Train Set Help

[LoveMyBaby786]

I wanr to buy my 2 year old his first train set. I have no idea where to start or what is good. All i know is that we went to a relatives house and they had a small plastic car set and my ds loved it!

Ideally would like to spend less than £25. I seen one in elc called happyland train set or something for £25 it looked quite nice but not sure if its good/big/small/quality etc..

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[jd83]

I would look for wooden track rather than plastic. The plastic sets we had were terrible for coming apart, and for the boys actually being able to put them together themselves. When they came apart, I constantly had to put them back together for them. We didn't keep those sets long, needless to say. Wooden track pieces are easy to put together themselves, and they can make their own configurations with them with whatever pieces you buy. There are many brands of trains, ranging from cheap to very expensive. My boys play with them all. We have non-branded, Chuggington, and Thomas, which all get played with. I think you can't go wrong with whatever you choose for a few trains to go with the track, and you may be able to find a set of wooden track set that comes with a few trains.

 

[the why bird]

We've got the happyland train set. It's pretty decent. It's not very big (the pieces are chunky but it's a small loop of track) but it's pretty sturdy. The train drives itself when you put a little person in the engine, and stops when you take it out. It makes a sort of chugging noise and when it reaches the station it pauses for a second and makes a noise like a steam engine stopping, then carries on again. Took my daughter no time at all to grasp it and by 2.5 she could assemble the track herself easily. All great stuff.

That said, it's sized to go with the happyland stuff so you can't really mix and match sets, whereas a lot of the wooden ones are compatible. You also can't get things like bridges and tunnels (as far as I know?) so if you think he's going to get into it, a better long-term investment might be a brio or one of the many brands that are compatible because you can add to it and build a more and more complex set over the years.

My nearly 3 year old is getting a wooden set this year because she's ready for more complicated pretending play with it, rather than just the stop-and-go type play she does with the happyland one.

edit: carousel at tesco do their own wooden train set that I'm fairly sure is compatible with lots of other brands and it's fairly inexpensive. Plus if you get one that's compatible then friends/relatives can buy add ons without worrying too much about getting the right brand.

 

[felix555]

I'd recommend a wooden set instead. My LO's first set was a Brio set and we've since then bought 2 cheap argos sets (2 for £15) which were really good and another Brio set with a crane etc ( can't remember what it's called now). I also bought a Lidl set not so long ago ...sorry my point they're all compatible and fit well together.

My LO has been playing with wooden sets since he was about 15 months old even though they're recommended for 3+ and he loves trains!

 

[wildflower79]

We bought my lg a wooden train track just before she turned 2 and its been the best toy we've bought. She plays with it everyday. We started off with the cheap tesco carousel one, which is excellent value for money and we just keep adding to it. It fits lots of different brands of wooden track. We also have loads of thomas engines, which now she's a bit older she's started making games and stories up with them.

My mum has the happyland train set at her house and lo likes playing with that when she visits. It seems decent quality, but if anything is a bit limiting, because you can't really do as much with it.

 

[lindseymw]

As others have said, I would stick with wooden ones. Toys R Us have some good sets (sorry not aware of prices!) & try Lidl as well. They have one quite regularly which is great value for money (also compatible with Brio, Thomas, Toys R Us).

 

[Mrs_T]

We've got a wooden bigjigs one. They are a really good brand but no idea how much they are as we got ours for £12 at a car boot!

 

[FAB mama]

LO got the Melissa and Doug wooden figure 8 set from a relative when he turned 1. He loves it so I'm adding pieces to expand it this year. From what I've read it's compatible with most wooden track.

 

[LoveMyBaby786]

Thanks all. The tesco one is out of stock online. Will have a good look at the other ones mentioned

 

[felix555]

This is the argos set we have, I'd say it's similar to the tesco one.

https://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9243167.htm

It's 9.99 or two for £15. We have two sets. I think they're great!

 

[LoveMyBaby786]

That argos one is a good offer! Might buy that one thanks!

 

[meldmac]

I agree the wooden sets are great!

 

[BabyHill]

My lo has had the wooden ones since 1 and loves them. We also have the little people wheelies train set which is pants in comparison and has been ignored for the year hes had it.

 

[tommyg]

If I was buying again I'd look at the brio ones where the people can get on the trains or the duplo one.
However I have a various brands wooden one.