Customer Reviews

Thomas And Friends Wooden Railway - Thomas the Tank Engine

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This train will not teach my child quantum physics, advanced calculus, or how to share. It, and other members of the "Shining Time" line, are absolute favorites. Unlike similar train sets, the magnets stay put and the wheels stay on. Every surface is transformed into a rail line. It even stands the test of time from a teething baby brother (although not recommended as a chew toy). The price is reasonable enough to accumulate an entire set over a short amount of time, which leads to a happily cluttered bedroom, family room, and kitchen. It also helps teach the fine art of organization (parental).

Of course, there are a million versions of Thomas out there, and I think we own most of them, including the battery-powered, plastic Tomy sets that run on plastic tracks. But these little wooden trains by Learning Curve are just the ticket for young children to tote along with them to restaurants, banks, the paint store -- all those places we all hated to go as kids but as adults can't seem to stop dragging our own kids to.

They're sturdy, detailed, accurate depictions of the famous British tank engine and his friends, and they are quiet and kid-powered, so they can be taken out and played with anywhere. They are small enough to fit in whatever your child uses as a tote. They have magnets on the front and back, too, so he or she can link several of them together to keep play interesting.

I believe there is also a type of track that is designed for use with this toy, but we preferred to stick with the platic Tomy set for that activity and use these Learning Curve toys as the perfect travel mates.

I have ordered many of these and the wooden kind a very sturdy,i have liked them all and my grandchildren have gotten many hours of playtime with these,i will definitely purchase more.

We have a 2+ year old who LOVES his Thomas the Tank stuff... and this engine is no exception. It is built well enough to handle being played with (by a 2 year old, no less) on a daily basis, carried around in a diaper bag (it's the perfect size restaurant toy), and has been dropped out of our car onto the driveway on more than one occasion and still is no worse for the wear. Highly recommended!

This is the toy that can keep my children engaged for more than 30 minutes. Thomas and his friends wooden collection is by far the best of all the Thomas toys. It is durable and very effective. The Take Along toys are nice, too, but the magnets will not allow you to connect more than 2-3 cars at time. The magnet is just too weak. The track and accessories for the Take Along are kind of cheap. The battery operated plastic ones are nice, but the track that comes with them are simply horrible, especially the automobile track.

The wooden ones gives you durabilty, playability and connectivity. The track is very durable, and connects very well (even thought the Thomas brand is very expensive), and the connectivity with the magnets is far superior than the Take Along line (my son has connected 10+ trains without a single one coming off.

The collectibility of these things have really gone up in popularity, as well. The discontinued items are sold at auction for $40-$50 at times, and that is for one single train.

The only gripe I have is the cost. One wooden train is usually $10. YOu can get them free with a DVD for about that much (maybe a couple of dollars more ($12-$15). Larger trains, such as Gordan, Henry, et al, are even more. The Thomas track is very expensive, and generally hard to spend that much money for. You can get the Imaginarium brand (which makes the Thomas stuff), is considerably, but does not have the Thomas name. There are other knockoff brands (Ikea has one), but those are not usually compatible with the Thomas stuff.

My children like Thomas due to the personalities of all of the engines, and how they are brought to life in the dvds. The wooden Thomas just adds hands on fun for the kids, and if you don't mind spending a little extra, you will get a great product.

My son enjoyed the gift a lot. It is very sturdy, but very small. Thomas measures Apprx. 3 in X 1 in X 1.5 in. I believe it was a little high priced for its size. It is not an educational toy, but has been very entertaining for Jr.

Thomas works with many brands of wooden railways besides Learning Curve (Brio and Playskool being two).

If you have die hard Thomas fans in your family, plan on buying more than just Thomas, Our two children are always fighting over Thomas.

First, when I bought a Thomas tape, My 3 years old son watched it six times in a line. Then I bought Figure 8 set. He liked it very much. Later I had the Mountain Tunnel Set and a lot of tracks and most of the engines and freight cars and circus cars. Now my three little children play them every day. The two years old twins count the engines and they all learn to share the railway, who goes where; Who passes the crossroad first to avoid crash. They learn to wait patiently because the train is very long. I help them bulid the railway system(I change the layout freqently). Dad sometimes has a race with them. It could be a hobby later in their teen life. My experence, 8 inchs track is never enough when you want to play on the carpet. They are good toys.

When I checked out a Thomas DVD from our local library, I had no idea what I'd get into. My 2 yr old son is now obsessed with Thomas. Plays with them day and night. 4 yr old daughter enjoys them too. They are great toys- building track is good for spatial relations, they teach color and numbers and the stories all have good values- plus he plays with them like action figures. We're keeping these for our grandkids. Also, try eBay for Thomas sets. We got two sets of ten trains for about forty apiece, big savings. But then some track sets are cheaper here than you can find on eBay, so be sure to check both.

thomas the train is the first in thousands of dollars worth of great toys for a child. the only problem is if you buy this train...it starts a fascination not only with your children, but with you as well. my wife and I found ourselves searching out different thomas the train characters and have now spent about a thousand dollars on trains and accessories... it starts with this one blue little train and after a while you have invested a fortune... be warned don't start the addiction!