60052 - Cargo Train

redghostx · 2016-01-04T04:55:41.000Z

The recent revival of the Horizon Express topic made me think about the future value of this set. The train theme growth stagnated in 2015 and I was wondering what people really expect from this set. I thought that I would list some pros and cons and maybe some other people will have some input too. Pro: The crane dock is very well done and easy to expand upon The engine is excellent, especially if you are from North America. There's a cow There is no helicopter Two switches are included and that makes it easy to start a collection with this train or to make this your second purchase. Con: The "cargo" wagons are unremarkable. I don't need to ferry animals around and carry fuel at the same time, it really seems like combining elements of this set with 60098 would have made more sense. Only the drum car is interesting The part out value is low compared to other options: eBay sales will put it at about $200 after shipping and fees and Bricklink indicates that the new value is around $280 but that seems about 15-18% too high to me. The minifigures add nothing to the set. This set has been heavily discounted for all of 2015 and although 60098 Heavy Haul train is not a huge improvement on this set, the fact that it will be available at retail will probably hinder the growth of new copies of the 60052 train. Does anyone see this train blossoming after retirement or are there simply too many cargo train options on the market for this one to stand out. This really seems like a low growth set, based on MSRP, but it should have nice part out value.