Subject:
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Re: 12V to 9V - why the switch
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Tue, 17 May 2005 23:16:50 GMT
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Viewed:
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1458 times
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In lugnet.trains, Jason J. Railton wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, Bryan Kinkel wrote:
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Can someone explain why LEGO made the switch from 12V to 9V ?
There appears to be some discussion about the switch in these catalogs:
1991 Netherlands
http://library.brickshelf.com/scans/catalogs/1991/c91nl/c91nl-30.html
1991 German
http://library.brickshelf.com/scans/catalogs/1991/c91de/c91de-30.html
1991 Europe
http://library.brickshelf.com/scans/catalogs/1991/c91eu/c91eu-15.html
Was there any reaction in the LEGO community when this switch happened?
-- Bryan
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Was there a Lego community in 1991?
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Sort of, it was rec.toys newslist, I think there were about 50+ LEGO fans on the
list at the time. In fact the fans in the SF Bay Area (now BAYLUG) had a privet
Email list at the time that spun off the rec.toys list.
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I can see a lot of advantages in the change:
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They big advantage for me was that I could finally get track powered trains in
the US. I had 2 of the 4.5V and a push train at the time, along with the few
cars they would sell to the US.
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1. Better pick-up of power through the wheels on the inner edge of the track.
Sprung contacts like on 12V trains are prone to wear and spark damage.
2. One-piece track sections are cheaper to produce, and easier to stock and
sell than multi-piece track with optional extra power rails.
3. Unifying all Lego power systems (4.5V, 9V, 12V) to run at one voltage.
4. Better free-rolling wheels (this could have happened at any time, but the
metal caps to the rails do help).
I think it was all of these together that culminated in a completely fresh
start for trains.
I think the loss of cheap push-along and battery starter sets may have damaged
take-up of Lego trains in the long term though.
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Agreed, $70 for a circle of track and a controller is a huge entry price for a
toy.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: 12V to 9V - why the switch
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| (...) Was there a Lego community in 1991? I can see a lot of advantages in the change: 1. Better pick-up of power through the wheels on the inner edge of the track. Sprung contacts like on 12V trains are prone to wear and spark damage. 2. One-piece (...) (20 years ago, 17-May-05, to lugnet.trains)
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