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Toy Train Sets

Children are drawn like magnets to train sets. There is something about the locomotion, the many ways the cars can be hooked together, and the make believe world a train set creates that mesmerizes children – and many adults! The enduring popularity of the Thomas the Tank Engine stories, television series, and toys bears witness to this fascination.

There is a huge variety of sets available, from simple, durable, inexpensive toy sets to elaborate, expensive model trains. The beauty of toy train sets is that you can add to them as your child grows, and starting off small can mean looking forward to adding new pieces as your child’s imagination and motor skills grow.

Basic Sets

Many toy train sets are made of wood or durable, molded plastic with a basic theme such as the zoo, countryside, or cityscape.

Often, magnetized end pieces allow for the cars to hook together, and the tracks are in simple, interlocking wooden pieces that can be assembled in few varieties of shapes. Unlike model trains, toy trains don’t focus much on scale modeling and are designed more for fun and imaginative play than for realism.

Characterized by smooth wood and a chunky, easy-to-hold design, sets made by Brio and Lionel invite young children to make up the adventures of the imaginary train travelers and provide hours of inventive play.

Railroad crossings, roundabouts, depots, and other pieces can be added to the existing track and train sets, allowing children to further create imaginary worlds of train travel.

Many sets come with risers and trestles that allow for bi-level play, and there are add-on options, (often called “expansion packs”), such as roadways that can be purchased for additional play.

Geotrax, by Fisher Price, for instance, offers a vast array of expansion packs that allow children to create an imaginary world of firefighters, construction crews, and rescue vehicles that work in tandem with the train sets. Many of the engines battery operated, remote control models that offer sounds and lights, making for a more realistic experience.

Train Tables

Children’s play areas and hands-on museums often feature train tables, and they can be purchased for home use, too. Built at just the right height for young children, these tables offer the perfect place to set up worlds of imaginative play.

Featuring some stationary tracks, the tables provide a background scene and allow children to change the interlocking track pieces and accessories for various play scenarios. Some models feature lights and sounds, stimulating many of your developing child’s senses.

More than Just Play

Toy trains will entertain your young child for hours, but their value goes far beyond just entertainment. Because of the interactive nature of toy trains sets, your child will develop different scenarios in his mind, making up plots and acting them out, giving voices and personalities to the various cars and travelers, and will develop fine motor and logic skills along the way.

The interlocking pieces will teach him about patterns and spatial relations, and the lure of trains for parents means that you will spend time bonding together at play.

Legos, Lego Sets & More

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