LEGO trains is a well-established sub-hobby within the hobby with fans all around the world. Getting into LEGO trains is not for the faint of heart as it requires substantial investment of money and space. Of course you could just get one LEGO train set and be satisfied with that, however LEGO trains have a way of chugging themselves into your heart and making you want to build bigger layouts with more trains… you have been warned. 🙂
The best way to see LEGO trains in action is to participate in a LEGO convention open to the public. They almost always have large train layouts and you can chat with the creators to get tips and ideas. There is nothing like seeing LEGO trains in real life, so if you are interested in the hobby I highly recommend you check to see if there is a LEGO convention, or at least a LEGO club near you (some LEGO clubs also specialize in trains).
If you can’t participate in a LEGO convention and there isn’t a LEGO club near you but you would like to learn more about LEGO trains, the next best thing would be to get in touch with and get inspiration from LEGO train fans online. A great place to start is at railbricks.com. Railbricks publishes a very high quality online magazine with great articles on anything and everything related to LEGO trains.
The 15th issue of the Railbricks magazine was just released, and it is available as a free download at the railbricks.com website. It includes an interesting editorial on LEGO train layouts by senior editor Elroy Davis, reviews on several of the new LEGO train sets, instructions for building a small diesel train, an interview with professional LEGO Train designers Ricco Rejnholdt Krog and Henrik Andersen, and a lot more. The magazine is over 40 pages long, so there is plenty to see. You can also download all previous issues on the same page, and yes they are all free.
In addition, the railbricks.com website includes a blog section with more helpful articles, a forum section to interact with other LEGO train fans, a resources page to help you plan out your own LEGO train layout, a gallery of LEGO trains to feast your eyes on, downloadable instructions of LEGO trains (some amazing models here!), a list of the various LEGO train clubs around the world, as well as a calendar for LEGO trains related events.
So if you are interested in LEGO trains, check out railbricks.com. Whether you already have your own LEGO train layout or you are completely new to LEGO trains, I think you will find it valuable. And if you would like to get into LEGO trains you can also check out LEGO’s current selection at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? Are you a LEGO train fan? Which LEGO train sets do you have? Or do you prefer to build your own designs? Do you have any tips for those who are new to LEGO trains and would like to get into the hobby? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
And you might also like to check out the LEGO Trains section for more news, reviews and discussions, or select from the following recent posts:
This was a fabulous article. I had no knowledge of this magazine and will look to get them including back issues for our children. Thank you so much for bringing this to us.
Steven, I’m glad you found the article helpful. Yes, the magazine is great. I’m sure you and your children will enjoy it. 🙂
As I’ve said before I’d love to do trains but I dont have the space or cash to do them justice. Plus I’m a sucker for the 9v system.
Having said that I do build micro scale trains every now and again.
Oh and the fact that emerald nights is now £300/$500 depresses me.
hey I know this is off subject but I’ve been wandering this for a while.
what is LEGO studios? I found this thing online that’s called (amazon) Lego Spider-Man #1376 action studio. At first I thought it was one of those fake sets that’s not LEGO but I looked closely at the LEGO sign/symbol whatever it’s called and it looked real to me.
Also I got my LEGO magazine a few weeks ago and I found on the second page more of the upcoming minifigures! I saw three: one minifigure in a pig type of costume. then some Goth Minifigure with a black teddy bear with a button eye and the other one popped out, then the minifigure has some sort of skirt thing that attaches kind of like a cape but you, know, it’s a skirt. then the other minifigure I’m not sure how to explain it. it’s like a mix between a hillbilly type of thing or someone from the old west. Also the “Minifigures online” game has been giving away some of the minifigures but none that I haven’t seen yet. they show the Video Game guy, The swashbuckler, and more.
Lego studios was I think I focus of Lego back in the early 2000s for making Lego stop motion movies so they produced a series of movie set related sets.
I think at one point they even sold a stop motion camera that was decorated like Lego bricks for this specific purpose.
As far as LEGO Studios, it is as Kim said. In regards to the LEGO Club Magazine, yeah I saw those minifigs too. Love the piggy! 😛
Off Topic – did you seen the new lego club build? so cute. It’s a barbecue!
Oh and this magazine looks really cool. I can’t wait to read them all!
Yeah, very cute! 😀
Off topic but I found both new ninjago episodes online in good quality at watchcartoonsonline.com. I don’t know how to add links but just google “ninjago enter the digiverse watchcartoonsonline.com” or “ninjago codename arcterus watchcartoonsonline.com”
Yes, NRG Cole shared the links a few days ago. 😉
Railbricks is a fantastic resource and I read every issue as soon as it is released. Nice to see an article on it!
I love the Emerald Express train and I have made a fourth car on my own and plan to do more. What I would like to see is more of this size train and also the tracks to fit the Emerald Express.