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Original poster

inexpensive Thomas brio set + table wanted

31 replies

unicorn · 29/07/2004 17:02

Anybody know where you can get these things cheapish.. wooden railtrack with bridges etc all ready made up on a child sized table?
ds fell in love with one when we went to Eastbourne (btw I recommend the railway place there- for Thomas buffs).

OP posts:
Bagpuss30 · 29/07/2004 17:24

Not sure about Thomas sets but I did get a bargain in Tesco last week. 15 piece train set (wooden) for £2.12, should have been about £5.50, extra bits of track were £1-2 per pack and they all fit with Brio stuff too.

marthamoo · 29/07/2004 17:26

I haven't seen a table cheaply but Tesco do Brio compatible track and accessories and they are brilliant - good quality and LOADS cheaper than ELC/Brio. AFAIK only Brio (Guillane now) have the licence to make Thomas products and they are horrendously expensive (they have a lot on ebay - worth a trawl). We are building up ds2's set gradually - the odd Thomas engine for special occasions like birthday and Christmas (they range from £10 to £20+) but mixed in with Tesco and ELC. I bought several bits (tunnel, turntable, crossing track) from a seller on ebay called cazkeeler - she has lots of stuff on and I can highly recommend her.

Although the tables made up with the track are lovely I'm finding that ds2 is now very keen on building his own layouts - something you can't do with a table.

HTH.

misdee · 29/07/2004 17:31

We have loads of the tescos stuff. it takes up the whole of the living room floor when we set it up. its pretty cheap. the thomas brio stuff does fit with it. so maybe worth buying the thomas trains, but get the track elsewhere.

marthamoo · 29/07/2004 17:31

this is cazkeeler's ebay store.

Original poster
unicorn · 29/07/2004 17:34

just thought the table was neater- and could be played with whenever he wanted.. as opposed to having to set up loads of bits of track etc (which frustrates him at the moment)

OP posts:
misdee · 29/07/2004 17:36

how about just getting a fair size coffee table (ikea??) and glue the track onto that?

marthamoo · 29/07/2004 18:13

Or just a piece of thick hardboard with a bit of beading fastened round the edge to neaten it off? We stayed in a holiday cottage once that had one of these and it had the advantage that you could tuck it behind the settee. You could use glue and panel pins to fix the track on. How old is your ds? We got a starter set for ds2 last Christmas when he was 2 and he couldn't build his own tracks at all but now he's 2 and 7 months it's really come into its own as he's got the hang of it (mostly circles, admittedly, the other shapes don't always join up..)

Original poster
unicorn · 29/07/2004 18:17

he's 2yr 6 months mm.. but doesn't like to build it.. wants it all ready for him.. I have stuck a few down on plyboard- but they keep coming off.. he just really liked the small table which was just his height.

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misdee · 29/07/2004 18:17

we are looking at the large board option as well for the dd's track. it'll just be easier than lugging the box out. and it would be behind the sofa.

LunarSea · 29/07/2004 18:22

I have quite a lot of brio-compatible track, including some bridges, which is surplus to what we need now (i.e. something has to go as new bridges etc mean it won't all fit in the large chest which the railway stuff lives in). I was planning to list it in ebay when I got around to it, but would sell direct if you like. Let me know if you want pics (am at work, and pics are at home so it will be later tonight before I can put them online). There are quite a few trains included in the lot I'd sorted out, but they aren't Thomas ones, although we do have two each of Thomas and Percy, so I might consider adding those to the pile.

marthamoo · 29/07/2004 18:24

GLTC do a table (£129 though - ouch) here but you'd still have to fix the track to it yourself. I don't think I've ever seen one ready made up on a table. Do you know anyone handy? I don't imagine a simple table is that tricky to make and you could have it the size and height you wanted then.

zebra · 29/07/2004 18:32

Tesco's def. the best quality/value for money; I wouldn't buy on Ebay unless you are after genuine Brio. I have seen the Tesco track sell for more than it's new price on Ebay, the auction prices are silly!

Lunarsea I might like one each of the thomas/percy trains are they the wooden ones?
Wasn't it you I gave the Armstrong book to? That was a gift to us and we already had a copy, so would be happy to pay you something for the trains. Contact me if you think you might have some trains for me? But my email addy changes soon.. try [email protected]

alison222 · 29/07/2004 19:25

Ikeas track also fits too.

jampot · 29/07/2004 19:57

A couple of months ago I gave my kids' wooden brio track and all the wooden trains (& Thomas ones) to the local hospital children's ward. Collection spanned 9 years!!!! Tesco do great wooden track (much cheaper) and I think Brio don't do Thomas stuff anymore, think it might be ELC.

mummytojames · 29/07/2004 20:18

think its agos do the table track with storage underneath if not argos its definatly index i on think there that expensive for the set was thinking for ds for future

sis · 29/07/2004 20:20

Asda do a fantastic train set with loads and loads of pieces for between £30-£40 and I kick myself everytime I see it as we bought separate bits and pieces from tescos which worked out far more expensive. I am sure the Asda box said the track was compatable with other wooden train sets too.

Original poster
unicorn · 29/07/2004 21:53

thanks all..
we have got quite a lot of track already- it's the track attached to the table I'm after really.(like the ones they had at he Eastbourne miniture railway place)
fraid the one at gltc is just far too dear

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lemonice · 30/07/2004 11:12

I have a table which was an oak coffee table with rounded off corners which I painted to use in the shop with brio but never did because I decided Brio was too expensive and kept telling people to go to Tescos! Its green on the top with the edges and frame painted blue. If you would like it Unicorn I want to get rid of it.

lemonice · 30/07/2004 11:58

Just bumping up in case Unicorn(or anyone else) is interested.

albert · 30/07/2004 13:53

In March this year I bought an 82 piece wooden (Brio style) train set for £11.95 from Asda. It is fantastic value for money and DS absolutely loves it. I would suggest buying somthing like that and then a few Thomas trains to go with it.

Jodee · 30/07/2004 14:03

Unicorn, my feeling is that your ds will enjoy a table with a fixed track for a while, but soon he will be at the stage where he will want to set up his own track - my ds has a big enough bedroom to have the track snaking all through the room, under the bed (and currently out the door onto the landing!).

LunarSea · 30/07/2004 16:34

We've had a lot of our wooden Thomas trains from here . They're in the US, but are very helpful and willing to send things by surface mail which is actually quite cheap to the UK (and they charge what it costs, not a lot extra for packaging). Works out a lot less than buying the same trains in the UK, especially if you have several together. Check out this compared to uk prices for example.

Original poster
unicorn · 31/07/2004 14:46

lemonice-possible interest in table how big is it? whereabouts are you- and how much would it be?

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lemonice · 31/07/2004 16:00

Hi Unicorn

I'd have to measure it, but guessing about 1100x600mm and about 350mm high

Warwickshire

About £20.00 perhaps

Where are you?

Original poster
unicorn · 01/08/2004 21:15

lemonice.. we're in London, so it's probably to much of a problem/ or too expensive to get here..
but thanks anyway!

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