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Train sets

stoneycakesstoneycakes member
in Cloth Diapering
DS is obsessed with trains.  I have done very little to encourage this, haha.  Does anyone have a train set they would recommend for a 2 1/2 yo?  Do you guys like the wooden ones with the tracks that fit together like a puzzle?  I'm afraid he might get a little frustrated with putting the track together, but I can help him for now and he'll probably grow into it.  What do you think?
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Re: Train sets

  • freezorburnfreezorburn member
    DS is the same age and he does fine with the wooden tracks.

    But -- I made the mistake of getting him a battery-powered steam engine a few months ago, and now he is obsessed with changing the battery. Super annoying. Also one of several toys that led to me buying a battery chargers. I wish I had just stuck with the ones that he pushes around with his hands. I hide the battery powered one for weeks at a time now.
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  • stoneycakesstoneycakes member
    What brand of the wooden ones do you have @freezorburn?
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  • freezorburnfreezorburn member
    We have mostly Brio tracks and trains. But we also have a bunch of compatible train cars that are other brands that have been gifted to us.

    The ILs have IKEA at their house. I think the trains are cute, but I worry that the little plastic connector bits could be a choking hazard. DS still puts everything in his mouth. I was super-paranoid about it when we were visiting, but it turns out the pieces stick pretty well to the tracks and it wasn't an issue. 

    I've heard Thomas the Tank Engine is also compatible, but I wanted to stay away from character-driven toys for a bit longerl
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  • stoneycakesstoneycakes member
    Thanks, guys.  I'll definitely check out the Brio sets.
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  • stoneycakesstoneycakes member
    Does anyone have the generic compatible brands of train sets?  Looks like you get a lot more bang for your buck.
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  • freezorburnfreezorburn member
    I'm this close to buying some because I feel like we need more track, and I saw some boxes at our local toy store. I want to take a closer look before I commit though.
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  • stoneycakesstoneycakes member
    freezorburn said:
    I'm this close to buying some because I feel like we need more track, and I saw some boxes at our local toy store. I want to take a closer look before I commit though.
    https://www.amazon.com/Expansion-Chuggington-Imaginarium-Orbrium-Toys/dp/B00E3FTOJQ/ref=pd_sim_t_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=13NXK8YWNRTG5JBERX7T

    This brand gets good reviews.  
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  • hillgirl322hillgirl322 member
    My kids have the train tracks from IKEA and love them! We bought them probably five years ago now and my son still plays with them. Great quality.
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  • unaveragejaneunaveragejane member
    Do those of you who have train sets recommend getting a train table as well? Or are they a waste of space?
                 

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  • stoneycakesstoneycakes member
    unaveragejane said:
    Do those of you who have train sets recommend getting a train table as well? Or are they a waste of space?
    Oh I sure hope not...
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  • freezorburnfreezorburn member
    We just set up on the floor. I like not having a box to stay inside.

    I think a train table would be nice for grandparents or anyone who is playing with your child who might have difficulty getting down on the floor to play and difficulty getting up.
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  • hillgirl322hillgirl322 member
    stoneycakes said:


    unaveragejane said:

    Do those of you who have train sets recommend getting a train table as well? Or are they a waste of space?

    Oh I sure hope not...

    Nope. The floor worked just fine and we have a plastic box on wheels (also from IKEA) to store the peices in. This way the kids could move them from room to room if needed.
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  • blondolphnblondolphn member
    I got a used play table that I think originally had a train track and trains on it. It has one side for lego/duplos and the other side of the table is a decorated scene for cars adn what not. The boards flip and the inside of the table has storage. Jo is only 14 months and loves her table. Excuse the mess, still workign on putting in hardwood floors. image
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  • PipSqueak0313PipSqueak0313 member
    We had (and it's still at Grandma's in storage) a TTE set and we added a generic set or three to it, including a plastic track set. They all interchanged well enough to combine the tracks into one huge layout. We did have a table to encourage ds1 to keep the parts stored off the floor to keep them from getting stepped on but he wasn't limited to playing on the table.

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  • sarenu1sarenu1 member
    We have Brio and Imagination(?). They can be used together. You don't need a table, we don't have room for one
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  • unaveragejaneunaveragejane member
    @blondolphin - I have been wondering where you are these days! I hope all is well with you and yours! :)
                 

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  • stoneycakesstoneycakes member
    Wow.  The Ikea ones are really inexpensive.  I might have to make a trip there this week.
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  • frassfrass member
    edited December 2014
    L loves the ikea trains! We have some Thomas tracks that he can use with the ikea ones (they don't fit perfectly, but good enough!) just so he can use some of the fun Thomas add-ons, like the crane or mine set. We also bought a table on Craigslist that fits under his bed since we have no space. He will play with trains for hours- well worth it! Especially for the inexpensive ikea ones.
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  • nevertunenevertune member
    My older son was obsessed with Thomas and the wooden track. We have Imagination, Thomas, Brio, and some offbrand track that all connects pretty decently. We got a used train table on craigslist for $35. At the two-year-old time, I'd make him awesome track configurations and he'd spend a week or so wrecking it or reconnecting in his own way. I'd make him a new one every week or two. At that age, my son was obsessed with tunnels, so finding an inexensive one of those might be worth your time. Amazon was my best friend for wooden train stuff.
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  • CLLDLLCLLDLL member
    We've used TTE and Imaginarium.  I like them both, but for the price Imaginarium is probably a better value. FWIW we held off buying a table for D from age two to age 4, thinking it was unnecessary.  We finally caved for Christmas after he turned 4 because he begged for one.  He played with a handful of times before he got bored with it.  I sold it the following year and got most of my money back out of it. 
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