PURPLE LINE

LEGOS?

Public Transport Toy Shrinks Down

Light Rail Vehicle and Stations Coming to

Bethesda in Next Decade

12 Days of Christmas at Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row

I haven't paid much attention to what toymaker Lego has produced since I was a child. But as a rail, tram and bus fanatic, they've got my attention now.

They have a line of products with a City theme. Based on the various pieces and box art, I conclude that Lego City is somewhere in Europe. Of course, Lego is based in Denmark. But just about everything in the product line would be found in Germany, as well. Not only is this reflected in the architecture, and the one set that comes with a giant wind turbine (!!), but in some of the transportation-themed products.

The one that jumped out is called Public Transport. It includes a tram [light rail train], a bus, three platforms, street sweeper vehicle, a bicycle, a "sports car," bus driver, tram driver, bicyclist, shop assistant, garbage truck driver and passenger. The tram can carry 6 passengers, and can run (it won't move by itself, as far as I can tell) on Lego train tracks.

I've always been interested in real trains more than model or toy trains. But I do get a number of train catalogs that have model trains, and I can't recall seeing anything like this tram before. I can think of a Japanese company that makes light rail and high-speed rail train sets.

Two things make this Lego train groundbreaking: it is the most realistic toy tram I've ever seen, but - most notably - it is the only tram that has actual pantographs on the roof. That is a really important detail for the realist. Of course Bombardier and others are offering catenary-free rail systems. But this Lego tram is almost certainly the type that will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton on the Purple Line, and on the Baltimore Red Line.

The style of platform is also similar to what will be used on the Purple Line and any BRT lines built in Montgomery County. True to life, you'll notice the platforms are in the center of the road.

So if you know someone who is crazy about trams - and whose copy of Transit Maps of the World is starting to fall apart - this might be the perfect gift. If you are rich, that is! This set retails for $99-$105. That's pretty outrageous.

If an adult has the patience, this would be an interesting item to display in your office, for example.

If you have kids, and want to pass on a love of trains and transit to the next generation, this gift would certainly be a winner. I sure would have been nuts about this set if they'd had it when I was a child.

I know that my own Amtrak trips as a child, and the Chessie System rail line in Bethesda (it actually ran on the right-of-way the Purple Line will use), certainly contributed to a life-long obsession with trains. I also remember my first ride on Metrorail. And while streetcars were long gone, I got interested in them from a book I was given that had photos of 1970s trams running in West Germany.

So parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. can get young people interested in trains and transit as more than just an urban utility, with travel and gifts.

You don't have to spend $100 bucks, though.

Visit the National Capital Trolley Museum in Silver Spring, instead.

http://www.dctrolley.org/

They have a gift shop, and the money you spend keeps the classic streetcars around for future generations to enjoy. Of course, they'll run again soon in DC, but those are quite different in design.

With toy trains being such a big part of Christmas, I thought this transit-and-Bethesda oriented gift idea was a great way to start off my annual 12 Days of Christmas here on the blog.

Happy Holidays!