SkyTrain and downtown New Westminster re-imagined as Lego
SkyTrain and downtown New Westminster re-imagined as Lego
The New Westminster Museum’s People Gotta Move project might just be the World Cup of Lego building, bringing together the very best builders in Metro Vancouver to recreate the city’s iconic downtown and waterfront.
This ambitious exhibit transcends time—showcasing the past, present and near future of transport in the city. Included is everything from the historic B.C. Electric Railway streetcar to the now-iconic “W” made from shipping containers on the waterfront, and of course—SkyTrain!
Completely rebuilt in Lego form by the Vancouver Lego Club for the exhibit is New Westminster Station along with a pair of Mark I trains, a Mark II train and a New Flyer Xcelsior bus!
William Fong tells us he built the Mark I trains after car 001 Spirit of Kelowna and car 002 Spirit of Peachland in their livery from around 1990–1992. They even got a fully lit interior, as well as headlights and taillights!
“I’ve tried to keep the graphic design as accurate as possible to the time period, but there’s not many photos to draw reference from,” he says.
The People Gotta Move exhibits runs until November 16 at the New Westminster Museum (Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC). The museum is open daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
“Anyone who has kids, or loves Lego or transit should come check out the display,” William says. “I think everyone would derive some enjoyment from seeing how much detail the club has packed into it.”
The exhibit was a culmination of a year’s work for William and his colleagues at the Vancouver Lego Club, who were first approached by the New Westminster Museum to build this display back in spring 2017.
“This is one of the largest displays in terms of volume and detail that the Vancouver Lego Club has put on to date and has been an unprecedented undertaking for us,” William says.
It was a no brainer for William that he wanted to be part of this as he’s always been interested in Lego and transit growing up. He already had experience reimagining transit as Lego.
The first build he did was a Mark II SkyTrain car in April 2016 for Vancouver’s Lego convention, BrickCan. In December 2016, as part of the Vancouver Lego Club, he built the Lafarge Lake–Douglas Station display for the Millennium Line Evergreen Extension opening. He had also built a 1983 New Flyer E902 trolleybus.
Photos courtesy of William Fong
Thanks for the tip. I’ll stop by the museum on the way to or coming back from Abbotsford International Airshow next month…
Great! Make sure you take pictures and share them using the #MyTransLink hashtag on social media. ?
This lego scenery is very fascinating!
Is that LRT I see on the table edge or bottom foot of the hill of new west stn?
Hi Harry, that’s the old BC Eletric Railway streetcar/interurban.
Thanks for this update…not perhaps a typo ??? should be “re-imaged” , not re-imagined….
Hmmm, I’ve only seen the word “re-imaged” used for computers when you wipe the hard drive clean and install the operating system again. (P.S. I’ve corrected your typos! ?)
Wow, being a fan of the classic mark I (I love that awesome startup sound), if that train set is actually sold in stores, I would go buy it because it’s absolutely beautiful. The person who made it got all the details right. I know it can be challenging to make something with lego that’s based on a real thing, but that is just perfect. Train lego sets tend to be too small compared to lego “people figures” (not exactly sure what the official term is) but that skytrain looks to be a good size with plenty of room inside. Even the lights turn on! But those sliding doors… I’ve never seen any lego piece quite like it and it looks exactly like the real thing (I’m wondering if certain parts were custom made because they look so faithful or they’re some actual lego piece that I’m just not aware of). Great work on the logos and livery too. A lot of work must’ve gone into it.