Looks a lot like 7939 Cargo Train in red. A bit disappointing, but I'll still get it.

Wow! 12x straight sections of track and a grade crossing, too! Any idea on piece-count? I just noticed the 7838-inspired freight loading crane slides on a track. Neat!

Interested in the backhoe,other than that....meh

Take an old set and change the colour. It's like they're not even trying any more.

I have to disagree with the others. If you look closer you can see a lot of changes between 7939 and this! It just looks so similar because of the front...
All in all I think this is a good set and I might get it ?

Oh goodie, another helicopter.... :P
I am planning to get this too, for the other parts! ;-)

As owner of a mono brand store in Holland, I will get this one shortly. Regular toyshops won't get them, according to LEGO.

With the obligatory helicopter. What's next, a police train?

@HokieJoe99

Considering there's been the Power Miners theme, and then mining in Lego City. As well as Aquaraiders/Atlantis followed by the City Diving Subtheme, It seems that Lego are turning recent themes into City subthemes.

Heck, we could even be seeing City Space Police pretty soon.

IMO the 60052 with the blue engine is a better train.

Did someone say police train?! With all my cops the roads are a bear during rush hour a police mass transit option would help?!?!

That looks like a lot of straight track, too bad we've seen it all before.

There's a lot about the set I don't mind (I like the freight building, and the helicopter carrying flatbed is a nifty idea that we haven't seen enough of in Lego, although I custom-built one of those for my 4563 years ago) ... but there's a heck of a lot here that we've seen before. The engine is almost identical from a previous engine (but this one's red, as opposed to yellow), the backhoe on the flatbed is the same as one of the 9V ones, same with the brown hopper (which used to be blue).

This will get parted out and sold separately on eBay, and I'll probably buy the helicopter (and maybe the backhoe, maybe), but the rest of it doesn't do much for me.

You miseries. That's one of the most playable sets I've seen in a long time. My kids will love this.

You've hit the nail squarely on the head @SimonJohnson . This is what lego is primarily aimed at the playability for children as much as us AFOL's like to moan about it and go on about the re-done sets from yester-year.

My nephew will love this set and I expect I will be sitting through many youtube build videos as soon as Brickbuilder makes one (he is not old enough for big boy trains just yet). I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to watch the video for 60052 now, at least this will be a change. Great grabber crane!

I just wish TLG would make another stand alone level crossing, maybe with a signal box. There are few railway peripherals at the moment apart from the station and what little comes with the train sets themselves.

I am an afol and it appeals to me. But mostly as rolling stock which I collect from official sets . My freight train is several metres long and the longer the better :). What dissapoints me is the current lack of creator expert train those trains brought me back to Lego. The city trains are doing great and im glad there are currently 3 available.

That looks playable, but disappointingly familiar. And probably very overpriced, looking at the last one... (880 pieces for $200?! Maybe if Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen himself signed it or on eBay, but that's really too much money for that...)

I've had an itch to start a Lego train set, and this might just be the set to scratch it with.
Can those who are familiar with such things tell me... Do Lego sell track separately, or are you reliant on Bricklink and similar if you want a larger layout?

I still have two train sets in unopened boxes. I can't keep up with Lego anymore with so many releases!

BooTheMightyHampster, as Huw showed they do sell a kit with extra tracks.

I am excited about this as I did not want to buy the older 7939. I have the other two trains that have come out recently and the train station. This will make a great addition to my collection. I am hoping that in the coming years they do more to have the trains interact with other things. It would be nice to see a train that can interact with a shipping boat (that would be sold separately of course). I have always thought that the city line was nice but it would be cool if there were a little better interaction between the sub themes at times. I will be getting this.

here close up of the train it self http://www.ibrickcity.com/lego-60098-heavy-haul-train/

@jonmdudley There are not many trains that directly interact with boats/ships in the real world any more, so that probably explains the lack of a Lego set. I live in the industrial North East of England and there are all sorts of relics of old train infrastructure at every port, but I can't think of one that is still in use. There is a pier at Blyth specifically for loading things on/off trains/ships that I am told is (or maybe was when it was built) the largest wooden structure on the planet, it would make a epic Lego set.

^^^^ Thanks all!

Thanks for the update @Matthew.
Sad to hear it will be a TRU exclusive likely here in the US, which often means a rise over retail price. But hopefully it will be on sale here and there to get a couple slightly cheaper. I like the set, just do not want to be paying 179.99/199.99 USD for them.
What this set also does is give you more options for 60052 which IMO is lacking in the train car dept.

It's a nice enough train set for older kids; just nothing new or interesting for AFOLs, nor anything bright and fun for younger kids. It harks back to some older sets with the sliding cargo crane and backhoe flatbed, but juniorised versions of those originals aren't going to excite anyone. And it looks too modern and industrial for any nostalgia about trains themselves, or indeed the childish fun of Thomas and the like.

If LEGO aren't ever going to do a system steam train again because it doesn't fit the modern City line, then why not as a Friends set? Duplo trains are nearly always steam styled.

I guess I will be getting one of these, if there is a decent discount available.

More Trackside buildings, engine sheds, signal boxes and crossings might be good, but I think TLG are leaving them for us to build for ourselves.
Maybe there would be a small market for Official Instructions?

bonjour, il ressemble au Train Jaune, Mais il me plais beaucoup, je souhaiterai savoir la date de sortie en France

I'm sure a City steam train is possible. There's many real cities out there that feature old steam trains as a sort of historical icon. For example, Brisbane has one that rides around on Sundays.

Probably brought up all the time, but with all the trains Lego puts out, I wish there could be some more railside structures. Even just a level crossing similar to 4532.

You can never have too many trains. But that helicopter looks rubbish. I like the brown hopper wagon though. It would look good with five or six of those.

As posted on the german board "1000steine.de", it´s also available in the department store chain "kaufhof": http://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=335441id335441 it´s priced 159,99€! The Link contains also a pic from the back of the Box!

Just seen a copy on the shelf of my local Smyths (Cribbs Causeway, Bristol) so it seems they're stocking it here in the UK. £139.99

^just saw it too @ Smyths in Oldham.

On a related note, Fenwicks in Canterbury have all of the new City sets in stock, as well as Star Wars and Series 5 Mixels.

I'm with Eviltwin... I'll be looking out for the hopper on bricklink. It would go great with the blue engine!!

As an AFOL into trains, especially for LUG shows, this set looks good in general. The 12 straight pieces of track are a boon for anyone starting out with trains, since former sets often provided only 4 or none. Some have commented that this is a red version of 7939 but there is an interesting difference: the engine is a diesel - no pantograph but plenty of exhaust vents along the roof. This is thematically a nice variation from the electric trains common in most of Europe. Additionally, the brown hopper is a very good model of Euro hoppers - a set of 3 to six would be a great addition to my collection :-) I will definitely buy this set if it shows up in Canada. (I agree the helicopter is the most questionable feature of this set.)

j'ai acheter l'ensemble, il est sympa, hélicoptère n'est vraiment pas terrible, bon ensemble pour compléter notre collection d'AFOL

The loco looks not bad - extra playability for having the recess in the middle with the driver able to stand in there.
The hopper and crane should be good for play. The crane is reminiscent of set 7838 Freight Loading Depot from the 12V era. No surprise that ideas should be repeated over the years!
Helicopter on a train, apart from being Bond-esque, may give a 3rd dimension to the playability and get a young lad to run around a bit rather than sitting still but it wouldn't sell the set to me (as a minority-market AFOL).
The digger in a truck is OK as a concept but lame because it is wider than the truck. Either make an 8-wide truck or a narrower digger, lest the train be restricted to 20mph (compared to the inevitable 125mph under child control!)
The set doesn't have the points of the previous one and the static accessories are less-extensive, so the price should not be more, yet I have seen £145 suggested. These sets are getting too pricey.
The biggest problem I have with recent LEGO Train sets is that the measure TLG took in response to swallowed-Geomag magnets (that ripped a child's intestines) was to panic and attach the whole buffer beam permanently to the coupling. Could they not have just attached the magnet to a piece like a 2x3 plate with hole, leaving more choice of buffer beam? Building 8-wide and wider trains and knowing that the couplings are a substantial proportion of the cost of the set (used to be £2.77 each i.e. £23.60 in a £100 set so 25% of the cost) means I don't buy these sets any more. Instead I use a 1x5 half beam and 2 pegs with the 2x3 plates with hole to couple permanent rakes of wagons, with 1x2 jumper plates or 2x2 round boat studs for buffers.
Rakes of these wagons will cost a lot for 6 sets! Would be easier if there were a single-wagon set each year. Plenty of wagon types to keep the range going!