I dare to say this set has the worst instructions front page image from all train sets… Other than that looks pretty nice

My first train but now just parts for me. Sometimes, we really can’t go home again.

@Miyakan said:
"This train looks like it is in space, on a different planet."

Maybe its's Glavis Ringworld from Star Wars?

Interestingly it uses an exclusive Front piece, too match the wedges and windscreen on top. Also that windscreen seems to be made specifically for this set judging by it's Design ID.

There were 2 (almost) unique minifig Designs in this set with an unusually exaggerated smile on their face. They reminded me a little bit of Time Cruisers Timmy.

YES! I loved this set as a kid! I’ll always be thankful for it starting my love of LEGO trains <3

@Maxbricks14 said:
" @Miyakan said:
"This train looks like it is in space, on a different planet."

Maybe its's Glavis Ringworld from Star Wars?"

For space based trains check out Philip Reeves' Railhead trilogy. Trains hopping planets/systems along railways and wormholes. Oh and the locos are sentient Axis, and some of them are way trains.

In a nutshell, it's great.

Is it swooshable?

Looks like it should be swooshable.

After all the train art we’ve had of them seemingly trundling right into a fiery void it’s somewhat reassuring to see this one escaping said void at top speed

Awful looking thing, a dark period in Lego train design

I'm not going to judge the train design as I'm not a train connoisseur, but that artwork is positively chaotic. Very '90s.

Don't try this at home! I see two minifigs chasing each other on the roof of a running train.

@Miyakan said:
"This train looks like it is in space, on a different planet."

This train just needed Yellow Windows, a Classic Space Logo, and Classic Space Minifigs.

This train has a futuristic design and the blue scheme gives it a smooth touch. Would be nice to see this baby on an Ice Planet diorama has someone wrote ??. When in LUG shows, I like to open one of the sides, letting it run the tracks, and show to the visitor its inner secrets.

It has space for two Smart (the car) and the other wagon is a movie teatre with a spacely movie . I think there's really an Ice Planet plot here...

Still hoping to get the other train from this time 4559.

Looks like a fun fast set for kids of all ages at Christmas. Strange they would sell a version without a means of powering the motor which may have caught a few parents out.

@Brickalili said:
"After all the train art we’ve had of them seemingly trundling right into a fiery void it’s somewhat reassuring to see this one escaping said void at top speed "

Rest assured, the fiery void is there -- just inside the instruction manual rather than on the cover.

TIL that the front wedge was made for this set.

I also don't get the complaints about the design. To me it looks like a slightly futuristic high speed train. And the front is no less juniorized than stuff City did for a decade (I'd argue even less so, as that front was used in some newer trains compared to City's one piece fronts).

When I was little, I used to love paging through an old 2002 Lego catalog (which I still have on my bookshelf) looking at the train sets. With blue being my favorite color, this one was one of my favorites in the catalog.

I never acquired it, and with that price almost certainly never will. But it was fun to dream about it as a kid, and it's fun to reminisce about those dreams now!

It perfectly reflects the decadence of those years.

Looks very inspired by 4559 : Cargo Railway (like it's even just almost the same set number) the concept of the conversion from passenger to small car cargo is novel, but the modules are so large, at least 4559 had a truck to actually remove the modules, , whereas this set there needs to be help from a big hand in the sky, or perhaps 4557 : Freight Loading Station.

The upside is that this set version 4560 did not come with a transformer, so you don't need to purchase it twice if you have a previous train or 4561 , and unlike 4559 , the wagons can be used standalone as they have full wheels, where the 4559 front wagon is directly pulled by the motor.

As far as "juniorized" goes, many trains have used large canopy pieces, even 60197 : Passenger Train , until more recently a more brick-built front is seen with 60337 : Express Passenger Train , and piece counts are still not drasticly different either, 20+ years later.

I think my dad had this set once because the windshield and front pieces are still in our loose parts collection

Historically speaking, fretting over the historicity of this sort of train was used to suss out those who are a poor fit for society, so they can be run out of town. It’s true. Some mailman at a bar told me.

It might not be the best train Lego have ever made, but this, or rather the 4561 version which came with the speed controller, was basically the set that brought me out of my "dark age". So along with the blue-rail trains of my childhood it will always have a place in my heart.

Remember back then when Lego Trains were awesome

This was Lego's worst train, by a country mile. And that's saying something, considering that the premise of 4559 was ridiculous. But here we have a 14-stud long locomotive (!) pulling coaches that dwarf it, yet still look terrible because of their poor detailing and their gull-wing doors. So terrible did it look that the box and instruction art had to photograph it at angles that made it look smoother, then add a bunch of motion blur where that still couldn't hide the flaws. It looks nothing like a high-speed train, and the whole thing is best forgotten. As for paying $791 for one—good grief. The only valuable things in the box are the 9V motor and the 4 straight tracks. If you want a classic Lego train, go buy a Metroliner.

It's amazing that LEGO produced two versions of this train, one with a controller and one without. They have never done that again. They seemed to be going through a time of experimentation.

Such as the 'My Train' and 4511 where thy produced separate loco 10157 & carriage 10158 which they have never done again.

@AllenSmith:
No love for chrome grille tiles? Okay, fine, I’ll say it. Their chrome tiles pack a little something. Clutch. It’s called clutch. I’ve received batches of original chrome tiles that didn’t have any. They change the size and shape of the mold to account for the layer of chrome increasing the part thickness, and then if they don’t get complete coverage with the chrome, it doesn’t work the way it’s designed to. It’s irritating that they don’t allow custom chrome on Bricklink anymore, since I’ve got some that’s far superior to the real deal, and it’s still on authentic LEGO parts.

@DavidGraham:
It was a bit earlier, but they did the same thing with 10020, 10022, and 10025.

This train was my sons favorite train, except he had the motorized version. He loved the hinge on the passenger cars, so that the whole side would open to get to the passengers in or out. He never liked the trains that you had to remove the roof to get to the passengers.

@TannerTheHunter said:
""$791.40"

Such a cool looking train with great colors that I'll never apparently get the chance to touch lol."

That's the price for a new one, used copies of this set are one of the cheapest 9V era train sets.

@Zordboy said:
" In the late 90s, Juniorisation wasn't just hitting Town hard, it was doing a number on the railways, as well."

That doesn't look massively junioris....

[looks at front of the truck]

Oh, printed grille and headlamps brick. Grim.

Christmas 1999, this was under the tree. This was one of my first "big" sets. I was 6 years old. Still have this set, it's been rebuilt a few times and the pieces are quite dirty now, but it brings back such fond memories.