Customer Reviews

Melody Express - Musical Train

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

My son received this for christmas (less than 3 months ago), and LOVES it. However, it has already stopped working after only moderate (and gentle) use. The train sticks at every couple of tiles (tiles are what make the musical sounds). I have replaced the battery, checked to be sure the track is snapped together well, and that the musical tiles are perfectly placed (which is a bit tricky anyway). We have it set up on a flat hard floor (not a carpet). Nothing is working, and my son is frustrated. The manual says not to press the contact buttons on the bottom of the engine. This seems a bit nutty and unrealistic since the toy is meant for a 3-year old (we know how they like to press buttons). I have personally never seen him press them (and we usually play with this together so mommy can build the songs), but I couldn't swear that he hasn't touched them. I am so disappointed, as is my son. I can't return it because I don't know where it was purchased from, so we are stuck with a faulty train. This would be a great toy if it was more durable.
Update: Attempted twice to contact the company with no response. The train has been trashed. We tried using it a few more times, and it got stuck every couple of tiles no matter what we tried. Then it got stuck "on". I had to remove the batteries to shut it off - and when I replaced the batteries, had the same problem (it will not shut off once it is turned on). Too bad - it was really fun while it lasted.

My son received this train for Christmas last year and LOVES it, a year later he still does but is very disappointed because it stopped working (only 6 months after getting it). I called the manufacturer regarding this, however they won't stand behind their product, they put the responsibility of replacement and refund off on their retailers, a JOKE. A bigger joke was that they want to charge me for a replacement train!!! I came online to locate a local retailer and came across these reviews. I'm amazed that half had the SAME problem with the engine not working after a short period of time. I'm not done with my fight of getting it replaced. Save your money and child's heartbreak on this one. It's infortunate because it is really a nice toy.

UPDATE: Company is HORRIBLE to deal with!!!! Absolutely no customer satisfaction, not a care in the world. They told me to just return it to where I bought it. However, being a gift, and if anyone has actually tried to deal with Target, knows this is a problem too. SO, being a smart consumer, I found another one elsewhere, bought it & then returned the defective one with a receipt (ultimately gets sent back to manufacturer anyway). I was very proud of myself, my son was super excited! Then a month later, the NEW train still works but it STOPPED PLAYING MUSIC - no sound!!!!!!!!!!! OMG! I give up! save your money.

I sent the first one back because it only played music a short while After I received the second one, I realized the tiles have to be laid just right to allow the train to make music. This is really not a good toy for ages 3-5 and frankly, I don't see how it became a Good Housekeeping toy of the year

First off, my 3 year old daughter loves this toy. The problem is that it stopped working after two days of moderate use. The sound became distorted, and then it stopped playing music altogether. After we got a replacement from the manufacturer, it failed again after just one day in exactly the same manner. It seems that the contact switches that detect the tiles become intermittent very quickly, and I can only attribute this to a design flaw. If they fixed this flaw I'd give it 5 stars for enjoyability.

We bought this toy for our daughter thinking that it was a cleaver product. Not only was the sound really crappy, the train ran very slow and the note pieces fall out much to easily. We've used to twice and now the electonics no longer work. Not much fun any more. Hoping we can return rather than toss. Save your money.

Really a shame - very cute concept, all my kids and even my wife really enjoyed it. However, even with just gentle usage, it stopped working entirely within a week. Was a gift, so hard to know where to return. (And other reviews here indicate not worth trying anyways - replacements continue to break).

Tried taking apart to fix myself, (I often can fix things faster and better than a replacement would be) but the wheels are bonded so tightly to the axles that they can't be removed to disassemble the body without bending/damaging too much.

Very cheap/poor quality - stay away from.

We bought this for my 3-year-old last Christmas. From the beginning, it didn't work well. It has 2 speed settings, but only goes one slow speed, that is, when it isn't stuck on or off. Even when arranged by an adult, some of the tiles (on the curves) fail to activate the train's note. I'd say this would be better for age 4+, but that only applies for the first week while it still works. Now it's just a colorful track as the train has stopped working altogether after only sporadic use. If the train itself were higher quality, this would be a nice toy. Don't waste any money on this low-quality product.

this product is not very durable and quickly goes down hill. I purchased it for my two year old who was absolutely facinated with it. We played with it over the course of an afternoon and by the end the music was droning and the notes were not playing correctly. There are lots of little pieces to get lost, but the idea is good. I don't think this thing is very durable at all and I am returning it because it couldn't even last a day.

This is a great teaching tool. The children love it and use it to make their own songs.
The disadvantage is you can't let the children run the train if they cannot refrain from pressing down
on the engine. It will break!

My son LOVED this toy. We haven't had any problem with it working. One thing I do recommend is that the child be at least four to be able to properly lay the tiles in there position.

My son is now 6 and finally ready to give it up. It still works great and I plan to sell it on Amazon. Also, might be important to note that he is very gentle with his toys so I'm not sure if this is a factor to consider...maybe other kids are a little rougher, thus the toy would stop working. It's not built like a little tykes toy, but it also isn't a toy that you have to be super gentle with either.