This is a really basic question, but please help me with trains...

[MamaSnoo]

We are new to the train thing. DS will be 19 mos at Christmas, and I would like to get him some trains, I think.....suggestions? I would like something with a little longevity that we could add to over time. Is Thomas the way to go, or something else?

What about train tables? tracks?

Please clue in the clueless mama!

[abh5e8]

most wood train tracks/sets are compatable. Brio makes a higher quality then Thomas, but Thomas is fine too. Ikea has a good set and price is good. we sold our table. do you have any hard floors? my kids always want to make something bigger then the train table top.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'm not a lover of train tables bc they inhibit track layout. They are a nice height and easy to corral things so I get their appeal.

We have Geotrax and Thomas. Ds1 couldn't be bothered with Thomas and loved Geotrax; ds2 was the opposite. I prefer Geotrax. The tracks stay together better, I like the colors, it is still appealing to bigger kids (IME), I like the remote engines.

Nowadays they don't seem to sell much non themed Geotrax but you can find used plain sets around.

[jgenie]

We are almost 4 yrs into our journey with wooden trains. It can get expensive but doesn't have to be. It has been a ton of fun and I will be sad when DS1 finally puts down his trains which I suspect will be soon.

We started with the figure 8 Thomas set and a Toys R Us expansion pack. We have a huge collection now but most pieces were bought on clearance after holidays and on deal sites. I added to our set as we found them on clearance - DS1 was thrilled with whatever he got so it worked for us.

[AngelaS]

Start with a simple figure 8 he can play with on the floor. Skip the table.

[candaceb]

I would keep an eye out on Craigslist. I have a pretty crappy cl and still see a lot of wooden trains every week. You can usually get a big pile of tracks and some engines for about $75, sometimes including the table.

[MamaSnoo]

Start with a simple figure 8 he can play with on the floor. Skip the table.

Thanks for the advice on the table. We have wood floors throughout the house, and the table was my biggest point of hesitation. We do not have a great playroom, and I was hesitant to add another big piece of play furniture (like the kitchen, the easel, the mini table, etc).

Are the Brio, Thomas and Geotrax all compatible- i.e. I could get him something now, and then get something else later, but still use things together, or am I committing to a system now that I may want to stick with?

I was looking at this one from Brio (http://www.amazon.com/Brio-Classic-Figure-8-Set/dp/B004KU834Q), as DS will only be 18 months, and it looks really basic for a little guy. However, the Geotrax with the remote engines looks really neat too, and I can see how older kids (including my DD, 5yo) might get into that.

[petesgirl]

(thread hijacking a bit...)
Those of you who don't have tables, do you allow the tracks to be set up all over the house all the time? I can see that if we don't get a table one of two things will happen : (1) the tracks will always but out around the house, but played with or (2) the tracks will be cleaned up and put away but never played with.
I guess this problem would be solved if we had a dedicated toy room but we don't.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i agree with Angela to skip the train table, at least at first. we have two (one upstairs and downstairs) and now they rarely get used..at this point they much prefer to use the floor. the tracks they build now are so big and complex, almost nothing fits on a table anymore.

case in point - i took this picture today of our playroom. :) excuse ds not wearing a shirt (lol) .
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/10433228585_7bf6ec4ae9_z.jpg

[123LuckyMom]

We don't have a dedicated toy room either. Our trains and tracks get intermittent play. We keep our tracks in a huge tote bag that lives under the draped table in the living room. DS knows exactly where it is, and he can get it out himself. He may keep the tracks out as long as he is actively playing with them. If he creates a track at night on a non-school day, he may leave it overnight and play again the next day. After that, the tracks get put away (by him). It's really not any more of a problem than blocks, magnatiles, Lego, or anything like that.

For a very young child, you might suggest the trains for play if you think he's forgotten about them. Part of the fun is building the track, though. It wouldn't be nearly as fun to leave the track out and the same all the time.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

oh and i forgot to add, i agree with pp re: checking out CL. so much cheaper there. i got the bulk of our trains from there. otherwise, esp with Thomas, it can get pricey really quickly! :)

and we started out with simple IKEA wooden train and figure 8 for like $14.99 when DS was 15 mos. he really loved it so after that we started getting more trains. it is nice bc the ikea, thomas, brio and target wooden tracks are all compatible.

[petesgirl]

We don't have a dedicated toy room either. Our trains and tracks get intermittent play. We keep our tracks in a huge tote bag that lives under the draped table in the living room. DS knows exactly where it is, and he can get it out himself. He may keep the tracks out as long as he is actively playing with them. If he creates a track at night on a non-school day, he may leave it overnight and play again the next day. After that, the tracks get put away (by him). It's really not any more of a problem than blocks, magnatiles, Lego, or anything like that.

For a very young child, you might suggest the trains for play if you think he's forgotten about them. Part of the fun is building the track, though. It wouldn't be nearly as fun to leave the track out and the same all the time.

Hmm... Maybe my 2.5 yr old isn't quite ready for a big set. He has a small set that he likes to drive his trains on when it is set up but he won't set up the track himself.

[KrisM]

Thanks for the advice on the table. We have wood floors throughout the house, and the table was my biggest point of hesitation. We do not have a great playroom, and I was hesitant to add another big piece of play furniture (like the kitchen, the easel, the mini table, etc).

Are the Brio, Thomas and Geotrax all compatible- i.e. I could get him something now, and then get something else later, but still use things together, or am I committing to a system now that I may want to stick with?

I was looking at this one from Brio (http://www.amazon.com/Brio-Classic-Figure-8-Set/dp/B004KU834Q), as DS will only be 18 months, and it looks really basic for a little guy. However, the Geotrax with the remote engines looks really neat too, and I can see how older kids (including my DD, 5yo) might get into that.

Brio and wooden Thomas are compatible. GeoTrax is it's own thing. We preferred wood because it was easier for kids to make layouts that worked. GeoTrax would be off by an inch and we'd have to really work to make it connect. Wood has some ease in the joints, so it was easier to finish a loop.

I liked the train table for 2-3 year olds. DS1 loved trains, but knocked down the track easily when it was on the floor (just trying to play with them). But, he could use it on a table for weeks at a time. By 3.5 or 4, he was preferring huge layouts all over the floor.

[jgenie]

I would skip the train table initially. My DC love the train tables at Toys R Us and Barnes and Noble but our train tables don't get much play. We converted our living room to a play room and they will use the whole space for setting up tracks.

We also have the Geo Trax sets. DS1 doesn't use them much but they are a hit when we have play dates. We got a huge set - two contractor trash bags full - on CL for $150. We started with this set (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3515905&cp=2255956.2262937.3891604&parentPage=family)and then added the huge lot from CL.

[lizzywednesday]

(thread hijacking a bit...)
Those of you who don't have tables, do you allow the tracks to be set up all over the house all the time? I can see that if we don't get a table one of two things will happen : (1) the tracks will always but out around the house, but played with or (2) the tracks will be cleaned up and put away but never played with.
I guess this problem would be solved if we had a dedicated toy room but we don't.

DD has a small starter set of Thomas wooden railway trains. We do not have a train table. She knows she needs to put them into the blue bin when she's done.

But until I started enforcing cleanup before bedtime, she'd leave stuff all over my bedroom.

[sariana]

I got our first wooden train set at Costco many years back. It still is in use by 9-year-old DS and 5-year-old DD. we never had had a table; they build on the family room floor.

Over the years Santa and grandparents have added to the set, sometimes from Costco, sometimes from other sources. I don't know the brand of our original set, but I like it better than the (few) Thomas pieces we have. They seem more finicky, more difficult to put together and take apart. For the most part the wooden sets are compatible, but sometimes the fit is too tight. We have had to sand some connections.

I think there is a set at Costco right now. Toys R Us usually has a good selection too. Our Target has not had a lot of wooden trains lately, but usually they get some store-branded sets closer to Christmas.

[zag95]

We got DD a train set from Costco- for her 2nd or 3rd Christmas (she'll be 6 in Jan) - it was Kidcraft about $30 and has a diagram where you can build 5 different layouts (and more if you are super creative). This is a great way to encourage creativity and great for friends come over- it's a good universal toy to have!!

[Melaine]

subbing. I have been looking out for deals. Last week I found a big ziplock with 5 of the bigger things like the water tank and stuff like that....for $1.50! Very excited about that but no trains or tracks yet!