Customer Reviews

Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway - Let's Have A Race Set

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The Thomas train and train collections are durable toys. Their real value, though, is that playing with the toys allows children to act out the great Thomas and Friends children's stories they read and watch. THIS PARTICULAR SET IS BASED ON THOMAS AND BERTIE THE BUS' FAMOUS RACE.

The set is uniquely designed to imitate the race. The layout on the box has separate lines for Thomas and Bertie. The lines run parallel part of the time. There also is a unique bridge that supports two lines going over on top. Finally, this is the newer type of Thomas track that has the clickety-clack (grooved) railroad track on one side and striped road on the other side. ANY CHILD WHO HAS SEEN BERTIE AND THOMAS' RACE ON VIDEO WILL LOVE THIS SET. BUT IT IS EXPENSIVE!

There is generic track available that costs far less. Our kids haven't noticed the difference. It is easy to create elevated track and bridges using lego or duplo pieces as supports.

Kids' imaginations can remarkably supply buildings and water towers and cranes, etc., so that they won't even miss what might be lacking from less expensive sets. And families can build some of these items themselves out of old boxes, etc.

Purchasing recommendation:
* Choose which type of Thomas trains you will 'standardize' on. There are three kinds: This size of wooden trains from Learning Curve; larger, plastic, battery-operated trains from Tomy; and smaller, die-cast metal trains from Ertl. The wooden trains have the most products and accessories available.

* The clickety-clack (grooved to look like real railroad) track in the Thomas series is great, but it's expensive; I recommend buying generic track. ... You can literally save hundreds of dollars by buying these kinds of sets.

* Buy the Thomas and friends engines separately--and wait for sales. The kids care about the characters, so no short-cutting (ie., Brio or generic trains) here.

* Look for trains bundled with VHS videos. You can get a video and a train (on sale) for about the same price as a train alone.

I bought this set for the grandkids to play with at Nana's house. The children age 5 and 2 are really enjoying it and Nana couldn't be happier. I have added a few Thomas destinations without purchasing extra track. If you are considering a Thomas collection for your little ones this is a great set. Watch for sales !! Amazon has some really good ones !

WHEN I BROUGHT THIS OUT FOR HIS BIRTHDAY, ALL SET UP ON THE THOMAS TABLE. MY SON'S MOUTH DROPPED ABOUT A MILE. IT KEEPS HIM BUSY FOR HOURS.