Photo: LEGO
UPDATE, December 2023: The set is now live, and you can get it today for $299.99. It includes over 2,500 pieces, so it'll probably keep you busy for a few days. Original story below.
Back in 1883 a Belgian railroad company called Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) started operating a long-distance train called Orient Express. In 2023 we're celebrating 140 years since that moment, and what better way to do that than with a specially created LEGO set?
The real-life Orient Express used to cross the length of Europe, taking passengers from the continent's countries to the exotic Istanbul, in Turkey. Its terminal stations were Paris in the West and the Turkish city in the East, but it did have branches that reached Athens, Brussels, and London.
That in itself is not particularly extraordinary, even back in the 1880s, but the way in which the Orient Express did things was. You see, this train was not like other trains, but distinguished itself through luxury-style travel.
That meant things like sleeping cars with permanent service, restaurants with delicious cuisine, and decorations to die for, all of which earned it the nickname of "rolling palace."
It's a kind of train Sheldon Cooper would probably get all worked up over, but sadly the thing has stopped moving people back in 2009. Luckily for fans, countless toy replicas of the Orient Express exist, and from now you could add this LEGO Ideas set to the list.
Like all other builds from this series, the train is the result of random people (10,000 of them) voting on brick constructions sent over to LEGO by average Joes. In this case, the display was born in the mind of one Thomas Lajon.
This "recreation of one of the world's most luxurious and legendary forms of travel" comes together as a result of the careful assembly of no less than 2,540 pieces of plastic of various shapes, sizes, and colors.
The train comprises the main locomotive, its tender, a dining cart, and a sleeping one. A track on which the display to rest is also provided, as are eight minifigures depicting the conductor, a chef for one of the train's restaurants, various staff, and even random passengers.
The build comes with all the required decorations, showing the "destinations that the train visited on its original route." The roof can be removed as to allow access to its interior.
When fully assembled the LEGO train (by the way, a train is not something we regularly get from the toy maker) measures five inches tall (12 cm), four inches (eight cm) wide, and no less than 46 inches (one meter and 16 cm) long.
The LEGO Ideas Orient Express set comes to the play table just in time for Christmas, as it launches on December 1. It's not a cheap thing to own, with the price for it set at 299.99, no matter if we're talking about dollars, pounds, or euros.
The real-life Orient Express used to cross the length of Europe, taking passengers from the continent's countries to the exotic Istanbul, in Turkey. Its terminal stations were Paris in the West and the Turkish city in the East, but it did have branches that reached Athens, Brussels, and London.
That in itself is not particularly extraordinary, even back in the 1880s, but the way in which the Orient Express did things was. You see, this train was not like other trains, but distinguished itself through luxury-style travel.
That meant things like sleeping cars with permanent service, restaurants with delicious cuisine, and decorations to die for, all of which earned it the nickname of "rolling palace."
It's a kind of train Sheldon Cooper would probably get all worked up over, but sadly the thing has stopped moving people back in 2009. Luckily for fans, countless toy replicas of the Orient Express exist, and from now you could add this LEGO Ideas set to the list.
Like all other builds from this series, the train is the result of random people (10,000 of them) voting on brick constructions sent over to LEGO by average Joes. In this case, the display was born in the mind of one Thomas Lajon.
This "recreation of one of the world's most luxurious and legendary forms of travel" comes together as a result of the careful assembly of no less than 2,540 pieces of plastic of various shapes, sizes, and colors.
The train comprises the main locomotive, its tender, a dining cart, and a sleeping one. A track on which the display to rest is also provided, as are eight minifigures depicting the conductor, a chef for one of the train's restaurants, various staff, and even random passengers.
The build comes with all the required decorations, showing the "destinations that the train visited on its original route." The roof can be removed as to allow access to its interior.
When fully assembled the LEGO train (by the way, a train is not something we regularly get from the toy maker) measures five inches tall (12 cm), four inches (eight cm) wide, and no less than 46 inches (one meter and 16 cm) long.
The LEGO Ideas Orient Express set comes to the play table just in time for Christmas, as it launches on December 1. It's not a cheap thing to own, with the price for it set at 299.99, no matter if we're talking about dollars, pounds, or euros.
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