Vintage set of the week: 12V Electric Train with 2 Wagons
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 722 12V Electric Train with 2 Wagons, released during 1970. It's one of 7 Trains sets produced that year. It contains 151 pieces.
It's owned by 64 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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26 comments on this article
It’s great to see trains in the spotlight! This one is a bit blocky. It’s remarkable how different things would look only 10 years later with the introduction of minifigure-scale trains. That really set the stage for everything to come!
Notable that we are still using the same 6-wide gauge and car width (for the most part) as the earliest LEGO trains (Thatcher Perkins excluded of course…)
The most unenthused kids to be playing with LEGO...
@MCLegoboy said: "The most unenthused kids to be playing with LEGO..."
They don't look terribly happy, do they?
We must examine this train REALLY closely
@MCLegoboy said:
"The most unenthused kids to be playing with LEGO..."
They're saying, "Let's check Exchange & Mart to see if we can get some proper mechanical couplings to replace these crappy new magnetic things that can't pull anything heavier than a Spangle".....
@EvilTwin:
A Monet is usually best viewed from a distance, because it just looks like random spots of paint up close. So does the wall near the spray paint in a hardware store.
@sjr60:
Have they not heard of rare earth wafer magnets you can slip between the couplings?
Is it me or do these two kids look like Anakin from Episodes I and II? No wonder they’re frowning: “this isn’t the train it should be.”
(Personally I like it).
@MeisterDad said:
"Is it me or do these two kids look like Anakin from Episodes I and II?"
Oh, good! I'm not the only one who thought so. :)
At first glance the kids do look less than happy, but when you think about it this is what kids look like when they're playing. We are conditioned by marketing that contains artificially jubilant people so anything different seems out of the ordinary.
I think we might have had this set as kids. We also looked the same way when we were playing with it.
@MeisterDad:
“I don’t like vintage sets. Their parts are coarse and rough…like Duplo bricks.”
@MeisterDad said:
"Is it me or do these two kids look like Anakin from Episodes I and II? No wonder they’re frowning: “this isn’t the train it should be.”"
It looks like they'd prefer playing in the sandpit.
@MeisterDad said: "Is it me or do these two kids look like Anakin from Episodes I and II?"
You know, if he'd had 9V trains from the early 90s?
He probably wouldn't have turned to the dark side.
@VintageDude said:
"This set wasn't vintage when it came in 1970... It's vintage today, in 2022."
The only Lego I consider to be vintage was made out of wood!
Almost didn't take a closer look at the set because those kids are so uncomfortably close to the camera. It made me want to keep my distance too. From a distance (a.k.a. the thumbnail) you can't tell from the picture that it's from lego selling the lego model.
Nice train set though. Black locomotive and classic blue rails!
Kind a weird set...just at a first glance I would have never thought this would be a motorized train. It's so simple, so minimalist, I would have guessed this would have been the cheapest train set they would have offered at the time. But with the 12v system, I assume it would have been far from cheap at the time...
@VintageDude said:
" @Zordboy said:
" @MeisterDad said: "Is it me or do these two kids look like Anakin from Episodes I and II?"
You know, if he'd had 9V trains from the early 90s?
He probably wouldn't have turned to the dark side."
12V Trains had Automatic Switches which could be made Remote Controlled. To my knowledge, 9V Trains had neither - only manual switches.
Which makes it the most fun?
I'd say 12V Trains - anyday."
Spaceship!
The kid on the right looks like he is about to burst into tears.
@Murdoch17 said: "The kid on the right looks like he is about to burst into tears."
Well, his older brother just kicked him in the shins because he wanted to poke forlornly at the carriages, and not let his younger brother do it.
Train set last week, train set this week, and I've got a part on order w/B&P/PAB to help the 'main-body' for an engine...either I've given into a 'train of thought', or I've switch to a 'one track mind'....:)
You’ll throw in 2 wagons, you say? Sold!
@B_Space_Man said:
"You’ll throw in 2 wagons, you say? Sold! "
no track or power supply though!
Grey 12V was the best (age bias here...). It had remote powered switches, stop signals (that worked!), a powered level crossing, powered decoupler and platform lighting, all running from modules plugged into the transformer.
Plus it had such a wide range of large accessory sets- multiple stations released, freight depots and a good selection of trains (especially if you motorised the push along or converted the 4,5V ones)
A very minimalist locomotive with everything built onto the motor housing. And uses some rare parts -- those particular magnetic couplings are unique to the set. Building an ersatz version around a modern-sized motor would probably be easier.
@Zordboy said:
" @MCLegoboy said: "The most unenthused kids to be playing with LEGO..."
They don't look terribly happy, do they?"
I know those looks. Older brother can't believe he has to play with younger brother again. Younger brother can't wait until older brother leaves (to go talk to Padme) and he can finally have some fun.
I didn't know this first wave of 12V powered tracks existed, 10 years before the more established 1980's grey track of 7740. Clever the way the power is transferred from the track to the underneath of the coupling brick which then transfers to the standard motor brick, doing away with the heavy battery carriage of the late 1970's. Although you do need to also have the transformer 740-2 or 742 , which probably limited sales to those going for the full set-up with all the accessories, e.g. powered points 753 and 754 etc.