Customer Reviews

Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway - Fire Station

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

 

 

I purchased this Thomas Fire Station for my son last Christmas (age 5). He loves all his Thomas the train items and this Fire Station was icing on the cake for my little fireman. He enjoys setting up the track with his Fire Station. As his other engines/trains circle the track a fire surpisingly occurs, than here comes the Fire Engines to put out the fire. This is a must have accessory to add to your set, if you little man loves being a Fireman. At age 6 he is looking forward to Christams and adding more accessories/builings/track/engines to add to his collection.

The Thomas train sets are great modern versions of the classic indestructible wooden train sets. Simple enough to avoid the toddler age frustrations of getting the cars to run on the track yet complex enough to engage a wide range of ages (up to and including Grandpas). All the stories help with the imagination part....the books & videos provide an endless source of adventures that can be acted out, although most kids are perfectly capable of inventing their own episodes.

Here is my advice, if you are trying to work your way through the maze of start-up options:

First of all, you can spend a fortune on a huge set....even if you can afford it, I would start with something small and give the child the joy of receiving a chain of small but intriguing presents over a long period of time. It fosters the joy of giving/receiving and helps teach them to come back again and again to the same toy...watching it grow, asking for specific items from the stories they hear, etc. Several reviewers suggest painting an old coffee table and this is a great idea.

I suggest the Figure 8 set (the most popular one) or if you want to spend a little bit more, the Conductors Figure 8 set. Both are complex enough to be interesting, but simple enough to give lots of room for growth. Almost immediately I would add a new present of one of the inexpensive engines (you can ask the child which story they like best and get that engine for them....or buy the engine to go with the video or book in the same gift)....these would be Percy The Small Engine, Bill The Yellow Engine, Treavor, (or a bit more $ for:) The Lady Engine, James The Red Engine, Gordon The Express Engine (he's one of the best stories, I think), or Henry The Green Engine.

Now for the good stuff! Give it a month or so, and then reward the child with something really cool like the Barrel Loader or Rusty the Construction 3 Car Set.

I honestly can't see the point in the huge multi hundred dollar system sets. If you want to impress the neighbors or something, go for it, but I'm telling you.....most kids will enjoy a large number of small thoughtful gifts, not a "keep-up-with-the-Jones" effort on your part.

Good behavior can be rewarded with a pick-your-own trip to the store (there are sometimes when a real time shopping trip can't be beat)

By the way, the Thomas stories are based on real restored engines that run in England on the Mid-Hants Railway Watercress line near Winchester (you can read about them an even plan a trip to ride on the real Thomas trains by checking out watercressline.co.uk). They are a day trip from the London rail stations, although I recommend using a B&B in the Winchester area and staying overnight if you decide to go. Winchester was the center of the old Saxon kingdom of Wessex of King Alfred as well as a major early medieval site (the Cathedral has the tombs of many of the Saxon Kings as well as Jayne Austen and Izaac Walton and it was where Richard the Lionhearted was crowned.)

The fire station and related items have been recalled due to possible lead paint contamination from the Chinese factory which manufactured them.

I hoped to get this as a home for the Sodor fire crew engines I already owned. It was a pretty good destination and it came with an adapter you can use for the rails or the road. The reason why I give this destination 4 stars instead of 5 is because the fire truck is slow to come out of the garage at times, and you may want to glue the fire truck's hose and the roof pieces so that they do not get lost (as I have done). Despite this, I think it was a pretty good destination, and it would make a good addition to your collection.

This fire station can be a cute addition to your childs Thomas set. However it can be tricky to fit into a layout. Sturdy, no problems there. You may want to super glue the hose attachment on so it doesn't get lost.

My son opened this at Christmas, and he was so excited! It's about as great as any Thomas & Friends wooden station should be. He loves the little bell when the station door opens, and the roof is designed to come off when rough play emerges, keeping the station from breaking. My son loves the two entrances, and with his new switches, he's able to create some neat track configurations with this station. The fire trucks are neat, and the fire hose that comes with the small truck is removable. The only complaint I have is that the removable fire hose doesn't sit firmly in the back of the train, and mostly spends its time sitting on the floor or in the train bin.

We love Thomas! Not just my 4 year old son, but I love building layouts with him as well.

We recently ordered the Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway-Fire Station. While overall, my son loves it and plays with it daily, it arrived broken. The roof is not attached, so when he plays he just puts it back on. Normally Thomas (wooden) products are very well made and hold up, but this one just needs some super glue to glue the roof back on.

Overall, I'd recommend this toy. A fire station is a fun addition to any rail system!

This is a definite must to any Thomas Train collector! When you turn the knob to open the door, it rings a bell. The set comes with two fire trucks. So far, this is my 3 year old's favorite.

This set included 2 trains with the building, something that you don't find with TTT very often. The top of the building is not attached so my oldest glued it on for easier play and cleanup.
Overall the price was good and it is a nice addition to any TTT collection.

My son absolutely loves this accessory to the wooden track set. He plays with it all the time. It was defintely a good buy.