LEGO Icons 10361 Holiday Express Train Review: A Successful Winter Village Set?

Published on 14-12-2025

The review of the Winter Village 2025 set

For this new review on Temple of Bricks, we’re taking a look at set 10361 The Christmas Train from the Winter Village series. As every year since 2013, Lego offers us a new model to add to the Christmas village collection. While these are usually winter-themed buildings, ranging from simple realistic chalets to gingerbread houses, the 2025 edition marks the return of another Christmas decoration classic: the train, after a first version released in 2016.

Having particularly enjoyed the 10339 Santa’s Post Office last year, I didn’t hesitate long before picking up the 10361 Christmas Train this year, and as usual I’m taking the opportunity to share a review with you.

Set data: the most expensive set in the Winter Village collection

Before diving into the review, let’s take a closer look at its data. The 10361 Christmas Train starts with a negative point: its price. At €119.99, it is the most expensive set in the Winter Village series, whose price had always stayed below the symbolic €100 mark. The price-per-piece ratio takes a serious hit, going from around €0.07 to nearly €0.13, also impacted by the piece count dropping from 1440–1517 in previous years to only 956 in this set. These figures should be put into perspective given the nature of the pieces: the 16 track elements count as 16 pieces, but they are not comparable to 16 1x1 tiles. In fact, the price-per-piece ratio is almost identical to the 2016 train, which had both a lower price and fewer pieces.

So we can consider that the price increase from €99.99 to €119.99 is justified by the nature of the set and the increased piece count compared to the 2016 train. However, given the overall price increase of Lego sets in 2025, I’m willing to bet that choosing a train this year is mainly an excuse to break the usual €100 ceiling… We’ll find out next year.

Set	Lego price	Year	Pieces	Minifigures	Price/piece	Price/minifigure
10361 The Christmas Train	119,99€	2025	956	4	0,125€	30,00€
10339 Santa’s Post Office	99,99€	2024	1440	5	0,069€	20,00€
10325 The Alpine Lodge	99,99€	2023	1517	5	0,066€	20,00€
10254 Winter Holiday Train	89,99€	2016	734	5	0,123€	18,00€

Building experience: interesting but a bit short

The box follows the design of previous years since the Creator Expert range became Icons, with the white banner and snowy black background. The back shows the features with moving parts of the train, but especially the option to motorize it by adding Powered Up elements (motor, battery and remote). It’s a shame that motorization isn’t included directly in the set, especially since Powered Up products are often out of stock at Lego, and you’ll need to spend an additional €87 on top of the train to get them. The 2016 train had the same situation with motorization sold separately.

Inside the box, you’ll find six bags of parts, the 16 track pieces, a small gift box, and two instruction booklets. As usual with Winter Village sets, the set is marketed as buildable by multiple people (as indicated on the box). In practice, the main booklet is used to build the entire train, and the smaller one is only for a few additional elements (which are limited in this set). It was the same in the two other Winter Village sets I built. “Build together” really means one adult builds the train while a child assembles a few secondary accessories if you follow the paper instructions. However, since it’s a train, it’s possible to build one carriage each if you use the online instructions.

The build itself is quite enjoyable and varied, mixing simple brick stacking, SNOT techniques, and many detailed elements, not to mention the Technic mechanism. There are no overly repetitive steps thanks to the diversity of the carriages. However, with 956 pieces compared to 1440 last year, the six bags are quickly finished.

The review of the Lego Icons 10361 The Christmas Train set

The tracks and the platform

The first element to build is a small platform meant to be placed alongside the track. While the finish is minimal with a simple base, there’s a nicely done bench and a well-designed lamppost with Christmas decorations matching those on the train. While the platform is nothing exceptional, it at least provides a place for the fourth minifigure, since the train has limited interior space.

The model, the gifts and the 3D-printed locomotive

As usual with Winter Village sets, we get a few micro-builds representing toys and Christmas gifts. Fortunately, there are only three here: a boat, an excavator and a helicopter, the latter two reminiscent of Lego City sets.

There are fewer than usual because the remaining pieces are used to build a small railway model with track and a station. The whole thing looks quite nice, with detailed elements like trees and ribbons on the sides. This model is used to display a very special piece: a small 3D-printed locomotive. While a few other Lego pieces have been 3D-printed before, this is the first time one appears in a set sold to the general public. To highlight this, the piece comes in a small cardboard gift-style box.

If Lego used 3D printing instead of traditional molding, it’s because of the possibilities offered by this technique: directly producing interlocked moving parts. Despite its small size, this locomotive has functional wheels connected by coupling rods, a key feature of steam locomotives, and even a cam that makes smoke rise and fall from the chimney as it moves (just like the main locomotive), all in one piece. It also includes bars sized for Lego clips, allowing decorative elements to be added, and a hole for minifigure accessories on the moving chimney bar where a white feather piece represents smoke. The result is a charming rolling locomotive with moving smoke, although its rough surface texture differs from standard Lego bricks. It’s hard to say why Lego chose to include this 3D-printed piece, as this technology is unlikely to replace molding anytime soon. Perhaps it’s a way to showcase innovation and technical progress.

The locomotive: echoes of the Orient Express

After the accessories, we start building the train with the locomotive. If you’ve built the Lego Ideas 21344 Orient Express, this one will feel familiar with its dark blue color, cylindrical construction techniques, and cab—just smaller and simpler.

This locomotive is well designed and ticks most of the boxes of classic steam locomotives: cylindrical boiler in dark and light blue, rounded front, main chimney and two smaller ones, golden accents, and an open rear cab with a coal furnace. The winter touch comes from the snow-covered roof and floral decorations in red and green. A nice detail: three printed parts display the English name and set number: 10361 Holiday Express. There are no stickers in this set.

While nicely done, the locomotive has an aesthetic flaw: all wheels are the same size and there are no coupling rods, unlike the 3D-printed miniature… This comes from the compromise required by the functional mechanism and motorization option. As mentioned earlier, the locomotive includes one of the two features: its chimney moves up and down as the train runs. The mechanism is simple: the front bogie wheels drive an axle with a cam that lifts the sliding chimney, which then drops back down by gravity. Since this mechanism sits in the front bogie, it cannot be replaced by the motor if you motorize the train. That leaves only the rear bogie for motorization, forcing smaller wheels unless you redesign the train. While understandable, I would have preferred sacrificing this feature for better aesthetics, especially given its lack of reliability. The mechanism depends heavily on wheel grip, and the chimney’s weight creates resistance that causes slipping. Oddly, this mostly happens when moving forward, not backward… After some testing, I improved it slightly by widening the wheel spacing.

The tender to hide the battery

A steam locomotive needs a coal tender, and this train is no exception. The tender matches the locomotive’s colors but is quite simplistic. Completely hollow to fit the battery for motorization, it isn’t even closed on the locomotive side, likely to allow cables through. There’s no coal, just a flat surface with a gift and space to place the micro-builds (though they can’t be attached). Another downside appears when connecting it: vertical Technic pins are used to link the cars, which are not very practical. The ball joint system of the Orient Express was much easier to use.

The only positive point is the decoration, with green Christmas wreaths and red flowers matching the locomotive.

The polar bear wagon: a very successful mechanism

After the basic tender, we return to a more interesting build with the polar bear wagon. The wagon itself is simple, but the rear features the second function: a polar bear whose arms and head move as the train rolls. The bear is well built in white with a green scarf, holding a bell. The only downside is the lack of pieces for the other hand and eyes, suggesting cost-cutting decisions.

The mechanism is similar to the chimney: wheels drive a camshaft that moves a bar inside the bear, activating a lever that lifts the head and moves the arms. Interestingly, it works much better than the locomotive mechanism, likely due to better traction from fewer wheels.

The dining car: small but beautiful

Finally, we finish with the dining car. It’s the only true carriage that can hold minifigures. Like the Orient Express, it uses blue and gold colors, but it’s much smaller and simpler. Only 10 studs long, it fits two minifigures and includes minimal interior details: two chairs, a table, cups and a lamp.

The exterior is more refined, with decorative lamps, Christmas ornaments, and a large red bow wrapping around the carriage like a gift ribbon.

The complete train

Once assembled, the train measures 49 cm, which is quite small compared to other Lego trains, but understandable given its decorative purpose. This is not a realistic model like the 116 cm Orient Express, but a festive display piece.

The composition is identical to the 2016 version: locomotive with tender, animated wagon, and dining car. This 2025 version benefits from improved design, with better functionality and more refined colors and details.

Minifigures

The set includes four minifigures: two passengers, a woman and a man, the train driver, and the conductor. While they reuse standard legs and heads, all torsos are exclusive with detailed prints, especially the conductor’s gold vest. While no one will buy the set just for the minifigures, the effort is appreciated.

My opinion on the Lego Icons 10361 The Christmas Train set

Overall, I’m quite satisfied with this set. The 2025 Winter Village entry brings something new with a train instead of the usual buildings, and it’s much better executed than the 2016 version. The locomotive is realistic, the dining car is beautiful, and the polar bear adds charm.

However, these positives are slightly overshadowed by unreliable functions and a lower piece count. Recent Winter Village sets had around 1500 pieces, so this one feels lighter, especially at this price point. The lack of motorization also makes it feel incomplete.

That said, I still recommend this set, especially for collectors. Given the general price increases in 2025, it’s unlikely things will improve anytime soon.

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Evaluation of set 10361 The Christmas Train

Evaluation of set Lego Icons 10361 The Christmas Train by Temple of Bricks:

Criteria	Set rating	Pros and cons
Value for money		✅ Price per piece similar to the 2016 train... ⛔️ ... but twice as high as previous years’ sets
Collector value		✅ A Winter Village set, hard to skip if you collect them
Display value		✅ Excellent finish ✅ Reasonable size
Play value		✅ A train with full track ⛔️ ... but not very interesting without motorization
Minifigure selection		✅ Four exclusive minifigures with unique torsos
Build experience		✅ Interesting thanks to variety between mechanisms and details... ⛔️ ... but a bit short compared to previous Winter Village sets
Inventory richness		✅ Train parts ✅ Varied colors ✅ The 3D-printed locomotive