Review: 60469 Central Train Station
Posted by FlagsNZ,
My principal LEGO collection centres around a comprehensive LEGO City train display. I always look forward to new LEGO train releases.
LEGO frequently release dedicated City train stations and this year's offering is 60469 Central Train Station.
Read on as I have a look at the LEGO City Central Train Station and how this can be incorporated into your LEGO train layout.
Summary
60469 Central Train Station, 752 pieces.
£79.99 / $99.99 / €89.99 | 10.6p/13.3c/12.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The Central Train Station has an eye-catching appearance which will work well in your LEGO City train layout
- Innovative design including a compact lift
- Some nice new parts
- Has an incomplete feel to the set
The box
The image on the front of the box shows the LEGO City Central Train Station in a city scene.
The artwork on the box suggests that there could be more to the Central Train Station, with this model being the entrance to a larger train platform.
In the background, you can see a 60407 Double-Decker Sightseeing Bus waiting in the distance and a 60423 Downtown Streetcar emerging from a tunnel. There is a 60367 Passenger Airplane in the sky.
The images on the rear of the box showcase the play features of this set. In particular, it shows its main feature - the lift - in action.
Once open, the paper parts bags are snug in the box.
The parts
The parts come in seven numbered bags.
There is one plastic bag that contains the larger components.
The instructions are also protected in a sturdy envelope.
Instructions
The instructions come in three booklets.
Sticker sheet
There is one medium-sized sticker sheet. This was well protected and nested between the instruction booklets in the protective envelope.
Minifigures
The LEGO City train network is populated with six minifigures and a baby.
The track utility vehicle has a worker wearing high-viz work gear and a hard hat. He has blue utility gloves and holds a spanner.
The vibrant yellow hard hat has been seen in four other sets.
The baby's father wears a blue checked shirt over a blue striped vest. This torso has been seen in one other set this year.
There is a female barista working at the café on the platform. This uniform has been around in LEGO City for ten years.
There is a young female passenger waiting on the station platform. She is carrying a smart device and a ticket.
Her lime-green trousers have been seen in one other set.
There is a baby in a dark azure stroller.
There is an elderly station master who is using crutches to get around. The crutches are unique to this set.
The uniform has been seen in two other sets.
The crutches sit behind the minifigure's forearms.
Finally, there is a female passenger waiting on the platform. She is carrying a brown suitcase.
Her bright purple pants have been seen in four other sets.
Interesting new functional parts
The Central Train Station includes a lift. The following two parts enable the lift to function:
The gear block slides up and down a lift shaft assembled out of 3x6x6 frames.
The guides, or runners, of the 3x6x6 frames match the profiles of Brick 1X2 W. Groove and Brick 1X2X5 W. Groove.
The 3x6x6 frame also includes a 1x4x6 Door Frame as part of the mould.
The gear block has also been seen as a printed pink part found in 10788 Gabby's Dollhouse.
The build
Instruction Book 1 and the parts from bag 1 assemble the rail track utility vehicle.
The basket at the end of the arm has been seen in only one other set.
This one-minute YouTube video shows an overhead catenary inspection vehicle.
Central Train Station
Instruction Book 2 assembles one side of the Central Train Station.
Bag 2 begins the assembly of the platform.
Bag 3 completes the café and an undefined level above. The sticker above the café advertises the City Tour bus ride on the 60407 Double-Decker Sightseeing Bus.
There is a small café on the platform. There is a sticker placed inside the white wall element.
Central Train Station - Main platform
Instruction Book 3 assembles the other side of the Central Train Station.
Bag 4 assembles the main platform, which includes the foundation for the lift.
There is a ticket vending machine, schematic route map and a train timetable.
The station has a signal light and mobility ramp access.
Bag 5 contains the parts that join the two halves of the station together and constructs the lift shaft.
The 6M Worm Gear has been around since 2023 and can be found in twelve sets.
The worm gear threads into the Gear Block. This part has been found in only one other set.
There is a vintage train displayed on the wall of the space above the café. I haven't been able to identify the train this image refers to. I suspect this could be a LEGO set to be released in the near future.
The sign on the lift door indicates this area of the station is restricted to staff only.
This is the lift at the upper level of the station. Four complete turns of the knob will raise the lift to the top level.
Bag 6 assembles the train control room.
There is a desk where someone can monitor the trains in the LEGO City train network.
The sticker of the train control desk is reminiscent of a fusion of 9V Train Speed Regulator and Technic Control Centre hub.
The completed model
Bag 7 completes the Central Train Station.
There is a curved window on one side of the station that is made up of Earth Blue and transparent garage roller door parts. The Earth Blue garage roller door part has been seen in four other sets.
The other rare Earth Blue part is the Roof Tile 2X4, Deg. 45, W/O Knobs. This part, in Earth Blue, has been seen in only one other set.
This window is clipped on at the top and simply draped over the Technic Gear Rack 1/4 Circle. This part in white is unique to this set.
There is a reddish brown plant piece in the clock tower that is used as a nest for the pigeons. This part has been seen in three other sets.
The clock itself has been seen in one other set.
The elderly station master can place his crutches aside when he doesn't need them.
There are two pigeons included with this set. These new animal parts have been seen in only one other set.
Overall opinion
My initial impression was that the Central Train Station has an eye-catching appearance and I liked the way that the building straddles the train track.
However, as I built the model I began to think that this set felt slightly incomplete or unfinished: it felt like a building facade that could have been so much more.
- As a train station, the Central Train Station has very small platforms.
- The building includes an innovative lift. However, this lift does not service one of the building's levels. Furthermore, there is no obvious way for minifigures to get to this level of the building.
- The café and the room above it have a very basic fit-out.
That being said, I will probably incorporate the Central Train Station as the entrance to a larger train platform, similar to how it appears in the box art. Or it could be the entrance to an underground train platform. I also like the new pigeon pieces.
Like 60335 Train Station, released in 2022, the Central Train Station includes a versatile track utility vehicle.
133 likes
72 comments on this article
The main thing that bugs me with this set is that there's no way for minifigures to get from one side of the tracks to the other, despite the substantial structure of the station.
@FlagsNZ, the depicted vintage train could possibly be refering to the upcoming Bricklink Wild West Train, set 910044?
That box art makes it look waaaaaay bigger than it actually is -- to the point where I find it a little deceitful. You'd have to get three of these to make it look like a proper train station.
Another building that feels like just a front wall.
Less a station and more a facade, seems to be the fate of more and more City sets.
insubstantial but still pretty cool and unique
The most important thing with this set are pigeons!
Been waiting for them for a very long time to show up in Lego :D
Hopefully they will come in more colours/prints soon.
They better be included in next years modular at least ;P
This is the gold standard of set reviews. An excellent, informative read that I enjoyed from beginning to end. Thank you.
I bought this set and ONLY good thing is that elevator. Otherwise nothing special.
I love the speed regulator reference.
Pigeons, pigeons, PIGEONS!!! Anyway, I like the crutch piece, too, as well as the red oriental express sticker.
This is one of those sets where it feels like the designer has tried to include too much for the price point available. Realistically, a platform, two-storey café, train control room, lift, track maintenance vehicle and a curved glass roof were never going to fit adequately in a set costing €89.99.
As a result, almost everything looks a bit underdeveloped to me.
Good loooking facade but it really needs an expansion.
Damn "transparent garage roller door parts" will make that expensive.
What a frustrating set. I'd never get this full price, but if I ever saw this around £50, then I'd consider getting two, just to try and build something more realistic.
And the clock - has LEGO changed the time?
While I appreciate seeing the paper bags in reviews, how many of these same sets will contain them for the regular consumer and not just the copies sent out for review? It seems the US market has yet to see paper bags in any notable volume. I personally have yet to see any at all.
If only this had a spaceship on the top... :o)
I do very much appreciate the attempt to do something different here but it unfortunately doesn't work. Additionally, it's a bit similarly shaped to the new City Tower 60473 so it would seem that they might not work well together and/or eat into sales of one another. I do like when sets effort to build up instead of outwards but LEGO has done it much better elsewhere, including 60330 Hospital and 60380 Downtown, not to mention Friends 41732 Downtown.
I like the garage door skylight, a nice callback to the beautiful albeit crazy expensive 910002 Studgate train station.
The train in the picture is a recolored Orient Express.
I wish that part was printed.
@CapnRex101 said:
"This is one of those sets where it feels like the designer has tried to include too much for the price point available. Realistically, a platform, two-storey café, train control room, lift, track maintenance vehicle and a curved glass roof were never going to fit adequately in a set costing €89.99.
As a result, almost everything looks a bit underdeveloped to me."
Which makes many of us remember the days even more fondly when LEGO offered a whole Trains theme with sets at many price points that together could form a complete layout with varied rolling stock, station and auxiliary buildings like level-crossings, switchboxes, cargo loading platforms etc. Plus of course separate locomotives and wagons.
These days that kind of selection is only available from BlueBrixx, with their vast array of hundreds of train-related sets.
It's telling how absolutely awful and useless this set is when the best thing about it are the pigeons...
Nothing about this set works as a proper train station.
What's the use of the lift anyway in this situation?
Why is there no way to get from one side of the track to the other?
Why is the "platform" not even long enough to accommodate a single normal passenger coach, let alone at least two (to be at least the tiniest bit realistic)?
Why is the entrance to the station a tunnel?
Why is the large window arch on the left not part of the structure that covers the track?
And since this is supposed to be a "Central" station, why is there only one single track?
60423 Downtown Streetcar and Station is a better value set as long as it's around, just like this set, it's still a station with a coffee stand and a computer screen. And on top of that, has that whole red train.
As for this set, it's curious almost all product pictures show it from the exact same angle, as if they don't want to show how the back looks, which really as far as interior goes, only has that 1 computer screen.
This is a set that should be like €70 at most, not €90.
An elevator is cool and all, and yes I admit the system works well , but the terrace/balcony should be connected to elevator mid-level.
Not for me, but I would love the sticker sheet for MOCing my own signal tower.
This looks like a great train station on the outside, but once you look deeper... And I suggest doing so before paying a hundred bucks for this.
Absolutely half-baked and for $100?!?!?!
want those pigeons
The old envelopes were much more sturdier. The new ones are terrible.
As for the station, it needs more parts. It's just not substantial enough. The design is interesting, but it's just too narrow.
Want the crutches and the pigeons. Don’t really want the set.
When the model looks substantially worse in person than it does on the box art, we've got a problem.
A good idea, but flawed execution.
I think it would be better to call this a sub-staion versus a central station.
The elevator/lift is "Staff Only" so that's why it just goes to the office/control room.
So the big question is how does anyone get to the balcony on the 2nd floor (US) / 1st floor (UK)?
Perhaps one needs at least 2 sets back-to-back with some modifications.
By the way, not to be disrespectful or anything, but you might want to clean your camera lens, @FlagsNZ. There are a lot of spots and smudges in your pics.
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
"By the way, not to be disrespectful or anything, but you might want to clean your camera lens, @FlagsNZ. There are a lot of spots and smudges in your pics."
Dust on the sensor I suspect. Not so easy to clean.
@Milocubed said:
"want those pigeons"
Want a pigeon battle pack containing at least 25 birds…
@WokePope said:
"When the model looks substantially worse in person than it does on the box art, we've got a problem."
Agreed! Also, if the box art is going to show more station, then it should include that station. Not including it seems like cheating to me and a slap in the face. They call this a 'Central Train Station'? *Laughs in 2150 / 4554 *
@MonsterFighter said:
" @Milocubed said:
"want those pigeons"
Want a pigeon battle pack containing at least 25 birds…"
I’ll vote for your Ideas submission.
@TurtleFinland said:
"I bought this set and ONLY good thing is that elevator. Otherwise nothing special."
Was your copy of the set missing the pigeons?
@CapnRex101 said:
"This is one of those sets where it feels like the designer has tried to include too much for the price point available. Realistically, a platform, two-storey café, train control room, lift, track maintenance vehicle and a curved glass roof were never going to fit adequately in a set costing €89.99.
As a result, almost everything looks a bit underdeveloped to me."
You hit the nail on the head. I also feel like the elevator, though cool, is a bit of a waste since it only goes to one room for one minifigure. It takes up nearly a third of the set as well. I think those parts should have been allocated to the rest of the building and improve on those aspects. Most Lego buildings don't have stairs/elevators anyway so why bother having it here? I guess it was added to give accessibility to the elderly station master, but I feel like that feature could have perhaps been in a different set.
I am excited for this set as a jump-off point for a sprawling station. At the very least, I intend to get a second set copy to reverse-build and mate to the primary set. Should be fun!
There’s a lot of cool new space parts in this set. I like those guns the old man has.
@Huw said:
" @ToysFromTheAttic said:
"By the way, not to be disrespectful or anything, but you might want to clean your camera lens, @FlagsNZ. There are a lot of spots and smudges in your pics."
Dust on the sensor I suspect. Not so easy to clean."
Perhaps that's why some shots are out of focus. Worth the trouble to get that cleaned, otherwise all pics will look bad.
Well 2 x 60337 were needed for a complete train.
2 x 60469 has potential for a more complete station!
@iamkevinwill said:
"What a frustrating set. I'd never get this full price, but if I ever saw this around £50, then I'd consider getting two, just to try and build something more realistic.
And the clock - has LEGO changed the time?"
The clock comes from the modular atudor Corner 10350. In the instruction booklet it is noted that the clock is broken and reads the wrong time, and it's the advertisement for the clock-repair shop on the upper level. Typical Lego humor.
@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @TurtleFinland said:
"I bought this set and ONLY good thing is that elevator. Otherwise nothing special."
Was your copy of the set missing the pigeons?"
No there was 2 of those. BUT even those birds don't look good LIVE.
It definitely feels lacking
I think it would look good when set against a wall, so it looks like there's a tunnel or more structure behind it, then the odd things (like the lift not hitting all the floors, no way for someone to get from one side to the other) are "explained away" as being in the rest of the unseen building
But it needs to be against something
Just standing out on it's own, it's lacking
@daniellesa said:
"The old envelopes were much more sturdier. The new ones are terrible."
What’s the issue with the new envelopes exactly?
Have bought quite a few sets now with them and have not run into any issues or problems at all.
Hopefully the pigeons will be able to be bought on there own soon. Any Lego town or city needs pigeons.
@Echolord said:
"While I appreciate seeing the paper bags in reviews, how many of these same sets will contain them for the regular consumer and not just the copies sent out for review? It seems the US market has yet to see paper bags in any notable volume. I personally have yet to see any at all."
The Mexico factory isn't set up for those, so we probably won't be seeing them until the Virginia factory gets up and running, which won't be until 2027, if memory serves.
@Echolord said:
"While I appreciate seeing the paper bags in reviews, how many of these same sets will contain them for the regular consumer and not just the copies sent out for review? It seems the US market has yet to see paper bags in any notable volume. I personally have yet to see any at all."
I heard that the USA production line hasn’t introduced them yet or only in extremely limited capacity, although I don’t recall why, so until/unless they do I don’t think you’ll get them in your sets.
They’ve been occurring with reasonable regularity in regular consumer products in the UK.
The only thing I got from this was that I now need 100 pigeons
@Rimefang said:
"I am excited for this set as a jump-off point for a sprawling station. At the very least, I intend to get a second set copy to reverse-build and mate to the primary set. Should be fun!"
Agree, I feel the same way. This looks more like a starting point for a larger station. If one gets two sets, one elevator can be for staff, and then the another one can be placed on the side with the cafe to give patrons a way to get to the second floor dining area. Having SNOT studs all the way up both sides of the back cafe walls begs more building. So, I guess on a more positive side, this is a good "starting point" set for something bigger.
@sjr60 said:
"Well 2 x 60337 were needed for a complete train.
2 x 60469 has potential for a more complete station!"
Right, it feels like Lego is trying to keep prices reasonable for sets, so sets are getting smaller or are less "complete" buildings. On the other hand, pretty much every Lego train station set for many years has been "half" a station, with one side completely exposed so kids can easily access the inside for play. That's another thing we have to remember - these sets are designed for kids to play with, not for AFOL displays.
@KeithB said:
" @sjr60 said:
"Well 2 x 60337 were needed for a complete train.
2 x 60469 has potential for a more complete station!"
Right, it feels like Lego is trying to keep prices reasonable for sets, so sets are getting smaller or are less "complete" buildings. On the other hand, pretty much every Lego train station set for many years has been "half" a station, with one side completely exposed so kids can easily access the inside for play. That's another thing we have to remember - these sets are designed for kids to play with, not for AFOL displays."
But there's almost no interior to play with in this set, the layout is just strange, that elevator is for staff only, so basicly just the train worker with crutches, and on the other side of the rail, there's a balcony with no access , and the middle floor of the elevator is completely unused.
And I would not even get 2x sets for a bigger station. I think 60423 Downtown Streetcar and Station + 60414 Fire Station with Fire Truck could make an interesting red/black/grey station, and can even add parts from 60472 Scrapyard, and use that new car crane design for a railcar or whatever (and add the red / black pieces to building or some cargo containers)
(of course you're looking at AFOL modular building price points at that point, I would not buy those 3 sets for a station specifically, just thinking of what a kid with multiple sets could do)
@KeithB said:
"That's another thing we have to remember - these sets are designed for kids to play with, not for AFOL displays."
Exactly! This isn't an ICONS set, it's meant for kids to play with.
(but still... they could have done something to make it more 'complete' - a simple set of stairs?)
Great review as usual, thank you FlagsNZ!
Like someone else said I'm pretty confident the steam train sticker is just the Orient Express locomotive in red. Presumably the dark blue and gold is licensed from the OE company or something.
It would be cool having the OE locomotive in different colours.
As for the set itself, I'm really glad that the majority of people here agree. It feels very incomplete and the whole concept for the layout is just weird.
Nothing here really makes sense. The whole 'its for kids 'dont need realism' argument is irrelevant because you still want a product that looks good, makes sense and has playability for kids.
As others have said, if we take away the lift what can you actually do here?
Personally I like the 2014 City train station best, though older World City and Town stations were even better.
As an AFOL parts pack is this actually pretty good for things like the clock, pigeons, clear transparent pieces and the sticker sheet (eg steam train painting and railway control panel).
But it is too expensive for that. To those that carry on about 'its for kids', well just look at the price. This isnt something the average child can get with some pocket money, its the sort of big expensive set theyd need Mum and Dad to buy for a birthday or Christmas.
And Im really not seeing much here that would be of interest to a child. It's a not a play set, because there's very little you can do, nor is it a display set because it looks just plain odd.
The new lift design is cool though, I wonder if we get a Lego Icons Modular Hospital in 2026 whether they could use those pieces for a lift?
Minifigures are alright, nothing great. FlagsNZ seemed to like the track maintenance vehicle but I think its very mediocre. Its like a tuk tuk with a tiny cherry picker. The previous TMV with that train station set with the azure coloured bus was better. But the 2010 Level Crossing set had the best TMV in my opinion.
I’m not sure it needs stairs- there’s only one track, so can access/exit the train from either side.
Great review, this set does look unfinished. And the elevator build is both unnecessary and needlessly increases the cost.
They really dont want print stuff. Those pidgeons from 10.10 went to 5/10...
They looks souless.
I dont agree with anyone who says the lift is unnecesary for many kids this WILL be best part of this set. Also EVERY train station we had so far was overpriced.
I think the plane in the background of the box art is 60465: Air Ambulance.
What a mess. At this price point they should do one consistent build with a platform rather than trying to do six different buildings in one.
A few interesting features, but doesn’t hang together at all as well as 4554 or 2150.
‘Has an incomplete feel to the set.’
You’re just not thinking fourth dimensionally.
Looks like Lego’s answer to some train railway center builds you see from funwhole or pantasy and another knock off brand too.
Not sure the quality but those are highly detailed builds if you see the pics on Amazon.
The Downtown streetcar 60423 looks a lot more fun, and the two platforms can be placed next to each other to cover the whole tram. Why is the tunnel so tall? Best feature is the lift, looking forward to it appearing in something more relevant like a multi-story garage? In this case it would be better to have a shorter lift on each side to be truly accessible with a passenger walkway across the track linking with the cafe, and maybe even outdoor seating on the bridge above the track.
@xoddam said:
"The main thing that bugs me with this set is that there's no way for minifigures to get from one side of the tracks to the other, despite the substantial structure of the station."
I agree. The elevator could have been used for that.
I like this set but I think the thing that bothers me is the rush to design the cherry picker arm. They chose pieces from the early 2000s to make it straight and almost seemed to just get it done. Can't wait to get one though.
"Has an incomplete feel to the set" ...that seems like an understatement. The concept is great, the model is just so under cooked and there's little value in it. The fact Amazon AU has it at 27% off RRP it telling!
In my opinion this and the tower look like an an hot mess. As an adult I do understand it’s not particularly aimed at me, but also as an adult I’m a little too excited for the new pigeons!!!!
Now I go and buy seven more sets to make a full size station. I see what you did there Lego Group.
@Zeitgeist said:
"And we're certain that old man isn't just dual-wielding tonfas?"
It hadn't occurred to me before, but now, I'm not sure at all.
They hit peak train station with 60050 . It actually looks like a practical station, the platform is a decent length, doubling up the set for a 2-track layout is a doddle and it does all that with far fewer parts (and so at a far more attractive price point). I've adapted mine to fit in with Winter Village layouts, to give it a full length canopy, and into a bus station. It's no wonder it sells used for 50% more than its original price. It's just a brilliant set and is exactly what City sets *should* be!
Thanks, everyone for your comments on this review. I'm glad there is consistency in opinion on this set.
@ToysFromTheAttic: I'll take a look at my camera and clean the lenses. Thanks for the observation.
Since no one else has identified it yet, I would like to point out that the vintage train sticker is actually a recolor of the orient express. Not only that, it's actually a direct trace of one of the OE's product photos.
@Fush said:
"Since no one else has identified it yet, I would like to point out that the vintage train sticker is actually a recolor of the orient express. Not only that, it's actually a direct trace of one of the OE's product photos."
Did you actually *read* the comments? Three commenters identified it as the OE before you came along.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Fush said:
"Since no one else has identified it yet, I would like to point out that the vintage train sticker is actually a recolor of the orient express. Not only that, it's actually a direct trace of one of the OE's product photos."
Did you actually *read* the comments? Three commenters identified it as the OE before you came along."
I skimmed the entire comment section specifically looking for mentions of it before commenting, and must have missed them. I only saw one attempt at identifying the train before the discussion moved on. It was a simple mistake.
...I like the idea here. That clock tower looks cool and the verticality is unusual for a train station.
That said, I was already getting a bit weirded out when I saw the coffee stand with a whole room of nothing behind it during the build photos. That reminded me of the design sensibilities of the 2000s where sets became huge but empty because they could by relying on technic a lot.