Train sets

[AlligatorsMum]

My DS (2) loves trains so I think I want to get him a train set. There are so many out there I would like to spend the money on something decent that will last. It will probably get years of play and I want it to be sturdy and long lasting - not something cheap and nasty.

Any suggestions of ones you know of that are worth the money?

[LionsandBears]

The Ikea train sets look robust and fabulous fun.

[surprised]

We got a nice imaginarium one from Toys R Us. It's a train table too. Was exxy but they have good sales so keep an eye out. Have been very happy with it and table gets used for lots of other things like Lego.

[sunshine 11]

Ikea train set - kids love our and have had it for three years. No big table taking up heaps of room and cheap to add on more trains and train tracks.

[FabFiona]

We are huge wooden train track fans. Definitely buy the wooden ones as they are great for open ended, imaginative play. I like the cheaper track from target but add in some Thomas stations, bridges and tunnels. We also have lots of Thomas engines. My kids found the ikea ones a bit hard to use, as the connections are plastic attachments rather than part of the wood, but that was a while ago. The Jack and Jill set from Aldi is also super cheap.

[BlackCat]

We have the wooden ones, just generic but they have lasted over 3 - 4 years now. We have the plastic Thomas ones that never get played with. The wooden one gets played with all the time.

[~Hestia~]

Agree with others about the wooden sets! We got the bulk of ours off ebay and it has been played with nearly everyday 2 years on. They are sturdy, long lasting and most wooden tracks are compatible. Most of our set is Thomas but Brio, the kmart brand and Imaginarium are mixed in there too.

[Rivlas]

I recently bought a boxed set from either KMart or Target (Cannot remember which one) and it is wooden. Cost me $29 and had 80 pieces. The trains are magnetic so easy to connect.

You can add Thomas tracks to it as well.

[briggsy's girl]

Dd got a set with about 100 pieces from toy kingdom, and about a week later was given a similar set from a friend - not sure where the second set was purchased, but both are wooden and fit together well. Unfortunately she doesn't love it so much anymore (trains aren't as much fun as lego) so apart from a couple of hours yesterday when we had another five year old here) they just haven't been touched and we are planning on getting rid of them.
No table here. The train set takes up pretty much our whole lounge room floor lol

[Tegam]

We went wooden thomas brand and plan on keeping it for grand kids. Still going strong after 6 years and four kids. In fact they played with it all day today

[Jellyfish]

Lots of the wooden ones fit together, ours is a combination from all over. We started the collection when DD1 was 2 and she has loved it since (just turned 5), it gets used often so well worth the investment. DD2 is 2 now and just starting to show interest in actually putting it all together and finds it easy enough to do so which is another reason we like it, frustrated 2yr olds are something we strongly try to avoid lol.

[Ginger]

We've always stuck to the Thomas brand stuff. It's great quality, and we've received lots of hand me downs/bought heaps second hand.

[black_rose]

We have two sets of wooden ones a kmart and Aldi that work together. The Thomas trains fit on the track, we also have a Thomas mine set which the kids love. They will play with it all day either making a single big track or one each.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I agree with the wooden ones! They are all great and all work with each other. I prefer Brio for the bridges though, the cheap sets aren't as good with those.

[AlligatorsMum]

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like it is def a good investment . If he enjoys as much as a little car track he has I think it will be a winner. Now just to keep researching sales etc and getting some good bargains!