Thomas And Friends Wooden Railway - Early Engineers Busy Day on Sodor Set

With my twin boys turning 18mo right around Christmas, I really wanted to love this set.We bought it, along with a train table, and some regular Thomas track, trains and destinations (windmill and water tower) for their big Christmas gift.I thought that this simple set would give the boys something interesting to do on a simple track layout and that I'd put the destinations geared for older kids away for a while if they couldn't handle them.

It turned out that the Early Engineers components were the ones they couldn't handle!First, the track does NOT stay put together.It easily falls apart no matter the configuration.The blue pieces do not hold it together.Second, the "destinations" are poorly designed AND they don't stay put.My boys were naturally not too gentle when trying to turn the coal hopper and washdown and almost every time they ended up knocking them completely over and off the track.I'd have had to glue them in place to keep them attached.The "roundhouse" was even worse.When my boys would try to push the trains over the "roundtable" they would come off the track every time.Even my husband and I couldn't get them to stay on the track unless holding onto the train the entire time and guiding it along.Finally, the trains themselves, while they will run on the normal track, will not pass under/through the normal destinations and bridges.They are too tall.They also seem unbalanced to me because they are so tall compared to their length.

If your kids are on the edge of the recommended age for the normal Thomas sets, I would advise you to get a couple of normal trains and a simple configuration of track (oval or figure eight) and maybe one simple destination and see how they handle it.Chances are, they'll be fine after a little trial and error, making a set like this completely unnecessary even if it wasn't completely frustrating.

My son received the Early Engineers set as a gift for his 1st Birthday. He is 2 now and still plays with this set EVERY day, and at least an hour or so. I love the Early Engineers line, as it grows with your child. At first my son would just push the trains along the track. Now he can put the track together and put all of the pieces on. He is learning to be gentler with the set and use for its intended purpose. We will be adding new track now that he is getting more confident building tracks. Great investment! Would highly recommend!

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My eighteen month old daughter has the complete Early Engineers set and a few of the engines that go along with the line. It's been a hit since she saw it in the box at the toy store and still is!

She, like most toddlers, loved her preschool Thomas train table; however, the table and assorted accessories retails for hundreds of dollars and we simply couldn't afford it. Setting up a smaller wooden railway set on the floor wasn't an option at this age, since I knew my daughter would tear it apart, walk over it, and accidentally knock it over within a matter of minutes.

The Early Engineers line allows her to play with her trains, even at this young age. The destinations are large and interactive, so they're easy to manipulate and keep her attention. I like that we'll be able to expand the set with other Thomas wooden railway accessories as she grows olderand that it encourages imaginative play!

As some have mentioned, the Early Engineers engines will not fit under most Thomas wooden railway bridges, but as she grows older we'll more than likely replace the larger Early Engineers engines with regular sized ones anyway. This line has been discontinued, so they won't be releasing anymore Early Engineers destinations, tracks, or engines. However, we've been able to find some really great deals on this line at local discount stores, and toy store clearance aisles for this reason. Admittedly, this set has a few flaws but my daughter thinks it's a great set and so do I.

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I bought this when our son was nearing age 2, thinking it would transition him to the "regular" Thomas tracks and provide cute "destinations" for him to add to the tracks. It sat on our coffee table and was used for a bit, but it didn't seem to do much and I didn't realize half the fun would be the building of the track itself...there is no track to build on this, just two large pieces with the track built in connected with plastic blue pieces (the roundhouse and wash/coal drop are placed onto it, but don't really snap into place they fall out easily and will come out if you go to lift it by any of them).

Anyhow, we bought regular tracks to add in the hopes of breathing some life into this toy and found that the blue connectors don't really fit into regular tracks (it is too big though it can be jammed in). The trains that come with the set, which are larger and seemingly easier for small hands to grip, don't fit under lots of the structures (bridges, etc.) for the regular Thomas tracks so my son gets frustrated when he is tugging a long chain of engines around and it gets caught on one of these engines.

Recommendation: Don't buy to use at home. Save the money and put it towards a set made for "older" kids. The best use for this set, since it is two track pieces and the components snap on, is to keep at a grandparent's house or babysitter, since it is relatively quick and easy to set up and dismantle and will entertain young conductors.

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I got this for a friend's kid who is really into Thomas the Train but is a bit too young for the normal sets.He loves playing with this set.He doesn't always keep the train on the track (his trains tend to run on carpet, couches, etc)but when he does use the set the way it was designed it it works well.