Today I have a new (old) set to share with you, the Fisher Price Lift & Load Railroad #943. Made between 1978-1979 this was the second of the Lift & Load sets produced. The #942 Lift & Load Depot was first produced from 1977-1979. The third set in the series was the Lift & Load Lumber Yard #944 from 1979-1981.
This is the final of the three sets that we added to our collection. I bought it as a Christmas gift for my youngest and it is a perfect addition to the other two! But more on that in a bit.
The Lift & Load Railroad came with quite a few pieces (24), many of them exclusives to the set. The set came with a total of 7 track pieces; 4 curved pieces and 3 short straight tracks.
The base looks similar to the Lift & Load Depot but has the addition of a built in track. It also included a crane that moves side to side, a platform that tilts up to load cargo, a removable orange ramp and a "cage" that moves by a crank.
The accessories that came with the set included 3 little people figures, a train engine, flat car, green forklift, ramp, 7 pieces of cargo and a cage. I've read conflicting reports on whether there were variations to any of the pieces, one source said no and the other said the crates could be brown or tan (as shown).
The little people construction figures included the two tall ones shown above and a third that looks just like the small guy but is regular height. I looked EVERYWHERE but couldn't find him in our playroom this morning. I'm sure he'll appear once I post this entry. :)
We have quite the pile of people (this isn't even all of them) but I didn't see him. Do you? 😆
The set came with 8 pieces of cargo: 4 light orange shipping pallets, 2 black oil drums and 2 grey crates with wood slats molded into the side. All of the cargo pieces are made of plastic. The orange pallets were exclusive to this set, three different sets used brown pallet versions.
The coolest and most exclusive piece is the train engine. It is a wind up train that has an on/off switch. The engine can go around the track up to 4 times according to what I've read, but I've experienced more like 2-3x. The problem with these engines is that it's hard to find one that actually works! It took 4 tries (!!!) to get one that wasn't overwound.
The train can also be pushed manually by a child but that's not quite as fun as watching it go on its own.
Our train makes a...high pitched sound but I like to think it makes it more authentic. Check out my video to see what I mean. Does your train sound like this too?
The train can also be pushed manually by a child but that's not quite as fun as watching it go on its own.
Our train makes a...high pitched sound but I like to think it makes it more authentic. Check out my video to see what I mean. Does your train sound like this too?
These are almost 40 year old toys and through the years overly enthusiastic children have broken the windings which from what I can tell are unable to be fixed. If you know how to fix the engine I recommend posting a how-to video on youtube for the rest of us.
Now for a closer look. The orange ramp is an exclusive, not to be confused with a similar yellow ramp that came with the #944 Lift & Load Lumber Yard. It is removable and helps the forklift get onto the deck for easy loading/unloading.
The train flat car has a yellow base that lifts up. The flat car can load here where the forklift is or inside the tunnel from the cage.
Here you can see the orange cage in action. The cage moves back and forth with the orange crank.
The cage is a set exclusive and although it looks similar to the yellow cage from the Lift & Load Depot they are actually quite different.
This orange cage is removable and attaches to an orange plastic ball.
One end of the tunnel/base piece has a orange platform that tilts up to help unload.
Although the set is fun on it's own it is even more fun with our other Lift & Load sets. I keep them organized (sort of) in a big basket in the playroom.
Doesn't that look fun?! Now if I could just find that missing construction worker.....
Lift & Load Lumber Yard #944
Lift & Load Depot #942
Dump Truck #342
For more Trains check out:
Yes--please let us know if you figure out how to repair the engine!
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ReplyDeleteHello, so I've gotten this set for my son and the one long part of the track is missing. I'm just wondering if you can suggest any web sites that might lead me to finding it?? Also, how does the track snap together? Are there pieces that i might be missing that I need to get it to stick together? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHeather