it is taking longer for adult fans to really get into it for trains.Lego train sets are a great buy whether you are a train enthusiast, an avid Lego lover or a disciplined collector. Out of all the products that you will find stashed on the market, these 10 are the best Lego train sets that you can get your hands on at this point. They are beyond fun to play with, and putting them together is a snap because instructions come included. When it comes to their overall design and quality, everything is top-notch and up to par. One of the nicest recent LEGO train sets is the #7939 LEGO City Cargo Train. It was first released in 2010, it is motorized and includes a full set of train-tracks, plus a bunch of other extra stuff. The normal price is $180, and it is totally worth it. Please note that this set is soon going to be retired and replaced by the new #60052 LEGO City Cargo Train (video below) with similar features and another nice train, but for $20 more.
To get rid of their old stock Amazon is having a 25% off sale on the #7939 LEGO City Cargo Train. This is a no-brainer deal on this very solid LEGO train set, and I would suggest that you take advantage of it while it last, and before prices jump up when the set gets retired. The #7939 LEGO City Cargo Train is still available at the Online LEGO Shop for $180, although it is currently shown as out of stock with an expected shipping date of April 14th. I’m pretty sure this will be the last stock available before the new #60052 LEGO City Cargo Train becomes available. Even at full price this set is wonderful for any LEGO train fan. Here is the official description and details: Load up the new Cargo Train and send it down the line! Use the big crane to load and unload containers and cars from the train and container truck. Open the canopies on the engine to reveal the driver’s cabins on either end; use the 4-channel, 7-speed infrared remote control to transport the goods along the tracks around the LEGO City!
Includes 4 minifigures: 1 train driver and 3 freight yard workers. Includes a full set of tracks: 2 switch tracks, 8 straight tracks, 16 curved tracks, 16 flexible tracks that equal the length of 4 straight tracks. As I have mentioned the #7939 LEGO City Cargo Train is at a 25% off sale on Amazon at the time of this writing for $134.39 with free shipping and no tax to most states. Please note that prices can fluctuate on Amazon quite a bit, so if you still see the deal when you read this, grab it! See here: LEGO CITY CARGO TRAIN ON AMAZON As far as the upcoming #60052 LEGO City Cargo Train it is going to be a great set, and in fact the two trains together would be perfect! The #60052 LEGO City Cargo Train is also motorized with an 8-channel, 7-speed infrared remote control. It includes rail tracks, truck, forklift and cargo train station as well. There is also going to be two other train-related sets, the #60050 LEGO City Train Station for $64.99, and the #60051 LEGO City High-Speed Passenger Train for $149.99.