The first lego train is official. Very basic. But even for today's kids, it's a good game after Duplo. Unless, of course, they had a Duplo train set that included rails. In 1964, there were no rails yet, and the wheel appeared only a year ago. So it was a pretty big deal at the time. But, the first Hogwarts Express didn't include rail tracks either, so that's all the two trains have in common, and that both are red. If you change the blue stripe and the roof to black, it can also be a Minecraft version of the Hogwarts Express. Of course, it is quite ridiculous in today's eyes, but it still has some character, perhaps because it is very colorful. And those who are creative, like me, immediately start thinking about how to modify it to make it a little prettier.

Parts

Only 2 rare parts in the set. One is the gray rubber wheel. The other is the coupler. Unfortunately, both are easily damaged. Especially after nearly 60 years. The gray rubber is not of very high quality material, they started cracking and fraying even after 10 years. The same wheel, only with black rubber, is very durable, to this day there are no problems with it. The coupler was originally made of flexible nylon material, but it also hardens after a while, does not bend well, and breaks.

Locomotive

The locomotive looks like it was taken from Transport Tycoon. For the younger ones, this is an old MS Dos PC game from the 1990s, so it's as antique as the train. The cab section is overcomplicated, I think. It could have been built with fewer parts or more detailed. The whistle would be better made of yellow 1x1 rounded bricks, because in reality it is made of brass. A headlight made of 1x1 rounded transparent brick would be nice in front of the chimney.

Passenger waggon

I like that the roof overhangs. The step under the door was also a good idea. The windows are badly spaced. It can be built with 4 and 5 windows, so that the windows are only 2 bricks wide.

Instruction

It is difficult to use because there are too many parts in 1 step, which are not shown in detail in the instructions. The instruction consists of too few steps and only shows the picture from one angle.

Overall

I wrote about it only because it is the first lego train, but it is not significant in terms of gaming experience. If you like the old colorful retro Lego, then it will have a good place on your shelf. It's a cute set and can be built from modern parts if you have the patience.

The coupler can be changed to a ball joint, and the wheel to a gray technic wheel, the same diameter.

My modification

I built 2 variations of the locomotive, because I don't know if this set still had the 1x1 round brick without a lip, or the newer type. And I want it to be made of period pieces. In 1964, Lego switched to the new type of round brick, which has a lip at the bottom. That way you can already put it between the studs.

I simplified the cab, and its window is more detailed. So there is enough space for a minifigure to fit in, but only sitting. I changed the whistle to a yellow one and put a lamp in front of the chimney. I replaced the nylon coupler with a magnet, which was used on trains in the late 1960s.

I swapped out the black brick and plate at the doors on the side of the passenger waggon to make it more visible.

I put imitation doors in the front and the end of the waggon, like real waggons, so that you can pass from one car to another. I divided the windows into 4 parts, then in another version into 5 parts.

I put two types of ventilation openings on the roof, the flatter version really has an opening, it actually ventilates. I put the step ladder lower and replaced the four 2x2 plates with two 2x4 plates, so the climbing is more realistic.

I looked at what it would be like to change the color of the blue stripe to yellow. And I was curious to see what the waggon looked like black tires. I will change the wheel connectors to black.