We were thrilled that we could add a few wooden Chuggington pieces to our large "Island of Sodor."In addition to purchasing numerous Wooden Chuggers, we chose this Double Decker Roundhouse to be the hub for our addition of Chuggington city.
A few things to note:
Compatibility:
This is fully compatible with all Thomas wooden pieces (meaning they connect together). The wooden tracks are slightly different (aesthetically, which most likely isn't a big deal) but the main difference is they don't have the anti slip texture in the wheel slot (which Thomas tracks have to give traction for the battery operated trains). Both Thomas and Chuggington wooden trains have the same wheel base (width) and they are also made by the same company Learning Curve, so they work universally on the tracks. The biggest thing to note is if you have a lot of Thomas destinations, the Chuggington trains are taller and do not fit under many Thomas bridges and tunnels (some Thomas destinations offer more height room, so it depends on your layout).
Wish I could have known this at time of purchase:
MOST IMPORTANT THING to note on compatibility is the height of the risers (Thomas vs Chuggington) are not the same. Since this roundhouse allows trains to drive on top of the building, naturally you want to descend ramps from both sides to connect to a layout, but Thomas risers are not tall enough. I HIGHLY recommend picking up the Chuggington Elevated Track Pack where you get 4 ramps and you will need 4 (2 for each side) and 6 risers (you really only need 2). If you want to purchase even more risers and ramps to build roller coaster hills, I recommend Learning Curve Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway Stacking Risers (3 Pieces) or Thomas And Friends Wooden Railway Up And Away Expansion Pack since they are more sturdybut if you purchase this building definitely pick up ONE Chuggington packso you can complete your track!
Functionality:
This Double Decker Roundhouse works beautifullyjust as advertised. The turntable spins easily and the pop-up button works flawlessly. It is also easy for small hands to reset and push it back down. There are 6 bays, which are generously sized for the taller Chugginton trains, which means all of your other Thomas trains can drive in too!
I don't know if ours was missing instructions or if they just don't come with any, but it took me some time to figure out how to get the turntable flush with the roundhouse. The trick is that a piece of the gray border plastic can be snapped (lifted off) to allow it to slide under the roundhouse and attach. It will make more sense if you have this in front of you (lift off one section to slide under a double-decker, or lift off BOTH to slide under a circular roundhouse.)
I am really glad this gives our little engineer freedom to change the building configuration, AND really glad that this is the first roundhouse that you can drive onmost roundhouses are for parking onlyand take up a lot of space in your layoutlove that this is PART of our track course!
Bottom line: Whether you have a Chuggington fan, Thomas fan, or BOTH in your houseyour little engineer is sure to love thisjust don't forget to pickup the ramps + risers (Chuggington Elevated Pack)!!
First the pros: Stacking roundhouse and rising turn-table are a big hit with the kids.The opening/closing doors to all the roundhouse bays are fun for the kids.The roundhouse both stacks or sits side-by-side on the ground.It has tracks that run on top of the roundhouse which is a fun addition to the roundhouse-concept.It's also brightly colored and looks pretty Chuggington-authentic.
Cons: Compatibility.I am a professional architect and have engineered some pretty complicated tracks for my kids, but this roundhouse gives me headaches.The risers needed to get to the level on top of the roundhouse are taller than anything sold by supposedly compatible sets.You basically have to buy the chuggington-specific riser set to go with this (which we did not do since at the time we didn't want to spend another $35).It seems like the set should come with a couple risers.Also, the angles of the turn-table and roundhouse make it nearly impossible to connect multiple tracks to it without running into issues.It's like it's about half of a curve off.Usually, I am able to find some work-around, but the point of these toys is not for the grown-ups to agonize over construction, but for the kids to learn about track-building/engineering.My kids definitely struggle to make the roundhouse work with their other pieces and usually it ends up sort of semi-connected, off in a corner.Every other kid who's come over to play has had similar struggles.
The kids love this toy, so in that regard, I would definitely recommend it if you have Chuggington fans and maybe haven't made a huge investment in other wooden train sets like we have, but just be aware when you purchase it that while it says it's compatible, you will run into some troubles using other sets or brands with it.If I had it to do over again, I would have spent the same amount of money buying a kidkraft (or similar) set of non-character-related pieces that would have equally enriched our collection.
Buy Chuggington Wooden Railway Double-Decker Roundhouse Now
My son LOVES trains and this is a great addition to our collection. Followed other reviewers' advice and bought the chuggington elevated track pack, and glad I did, since it is necessary to use this in double decker configuration.My two year old can easily move the platform up and down, and loves putting his trains 'to bed'.You definitely need a lot of curved track to vary the track configuration with the roundhouse on your table.Read Best Reviews of Chuggington Wooden Railway Double-Decker Roundhouse Here
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