Sveriges spelbutik sedan 2001Fri frakt på alla produkterPrisgaranti & livesupport LEGO City - Godståg (7939)The LEGO Group has produced train sets since before the advent of the minifigure. Over this long history the look and detail of these products has gone up and down. Some amazing sets have been produced like the legendary 4558 Metroliner, and there have also been some duds such as 4560 Railway Express from 1999. One of the primary differences between the train you would purchase if you ran down to your local LEGO Store right now and many of these other sets is how they are powered. The LEGO Group standardised the Power Functions model for both Trains and Technic to reduce costs, but when did this occur? Let’s take a ride on the rails of history and find out. Interestingly, the very first minifigure scale trains used a system remarkably similar to Power Functions. A train engine component formed the wheels of the engine and was powered by a battery box located in the tender/coal car, the engine itself, or another nearby car connected by a wire.
If that system sounds familiar, it should as it is exactly how it works today, just with much smaller components. In the late 1980s, LEGO designers began to mix it up. The multi-piece track which had been in use (albeit in different colors) since the beginning had a centre piece added to it. This was the 12V train system and using a special motor component mounted in the engine it could run like a model train by electrifying the center of the track. This system of electrifying the track evolved into the 9V system which was used throughout the 1990s when an entirely new set of track with metal rails was introduced. This new track was paired with a speed regulator which could raise or lower the power being sent to the engine. The advantage of this system was the relatively few components that needed to be on the actual train. Whereas today a battery box, IR receiver, and engine all have to ride the train itself, all that was needed with this system was a motor. The problem with this system was the amount of extra gear required and the high cost of entry.
The metal track, the speed regulator and the motor that could conduct electricity through the wheels into the gears – it all added up. Because of this, trains remained a largely niche theme until the new millennium. Ultimately the switch to Power Functions was about reducing the price of entry so that the average child could have a working train, something that was not possible with the 9V system. There was one more change before Power Functions, however. A pair of trains released in 2006 marked LEGO’s single interim attempt at a new train system outside of Power Functions. This special piece was a giant battery box intended to have a train car built around it. The two sets which it was part of struggled to build a decent train around it and the cost of producing such a piece is likely to have been astronomical. The pair of trains released in 2010 – 7938 Passenger Train and 7939 Cargo Train were the first sets to use the Power Functions system. Just like their earliest brethren, plain plastic track is traversed by a train powered by an on-board battery box and motor.
This time, an IR receiver is also included that allows the speed of the train to be controlled by the remote. This system is the best of both worlds, the convenience and control of powered track, without the need for components that prohibitively expensive. There has been a notable increase in the number of trains produced since the system was introduced, so the goal of widening the theme’s appeal appears to have been accomplished. The dataset is too large to view in browser I recently removed three buildings from the Lego Town and consolidated them into a city block for a Lego contest at the local toy store (thanks to the prodding of my little ones). Click below to see details. Posted by josh at 9:09 pm on July 20th, 2011. Posted by josh at 8:50 am on January 2nd, 2010. Townhouse by the Railroad Tracks I wanted to create a new building, but didn’t really want to buy any new bricks. Even though we have a lot of Lego around, it can be challenging to find enough pieces of a particular color or specialized bricks to make something the way I want it.
But I managed to scrounge enough from our collection to create this urban townhouse. Posted by josh at 12:01 pm on February 8th, 2009. I created this staked bulkhead flat car by modifying the Cargo Wagon from the Lego’s Cargo Train Deluxe set. It’s not based on a real rail car, and I’m not even sure if a short bulkhead with a wood deck exists. But I went with these choices based on my available stock and for some variation in my train (and it’s a Lego town after all, so I can take some leeway). Perhaps I’ll make a full length version down the road. Posted by josh at 10:09 pm on January 4th, 2009. Auto Parts Shop and Hardware Store An original side by side retail building with an auto parts shop and hardware store on the north end of town. Posted by josh at 8:50 pm on November 30th, 2008. These Ferraris are just ‘out of the box’ Lego kits I’ve collected over the past few years, but I thought they looked cool all together in a row. I am more fond of vintage American cars like my (real) ’67 Galaxie 500, but until Lego starts making American car kits (or I get into creating custom Lego cars instead of buildings and trains), these will have to do.
Posted by josh at 1:38 pm on November 25th, 2008. The Progress of the Lego Town – November 2008 Here are some pictures of the whole town. Posted by josh at 9:36 pm on November 5th, 2008. TTX Flat Rail Car A rail car I created based on some model railroad images I found online. It is a simple design, and, again, I’m not sure how accurate the numbers and letters are, but I think overall it is effective. Posted by josh at 5:56 pm on November 4th, 2008. CN Intermodal Rail Car This is an intermodal rail car with the Canadian National logo I created. The placement of decals is not entirely accurate but I think comes across well. I’ve also decided to make train cars six studs wide like the Lego sets for compatibility and practicality, even though the scale of cars and containers is not as accurate. Some photos of model rail cars I used as sources (in addition to some other Lego rail cars I found online): Posted by josh at 9:30 am on November 2nd, 2008.