7938 & 7937 Review

I picked up both the 7938 passenger train and 7937 train station today at my local LEGO Brand store. You may ask why I didn't get the cargo train, the answer is simple they didn't have it in yet.

Seeing this was my first traditional LEGO train set in a very long time I was very excited and had to build it right away. While I do have an Emerald Night I do not have the other post 9 Volt battery trains.

From a technical standpoint the motor has a 9 Volt electric footprint which is nice and the IR and Battery Box are at least very similar to the Power Functions that worked with the Emerald night.  The battery box takes 6 AAA batteries with another 3 AAA's for the controller.  I do prefer having a single battery type so that is nice.  The battery box has the same footprint as the rechargeable battery box so they are interchangeable.  Unfortunately the battery box dimensions make it difficult to integrate into traditional North American Diesel trains.

As for the train (7938) I am not a big fan of high speed trains, and I am still not.  That said I prefer the brick built nose to the single piece molded nose even if it makes it a bit blocky.  The black panels on the motored hood end were effective.  The color scheme is boring and the extras are typical for LEGO passenger trains.  Operationally the train runs well (it is running as I write this) and having 8 channels to choose from on the train is very nice for doing club events once our 9v stuff wears out.  The biggest downer for the passenger train was the inclusion of 16 pieces of flex track in lieu of 4 pieces of straight track.  I have nothing nice to say about flex track and can only assume it was included to get rid of it.

At $130 I feel the set has value although I expect the Cargo train to be a better value at $180 unless you are just looking for the power functions parts.  I would rate the passenger train an overall buy but if you are considering just one train the Cargo train might be more fun and a better overall value.

The 7937 Train Station is very nice.  It has 4 pieces of standard straight track!  The footbridge is very nice and the little station is very nice for its size.  I really like the use of a sliding door.  The taxi is nice although it doesn't have doors.  LEGO is getting back to doors on vehicles but not on this taxi. 

At $50 and 361 parts this set really stretches the part/price ratio but it is a great compliment to the passenger train and a fun build.  I definitely recommend the station if you go with the passenger train.

Hopefully I will get my hands on a cargo train soon!  When I do I will do the grade crossing as well.

I have more pictures of 7938 and 7937 in my gallery.