2nd stage Thomas Train ?s

[KBecks]

Alek loves his Thomas Wooden Railway stuff...... and I'm considering what to get him for Christmas this year.....

First, I'll tell you what we have and enjoy as his current set....

--a bunch of track and engines (Figure 8 set, old (discontinued) mountain expansion set, another figure 8 expansion set and some track I bought on Ebay. For trains we have about 10-12, most engines, but also a box car, caboose and annie/clarabel)

--Water tower, one sodor bay bridge unit***, knapford tunnel*** (no risers), water tower, stop & go***, conductors shed, arched bridge from figure 8 set.

I put asterisks by our favorite stuff.

I'm going to get the boys Edward and Douglas as engines, because those are the boys middle names, and *I* want them. :)

Some things we're considering are....
-- engine wash
-- cranky the crane
-- battery powered engine
-- arched viaduct
-- extra sodor bay bridge unit
-- track risers

Any experience with these or opinons on what Alek (2) might enjoy most? I'm also interested in other destinations that he may have fun with.... I might like one sounds destination, but not sure which would be the most fun.

Also, does anyone have experience with building their own play table? Was it cost effective? I see some plans for sale on Ebay.

Thanks for any thoughts!!!

[LBW]

Some thoughts...

I think Cranky is a sure hit. No need to get the "deluxe" version, in my opinion. It's much more fun to use the hand crank.
I'm not a huge fan of the battery powered trains. I think part of the fun of Thomas trains is getting to push them around. That said, my son would love to own some!
Track risers are great. So is bumpy track and the flexible track (wacky track maybe?).
The mine tunnel is a favorite here. Also, all the boys we know who have it love it. It works with raised track.
If you add engines, try to get a DVD with their stories.

Have fun shopping!

[JBaxter]

Some of our all time favs ( going on the 3rd boy) are

Lifting bridge
(this one)http://www.allaboardtoys.com/thomas_...ing_bridge.asp

Round house

Water tower

Battery thomas ( not the jet powered one it NEVER ran right)

Those are some that always goes on our layouts

OH and as a mom who has to help make the layouts I liked these
Adapta track http://www.allaboardtoys.com/thomas_...pt-a-track.asp

flexi curve http://www.allaboardtoys.com/thomas_...k_-_2_pcs..asp

[brittone2]

Logan is 2.5. He plays with his trains daily but isn't a train-a-holic or anything like some kids.

That said, his favorites are:

Roundhouse (has been for a long time)
Water tower (ditto to the above).

Recently he's gotten into the engine wash more, although our costco train set came w/ a similar item and he likes that one because it also has a little gas station attached to it. Not even close to Thomas/Learning Curve quality though.

He loves cranes. We don't have Cranky but I'd bet it would be a hit with him.

[ErinMC]

NAK but DS *loves* Cranky - it gets attention daily.

Erin

Mom to Chase 2/2004 and Logan 5/2006

[caheinz]

Hmmmm. Alex (now just past 2.5) also loves his Sodor Bay Bridges (aka "blue bridges") and the Knapford tunnel (aka "house tunnel"). He's going to get Cranky for Christmas, but really only recently started to pay any attention to it in stores (he actually gets to go to *the* Learning Curve store occassionally, and they have the largest table I've ever seen). Something we've had for a long time that he's always really liked is the Mountain Tunnel -- it does make noise, but it is sold at Michael's (so readily available at a discount, if you have one nearby).

He likes the arched viaduct, but the trains tend to be a little unstable on it. (Something about the length of his trains (very) and the speed at which he pulls them.) The risers are fun, but a little hard to put into a layout that he's truly directing. (The mountain tunnel is also a nice jumping-off point to go up to a second level, though.)

We have the Costco table. Since it comes with a lot of pieces, plus the two drawers, I'm not sure how it would compare to making one. That said, the table is currently mainly for storage -- the layouts are always on the floor!

Alex also really likes some of the "other" trucks that are part of the Roads sets. The buses were among his first loves, and he often tries to incorporate the trucks into trains. (Usually a problem, since there's only rarely a front magnet.) But they have a digger, and a bulldozer, and a steamroller, and fire trucks, and, well, all sorts of other things.

One of the new 2007 pieces (not sure when they'll be out) is a Knapford Station. I think we may end up needing it, since we've spent a lot of time at train stations (Daddy takes a train to work every day, and we often pick him up and watch trains).

[vikivoly]

Keep in mind that I have girls, but I think they would like the Cranky the Crane and the Roundhouse. We have one battery powered train and all the kids love it. The tunnel is also a favorite.

[C99]

Cranky the Crane is a huge hit. I got it for Nate as a PTing reward and it's the top toy among the boys at playgroup.

Honestly, I'd skip the train table unless you have a ton of space for one. I think the Costco Kidkraft one is your best bet money-wise (it was SUPER simple to put together!), but now that Nate is older and his tracks are more complicated, we set up almost everything up on the floor.