Featured set of the day: Holiday Train
Posted by Huw,
Our North American correspondent MeganL has chosen today's featured set:
There are three sets that I can point to that were key in bringing me out of my dark age over 10 years ago. However, the one single set that's most responsible for my current collection of over 500 sets, composing more than 250,000 pieces and taking up several closets and a small room in my house (I store all my sets in their boxes), it would be 10173 Holiday Train.
This is the first of the winter village sets, though it doesn't have Winter Village included in the name. It must have been popular at the time, as it started what is now a yearly tradition - the Winter Village series. Seeing the annual Winter Village addition is something I look forward to every year. However, it took a while after 10173 was released for the next Winter Village set - 10199 Winter Village Toy Shop was released three years later.
I came across my copy of 10173 purely by chance. My now-husband and I were getting ready for the holiday season, and had been shopping at our local mall for Christmas decorations. By coincidence, on the way out of the mall, we passed by the LEGO store. I had seen some small seasonal builds around, so we (actually, I) decided to stop in "just to see what's there".
As it so happened - 10173 was there - and it was on sale, at 50% off. I distinctly remember that as I've not seen a LEGO set at that much of a discount since then. If memory serves, LEGO was about to phase out 9V trains, so all of the accessories were available at a discount, too. The salespeople in the store helpfully told me that while the set included the train, I really needed the motor, controller and some extra tracks (2159, among others). We ended up walking out of the store having spent much more than the cost of the original set.
We got home, and my now-husband opened the box, thinking he would help me set it up. The reaction he had at the time will be one I always remember. "It's all in pieces! You have to put it together!" After I stopped laughing, it dawned on me that I was going to marry someone who did not have the same interest in LEGO that I did. While he hasn't increased his interest in LEGO at all, he fortunately has increased his tolerance of seeing LEGO sets in various stages of building!
I built the train, and loved it. I love the passenger compartment, with the roof that lifts up and shows the interior with the passengers inside. I love the open air storage car that carries the Christmas trees ready for market. I love the car carrying gifts, doing some of Santa's job for him. I love the engine with the following fuel car that has the mouse inside. The caboose is a fitting end (pun intended) to the train.
I always liked the holly pieces used as decoration on the outside of all the cars with the holiday lights, which gave the whole train a very festive feel.
I learned that using placing the motor under the passenger car allowed the train to move much more smoothly on the track. This is the only train I own that I use. I got spoiled with the 9V tracks. By the time 10254 Winter Holiday Train came out, the 9V track had been replaced. I tried the new track with the new train, but I couldn’t get it to work as well. So even now I take the Winter Holiday Train, add it to my original Holiday Train and have a larger holiday train on my 9V track.
In hindsight, I really wish I'd have bought more of those extra tracks! I have a very limited supply. I may well have become more of a train devotee had I been able to find more 9V train accessories.
I had visions of setting up a train running around the base of the Christmas tree. That never happened, and as the years have gone by I have developed my own Winter Village. This was taken a few years ago - I couldn't find a more recent picture.
Most importantly, that fateful visit to the LEGO store ended up being the first of many since "just to see what's there".
Thanks to everyone who has responded to my request for more submissions yesterday. I now have enough for the next couple of weeks! -- Huw
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19 comments on this article
Yeah, the Featured Sets continues!
Now I'll read.
Lol my wife didn't understand the Lego urge much when we started out in 1995, but now she realizes it's a core part of who I am to build and "play" with Lego. Sometimes she's even cooperatively built sets with me, particularly the Pirate, Castle, and Harry Potter ones. It's an adventure.
"It must have been popular at the time"
So popular it was 50% off! :D
Great set. I got it for 50% also and yet still bought the newer train hen it was 35% off.
I have this set as well, it is a very good one. Also, that’s a sweet winter village layout you’ve got going on!
Looks like a lovely set. I love the lay-out of your wintervillage!
Congratulation to your husband! I like to read your articles. I am also happy for being involved in some of those 500 sets. I didn't knew you love trains too. I will send you some pictures of a few train carriages I've made for my future western diorama.
That winter village layout is uncannily similar to mine, down to being kept on a glass table. I've always gotten the winter village sets when they were on shelve (small GWPs thus not counting.) I chose to skip the Toyshop rerelease and the new train because I already had the old versions. This train is, I believe, the set that's gained the most value that I own. Lego released official motorization instructions online for putting the 9v motor under the tender, you can still find them.
This set is near to my heart, mainly because I actually bought my copy of the set on my wedding day (Aug 4, 2007). My husband and I had got married that afternoon, took our stuff to the hotel for the night and were gonna go get dinner at the local Red Robin which was at the mall. Had a little time before we could get seated so off we went. He got 6211 Imperial Star Destroyer (since resold on Bricklink) and I got the train. The manager, who knew us by face, commented that wasn't our wedding soon? We said, yep we just did it this afternoon and what a better way to spend the afternoon except buying some Lego and our fave restaurant?! I still have hopeful plans for eventually motorizing it, but I do set it up with all my Village sets every Christmas. Just never think about it until it's time to put it out. I like this train better than the more recent Village one too.
The only "winter village" set I missed out on for some reason. Too bad it's too expensive on the secondary market.
This was a lovely read Megan.
The first winter village toy shop was the set that properly brought me out of my dark ages. When I found out about this set (that I’d missed), it was already too expensive on the after market. I long considered bricklinking a slightly modified version but then the newer train was released and I finally have a Christmas train, which I love, although I still haven’t gotten it to run properly whilst pulling the Christmas tree car. However, the original Christmas train still really holds a lot of magic for me. I love seeing it at Lego shows.
This was a truly great set. I had a Christmas setup for several years very similar to what is pictured above, and the kids and their cousins loved it. And I agree that the 9V system somehow seems better than what they use for the trains currently. This article brings back lots of feels.
This one is my favourite Holiday set!
I've been using the quarantine to dust and clean some of my older trains, and this train set was one of the ones I took apart then rebuilt, nice and clean.
It's absolutely one of my favourite trains. There's so much to the train ... a passenger carriage, a caboose, and two freight carriages. It's so sweet and lovely. I own them both, but I much prefer this train to the newer one.
Your display there is gorgeous, too. I don't have the space, but I'd love to do something similar with all my Christmas sets (the only one I never bought was the gingerbread house, which I just wasn't a fan of).
Good work getting your husband onboard the whole, "you have to actually build them" thing :).
Do 8572 Tahu Nuva next as tomorrow featured set of the day!
These articles are fun. But why not post articles about all of the new summer 2020 sets recently released . . . Marvel, Jurassic World, City . . . ? They made there way to the database, but if I wasn't looking, I never would have found them.
I come to Brickset mainly to find news on upcoming sets and find it disappointing that you don't highlight more set releases/announcements.
This train set is huge, and comes with nice story behind it. It was also nice to see the vinter village all together.
@Omni-Bryx said:
"Do 8572 Tahu Nuva next as tomorrow featured set of the day!"
Not quite how this works. If you want a FSotD article with Tahu Nuva, your best bet is to write it yourself :)
One of the reasons it was on such a big discount was that the loose magnets were thought of as being dangerous to small children and were replaced with the magnet & buffers all in one piece.
I don't own this set as I missed it in my Dark Ages but during the early years of the Winter Village I really felt it needed a train and a station.
I had the Emerald Night so the train was sorted so I MOC'd a station and dressed it accordingly. Then I saw this train and took inspiration from the Christmas tree truck and created one of those for the Emerald Night which (until little fingers arrived in our house) ran around the Christmas tree and the Winter Village.
Looking again its tempting to add a Christmas present truck as well for 2020 and put it out of reach of little hands!