Join us from 2023 onwards as we celebrate LEGO’s rich history and explore the best of their incredible releases throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s, and into the 1990’s.

In June 2023 we celebrated the 1982 LEGO catalogue featuring so many great sets from that golden era of LEGO.

For the 2023 Christmas school holidays we will be showcasing the 1983 LEGO trains catalogue in 4.5 and 12 volt options, running just as it did 40 years ago!

Showing from Sunday 10th December 2023

Throughout LEGO’s incredible history, there have been periods of absolute brilliance.

In 1983 LEGO released a printed catalogue which features what I believe to be the very best Trains offering in LEGO history. All the great releases prior to 1983 culminated with a LEGO Trains System that was the dream of every fan. The 1983 catalogue featured here shows, in one short printed pamphlet, all the incredible things you could do with the 4.5 and 12 volt systems.

Regardless of whether you had or desired the 4.5v battery option or the 12v transformer option as shown above, you were guaranteed an amazing experience of ingenuity, automation, and technology. Today the 12 volt system in particular seems way ahead of it’s time.

True to LEGO’s ethos of System Play, the LEGO Train System could be enjoyed in its basic ‘push along’ form, or as advanced and complex as any LEGO Trains fan could imagine. Simply buy swapping in/out the motor and battery wagon you could convert your trains from simple stop and go operation, to wholly realistic and advanced features such as signals, line switching, lights and boom gates!

The flagship sets that were the shining jewels in the LEGO Trains System culminating in 1983 were the Push Along Train 7710 which could be converted to battery operation very easily, and the Electron Inter-City train set 7740.

Whilst LEGO had always featured Trains amongst their themes, it was not until 1980 that the 12v system included wired remote control, switches and lights. With the iconic Electric Inter-city Train Set (7740), as well as other train release, a LEGO city builder could create an entire rail network powered by 12v, and controlled from one vantage point.

In order to make the LEGO Train System more realistic, LEGO also released a great range of sets to complement the system. Obviously the entire City/Town System could be combined with the Trains System to create an entire metropolis, however dedicated sets were created to work with the railway lines and tracks like the Train Station 7824. LEGO also provided one of their ideas books 7777 which featured many more build ideas including overpasses and bridges, track layout designs, and panoramas.