So who had a Lego train set back in the day? At around £40, they weren't cheap (that was a substantial amount for many families in the early 80s), and you were certainly going to gain a lot of friends if you were lucky enough to receive one for Christmas.
I never received one for two reasons. Firstly, in 1980, I was almost a teenager and, therefore, a tad too old to be playing with Lego! Secondly, my parents were still recovering from buying me a Scalextric set - they were mightily expensive!
The very first Lego train set was introduced in 1966, with the model 080. It had blue rails and no electrics or batteries - you had to push it along with your hands.
4.5v battery trains were introduced with set 115, and from set 720 upwards (1969), 12v electrified rails were introduced.
City themes, cargo wagons and night time trains were introduced (which had me salivating at the time!), and the latter included lights inside the trains, headlamps, tail lights and lampposts.
Okay, let's take a look at some of the models that were available...
7740 Inter-CityPassenger Train Set
7750 Electric Steam Locomotive
7813 Shell Tanker rolling stock
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