Vintage set of the week: Level Crossing
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 146 Level Crossing, released during 1976. It's one of 8 Trains sets produced that year. It contains 68 pieces.
It's owned by 743 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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28 comments on this article
There is a slight elevation over the tracks, so I don't think its a "level" crossing :P
The modern version of this would be 10128
Loving the vintage trains thing, Huwbot. Keep 'em coming.
Huh, I never knew those railroad tracks were so old. I remember building 7036 dwarves mine in 2007 and thinking it was a new part.
Ah yes, blue era followed by the light grey and dark grey eras and now dark bluish grey era. Why do they have to make tracks so depressing!? Wahhhh.
Adorable
Lego Citizen: "Um....Which trains run on the Blue Line?"
Lego Railroad Worker: "All of 'em.":D
On top of a chimney seems a terrible place to put a cafe table.
Great set. Nice to see this 'modern' level crossing still going strong 7 years after the 1969 version I had! 158-1
I’ve always had an affinity for LEGO rail crossing sets. The basic concept affords you with so many play opportunities.
Ah! So this is the set the level crossing and rail pieces came from in my childhood Lego box that I unearthed from my parents' house!
But there's a bump...
Yes, it's a good thing that back in those days they didn't have any specialised pieces, no sirree Bob, bricks and plates only, mm-mm.
That said, those specialised pieces are lovely. There's also the amazingly understated (and incredibly fragile) antenna in this set. I don't think many of those survived to this day.
Given how wide our current vehicles are, you could probably only use these as one-way crossings, though they still look perfectly servicable to me. Of course, this doesn't apply to the Wu Crew, whose cars are roughly 24 studs wide these days. They'd probably just trample this and any other crossing, barely registering them or the people they crush. Do you take notice of every insect you step on in the forest?
I always wanted a train crossing set, even before I had any trains to cross it with.
@Ridgeheart: Darn it, now I want a Ninjago train.
@PurpleDave said:
"On top of a chimney seems a terrible place to put a cafe table."
Oooh, fancy heated seats…
Although most of my childhood railway sets were grey-era, I did have this one - I remember being impressed by the way the centre of the crossing could be removed to accommodate a conductor rail. The crossing-keeper's hut tended to stay built even when the rest of the railway was in boxes.
It looks like a minature of the 80s one from the grey track era. I guess there were only so many building colors to choose from!
From a distance it looks way more advanced than you'd expect for the time too.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I always wanted a train crossing set, even before I had any trains to cross it with.
@Ridgeheart: Darn it, now I want a Ninjago train."
In the 2nd year of the theme we almost got a Serpentine Train, which was not released. It did serve as a pre-final boss encounter in the show with a weirdly long touring bus turned into a snake vehicle. This was what the set would have looked like:
https://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_Train
@Binnekamp said:
"It looks like a minature of the 80s one from the grey track era. I guess there were only so many building colors to choose from!
From a distance it looks way more advanced than you'd expect for the time too.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I always wanted a train crossing set, even before I had any trains to cross it with.
@Ridgeheart: Darn it, now I want a Ninjago train."
In the 2nd year of the theme we almost got a Serpentine Train, which was not released. It did serve as a pre-final boss encounter in the show with a weirdly long touring bus turned into a snake vehicle. This was what the set would have looked like:
https://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_Train
"
On the one hand, I love to see the sets that could have been; on the other hand, it's sad to see the things that never were.
Some sets are a bit dodgy, though. Apparently "Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet" was never released, but - are we sure about that?
@TheOtherMike said:
"I always wanted a train crossing set, even before I had any trains to cross it with.
@Ridgeheart: Darn it, now I want a Ninjago train."
I got my 4532 (1996) before getting 4561 (1999).
@Ridgeheart:
They did a special Invisible Jet Hot Wheels for SDCC that was just an empty bubble on a card.
Yay, have this one (at least some parts still x-D)
Ah, the simpler times, when 4x8 buildings with tiny doors were not criticized.
@PurpleDave I *think* there was an Invisible Woman Heroclix figure that was just an empty base. Also, @Ridgeheart and PurpleDave: "To the Batmobile!"*zapzapzap* *Batmobile explodes* "Dang it." "To the Invisible Jet!" *zapzapzap* *Something the audience can't see explodes* "Dang it."
@TheOtherMike:
Yeah, but you _did_ get a Heroclix base with playable stat wheels. With the Invisible Jet, all you got was packaging:
https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Invisible_Jet
Little did the poor guy know sitting in his hut watching tv all day that the manual level crossings were all going to be automated in a few years and he would be out of work, for that matter he would no longer exist either.
@ambr said:
"he would be out of work"
At least he'll put a brave face on it.... if he had a face.
@ambr said:
"Little did the poor guy know sitting in his hut watching tv all day that the manual level crossings were all going to be automated in a few years and he would be out of work, for that matter he would no longer exist either."
I’m pretty sure some devious minifig just propped up a miniquin to make it look like he was at work, while he’s actually at home watching TV. And clearly his employer realized that they didn’t actually need an employee who wasn’t really working anyways.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @Binnekamp said:
"It looks like a minature of the 80s one from the grey track era. I guess there were only so many building colors to choose from!
From a distance it looks way more advanced than you'd expect for the time too.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I always wanted a train crossing set, even before I had any trains to cross it with.
@Ridgeheart: Darn it, now I want a Ninjago train."
In the 2nd year of the theme we almost got a Serpentine Train, which was not released. It did serve as a pre-final boss encounter in the show with a weirdly long touring bus turned into a snake vehicle. This was what the set would have looked like:
https://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_Train
"
On the one hand, I love to see the sets that could have been; on the other hand, it's sad to see the things that never were.
Some sets are a bit dodgy, though. Apparently "Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet" was never released, but - are we sure about that?"
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