Calling Thomas experts

[nitaghei]

Now that I have an AC Moore that is accessible and has a *large* Thomas selection, and lots of 40% coupons, I'm looking for tips on Thomas pieces to get. Right now, DS has a generic wood train set, with lots of track, and some accessories - but all very basic. It is compatible with Brio and Thomas.

So, which are the pieces that your kids love? Last time I went in, I was overwhelmed, and came out with "James" (?)

Also, any good sources for Thomas books? I have a Thomas tape that DS loves, and I thought books would be a good thing.

TIA

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[Momof3Labs]

LOL, Nita, you should see Colin's stash!

His favorites are usually the ones he sees on the tapes. Thomas, Henry, Percy, Toby in particular, but any of the interesting trains hold his attention too (Harvey, Diesel 10, James, Edward, Mavis, etc.). Most of the roadway vehicles hold his attention too (Jack, Alfie, Caroline, Elizabeth, etc.). As far as accessories, Cranky is popular, and so is the water tower. I highly recommend the Percy 3-pack that runs $25 - chocolate Percy, coal dust Percy and Jack Frost Percy.

We often let Colin pick out his own trains, either from the little guide that comes with every train, or in person. He frequently surprises us with what catches his eye on a particular day!

I see the books at TRU, TJ Maxx and Marshall's, but we've also done well at consignment sales and garage sales. You can often get a VHS or DVD at Wal-Mart or Sam's Club for $10-15 with a train attached, and that is a good deal.

[pamela mom of 3]

I know their are alot of new ones out...we don't have them but the aquarium cars are neat, the circus train is good also this we do have...what else?

*cranky the crane, much loved here

*harold the helicopter

*butch the tow truck, roadway item

*Thumper is kinda different LOL another roadway

*bertie the bus, roadway again

You need Thomas of coarse ;) and his coaches annie & clarabel, the percy set is pretty cool, i've seen it we don't have it though...
We also have alot of the muffle mountain trains since we have that set so that means, diesel 10, Lady etc...ds likes the milk car, also we have some cargo cars that have a block that removes and has a built in magnet so that cranky can lift them out.

Other add-ons

*engine wash

*water tower

*barrel loader

*mountain overpass tunnel

*roundhouse{we don't have one, but ds loves it in the shops}

Oh and for track, get some wacky track, it's this odd type that bends about, makes life easier to make certain set-ups...also bumpy track is fun, rail crossing we have this too..it's basically a 4-way stop, also lady hatt and sir topham dolls, i'd also make sure to have what they call track adapters basically double male and double female track they can really help you in the track set-up department.

I'm sure their is more but LOL that is what i can think of ..really if a place has a table set-up to play with watch what your child likes best! :)


~Pamela Mom to the Trio Of Trouble http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/otn/angels/newangel.gif


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[nitaghei]

Thanks, Lori and Pam.

I had serious sticker shock when I saw the prices on the Thomas stuff. Even with the 40% coupons, I'll probably only get a few pieces, and dole them out at Christmas and his birthday. Though the Percy set, the crane (Neel loves cranes) and Harold (ditto on helicopters) sound like must-haves. Along with Thomas, of course.

The books, though, are a different story altogether. No such thing as too many books. :)

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[Chelsey333]

Where do you find the 40% coupons? Thanks!

[nitaghei]

Generally, there is one 40% coupon in the ACMoore and/or Michael's flyers that come in my Sunday paper - good for one regular price item. Those are the coupons I was talking about. Each store will take the other's coupons.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[August Mom]

I would say that the must have around here is a bridge. DS's favorite thing is to push his trains over the bridge and down the ramp. Also, we got the Conductor's Figure-8 Set as a starter and he loves the conductor's shed. I'm not sure if it's available separately, but it has a sliding button that causes an arm to come over the track and forces the trains to stop. DS loves this. We have Cranky and frankly aren't that excited about him. DS picked him out and likes to see him, but really doesn't have the hang of playing with him (there are two levers that must be rotated correctly for Cranky to pick up his cargo). Also, Cranky doesn't come with attached track like the other accessories we have, so he gets knocked over a lot. We also have the barrel loader and the water tower. I think he likes the water tower the best. (I like the barrel loader). As far as trains go, DS's favorite is Percy, followed by Thomas and James. He loves the caboose we have for some reason. We also have box cars, aquarium cars and some other cars, but he doesn't seem to care what's in the middle between the engines and the caboose. HTH

[JElaineB]

Jacob just started getting Thomas stuff for his birthday a couple of weeks ago, so we only have a few things so far. But so far his favorites include the Circus Train with removable animals (only problem is the animals don't fit under the bridge when they are in the cars) and Harold the Helicopter. He also likes a cargo car we have that he can take the cargo on and off. He is currently frustrated with the water tower (he wants to take off the top of it but it doesn't come off) and the other roadway vehicles (they only have one magnet so they don't work in the middle of building a train, only at the beginning. He seems to like playing with the coal loader at TRU, so I might get him that for Christmas. I've got him the aquarium cars for Christmas and a couple other engines, and my mom got him the barrel loader and a few cars/engines. I'll probably get more track too, our Figure 8 set isn't going to have enough room for all this other stuff.


Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[jubilee]

Probably old news here, but I thought I'd mention that Thomas is back on PBS. In my area it is on Sunday at 8:30am. It is much better than the old series from when Jacob was little. I like the songs and less real people action. Are the videos you've all mentioned of the new series or of the old series, or specials?

[pamela mom of 3]

LOL yes, the stuff isn't cheap...but one{um, ok two really} thing in their advantage is the durability/ life warranty...our trains get used by 3 kids some are dating back many years now, the trains were something we got into when eldest dd was two, she's now 8.5yrs so they certainly have a long lifespan ;)



~Pamela Mom to the Trio Of Trouble http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/otn/angels/newangel.gif


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[Momof3Labs]

That's the justification that I'm using! We figure that the Thomas stuff will see a good 8-10 years of continuous play in our house, so are willing to spend a little more on it. It is one of the few toys that grows so well with kids!

[Sandy]

Julie,
New friends for Thomas and It's Great to be a engine or 2 DVD's that I can think of off the top of my head that are the newer ones with the new characters etc... Alexander loves both of those DVD's quite a bit.


Sandy mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02
and another peanut edd 4/21/05

[nitaghei]

Thanks everyone! I'm making a list - and I think I'll be suggesting Thomas stuff as Christmas/birthday gifts to anyone who asks. The child really does not need any more toys - but building a nice train set he can play for years seems like a good thing.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[nitaghei]

Yup! That's the rationalization I'm using, too. And the $$$ isn't too bad, because somehow DH scored a great deal on what I think is a 100+ piece Maxim set, which has all the basics. (I'm still in shock that DH actually found a bargain! Totally unprecedented. :)) And the 40% coupon ease the pain quite a bit.

Actually, I did have another question for you experts. We really don't have the space for a train-table, at least not for the next year or so. How essential is a table? I haven't explored the option of just getting the playboard for now, but hopefully that is a possiblity. I've also seen a foam playmat which isn't Thomas, but seems like it might work for us.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/15112.jpg

DH's bright (and cheap) idea is to get a piece of plywood to put the train set on. We need something, because we have wall to wall carpeting in the entire house.

Why does this have to be so complicated?

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[Momof3Labs]

That might work, but it won't be as good as a firm surface. There is a Thomas trundle table that slides under the bed - is that an option for you space and money wise?

[nitaghei]

Lori,

Thanks for pointing that out! The trundle might be the best option for us. I need to take some measurements, but I'm hopeful it will work. Might be a good Christmas/ birthday gift. The poor kid gets shafted - his birthday is so close to Christmas.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[rlu]

If the roadway vehicles have a magnet so the train cars can attach, does that mean the roadway vehicles can go on the train track too?

We have Brio, not Thomas stuff, but saw some Thomas items we might get (the 40% off at Michaels route probably) but half the stuff we liked was roadway stuff not train.

Rebecca
DS 03/29/04

[Dcclerk]

My DS is a Thomas nut, too. In fact, we just got to experience Day Out with Thomas the other weekend, and he was in 7th heaven. I completely agree that his favorites tend to be the ones that he knows from a book or a video, so if Neel has any of those, you might want to start there.

DS's favorites are:

Roadway-- Jack, Trevor, Alfie. We also have George, Fergus, Caroline and Elizabeth. I don't recommend Elizabeth because her stupid dump truck part keeps popping off.

Engines--the longer ones with tenderslike Gordon, Henry, Molly, Murdoch and Emily; Bill and Ben (adorable little yellow twin engines).

Accessory trains-- I think these are key because the engines have to pull something around. Surprisingly, the freight cars get the most play here (they are quite boring looking). I think it is because that is more "true-to-life." We have the aquarium cars, recycling, construction, circus, etc., but they aren't as popular. I think the recycling one is fantastic, and it is probably a 2nd favorite, so I'd recommend that.

The sticker shock is pretty tough, but they do have a lot of "free train with a $25 purchase" deals throughout the year, and some of the trains are great. We've gotten Emily, Murdoch, and Harvey through that special, and they are some of DS's favorite trains.

[kijip]

The trundle train Thomas table can be found here for $167, free shipping:

www.creativetrains.com

We have been just fine without a mat or a train table though. It honestly works on the carpet or the hard floor. The trains Toby builds are larger than the train table would be anyway. That said, the trundle on is coming to our home due to Grandparents and I welcome it for train storage. Toby is train obsessed and has a large collection. While it is not cheap, we have just been letting him pick out a couple of trains at a time. Faves include:

Diesel
Toby (of course!)
Percy gots some ice on em (what Toby calls the snow covered Percy)
Bill and Ben
Annie and Clarabel
Fergus (do it right...)

He is getting a few Thomas things for his birthday as well:

-Cranky
-Diesel 10
-Harold's Mail Delivery Set

Possibly more not from me. My parents go a little CRAZY.

One way to add to your collection is the Costco sets with 2 DVDs and 1 train or vehicle. It is like $18 for everything in one package.

[swampnurse]

Just be sure to ask for the WOODEN Thomas stuff when you put it on a Chritsmas list. There is also the "Take Along" line which has plastic track and metals cars. These are cheaper than the wooden ones which, of course, tempts my inlaws. They are not interchangeble.

They also make Lego Thomas stuff which i have had to return.

[nitaghei]

Everyone,

This is a VERY old post - I don't know how it got pulled up. Since then we have not only acquired a train table, but more Thomas stuff that I care to admit. :)

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a PWD and a cocker (at the Rainbow Bridge)

"Moderation is best in all things." Hesiod

[luckymom]

As for using on carpet, if your children are little and not into putting thier own layouts together yet, I highly recommend getting a couple of packs of SureTrack. They are little plastic clips that hold the track pieces together, and they aren't permanant so you can always unclip and build a new layout. They have been fantastic for us, my one year old literally picks up the whole train set and drags it around, and it stays together, and eliminated the frustration that every time he tried to push a train the track would move on the carpet and pieces would come apart. We got them at a local toy shop, but you can order from lots of places online. http://trains4tots.com/suretrackclips.html

Have fun!

[rlu]

My fault for pulling an old old post. I had a question about the Roadway vehicles and should have started a new post since my question got lost. I just wondered if the Roadway vehicles work on the track or not.

Rebecca
DS 3/29/04

[ett]

Yes, the roadway vehicles work on the tracks.

[rlu]

Great. Thanks!

Rebecca
DS 3/29/04