Anonymous wrote:Wooden train tracks are wooden train tracks, most of them are interchangeable. I would buy an in expensive set and then add in some of the BRIO bridges and bigger pieces as your child gets older. We bought trains at Target because they were inexpensive. You don't need the more expensive Thomas trains or save those for gifts.

PP here, we have an entire storage bin filled with train set pieces, our kid played with them from the age of 2 through 8 or 9. The generic wooden tracks are fine, you pay a bit more for some of the fun pieces.

The other hit with our kid, eventual, was marble runs. There are wooden ones that are fun but a bit trickier to build with. Some of the plastic marble ones are pretty amazing in how they can be expanded and used. I would say the trains and marble runs were go to toys for years. I actually see the marble run out on occasion, even at 13, when DS is home and a bit bored. He pulls them out and sees what he can build. We limit screen time to an hour a day during the week.

Wooden train tracks are wooden train tracks, most of them are interchangeable. I would buy an in expensive set and then add in some of the BRIO bridges and bigger pieces as your child gets older. We bought trains at Target because they were inexpensive. You don't need the more expensive Thomas trains or save those for gifts.

I bought my son the Brio and Thomas train sets almost 35 years ago. He played with it daily for many years.

Once he grew out of it, I kept the pieces in a large canvas bag and brought it whenever we had a young visitor. It was the perfect toy to entertain a few kids while we chatted with the parents.

A few years ago, I gave the whole set to my grandson, as I wasn't getting as many visiting kids. Now he is playing with it every day.

These brands hold up really well. We may have had a few cheaper pieces mixed in, but the Brio tracks were the best.

Brio has a starter set that is marked 2+. I would start with that, then add trains and track over time.

Greenberg's train show at Dulles Expo Center in December usually has several vendors of used wooden trains - Brio or Thomas or other. It can be a good place to buy additional pieces.

Thank you all for these great ideas!

We have Melissa & Doug, brio, and even some Ikea pieces. Ikea is not great, tbh (I don't like the plastic connectors). The others are both good. Start with something that has some fun pieces (tunnel, bridge, figure 8, etc.). You can always add on more over time. We now have a huge wooden train set and it was a source of endless fun for years 2-7. We started with the Melissa & Doug Mountain Railway Train Set. It was a great first set. Get a few extra cars for the engine to pull--kids love that.

We got Thomas trains and mostly tracks from Ikea

Brio plus Thomas the tank engine trains. You can find on eBay though don’t buy that stuff new.

Anonymous wrote:BRIO, no contest

+1

Don't spend money on the tracks

We have multiple brands mixed together and have concluded that brand doesn't matter much ime.

Take a look on Amazon and try to figure out which features your kid would like, imo. Tunnels and bridges are fun. Brio has a lifting bridge that you can add on to any set. Hape has a large train station. There are dinosaur themes and farm themes that could be fun.

Most wooden tracks are compatible, so you can combine sets together to get to 100 or more.

Brio.

BRIO, no contest

We bought generic track and Thomas trains. Not sure if kids still like Thomas though

After seeing my 2yo play with a set at a playgroup, I want to get him this for Christmas. There are so many options! I want a wooden set with over 100 pieces - what’s your favorite brand? (I don’t need a bunch of extra plastic crap with it either, which I notice many brands have in abundance.) TIA!