All aboard the world’s longest LEGO® train!
Built by 14-year-old Alexander Blong (New Zealand), it has broken the record for the most carriages in a toy train, with 101. The previous record was 69. 🚆
Ever since getting his first set at the age of four, Alexander has loved LEGO®. 😃
He especially loves designing his own creations and bringing objects from his imagination to life.
He was inspired to build his record-breaking train after watching the Netflix series Snowpiercer, which features a similarly large train.
"I knew that building it out of LEGO® was going to look so amazing and awesome," Alexander explained.
It took around 50 hours to build all 101 carriages. However, that wasn’t the only thing he needed to built - a train that long also needs an even longer track to drive on!
To officially achieve the record, the train must be able to travel for a minimum distance of 10 metres (32.80 ft).
Alexander set up train tracks along the hallway of his house and began testing his train. He had to make sure that the locomotive (the front part with the motor) could pull the weight of all the carriages behind it. 🚄
Testing continued for around one month before Alexander was ready to prove to the world that his train was deserving of the record. 😎
On the day of the official attempt, a team of 10 people helped Alexander construct the track and connect all the carriages together.
However, suddenly there was a problem – the train refused to move!
"This was a bit of a worry and not expected but I knew there had to be a way to fix the problem," Alexander said.
He discovered that the Bluetooth connection between the controller and the train’s power hub was being interrupted. 😬
Once everyone in the audience switched off their phone’s Bluetooth, everything was back on track and Alexander could breathe a sigh of relief. 😁
“The train worked smoothly after that!” he said.
Earlier in the day, a local radio station had spoken about Alexander’s record attempt, so lots of people showed up to watch.
"Even the local florist came to watch and then gave me red flowers to say congratulations!" 🌹
In addition to the human audience, a LEGO® audience were also in place to cheer for the LEGO® train as it drove over the line to achieve its Guinness World Records title.
"Honestly, holding a Guinness World Records title is absolutely amazing and a life achievement!” Alexander said.
He doesn’t plan on stopping here though – Alexander is already thinking of even bigger things to create in the future!
"Age is no barrier to setting a goal and achieving success." – Alexander Blong
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