Definitely one for my Want list :-)

I want it ! So cute, and a reasonable price. It'll be my first LEGO train !

It's a very cute train. It's a shame it's half the size of its predecessor, but on the plus side at least it's not a re-hash of a previous Winter Village set like last year.

I would love to put it around the base of the tree, since I have a ton of built ornaments and the rest of the winter village, but that is just begging for a cat-related disaster.

have there been many trains released without included power functions? i can understand them wanting to keep the price down...

Looks nice - I only wish the colors were slightly different. A darker shade of green and a more crimson shade of red would be my preference. Still, a nice set that I know my train-obsessed son will ask for for Christmas.

@ARSLOCK - Pretty much every train released outside of the City theme the past 8 years...Emerald Night, Maersk Train, Horizon Express, and now this.

Only $99.99 oh right without the power cables and motors it will seen. Hope that that Death Star if it does end up being that one is better than Assault on Hoth, of the fans will be angry.

^What was that about the dogs eating your Lego Train?

Can't wait for the Death Star!

If you own the first one it being half the size is actually a benefit. If you stick the train under your tree the last one was so long it almost hit itself.

Day 1 purchase

A new lamppost design!

Very nice! I wish I had collected the holiday sets from the beginning.

Bring on the Death Star!!!

Like LostInTranslation this will be my first Lego Train set; not being familiar with them what typical Power Functions does one need?

The power functions design is really cool, but we're not going to show it to you in this video????!!?

Loving this! It's a nice little train, perfect for the Winter Village.

Plus, I'm pretty certain that there's a nice recolour in there too - this part in red: http://brickset.com/parts/6086730

@jditoro3, haha, I was thinking the same thing ;) Great cozy train that fits the theme very well!

Omg! Looks awesome! I m gonna have this around My collection of the winter village!

I'm not very good with power functions - what would I need to buy to make it work?

^ Back of the box says we'd have to buy: 8879 + 8884 + 88000 + 88002 for Power Functions!!! Per LEGO.com, that's about $54!!!

Perfect for trainset 2 :)

Hooray! Finally the 'Piggy-Back-Train' idea goes mainstream! Although if the tree stayed still and the train rotated around it, then I'd REALLY be impressed. But it's a lovely simple detail.

As for the claim that it's difficult to fit in Power Functions? Really? Battery in the tender, motor under the front, receiver in the cab. Problem much? Anyway, whatever, I have to buy this.

^^^Many people will have some/most/all of these.

I'm almost certain I have that original Holiday Train. Maybe it's time to pull it out and check ebay....

Glad it's been designed to take power functions, would have been more surprised if it wasn't!

I love the winter village line so very glad to see this, will be a definite buy for me, hopefully one of the winter freebies will be a small platform to add to the layout.

Well I miss the worst kept secret, this is a huge surprise for me. Awesome!! I have to have it!

It looks... Ok. I'm glad it's not a total repackaging, and it looks very toyetic. Designed to run around the tree. I like it!

Where's my Great Round Ball Thingy?!

So it comes without an electric motor?! What a let down for Santa Claus :(

In the video, the designer goofed and said "Christmas" once! Otherwise, they only use the more neutral term "holiday season".

So much like it. Was a bit worried few days ago because of the leaked pic, but it did not make this lovely set justice :)

I eagerly await the revealing of a big ball thingie that blew up a certain blue ball

Yo dawg, I heard you like trains, so we put a train on your train, so you can watch the train go around while the train goes around.

For those wondering about power functions- look around for sets 60051 or 60052 (the current City trains) as they are sometimes available at a discount price. And you will have a train to use for the rest of the year :)

Last year I grumped at the toy shop rerelease but having missed this one before I'm delighted this will be joining my winter village!!!

Christmas is coming!!

It is interesting to me to see how the Lego community is generally well receiving it. Because in the specific Lego Train community there has been A LOT of controversy. When we heard it was going to be labeled as a Creator Expert Train we had hopes it would be on par detail wise with the last three, maybe even providing us with a steam engine far superior to the Emerald Night.

And what we got, was well a toy. The 4-2-0 wheel arrangement was ludicrously short lived in real life. The cars look like horribly small and cramped. The colors of the engine while "Christmas Time festive" are still very garish and lack any subtly. The inclusion of only two driving wheels probably means Lego purposefully decides to cut in half the use of the three wheel mold, meaning this engine will likely only cone with one spare driver wheel, instead of two like the Toy Story train did.

Yet with that said, there is an inescapable charm to this. Is it the prototype model I wanted? Heck No! Is it a fun toy train for Christmas? Honestly yes. The mini-toys including the Blacktron Spaceship and the train are gorgeous. The figures are fun. The caboose while small, has a gorgeous color scheme despite the garish colors on the engine. The minifigures all look excellent.

So while a lot of this set disappoints me, a lot of it doesn't. I will buy it for its purpose as a Christmas train, but I hope Lego hasn't forgotten it's serious train fans. After the spectacular home runs the Emerald Night, the Horizon Express, and especially the Maersk Train hit, it has felt like Lego trains have all become something more toy like, something more simple and cost effective. I hope this isn't a permanent trend, and that if the Creator Expert label is applied to a train set again, that set will live up to the high fidelity of earlier models. In the meantime this Christmas train will help pass the time.

Looks fantastic. Nice to see an original design that's pretty different from previous trains. Now where's the big ball thing at?

IMO The 10173 became 'sought after' because it was a relatively large train for a decent price (well retail wise anyway). This one is not so much. It is a nice set and you get track with it (the 10173 did not have tack if memory serves me right) but it just seems like 99.99 USD is a big much for it, but Ill probably get one anyway and likely wait until any holiday promo set is available.

Wow! I was wondering when we'd get a new train--and I was wondering what the next Winter Village would be... I guess they're the same! Wish this were available during double-points weekend last week, but definitely going to have to think about getting this one!

As a winter village set this is great. As the current creator expert train set its massively disappointing but I suspect it was never trying to be that, we simply just don't have an expert train right now. I am a train fan first so its confusing and disappointing there isn't one after the excellent Horizon Express.

@xboxtravis7992 "And what we got, was well a toy"

'LEGO produces Toy' shock! ;)

Happy that we already have all the power functions except for the train motor. Would love if it was easily adaptable to my 9V train track though...

Agreed, @Curious. This is more like a children's train ride to accompany the carousel than a train to commute city residents out to the Winter Village.

Diminished value for a $100 set, too.

Jason Railton's train onna train!

Ah, but it's only a train on a train. It's not a train on a train on a train!!!

^Paperballpark, yes I know Lego makes toys; but on several occasions their models have pushed the boundary between "Toy" and "Scale Model." Just look back at the Maersk Train, and then compare it to this. By referring to this set as a toy I meant it was a toy train, of the simplistic kind. One that has no match in the real world, one that exists solely as a toy. The best Lego models are those that surpass the toy status and become something else, like how I feel about modular buildings or previous Creator Expert/D2C train sets.

Seems like a good idea to grab a $136 Cargo Train (60052) rather than just spend the $54 on Power Functions. Would be $54 for PF, $92 for Cargo Train and $99 for the Holiday Train. I can swing that!!!

"Holiday tree" - what a ridiculous term!

The Xmas tree has absolutely no relation to anything else but Xmas.

If you want the PF upgrade parts, you might consider 60052 (32% of on US Amazon at the moment). That way you also get extra track and another train :-)

Already did my own using the Constitution train, but I will probably end up buying this and merging the two in some way.

AHHHHHH!!! I don't know whether to be glad or mad...I've spent years collecting parts from bricklink to make the Holiday Train from scratch, along with extra track. This was going to be the first year I had it up and running. Grrr...I'll probably buy it anyway....

Awesome! Can't wait! This'll be my first train as well, stoked.

Finally another holiday train, i like the colors but i'd prefer something larger: something like an holiday modified Emerald Night.
At the end i think i'll buy it.

I think it's terrible! And they labeled it as "expert" series!!! I don't understand ;( really disappoint to view this after so long period of waiting for new expert train:(

I'll admit that, as a train fan, I wasn't that impressed with the leaked image, but the video has completely charmed me and I'm happy that I was wrong in my initial reservations. Fortunately I have quite a few power functions bits from previous projects so looking forward to motorising it - and the £69.99 price tag is better than I had feared...

I wish Lego would have showed us the power function upgrade in action in the video, rather than just brag about it.

For those asking, I put together a bricklist of the essential parts required to motorise an average train. View in list view for additional comments....

http://brickset.com/sets/list-10993

Glad he mentioned the word Christmas in the video.

I was expecting a bakery this year!

Not overly impressed. The Caboose is nice and the coal tender but the train itself is a little 'busy' looking and lacks a unified colour scheme. The platform is laughable and the flatbed looks like a cut & shut of what should be two separate carriages. Compared to the last Holiday Train it is another case of paying more for less. Will wait and see what else is released on the run up to Christmas.

Wooh! Big Ball Thing!!!!!!

@ensign_dave Yes, you're correct.

I like the set. It's great and a definite purchase!

You can run a train with the more expensive Li-Ion rechargeable battery box (+charger) and a train motor, without the remote control and receiver. This is because the Li-Ion box has a speed regulator dial built in.

Unfortunately, the standard train AAA battery box only has a direction switch and an on/off function. If you connect it directly to a train motor, it will run at maximum speed and will probably derail. A big design mistake, I think. The only way to use the AAA box to drive a train is if you design a train to be powered by a technic motor, and then you can gear it down.

Or put one or two 'dummy batteries' in the battery box to reduce the voltage, but they're hard to obtain these days.

Of course they chose to be politically correct when this is obviously a Christmas train...

While I like the train, I'm not a fan of the white pieces in the body of the engine, I would think that replacing them with green pieces would make the engine look a bit more cohesive.

I don't like putting the kids in the caboose since that seems very funny. I'll probably design a passenger car in the red/gold/blue scheme they've got for toy car and caboose.

I heard the intergalactic big ball thing is huge and will cost $500 (what's that in Republic credits?).

This train looks awesome. Probably gonna get power functions with Disney Castle next week before they go on back order.

Awesome.

Oh my word it's beautiful!! And post-holiday season, first thing I'm going to do is get the pieces to recolour it... And I'll need to build a passenger car for it... I'm so excited!

When I saw the title I was thinking this will be good. However despite its charm the set isn't worth $129.99 CDN. There are only three small cars and the locomotive. Having 'Lego presents' isn't a selling point to me. I saw new coloured parts which is nice but once again it's overpriced in Canada. The set I could justify paying $80-100. Undoubtedly, the tracks are what is pushing up the price point. Count me as disappointed.

@kidsncritters, you heard? Where?

The woman is wearing a coat for men.

I agree with Bricklunch about the overall appearance; there are too many different colours and too many edges; this train is much less visually appealing than it could have been.

"Winter Holiday Train" and "Holiday Tree"--honestly, guys, why are we so afraid to say "Christmas"???

What standard? 9V? 12V?

Awesome! Can't wait until Sep 15th!

I don't mind it. I really liked the last holiday train. This one isn't bad, but I don't think it's great, either.

The thing that most strikes me (and it's the same thing that bothered me about 10173) is that the colour scheme is a mess. It's like they went, "festive means lots of colours!", put blindfolds on, and randomly reached into the bins for white, black, green and red pieces. And now they've started raiding the blue and gold bins, too. And I'm not gonna lie, I would've really liked a passenger carriage, too.

I wasn't really expecting another Creator train (like the last couple, which have been brilliant), but it still looks far more obviously like a toy train, as opposed to an organic part of the Winter Village environment. But I'll still buy it, so whatevs.

@ra226 Not everyone celebrates Christmas, so Lego doesn't want to say "Buy this Christmas train!" only to irritate someone celebrating Hannuka.

Looks nice for a christmas lay-out. I am gonna need a bigger area to set my winter village and make the train run around and through it.
Also I would probalby need some additional tracks and off course the power functions.

This whole "don't mention the war" sorry, "Christmas" thing really irritates me. Not that I am too fond of this set to begin with to be honest. Especially compared to the last one it seems tiny, and far too expensive for what you get. Everything looks cramped, tiny, miniscule even. "Platform"? That's not a platform, that's a bench with a plate on stilts beneath it. It's hardly big enough to fit the three passenger minifigs included.
And "Holiday tree"??? "Holiday season"? Are Americans the only ones targeted by Lego for this set? Over here, holiday season is in the summer, with the long school holidays in July/August/September. Plus there are school holidays at Easter, Whitsun and Christmas. So why is just Christmas referred to as the "holiday season"? Total bull****. Honestly. And why should it irritate someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas if that obvious Christmas train is named as such? No one is forced to buy it, or even acknowledge it.
Perhaps Lego should also design and offer a special Hannuka/Ramadan/Vesakh/Thanksgiving/Halloween/Festival of Light/... train to appease everyone.
Where's the smiley with the rolling eyes when you need it ;-)

Oh and remember
"No one...is to stone anyone...until I blow this whistle! Even...and I want to make this absolutely clear...even if they do say Jeho...Christmas..."

It's not a Xmas tree; it's a Festivus pole that's gone to seed...

Anyway, this smaller train (compared to the original) should fit in well with the rest of the Winter Village sets as a representative of a kid's carnival train ride as opposed to a cross-country trip-type of train. I'll probably buy it first-day for this purpose.

Im excited about this. wish I would have known that it would have been PF upgradable last week during double points, but I was able to do my order and put in enough for the London bus!!!!

I love LEGO Winter Village and I love train. Though I was hoping for something like the Winter Cottage, which is my all-time favorite for Christmas display. With that said, I am definitely getting this train set. Love Christmas and all the wonderful "looking-forward-to" feeling that comes with it every year. For those who don't celebrate Christmas, enjoy Chinese food (quoting Justice Elena Kagan), but do let us enjoy our traditions.

ps. In U.S. LEGO site the product page, there is one mention of "Christmas Tree" among all the "holiday tree"s. Now that I pointed it out, someone will make LEGO change it!!! :-[

Cute Train. \(>.<)/

A bit on the expensive side, but still pretty reasonable. This one might be on my Christmas wishlist!

Compared to the old Holiday Train it seems somewhat too juniorized or too cartoonish. But I still like it and the price is okay to me, because you get the tracks. So I´ m pretty sure, that I will buy this set.
And I really hope at least one of the Christmas giveaways will be an additional wagon!! :)

I love some of the crazy responses in here. Honestly don't people have more important things to worry about than a LEGO set or a 'holiday' tree? It's called holiday because there are half Jewish families that combine traditions into something new. Also Jesus was born in April and Christians stole the winter holiday from Pegans, thus 'winter holiday'.

However, 'It's not a Xmas tree; it's a Festivus pole that's gone to seed...' is the funnest thing I have ever read on Brickset.

I'm not excited at all. I would have preferred another building in my winter village. Being not a fan of LEGO trains this is a pass for me. The last two was also a pass, Santa's workshop did not fit the village, nor did another toy shop beside the original one.
Come on, LEGO, you can do better!...

Wow, so much Lego December Holiday goodness. I can add my Winter-Holiday-Train with the Holiday-tree to the Lego Most-of-the-Month-of-December-Except-the-Last-Six-Days-Calendar. What a wonderful Ramadan we'll be able to celebrate at the Crouton household this year.

I guess I'm a little behind the ball dropping an opinion on this, but here goes anyway. It is definitely pretty cool overall, and fits in well with both the classic WV sets and the more fantasy based style of Santa's Workshop. I especially like the rotating tree function, that is just a stroke of genius.

Having said that, I've got a couple problems with it. For one, it is rather on the small side. Admittedly, this means that it would work better as, perhaps, some sort of "winter fair" ride. That said, at least another car would be nice, which would help justify problem number two, the price. I mean, yes, it is a train, and those are usually a little north of the 10 cents US/piece ratio, but for what you get $100 is a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. Something more around $80 USD would be more tolerable, but at least our price isn't quite as jacked up as the Canadian one.

Ah, what the heck. I'll probably get it anyway, as I'm a sucker for WV sets, and I've managed to save up quite a bit from working between semesters this summer. Now the bigger question: Where am I going to put the track?

EDIT: @captcrouton It took me a minute to get the sarcasm. Hilarious. :P This inability to dub "Christmas" as such even when, to be frank, it's become as much a cultural holiday as a religious holiday is rather silly.

So 10 years since the first Holiday train gets us a $10 higher price tag with 2 fewer cars and 231 fewer pieces. At least this one comes with track but a few straight pieces would have been nice. Lego seems to be stuck with 4-car trains now - Westerm Train Chase, Constitution Train Chase, Ghost Train. For controlling costs I assume.

All of that being said, I like it and will probably buy 2 so I can add a few additional cars to the train - I don't want those kids riding by themselves!

Definitely seeing that a lot of the criticism centers around the simplicity of the design of this train and the inclusion of tracks. But I think those comments ignore the fact that a lot of the consumers this set is targeted towards aren't collectors of LEGO train sets, but collectors of LEGO Winter Village sets. These are people who probably don't have track already, but will want those to be included for their winter scene during the holidays. The build is also significantly more detailed than the original 10173 from a decade ago. Taking into account inflation and the added detail, I think the $99.99 price point is very reasonable. It's on par with the similarly priced Toy Shop and Winter Village Market of recent years. I will definitely be adding this set to my collection.

I am fairly new to Lego Trains, if I have the Heavy Haul Train, would I only need part 88002 to make this train powered? Thank you!

I'd like to see the power functions packaged up for like $30. Seems a bit pricey at 100+54. Am I crazy here? Or maybe this set should be $80?

first impressions are it looks a bit twee, smaller cars, and not a big engine, but it would go round a small diameter track.
I notice a lot of complaints about it been un powered, but I motorised the original winter train and I found the noise of the moter t be rather annoying, so now I just use it `as is` on a section of fake track.
I will probably be buying s I have bought all the other winter sets, except last years, nice to see a new set, but think they could still do a bit better, would rate at 6/10

this looks lovely but sadly out my price range. anything over £25 is expensive to me. liked the little mini train last xmas. was sad to find out I couldn't just buy it but had to spend £40 to get it free. I will just have to drool over this one.