7816 - Shell Tanker Wagon

1980-1982
120 pieces, 1 minifig

instructions
leaflet, 2 pages
13.5 x 13.5 cm

Rolling Stock
from 6 years

In 1980, the LEGO Train line was refreshed and re-launched into what has become known as the grey era. Shell wagon 7816 was part of a range of additional rolling stock sets released in that first wave.

A-Model

The A-model is a small tanker car in Shell colors, and looks like an updated and refined version of set 136 from 1975. The build is still sturdy and blocky. The colour scheme matches that of other recent Shell-related sets like 377, 601, 604 and 671. Playability wise this set has not much going on, maybe this is the reason why it was dropped from the line-up after only 3 years in 1982.

LEGO's partnership with Shell started in 1966, and until the introduction of the fictional gasoline company Octan in 1992, Shell was the common gasoline brand featured in LEGO sets. This set is the first of 3 LEGO Trains sets from the 1980s to feature the Shell brand. Train set 7735 from 1985 contains a Shell wagon, and in 1986, LEGO introduced 7813 which is a second attempt at a Shell wagon.