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My Long MOC Journey

A six month journey into the world of Lego Train stations. All images are clickable thumbnails.


Getting Started

I have been building occasional Lego Architecture sets for a few years now, but the series now seems to be well-and-truly moribund. Just tourists traps and Skylines that do not appeal (although the Miami Skyline on Ideas is rather nice). But I have always had a train interest too, and the Crocodile caught my attention last year, and I was hooked.

I needed more than that to keep myself busy, and I had a collection of OO scale model railways that, in all honesty, were never going to see a layout, so I sold them and switched to Lego trains.


Lego Metro Station
Reworking Old Lego Designs
Classic Lego designs parted out on Bricklink

I started with two City Train sets, 60197, at good prices, but they really needed a proper station to do them justice. Like many people I think that the Metro Station, 4554, is one of the nicest that Lego has created. I completed this in Tan, and replaced the windows with panels, which give it a nice 1930s look. It is a shame that Lego no longer produces platform sections, they are much more convenient to use, and better looking that starting from scratch with plates.

Lego Brutalist Station


I needed another building for the other platform. Lego does Brutalism really well, and 7997 looks the part in Light Grey. The station buffet is long closed, a victim of economies. Together, parting up 4554 and 7997 are a really good lesson in learning the ins and outs of Bricklink and the waywardness of Lego parts colour availability.


Lego Disney Station
More Ambitious
Lego trains deserve grand stations

My first two attempts both realised nice designs, but I wanted something a but more grand and old fashioned. The Disney Train station, 71044, is really the only large station that Lego has ever created (it keeps rejecting good stations on Ideas), and I managed
to get just the building by itself for a very reasonable price from
Ebay [All too often, Lego parts are extremely expensive here.]. Without all the Disney paraphernalia, it becomes an impressive building in its own right. Eagle-eyed readers will see a minor modification to the roof. I felt that the original profile was cut off
too early. Of course, platforms are needed too. Three Harry Potter stations, 78955, and a few extra parts combine nicely to create an attractive set-up. The original design is a bit of a pain though, not very robust and easily comes apart. Unfortunately, my modifications inherited these weaknesses.

Lego Harry Potter Station Lego Harry Potter Station


St Pieces name in monotype grotesk

St Pieces Station
Extending and Adapting
St. Pieces Station: Victorian Neo-Gothic Ostentationsness

Although the Disney station is large, it still gives the impression of a country town station rather than a major city terminus. The next step was a chance encounter with a book on the history of Lego sets. The Town Hall in 10184 looked too good to stay as a Town Hall: I could see a Neo-Gothic Victorian monument struggling to get out. St Pieces is the main central station on the layout in my head. Typical Victorian grandiosity (as per St Pancras ). I followed the original 10184 plans to the letter and then extended outwards and upwards. My big lesson was not to design like this. It is much better to start with a concept and a blank slate rather than adapt someone else’s design. For the record I will note that the extra tall 2x2x3 roof slope is HORRIBLE, that part does not have clutch, it has anti-clutch, and that roof exploded messily at every opportunity. All those joists in the loft are there for a reason.

St Pieces Station front St Pieces Station back
St Pieces Station chandelier St Pieces Station loft

Overall, the building serves its purpose, looking like a grand city terminus, but there is something about it that stops it from working as a coherent whole. This, I suspect, is the result of adapting an existing design rather than starting from scratch with the basic concepts in mind. Individual aspects of the result are pleasing, but I need to start again and get them to work together better.



Festival Gardens name in Clarendon

Festival Gardens Station
Original Creations (I)
Festival Gardens Station: Brutalism at its Best

The desire to return to Brutalism was strong, showcasing just how nice a such a building can be when done well.
I was inspired by the Royal Festival Hall, Falmer House (University of Sussex) and the Crystal Palace Sports Centre. For Festival Gardens Station I particularly wanted to show the metal-framed windows that characterise these buildings, and I have always wanted to create a Lego circular roof. I do wish there were more inverted slopes available so that the retaining walls of the circular roof looked more circular!

Festival Gardens Station above Festival Gardens Station back
Festival Gardens Station buffet Festival Gardens Station stained glass

Lego transparent tiles make for spectacular stained glass effects, and it is a shame that these do not feature more often in official designs. Initially, I thought I had cursed myself by making the whole building an odd-number of studs wide but the Lego gods were merely testing my resolve: the circular roof went together with the main building like a dream and fitted perfectly.

Overall, the ceiling is a bit low, an inevitable result of how I constructed the window-walls (1x10 tiles would be needed to make these higher) but apart from this, I am really satisfied with the result: Sleek and elegant on the outside and spacious and welcoming inside.



Botanical Gardens name in my own Art Nouveau lettering

Botanical Gardens Station
Original Creations (II)
Botanical Gardens Station: An Art Nouveau fantasy

I thought that Festival Gardens would be the last stop, but Art Nouveau has always been my first architectural love, and ideas started forming in my head about ways to make
it possible. It showcases not only the stained glass and exuberant decoration that most people associate with this genre, but also the new technology that underlay its development, such as steel-framed buildings and electricity. This building is so immense and elaborate that it gets a page all to itself, but here are a few photos so you can see my full MOC journey.

Botanical Gardens Station rear Botanical Gardens Station back
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