Thomas Take along set? worth it?

smiley2

We just got DS a regular Thomas the train set.  Someone accidentally gave him a "take along" train instead of a regular train and it got me thinking maybe I should also just get him the take along set (I wanted to get DS a gift from DC#2).  Is the take along set worth getting?  Is it pretty portable?  Do you think it's something he could use when he visits me in the hospital after I deliver #2?

If you recommend it- which one?  There are so many on Amazon...?

lsufan

My mom has the take along set at her house for the boys, and I don't like it nearly as much as the wooden tracks.  They're not really that portable, and it's harder to put together a nice layout because the pieces don't stay together as well.  We have a few of the small metal trains at our house along with our wooden ones, but we never bought any of the take along track.

AggieCouple

I would recommend the vehicles if your DS is as obsessed with trains as TB.  I got tired of hunting down trains in the car/bags when he needed them for the track at home, so it is much easier to have a set for the road that stays in the diaper bag/cars and one at home.  

He has a small roundhouse set, but not the one on amazon.  I wanted something fairly small.  We bought it from Target a while back, so maybe it's been discontinued.  Anyway, we actually don't bring the set around much; it sits at his feet in the car most of the time.  It's sort of a pain to take in and out if you're just going to be in doctor's office or whatever for 20 minutes.  But the vehicles fit nicely in his pocket (or mine), and he takes them everywhere, and without the set, he can play with them in the grocery cart, etc.  He has a couple that make noises, which he looooves.  Highly recommend.

rachyru

My son collects the wooden thomas stuff here at the house but his friend has a take along set. Whenever we go over there to play the track comes apart so easily my friend is always having to fix it. She has it set up on a little wood table but the pieces just don't stay put. It sounds like a good idea but I would definately check it out in person if I were you because it may be more of a pain than its worth.