First train set for three year old. Which one?

[GSmith86]

Looking for a first train set for our son's third birthday gift. Any recommendations?

So far these are my favourites.

https://letoyvan.co.uk/products/london-train-set

https://www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/products/dinosaur-railway-set

https://www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/products/city-of-london-train-set

https://www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/products/town-and-country-train-set

https://www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/products/flying-scotsman-train-set

https://www.bigjigstoys.co.uk/products/road-rail-train-set

I like the London ones in particular because we live there but don't know if they would appeal to a toddler in the same way.

Which of these would you go for?

I'd go for the flying Scotsman one at a quick glance - it seems to be the most focussed on just being a train set. We also got a train set for our three year old a couple of years back - he enjoyed building the track, but all the other pieces that came with it are never played with (trees, houses, people). Our daughter (now 2) plays more with those bits, but our boy just wants to build the track and drive the trains. In fairness, she's probably prefer to play with the train track too but I'm usually trying to distract her away from breaking what her brother has made with the other bits. We also bought him a little electric carriage from John Lewis that was very well used to go with it.

As lovely as they all look, I’d get a Brio one. Brio has endless extra bits and pieces so that you can keep buying cool new bits to add for years (assuming the child likes it). Whereas although a lot of the copycat brands look like they will fit into real Brio, they don’t, or don’t fit very well.

Oh, also, if you get Brio, but a train that takes a battery so that it will go around the track on its own. My DS got a huge kick out of that when he was little.

Another vote for Brio and if you want to buy the set new as a gift you can always get second hand (much cheaper!) Brio add-ons on Vinted or eBay.

Yeah definitely Brio. It has so many different accessories and is compatible with ones made by other companies. Really solid and well made and beloved by my kids.

I agree that both having lots of interesting track bits is the best and that you’re betting off going for Brio, partly because of all the track options they have.

Brio! It’s my 5 year olds favourite toy. He loves it!

Another vote for Brio, sorry! Or at least your latter links as they say they’re compatible with major brands. You’ll soon want to add sets to build all the way around the living room and under the dining table and through to the kitchen. I miss those days!

I didn't get any of these. We got the Ikea basic sets (which is compatible with Brio in the long run) for one christmas when DD was 2.5y maybe? She didn't play with it the first year we had it. She's now nearly 4yo and has just recently got into it thanks to watching some of the original tv adaptations of Thomas. Now that she's into it a bit more, we might add some fancier brio bits to the ikea set, but the ikea version is great for a basic starter kit and super reasonably priced so if it isn't played with, it isnt a waste of money.

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/cat/lillabo-series-11673/

Definitely get a Brio. They last years, can be added to and end up very well loved. Worth every penny. The motorized engines are awesome

Some lovely sets there @GSmith86 but I have to agree with the others - Brio is great!

We got a starter set for DS for Christmas when he was 2.5…he’s now almost 5 and has had add-on bits bought for every birthday/Christmas etc since. He plays with it every single day. As others have mentioned - the battery powered trains are fab! We also have a battery powered steam train which blows actual (cold!) steam which is a firm favourite! He’s got bells, turntables, cargo loading equipment etc.

Brio. It’s easy to find secondhand if you want to get loads of it. We had enough to go around the whole downstairs twice, kept them busy for hours.

In my experience, at 3yrs old, they probably won't be that bothered about the little buildings and extras - they just like to put the track together. Things like tunnels and hills are good, lots of interesting bits of track to make good layouts.

Having said that, you will be spending a lot of time playing with it too, and if the London buildings make you happy, then why not buy them! The bigjigs London set is lovely.

Bigjigs is compatible with Brio, but I would check that the Le toy van tracks are compatible with other brands.

Brio all the way

Agree with Brio, and no people/trees etc.

Also don't bother with lots of plain track, you can expand when he's older but at the moment he won't have the patience for anything big. Get a few plain bits and then lots of bridges, tunnels, fun stuff. There's a nice bridge that makes a sound as you go through, a bit of track that rings a bell as you go past, that kind of thing.

I know everyone says Brio but our best ever was a duplo one. Our DC played with it for years and integrated it into many other games.

Brio is compatible with big jigs if you want to see if your LO will use it and not pay full wack.

We have a mix of Bigjigs, Brio and IKEA and they are all compatible with each other. We started out with the Ikea set first then added to it over the years. DS is 5 now and still plays with it all.

Brio was our most used toy in the house for many years. I don’t even want to add up how
much we spent on the Thomas engines over the years but per play it must have worked out as good value.

My nephew loved a Duplo set we bought him, played with continuously and added to with other sets, until he moved up to Lego.

Oh if you do get a cheaper one, check whether it's just smooth on one side. Those ones are much less playable than the ones with track lines on both sides (like Brio) so you can use them any way.

Thanks everyone
Brio it is then. Our of interest have I understood correctly that they do Thomas brio trains?

We got a big set from John Lewis that was Brio-compatible but cheaper than Brio. Probably the best toy we ever got for DD - she must have played with it every single day from the age of two to five!

Oh, also, we have Brio and bits of other brands, and nothing is properly Brio compatible except other Brio. I particularly hate whichever brand uses those horrible plastic connectors.

Essentially you can force things together, but then they get stuck, or they won't quite connect so come apart too easily. Very very frustrating, especially if you're a toddler!

The one we got was this 120-piece one and it’s got 20% off right now so it’s £52 - a bargain for a set this size. You can also add lots of extras and Brio extras too.

www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-wooden-train-set-120-pieces/p4255338?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&s_share=jlappios_Y29tLmFwcGxlLm1vYmlsZW5vdGVzLlNoYXJpbmdFeHRlbnNpb24=