LEGO City Cargo Train 60198 Remote Control Train Building Set with Tracks for Kids, Top Present for Boys and Girls (1226 Pieces)

This is the BEST Lego train yet. They just keep getting better and better. This model comes with an easy to operate bluetooth controller. The engine can also be linked to your iPhone or Android phone using the Lego Powered Up app. The 10 different speed levels forward and 10 reverse is also a nice enhancement with the new bluetooth models.The pictures are good, but don't be fooled. The train is actually much bigger than it seems in the pictures. See my uploaded photos of me holding the engine and another picture of the little Lego figure standing in front of the engine.This train also comes with a very cool armored car with a pallet full of money and gold bullion. A fork lift to load the money on the train. Six Lego figures are also included in the set. A train engineer, a security guard to guard the money, a forklift operator, and a burglar to steal the loot !Ya know … I think I'll buy another set !

This set is very nice. It was a simple build, it took my 7 year old son about 4 hours total to build. The Bluetooth is a pretty cool feature, though it works the same as the same old controllers. There is a decent amount of track to the train, and the cars are all nice. The logs are removable with the train-car crane, which is manually controlled. The station with the flipping light is a nice touch, and the bank transport van is nice too. All the additional accessories that come with this make it a good deal. I would advise it as an addition to most any Lego collection.

Great product for kids 7 or older. Good project for father son enjoyment. Requires a lot of assembly and ability to follow instructions to the letter.

I love the train set, but it’s a lot for younger kids. This is something that you need an older kid, parent or grandparent to geek out with them on.

Fun to put together- clear instructions.

Great nephews loved this gift.

My young son and I love to build Legos together- especially Lego trains. We have quite a few in our collection, including a set from my childhood (#4563), two Horizon Express sets (#10233), a winter holiday train (#10254), Lego's previous cargo train (#60052), and we recently added this cargo train to our collection (#60198).For me, it was hard not to compare this set with the previous cargo train (#60052). In some ways this set is superior to that set. In other ways the previous train was better. Regardless, I was eager to see if Lego's decision to up the price resulted in a better train and playing experience.I'll start with how this set is better than the previous set. First, it includes a lot more track. The previous train came with two switch pieces, 8 straight pieces, and 16 curve pieces. This set comes with 16 curved, 16 straight, and one switch piece. This train set also comes with a lot more pieces... about 40% more. The previous set had 888 pieces, this one has 1226. This one includes Lego's new Powered Up system, which uses bluetooth compared with the infra-red system of Lego's previous trains. The new system is much nicer- and doesn't require a line of sight in order to work. It is important to note that the new system is not compatible with the old system. The new system is much more compact and doesn't require a separate receiver like the old system. It also works with either the new-style controller or a compatible smart phone. The phone app can do everything the actual controller can do- and has some sound effects too. Note that the sounds come out of your phone- not out of the train itself. The Powered Up system works smoothly- just as good if not better than the previous system. The physical controller works better for kids too. The old controller's wheels were kind of hard for small kids to use- the new one uses + and - buttons that you just push... they are a lot easier.In terms of the train itself- I was disappointed. It's design focuses more on play value than on realism. It doesn't really look like like a real train. I felt like the previous cargo train (#60052) was much more realistic looking and also had great playability. This set is fun to play with- but just doesn't look right to me.The green engine let me down. While I like the double-cab design, it just looks weird to me. It has two small cabs on either end that include a single chair and a 1x4 flat piece with simulated gages. It doesn't include a lot of other details.I also have a HUGE problem with this engine that other probably won't notice. Lego advertises new Powered Up lights for this train (#88005)... they specifically mention that they are compatible with this train. There's only one problem- they don't work because you can't run the wires. The front end includes several solid pieces that make it impossible to wire them without making major modifications to the train- modifications that would likely make this engine look even more weird. Again- As my son and I built this engine- we both compared it to the blue engine on the previous engine (#60052). That engine was great- it looked realistic, had lots of details, and was just a better design. (That one also needed modifications to run the old lights)This set comes with three cars other than the engine. Those also lack details, but tends to be the norm for Lego cargo trains over the last few designs. There is a long car that includes a pretty nice crane. That crane is well designed and has great functionality. It has a dial in the back that you turn to raise and lower the crane arm and two additional dials, one on each side, that raise and lower the hook. You can also manually extend the crane arm so that it can reach the train cars ahead of it or behind it. It also has nice little stabilizer bars that come out from underneath the crane that prevents the crane from falling over when it is lifting a load. I only have to complaints about this car- first, there is nothing that prevents the crane from spinning when the train is moving down the track. Your only option is to lower the hook and have it grab onto the little piece on the end of the car. That kinda works, but not very well. Previous versions of a crane car have included little arms that flip up that prevent the crane from spinning. Lego omitted that from this design. Second complaint- the front and back of the crane car look pretty empty. Again- in previous versions of this design Lego put something else on the car- either warning cones or a space to put a little cargo. Lego left this one plain- and it looks plain.The other two cars are smaller cars. One of them is a really simple little car that holds three logs. Each log has a little chain that allows the crane to pick it up and lift it on or off the car. The car is really plain and to be honest, boring. The last car is a small flatbed car that has room for two cargo containers. One of them is a bank vault container that includes a pallet of gold and money. The other has a container with a little snowmobile. Both are very simple builds that lack detail. It is again apparent that Lego put a higher emphasis on playability verses design. More on that later...Another quick comparison between this train and the previous cargo train. That train's cars were also lacking in detail but just seemed better in my mind. They were unique- a car with power cables, a animal car, and a larger (and nicely detailed) flatbed cargo car. In my mind they were better designed but also had a really nice amount of playability.This set also includes a simple yellow forklift that is nicely designed- but looks like every other forklift that Lego has included in previous train sets. There is also a nice armored bank car that I think is nicely detailed and works great. The design is weird though- it has a side opening hatch that lifts up- it allows the forklift to place the pallet of gold and money inside the vehicle. No actual realistic armored car would do this- but again, Lego designed this for playability, not realism. The truck looks great- it's a similar design to most other Lego trucks over the past few years.Another feature is a little yard tower that is pretty basic- but is well detailed. You can switch the red/green lights to signal trains that it is safe to proceed or if they need to stop. Lego used the ladder from a fire engine to make the ladder up to the tower- and it works and looks great.The little track crossing is basic but it works. it's 16 studs wide and includes little crossing signs. I was sort of disappointed that there weren't any crossing gates included. That said, the last cargo train didn't include a crossing at all.The last feature I'll mention is the switch track piece which leads to a little buffer or stop piece that actually works pretty well. I love this feature because it allows you to move the entire train off the main track line for loading/unloading. The train can separate the individual cars for unloading/loading and the rest of the train can go back to the main oval.Okay- so now here's the question- is this train set worth the price premium over the last train? Even though I like set #60052 better, I think this set is still worth the money. Lego charges a lot of money for extra track if you buy it separately- and this set comes with extra, so you have to take that into consideration. Second, as I've mentioned before, what this set lacks in details it more than makes up for in playability. There'a fun story line here that will entertain your kids. The set includes the bank crate and armored car... and it also includes a mini-figure that's dressed like a crook. He even comes with a little set of binoculars. The great train robbery is on! The new Powered Up system is easily superior to the old system. Hopefully Lego will start selling the same accessories for this system as they offered with the old system. (Rechargeable battery box PLEASE!) Each of my other trains have the rechargeable battery box- and although they are expensive, if you play with your train regularly you'll save money by not having to continually have to buy AAA batteries. Hopefully Lego will release a Powered Up version of the battery box soon. Since you can no longer buy the old train for a reasonable price (retired Legos skyrocket in price)- this one is now the best option.If you are planning on buying accessories- please make sure that you double check that they work with the Powered Up system. Lego and Amazon currently sell both the new and old system components- and they ARE NOT compatible.

Was a fun build and a lot of fun for my kids. Adding trains to lego is so much fun.