Best Lego Train Sets

LEGO City Cargo Train 60198 is LEGO at its best. With this set, your kid won't just be able to build his own railroad, with lots of moving pieces. No, with this set, they'll be able to put together a runaway train story or their very own locomotive world that will play by their rules.

Packing 1226 pieces, this LEGO train set makes it possible to do it all. These pieces assemble into a cargo train with four cars, a control center, an armored truck, a forklift, and rail tracks. More specifically, you'll find 16 curved rails and the same number of straight rails, meaning you get the opportunity to build the most elaborate roads. Using the forklift, you'll be able to move cargo containers. The crane’s extendable boom arm will let you lift the logs into the log car.

The main idea here is customization. A couple of buildable pallets with gold bar elements, money bills, a snow cat, snowmobile, as well as 6 LEGO minifigures, (including 4 train workers, a security officer, and a thief) will allow your kid to construct and conduct his own scenarios. The only downside to these little pieces is that they're really easy to lose but that's not really something that you can change without changing their purpose in first place.

In short, LEGO City 60198 is the best LEGO train set on this list simply because it is the most elaborate and detailed kit here. It offers practically infinite room for open-ended play and imagination. With this little steam train set, nothing is off-limits (railway-wise).

LEGO City 60051 is ridiculously detailed considering that there are only 610 pieces comprising this set.

The motorized locomotive can be controlled through the eight-channel, seven-speed IR remote. The high-speed profile makes the train look slick and streamlined. The removable roof comes equipped with electricity contact points. The roof's pretty difficult to remove though but you'll likely get used to that. The driver’s cabin is quite detailed too, crammed with this intricate dashboard.

Other than that, the set includes two passenger cars. These cars also incorporate removable roofs and electricity contact points, in addition to seats and tables. Lifting the roofs, you'll be able to place the driver inside, letting him access the dashboard, and place the passengers upon assigned seats.

Setting the high-speed train aside, the kit features a way station with this tiny little platform that has two seats, a map of train services, a warning sign, lights, and a crossing. The circular track has 16 curved rail tracks and 4 straight rail tracks. The minifigures and accessories include the train driver, passenger, cyclist, and a bicycle.

Long story short, LEGO City 60051 is fun to build, fun to play with, and about as realistic as these LEGO train sets come.

LEGO Harry Potter 75955 Hogwarts Express is exactly what the name suggests: arguably the most famous express in the world (who cares that it is fictional?) and easily the most famous platform in the world. That's right, in addition to the rain, the kit includes the renowned King’s Cross Platform 9¾. The platform even has this moving brick wall entrance to play out the books'/movies' prominent scene.

The express is pretty good too though, featuring removable side and top panels, so you can open the train and play inside. The Trolley Witch hasn't gone anywhere, meaning you can go ahead and order that Chocolate Frog.

Magic trains are supposed to have hidden compartments, so the people behind this set made sure to add some, letting you store secrets aboard the express.

As nice as these details are, it is the characters that make the story, which's why the set wouldn't be complete without Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Trolley Witch, Dementor, and Scabbers figures.

Bottom line, everything about this set is great. The train's great. The station is as detailed and charming. The set encourages creative play and will be able to attract nostalgic parents and children alike.

LEGO Hidden Side 70424 Ghost Train Express won't fail to keep the kids engaged and occupied. First and foremost, the set is fairly detailed, packing 698 pieces. These pieces include the ghost train with foldable ghost wings and the so-called ‘de-haunting' cannon, Jack Davids, Parker L. Jackson. J.B., Ms. Santos, and Chuck. The train station hasn't gone anywhere too.

The set looks good, bright and detailed. That's not the product's biggest selling point though. Its biggest selling point is the set's compatibility with the LEGO® Hidden Side™ app (available on iOS and Android). Using augmented reality, the application lets kids find and capture ghosts floating around the train/station. You'll be able to turn the color wheel, interacting with the mini-game inside the app. It is the app that lets you turn the train into this awesome possessed flying train. The application has many different challenges. Completing them, you'll be able to unlock the boss ghost Bawa.

The downside is that the augmented reality tech is demanding hardware-wise, meaning that old smartphones won't be able to support the app.

Besides that, LEGO Hidden Side 70424 Ghost Train Express works wonders combining physical play with digital entertainment.

LEGO DUPLO 10874 Steam Train is pretty basic compared to the sets on this list. That's not the product's disadvantage though. The kit has been designed for kids between two and five years old, so the difficulty and the price reflect that.

There are only 59 pieces here, meaning that kids should have no issues putting the set together. These pieces include 16 track pieces and action bricks, so there's enough here to promote spatial thinking and encourage creativity.

Though not necessarily that detailed, there are some extra pieces here that will make the construction pretty interesting for kids, including a harbor, loading station, boat, café, two cranes, three DUPLO figures, and this adorable squirrel figure.

Apart from that, the aforementioned action bricks are colored. Kids can put them along the track. Compatible with LEGO® DUPLO® Connected Train app, these bricks will be able to sound the horn, turn the lights, change the train's direction, stop, and refuel the train wherever they want. The supplied batteries don't last too long though, so we would recommend stocking up from the get-go.

In closing, the target audience here is obvious: provided you've kids between two and five years old, we can easily recommend this LEGO DUPLO 10874 Steam Train to you.