This train set is absolutely awesome -right out of the box. You can tell it has quality craftsmanship and from the start is a way better deal than the overpriced Thomas Train sets and track. My husband is ahobby woodworker and the first thing he said was "wow, this is much better quality than I was expecting for the price!"I could not find another set with as many "goodies" as this one has (bridges, supports, roundhouse, two trains, etc), all in one box and WITHOUT a bunch of "extras" that a young child won't play with. Most of the high piece count sets I saw online were 50% people, trees and signs -but this one is mostly all track, bridges and usable accessories! It comes with 2 trains and a little semi with a 5th wheel trailer that runs on the track as well -very cute!
The layout plans they send you (4 in the box) are super helpful tocombine designs with a little time and effort or use their designs. We spent about $20 at Menards and bought a 4x4 sheet of pre-sanded plywood to anchor this set to. The hubby routed the corners and edges smooth, and trimmed it down to about 4x3' to fit the train set. Then he predrilled and counter sunk screws into the track and the supports so everything is secured down.This is absolutely PERFECT setup for a 2 year old boy being, well, a 2 YEAR OLD! He's rough and still learning fine motor skill control, so it's much more fun to play on a set that doesn't fall over with clumsy, rough play!
So my hubby made some extra risers out of 2x4's and he built a "high rise" section of track to make one big "roller coaster" leg that went from end to end, sending the trains down the hill at a pretty fast clip, and our son giggles when they derail on the other end from such high speed!
We also purchased the Mountain Tunnel Accessory Set that looks not only realistic (way better than Imaginarium from Toys R Us and others we looked at), but also seperates into two pieces: the top comes off to make another tunnel, the bottom piece has two tunnels that criss-cross. Our son LOVES THIS! He can take the top piece off and put it over other places of the track all by himself. It's pretty sturdy, thick and hard plastic, but not indestructible of course. It's stood up to his rough play so far, and we're VERY pleased with the quality and durability. Amazon was the best price and shipping (not free when I bought it) that I found online.
The two trains included with this set run perfectly around the track -the wheels/axles are placed at the very ends of the cars, which is absolutely necessary in design for the cars to go smoothly over the up or downward curves of hills.Otherwise, the ends of the car will catch on the track and the train will separate. We found this out when we used the big diesel train (3 piece set from Imaginarium @ Toys R Us) on the hills. While the diesel engine and the 3 axle car work fine, the 2 axle car catches because the axles are set farther in from the end. Melissa & Doug sell a very similar set and it will likely have the better design with no problems catching on the hills -so I recommend their set over the Toys R Us one I bought.
EXCELLENT BUY, EXCELLENT TOY -ALL the bells and whistles of the more expensive sets but at an affordable price and still a high quality set! Plus it is compatible with the big name cars and track (Thomas, Brio, etc). There are multiple manufacturers for THomas, however, and some of them have different sizes than others, so you have to watch. But if it fits on the regular size Thomas track, the cars AND the Thomas track are compatible with this set -so very handy. (We did a lot of research into this before buying!)
The roundhouse is VERY GOOD QUALITY, and every bit as good as the Thomas one we saw in Toys R Us. Our local store has a train set (secured to a table) set up at the store for the kids to play with -so we got a lot of ideas on setup from that, and also could have a hands on quality comparison. ALL THE PARTS to this set are good quality for a wooden set and we are absolutely, completely satisfied with this purchase.
So we recommend for the youngest engineers, that you anchor this set to a big piece of plywood or something, but just use screws and counter sink them, so they're out of the way but you can take it apart later when the child is older and can handle rearranging it and putting together the track by himself. Our little guy can do this and we have other track that he can put together and play with, but the main set is MUCH MORE FUN for him with it secured, until he's bigger and more coordinated!
We already have a little play table for him, so we made a small frame on the bottom of the trainset board to fit snuggly over the table we had and keep it from sliding or moving around. We can move this set to the floor or on the table, and even me, THE WIFE, can pick it up and move it without too much effort!
We added our customer pictures to the product images.
CHOOOOO CHOOOOOOO!
Best of all, you can build the exact display shown on the box and still have leftover track! No disappointment!
My only complaint is that one of the little trains that came with it keeps losing a wheel. Not such a big deal for us, because we bought Thomas the Train engines to use instead (yes, they fit on the track just fine). This set is supposed to be compatible with Brio trains too, but we haven't tried those yet.
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After reading other reviews for this product, I had high expectations for the quality of this train set.While it is acceptable for the price paid, it is not up to par with the Thomas train sets. My son already had a Thomas starter set and a few of the Thomas trains and the quality difference between the two sets is obvious.--> Wheels are wobbly on all of the trains and do not stay on the track well. This is not an issue with the Thomas trains.
--> Paint is not particularly durable. These trains show more wear after a week of use than the Thomas trains do being several months older.
--> Detail is lacking, there is no comparison to the Thomas pieces.Roundhouse, crane, and other structures are very plain, no texture to the tracks and straight track pieces are flat on the underside whereas the Thomas track reverses to be road.
-->Crane/cargo lift doesn't lower with the crank, you have to grab the string and pull it out.It is also assembled and glued crooked so it barely slides on the dowels.
-->Suspension bridge is also not straight and acts like a teeter totter as you try to pass trains over it.
-->At least half of the provided layout ideas don't transfer from the paper to the real wooden track so well. Fit and function isn't quite right with all the pieces.
This set is still a very good value at the price Amazon is offering it at similar Thomas sets I've seen were at least 5 times the price. I would still buy this set again, just be realistic about what you are buying, especially if you are already familiar with the Thomas trains/sets.
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This set is wonderful and wonderfully priced too. We were going to buy the Thomas expansion set for $40 and when we saw this we bought it instead and got so much more! We use it with our Thomas and Brio trains and tracks and for a fraction of the price of the Thomas train sets you get a ton of tracks, trains and accessories.Great deal! We are going to get the Melissa and Doug train table also. It's so much more reasonably priced than most other tables and even has a storage drawer that does not cost extra.
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I chose this railway set over Learning Curve because I believe their prices are inflated, and I was not disappointed with it.The set is well made overall, with smooth, well-fitting track and sturdy accessories.My son (3) and daughter (6) have played with the set for hours every day since we got it, both with equal fascination.It fits perfectly with Thomas accessories we already own.I have only three small caveats:1) Buy some "sure track" clips to use on elevated portions of the track.We use it on a smooth, level surface (hardwood floor), but the clips really enhance the stability for active play.2)The round turntable did not spin freely when we got it, because the blue center piece was not perfectly round.We drilled out the rivet and removed the blue center piece, sanded down the edges, and replaced it.Now it's very easy for my kids to operate.3)The trains included have slightly wobbly wheels, compared to Thomas trains.But they are functional, and my kids use the trains interchangeably.It's a great set, and a real bargain.
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