7839 - Car Transport Depot

1986-1990
340 pieces, 2 minifigs

instructions
booklet, 12 pages
21.0 x 29.7 cm (A4)

Depot
from 8 years

As an addendum to the sets of the third wave from 1985, LEGO released another 3 stand alone Trains sets in 1986. These were the last sets for of the grey era, and this car transport depot is one of them.

A-Model

This set offers a platform for loading cars unto a specially prepared train wagon. The platform has a clever sliding mechanism, allowing it to extend in order to bridge the gap between the wagon and the platform. The yellow square marking the sliding part of the platform is a nice and realistic detail.

Navigating the depot is a one way affair. Cars are allowed to enter the depot on one side only, and have to wait underneath the control station until the barriers is lifted. Only then are they allowed to enter the platform and park unto the wagon. Cars that return from a (possibly long) train journey have to leave the platform on the opposite side.

This is the third of three "depot" sets of the grey era, together with 7838 from 1983 and 7823 from 1986. Like the other depot sets, it comes with an additional freight wagon. This flatbed wagon, used for transporting the cars, has an unusual chassis design using the train base plate from 7710, the one with the fixed buffers. The set also comes with a single white car and conducting rails.

based with kind permission on a series of reviews by Christian Andersch; revisions, editing and additional research by Fouke Boss.