I'm always a sucker for trains and when I saw this immense railway station in the Bricklink Designer Program something inside me snapped and I just had to get it.

This is a monster. It sits on a 48x48 baseplate and is European Gothic in style, with a towering presence, tan and black in the main, with some gold detail. The station entrance has a canopy over the street, two platforms connected by a bridge, a double ended metro type train, two terraces, an enormous glazed roof with an ornate dome and hanging chandelier.

The box is huge, with three inner boxes. Bags are numbered 1-23 and there are 1127 steps in the digital instructions (download this from Bricklink because despite there being a QR code in the box I couldn't get it to work on the official Lego Builder app.)

The build starts with the train and each half is identical, so you can speed this up by building with a friend. Each carriage is neatly designed but slightly basic - there are no tables, no doors, or even suggestions of doors. There are no motorised features included, though I guess you could add them.

You move on to the main building. The platforms are tiled white, which seems odd. Grey or dark grey would be more authentic, but I appreciate there are limitations in the BDP about which elements can be used. The platforms overhang the track by an amount that requires attaching the edges by means of clips and bars. This results in the platform edges being able to fold down - I've no idea why, it can be quite frustrating when playing with the finished model.

The second platform is similar, but there are fewer features this side. The terrace has some seating and parasols, a newspaper rack and some lamps, which look lovely but are a fiddle to straighten (and keep straight).

Then the roof. You build the rooftop first which is largely constructed from black technic beams and pins with large plates. It's sold enough and a few ornamental wall details add interest. Then the glazed section, which is quite repetitive and takes a fair amount of time. Once built though, attaching the two sides to the rooftop section is incredibly fiddly and requires real patience, dexterity and, to be honest, a second pair of hands.

Once attached it is surprisingly solid and can be lifted onto the lower section where It attached via just two technic pins and a couple of tiny locating posts. It more or less sits on the lower section by gravity! Just don't attempt to pick the model up by the roof!

Finally, you build the octagonal done, making use of 'glass' poles, cockpit pieces galore and clips and bars. From the top of the dome is suspended the large (and again fiddly) ornate chandler which dangles through a hole in the rooftop. This is held into place solely by rotating the cockpit pieces to grip the top.

I guess this is primarily a display set, however, in my opinion, there are some major issues when it comes to playability. The two tracks are offset by 6 studs - not the lego standard of 8 studs - meaning you can't use standard lego points (switch) tracks in and out of the station. The barrow crossing for the wheelchair uses 4x4 tile with 4 studs along one edge. The train cannot travel over this without fouling. This may be designed to stop trains sliding out of the station when displayed I guess but I replaced these elements with some of my own. The white platforms look strange to me and the train had an air of City set about it, which was disappointing for an 18+ set.

Well done to the designer though - this is a solid construction, despite being rather fiddly here and there. Overall the build took me many hours and was enjoyable if occasionally frustrating. There is a very good selection of minifigs and some nice details. It looks seriously impressive on display.