Fun on the Run with the Take Along Thomas Train Yard
Written: Jul 26 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good set with lots of track pieces and fun stuff to do
Cons: The mud is just a sticker
The Bottom Line: We prefer the wooden sets, but this is quite a nice little plastic set (and more cost effective too)
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Take Along Thomas Train Yard |
My youngest is an absolute nut for anything on wheels, so I wasn't surprised when he was absolutely enamored with the Thomas train tables set up at our local Barnes and Nobel and Toys R Us stores. Back when I was still deciding whether or not to go for broke on a train table of our own (which we did eventually do, by the way), I purchased the very cute Take Along Thomas Train Yard set from Target, figuring we could use it to determine whether or not my little guy enjoyed the cheaper plastic Thomas sets first.
Product Description:
The Take Along Thomas Train Yard is a nice little starter set in the "Take Along Thomas" line (which features plastic tracks and buildings as well as die cast vehicles). It is a fairly simple set with a good number of track pieces, making it a good set for starting a "Take Along Thomas" collection.
Included with this set are:
1 Sodor Engine Wash building
1 Sodor Paint Station
1 Die-cast Percy engine
1 Die-cast Sodor Line caboose
1 stop sign
1 yield sign
1 bridge holder
1 mud puddle track
2 medium strait track pieces (approx. 5 inches long)
1 short track piece with nubs for attaching a building
1 tiny track piece (approx. 2 inches long)
1 converter piece (with fat nubs on one side and skinny nubs on the other)
2 hill pieces (put them together to make 1 hill, or connect them to bridge pieces)
2 curve pieces with indentions for holding signs
1 curve with a "Y" split
1 curve piece
2 long straight pieces (approx. 7 inches long)
2 "collectors cards" (for Percy and the caboose)
The largest piece included with this set is the plastic Wash Station (for cleaning your trains). It is a cute little white and blue building that the trains can drive through, with cloth that hangs down to do the cleaning. The train tracks run right through the building with a door on both sides so you can close off the entry and exit independently. There's a little red handle on top for easy portability (but unlike the Roundhouse and some other sets there isn't really any storage room inside the building for holding track or multiple trains or anything).
The paint station isn't really a building you can drive through - it merely attaches to the side of the track so you can "paint" the train as it stops on the track. The paint station has 2 fake paint cans, one containing red "paint", the other containing green "paint". There's a little plastic paint brush attached to a cord that you can use to mimic painting the trains. The "paint" in each can is spring-loaded, so you can press it down with the paint brush and it will pop back up into place again.
The die cast Percy (the little green engine) and red caboose are quite nice. The train cars are a little smaller than their wooden counterparts, but are quite nice and sturdy. The 2-way "smart magnets" (which always attract and never oppose each other, unlike the wooden trains which will oppose if a car is turned the wrong way) are a very good idea and helps keep things simple for the younger Thomas enthusiasts.
This set comes with a decent amount of track. The "Take Along Thomas" sets have a few different types of track -- the track pieces that come with this Train Yard set are made of a fairly thin, gray plastic, and connect via one skinny nub. There is one unique piece of track with this set -- a "mud puddle" (presumably so the cars can get "dirty" before driving through the cleaning station). This section of track is thicker than the others, with a raised section for holding the big round puddle of mud. The "mud" itself is just a sticker, so there will be no real messes while playing with this set.
The manufacturer recommends the Take Along Thomas Train Yard for children ages 3 and up. There are no batteries required. This set is a Target exclusive (although it can also be found via the Amazon.com web site, as sold through Target).
Our Thoughts and Experiences:
My two year old really, really loved playing with his Take Along Thomas Train Yard -- in fact he still plays with it to this day (although he now has a big train table with wooden tracks). In this set there is enough track and enough things to do to keep things quite interesting for my little guy. He particularly loves the "Engine Wash Station", because the tracks go inside the building so the train drives right through. There is also a door on each side of the building, so he would occupy himself opening and closing the doors with the train inside. He's never shown much interest in the Paint Station though -- maybe when he gets a bit older...
He's a little too young to build the tracks himself, but we went ahead and purchased some additional plastic track & bridge pieces, so when they're all put together we build some impressively large tracks for him to travel along. We've had fun spreading the track across the floor - but it is worth noting that these thin plastic tracks come apart much easier than our wooden sets (particularly when you've got a 2 year old who likes to lay on them as he rolls the trains along).
We did have one other "Take Along Thomas" set before this one, and that set features a different kind of plastic track (the nubs for attaching the track together are much wider, and the track itself is thicker). Luckily the Take Along Thomas Train Yard features one converter piece (with a skinny nub on one side and the fatter nubs for connecting with our older set on the other side. I'm glad that they included a converter piece, but do wonder why they seem to keep changing the plastic track on us (I've seen other "Take Along Thomas" sets with blue tracks as well, so I suppose you would need another kind of converter for those tracks). I will say that I find the track pieces in the Train Yard set, with its 1 skinny connector, is easier to put together than the tracks on our older set (with its 2 thicker connectors).
My biggest complaint about this set would be the "mud" piece. The mud is represented by a sticker, which is stuck to the surface of the gray plastic track. My son is not rough with this particular piece at all (in fact we rarely use it when building with our "Take Along Thomas" tracks), yet the sticker is already peeling away from the plastic underneath. It's too bad that the mud couldn't be molded in and painted, rather than a simple sticker.
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) 2 Die-cast metal train cars (Percy and a the Sodor Line Caboose)
+) The "smart magnets" on the train cars will connect either way
+) includes 14 track pieces (including a "hill" and a converter piece)
+) includes 2 "destinations" (the Engine Wash and Paint Station)
+) Lots of add-ons and additional accessories/destinations available
+) A good variety all together in one set
Cons:
-) The "mud" sticker is peeling already
-) track falls apart easier than our wooden sets
Final Thoughts:
My son has gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the Take Along Thomas Train Yard. I appreciate the fact that this set includes a good amount of track, a couple of "destinations", as well as 2 vehicles and a few accessories. It was a great starter set for us, and my son still enjoys playing with it even now that we have a very nice wooden Thomas set-up.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 24.99
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mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
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About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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