Vintage set of the week: Electronic Train
Posted by Huwbot,
This week's vintage set is 118 Electronic Train, released during 1968. It's one of 7 Trains sets produced that year. It contains 110 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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Must be an 1980's synthwave reimagined version of composer Glenn Miller's 1930's classic song "Take the 'A' train"!
Well, it doesn't really look safe. but I guess being ecologically friendly by going electric isn't all bad. That is until the batteries die and start leaking...
I always thought the 4x4 block was a speaker (making train noises). Instead it is a mic. The set comes with a whistle (bottom right in the box) you start and stop the train by whistling. Pretty cool for something that old. Not aesthetically pleasing as the box is transparent but at least the electronic box is not gigantic like today's Boost (or even Mindstorm for that matter). For those who think Mindstorm is a good size, have a look at the size of a Raspberry Pi pico (which is less than $10).
Some assembly (and electrical engineering degree) required.
This set makes me sigh, because it is one of the ones I know I will never get. I can’t being myself to pay that much.
Such a beautiful set, a true conceptual art. If I had this, I would hang it on a wall in my living room.
This doesn’t say “train” to me so much as, “Hey, kids, build your own FM transistor radio (that gets two stations you don’t even like) or burglar alarm (that will alert you if someone tries to listen to one of those radio stations)!”
Anyone know what chip was in there? Interesting enough, the manual in this guy's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opYiW2Lf5Vs does not show an IC but the picture here clearly does.
Wow, never seen this before, but this is so cool! Just watched the video from BrickTsar mentioned above, that clearly shows how it works. Nowadays everything is possible with electronics, but back in the '60s this would have been pretty spectacular, especially for a toy.
It is kind of funny that they built such advanced electronics for the time into a steam locomotive, when around that time those were running on their last legs in many countries. Somehow you would have expected them to put this in some fancy futuristic looking locomotive :-)
I do notice that the picture above shows double connectors and as someone also mentioned an IC in the electronics....I guess that picture isn't from the original 1968 set but from a slightly later version? Did ICs like that even exist yet in 1968?
@SideSalad said:
"Some assembly (and electrical engineering degree) required."
Diodes and Lego, oh my!!
Truly reminds me of my childhood = playing with lead solder and pretending an oscilloscope is an X-wing targeting computer while my dad was teaching electronics class, taking Pascal classes with my dad, and my brother building his own little computer.
Indeed. Those were the days when kids didn't just sit in front of their electronics devices, they BUILT their electronics devices themselves! :-)
Set designers: “We hear our coworkers designed a cool new electronic train. May we see it?”
Box art designer: “No.”
Oh, I have this one! Very cool technology, especially for its time. Although when I last ran it, the system seemed to have lost some sensitivity. The actual design of the train is also pretty neat, though sadly not shown here.
There's also the more advanced version, 138, which can be commanded to go forwards and backwards. The image for that one shows the train SLIGHTLY better.
@HOBBES said:
"Not aesthetically pleasing as the box is transparent but at least the electronic box is not gigantic like today's Boost (or even Mindstorm for that matter)."
I suspect at that time having electronics in a toy might have been impressive enough a feature that they wanted to show it off.
In any case, the control unit may be small, but keep in mind you're dragging around a battery box that's 7x11x4 studs and has four heavy C cells inside. That's an area where we definitely have some advantages today.
Incredible to think this is from 1968. I associate that transparent electronics look with the 1980s. A sort of LEGO Swatch Watch aesthetic. Also I think the whistle is much more fun and impressive than say a phone app now. That said, a modern voice activated control via your phone would be pretty neat now I think about it.
In the on-line Lego House tours during Lockdown the guide mentioned that this was the most expensive Lego set at the time and just showed us the whistle. So good to see the actual set (as wasn't shown on tour), when questioned about retail price he suggested in the $100 which was a shock at the time so few were sold, and discontinued soon afterwards explaining the current high price.
Thank ra226 for the link to the video, as wondering how the motor was powered, seems the box of tricks sits on top and there are metal connectors. Just strange the image is missing so many pieces from the inventory and video like train wheels, black bricks etc.
Finally, what would you do with those 3 pieces of track with no white plates, or a single straight track, which don't even appear in the inventory? I
Beautiful innovation. And in 1968! So simple and so functional. Would be interesting to know how expensive it was at the time, relative to other sets.
@ambr said:
"Just strange the image is missing so many pieces from the inventory and video like train wheels, black bricks etc.
Finally, what would you do with those 3 pieces of track with no white plates, or a single straight track, which don't even appear in the inventory?"
The photo appears to be just the polystyrene insert tray, so presumably the box was bigger, and just the 'highlight' parts were displayed (unless, of course, the photo, and inventory aren't for the same set).
@VintageDude: Indeed, I mistyped.
Love, love, love having the transparent parts on these bricks showing the electronic components inside. Makes for a convenient way to visually explain to kids what's going on with the circuitry (for those teachers with a good understanding of what's going on).
I would have loved experimenting with this set in 1968, alas I didn't get into electronics until my teens a decade later.