Well this is a cute microscale steam train chuffing past a forest lake. But there’s more than meets the eye with jarekwally’s diorama. Go on a journey via the link above to see where it takes you…
A Trained Eye
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Tag Archives: train
On Track for War
It’s fight night! And we have two long-time adversaries (and previously allies) in the diesel locomotive category. Starting in the yellow corner, from America, it’s the EMD GP 38-2! Aaaand in the black corner, from Russia, it’s the TEM-18DM!
Each is pulling the finest hardware from their respective militaries, and you can place your bets courtesy of TLCB debutant Konstantin on Flickr via the link! Let’s get ready to railrooooad!
The Renfe in Spain*
Neither of today’s posts are cars, because… shut up, that’s why. We like trains. This is one is a Spanish Renfe S-251, designed and built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and it comes from Flickr’s Ferro-Friki who has captured the 1980s electric locomotive superbly in brick form. There’s more of the model to see at Ferro’s ‘LEGO Renfe S-251’ album and you can buy your ticket at the link above.
*Today’s title song. We’re nothing if not diverse.
One Fabuland Return Please
If there’s a model for social cohesion, LEGO’s vintage Fabuland theme is it. Where else could you see an elephant riding a scooter, a monkey pushing parcels, and a rabbit, a donkey and a dog about to board a whimsical primary-coloured steam train. In today’s increasingly divided society there’s probably a lesson in there somewhere. We’ll be boarding at HarrisBricks’ wonderful Fabuland Hilltop Station to find it, and you can buy your ticket at the Eurobricks forum via the link.
All Aboard!
If aliens wanted to snoop about unnoticed, we’re pretty sure they could do so with no problem whatsoever on public transport. Because despite the wealth of interesting sights on display, every single person on the train, bus, or tram will be staring solely at the 4-inch glass screen in their hand. Cue Jonah Schultz‘s marvellous railway platform scene, which includes an unusual visitor going completely unseen in a crowd of commuting mini-figures. Take a closer look at Jonah’s photostream via the link above… unless you’re reading this on public transport, in which case save it for later, put your phone down, and take a look around you. Who knows what you’ll see.
Saturn Streamliner
This has the ring of genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car monorail to it. Gettit? Because of the ri… OK, we’ve done better. Just be thankful we didn’t lead with a ‘Your Mom’ joke*. Anyway this marvellous contraption is a ‘Saturn Streamliner’, a suspended railway passenger train operating from an alternate timeline. Flickr’s Nannan Zhang owns the mind behind it and you can buy your ticket at the link above.
*The Saturn Streamliner is able to service an entire city. Just like your Mom. / The Saturn Streamliner has gone through more rings than your Mom has. / Large, heavy, but a quality ride… etc.
Nightrain*
This – according to its talented maker AlienCat! – is ‘New Hashima District 8’s Shipping Yard 81’, where immense hover trains depart the, um… station(?) pulling their wares of spacey goods. OK, we’re well out of our depth here, but it’s a) a phenomenal build, and b) it’s allowed us to tenuously link to peak Guns ‘n Roses. There’s more of Aliencat!’s ‘District 8’ to see on Flickr, and you ride the Nightrain (never to return) via the link above.
And Now For Something Completely Different…
Um… well this is… Ok, it’s a… well there’s a school bus, and a Metroliner, and a truck atop a V10 boat engine, and, um… Perhaps it’s just best if you visit Renuad Petit Lego‘s Flickr album. There’s no explanation there either, but it’s probably better that way.
Training Day
Yes we’re a car blog. When we’re not making Your Mom jokes or referencing Putin’s tiny todger. But we’re a train blog today, courtesy of this fantastic K-Class steam locomotive crossing a truss bridge at the Brickvention 2025 show. Photographed (and built as part of a collaboration) by Flickr’s narrow_gauge, there’s more to see via the link above.
And what’s better than one enormous train-based diorama? That’s right – two! Which is the nerdiest sentence we’ve ever written. But no matter, because TLCB Master MOCer mahjqa joins the railway shenanigans here at TLCB with one of the most brilliantly engineered creations we’ve seen yet.
Also constructed for a Lego event, mahjqa’s Friends railway (the LEGO theme, not the TV show) includes a remote control crane so gloriously playable we could watch it all day. And fortunately mahjqa filmed a whole day’s worth of it in operation, so we can do just that.
Join us watching it load and unload in delightful smoothness on loop via the video below, plus you can check out the discussion thread on Eurobricks here.
Wooden it be Lovely
All is not what it seems today. Because this lovely Brio-esque wooden train is not a lovely Brio-esque wooden train at all, but a lovely Lego one.
Built by Maxx Davidson, this fantastic scaled-up wooden train runs on LEGO’s rail system, yet looks at first glance identical to the wooden railways that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has kids, has had kids, has been a kid, or has been anywhere near anywhere that has kids.
You can take a closer look at your childhood via the link above, whilst we eagerly await a Hot Wheels track, a red plastic boat, and one of those wire bead thingies that seem to be in every doctor’s surgery waiting area.
Steamy Show
Here at The Lego Car Blog we don’t get out much. Partly this is because we work secretively in the shadows, but mostly it’s because TLCB Elves are banned from many public spaces.
However if you lead more exciting lives than we do, you can get out to the subject of today’s post, the huge LegoWorld 2024 show in Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Over two decades old, LegoWorld is the largest LEGO show on earth, and this year Flickr’s Tamás de Groot is making his exhibitor debut, leading the collaboration behind this epic (and enormous) railway layout.
Beautifully landscaped with trees, embankments, fields and bridges, there are multiple lines, locomotives, and a range of rolling stock travelling though the display, and you can see the whole thing (plus much more besides) at the LegoWorld 2024 show for the remainder of this month.
If like us you’re unable to make it to LegoWorld 2024 in person, head to Tamás de Groot’s Flickr album of the same name to see his fantastic display, or click here to take a look at a round-up from 2023.
Space Train
Like regular train, only in space! if we’re honest we’re not quite sure how the overhead power-lines work, but Daniel Barwegen‘s build looks lovely nonetheless. It’s also available to buy in this year’s Creations for Charity fundraiser, to which Daniel has donated it. There’s more to see at his photostream via the link above, and you can click here to check out the fantastic Creations for Charity page.
King Rat
Here’s a rat king riding a train. Because shut up, that’s why. There’s a Duplo train base under there somewhere, and you can check it out at Kristof‘s photostream.
Training Day
We’re a car blog here at the, um… Lego Car Blog, but we do like other forms of brick-built transport too. Cue today’s array of vintage railway-based machinery, all of which come from Franz of Flickr, who has created them beautifully to fit with LEGO’s traditional 6-wide tracks.
Whilst LEGO’s own trains and rolling stock were 6-wide too, Franz has added an extra stud to allow for enhanced realism, with his lovely steam and SLB E11 locomotives also fitted with Power Functions motorisation.
Flatbed wagons (complete with vehicular cargo) and a tanker car accompany the power units, with all superbly presented at Franz’s photostream. Take a look via the link above, where you can find the four fantastic creations pictured here and much more besides.
Something in the Air*
Built in the late 1800s, this is a British J71 / E Class steam locomotive, a type that served on British railways all the way up until the 1960s.
Weighing around forty tons and designed for shunting, each J71 was powered by 1.3 tons of coal, which turned water to steam, steam into pressure, and pressure into movement. Except that is, for this one.
Created by Nikolaus Lowe, this fabulous recreation of the J71 definitely doesn’t weigh forty tons, but it really does movie thanks to air pressure, just like its full-size counterparts! Instead of 1.3 tons of coal, Nikolaus’ locomotive is fuelled by compressed air, which powers a functioning pneumatic engine that turns the drive wheels.
It’s all 100% LEGO, no parts are modified, and Nikolaus’ creation could sure shunt too, thanks to the torque provided by that compressed air.
There’s more of the model to see at Nikolaus’ ‘British J71 Class Pneumatic Engine’ album on Flickr, and you can shunt your way over via the link above.