Best Train Sets for Toddlers


Buying a train set for toddlers is a good idea. Both my boys loved train sets at this age and older. However, it can be a minefield to choose one. There are dozens of different types from wooden train sets to Thomas trackmaster, from motorised sets to trains which you push along. Should you get one which they can spread out along the floor? Or maybe invest in a train table?

Discover the answers to questions with our guide to the top 10 train sets for toddlers.

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1.) Lego Duplo - My First Number Train

The lego duplo number train is the perfect size for little hands to pull along and play with. It's recommended for toddlers from 18 months.

Toddlers will love to put one of the included figures in the train driver's carriage to drive the train.

There are 10 number blocks (0 through to 9) which helps toddlers with counting. The colorful blocks are also great for teaching about colours

2.)LEGO DUPLO Big Interactive Community Train

The LEGO DUPLO Big Interactive Community Train is a brilliant choice for toddlers who love trains and building. There’s plenty to keep little hands busy, with a train and carriages, station, loading bay, washing area and charging station to explore.
The set also comes with four figures, a cat and lots of accessories, so children can create their own stories as they play. Five interactive action bricks add lights and sounds when the train passes over them, which makes driving the train around the track even more exciting.

3.) Wooden Train Set

Wooden train sets are great for older toddlers.  At 2 1/2 years old my son loved his wooden train set and played with daily. He built different tracks and pushed the trains along.

The train set featured has 39 pieces and is a great starter set. It's a nice size for toddlers to begin with. However, a larger train set means you can build better and more intricate tracks so you can also check out other wooden train sets featured below.

The magnetic trains  hold my son's attention and he will spend ages putting them all together in a line and pushing them around the track. It's also good to have bridges, tunnels and other accessories.

There are lots more exciting train sets aimed at toddlers that are worth checking out.
If your toddler loves Thomas and Friends they will probably love the Thomas trackmaster sets. These sets also have motorized trains which fascinate my own son but they have lots of other features too.

4.) Step 2 Deluxe Canyon Road Train and Table Set

My son played with the Step 2 train and table set at a toddler group. He loved playing with it and so did the other kids.
It has tracks which are fixed. The advantage of this is that parents don't have to keep fixing tracks which are broken. And kids don't get frustrated when the track breaks. Its great for kids to use to play independently. There are also less pieces to clean up and the track can't get lost.
The step 2 set has a multi level track with seven non-removable bridges. It comes with 3 piece train set. My son also plays with cars on the tracks as well as trains.
When you have finished playing with it, just throw all the trains into the table and put the lid on. This makes a quick and easy clean up.
When the table cover is on, the table is great for doing things like drawing too.

5.) Melissa & Doug Take-Along Railroad

The Melissa & Doug Take-Along Railroad is a good option if you want a train set that's easy to store or take with you when you're away from home.
Open up the wooden carrying case and it becomes part of the playset, with built-in tracks, a train station, mountain tunnel and scenery. Children can connect the magnetic train pieces and move them around the railway, as well as play with the included animals and other accessories.
When playtime is over, everything can be packed away again, making this a particularly handy train set for smaller homes, trips to grandparents or holidays.

It's also a lovely screen-free toy for encouraging imaginative play, storytelling and fine motor skills.

6.) Thomas & Friends Trains & Cranes Super Tower, Motorized Train and Track Set

 

Standing 2.5 ft tall this is a great Thomas and friend playset.

It features characters and places from the TV show. It comes with a motorized Thomas engine, die-cast Percy engine and Harold the helicopter.

Highlights include a spinning turntable, Cranky the crane picking up and dropping cargo, and mutiple switches to send the trains whizzing down the tracks.

7.) Kidkraft Waterfall Mountain Train and Table Set

What's great about the the Kidkraft train table is the 3 durable red plastic bins for easy clean up and storage. When play is finished it won't take two seconds to put all the track in the bins which is a major plus for parents.
The table comes with 120 piece set. The set includes trains, track, trees, people and buildings. The set is lose (not attached to the table) which is good as kids can have the fun of building the track themselves and making tracks of different configurations. This keeps the play very interesting.
The table also feature special T-moulded ​edges to prevent chipping and keep the table looking good.

8.) Melissa and Doug Stacking Train

The Melissa and Doug stacking train is the perfect size for toddlers to play with. They can easily pull it along. The train cars can be linked together or played with separately.

The stacking blocks provide extra fun and learning. Toddlers can use them for building and stacking. They are also great for teaching colors and shapes.

Fitting the stacking blocks on the pegs helps hand and eye co-ordination. ​Building the stacking blocks on the train is like putting a puzzle together.

A great toy with many play opportunities.

9.) Melissa and Doug Wooden Train Cars

 

Magnetic trains keep toddlers occupied for hours.

They enjoy putting the trains together and then pushing them along the floor.

The Melissa and Doug set has eight wooden trains with magnetic couplings on the ends. The trains are brightly painted and include a steam engine, caboose, coal car and passenger car.

10.) Magnetic Animal Train Set

 

This colourful magnetic animal train is a great budget-friendly choice for younger children. The set includes 11 wooden train pieces, with an engine followed by animal carriages numbered from 0 to 10.
Toddlers can join the carriages together using the magnets, arrange the numbers in order and pull the train along as they play. This gives you plenty of opportunities to introduce early counting, number recognition and animal names while having fun.

The chunky wooden pieces are designed to be easy for small hands to hold, and connecting and arranging the carriages can also help develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
It comes with a storage bag too, which is useful for keeping all those little train pieces together when playtime is over.

Fun Ways to Play Train Tracks with Your Toddler

Playing trains with my son is probably one of my favourite activities to do with him. I think the reason why is I get to be really creative and build all kinds of elaborate and different track. Here are some ways I play with my toddler and his train track.
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Make big tracks - The best train tracks are the biggest ones and we see how far we can stretch the train track across the floor.
​Incorporate other toys - We use lots of other toys when building our train tracks. We have a racetrack which the train track goes underneath. We use animals and build a farm next to the track. We use lego duplo to build towers and a train station. The imagination is the limit.
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Build big bridges - We try to build ramps and big bridges out of some of the pieces which is always fun for trains to go under and over. You can use wooden blocks or other toys as supports for your ramps and bridges. Although expect them to fall over now and again!

Brio Train Sets

Brio is the name for quality and durability when buying wooden train sets. There are lots of lovely Brio train sets on the market. They'r train sets are designed to last. They're made from solid Beech wood.. The track pieces are cut with precision and fit with other pieces easily. All the wood Brio uses is FSC®-labeled. This ensures that it comes from renewable forests and that no unique biospheres are destroyed.

Brio My First Railway Beginner Pack

If you're looking for a first wooden train set for a younger toddler, the BRIO My First Railway Beginner Pack is a great choice. It's designed for children from 18 months, with an easy-to-build wooden track that's ideal for little hands.
The 18-piece set includes a colourful rainbow bridge and a train with a special rattle wagon, giving younger children plenty to discover as they push the train around the track.
One of the advantages of starting with BRIO is that the set is compatible with other BRIO railway sets. You can therefore start small and add extra track, trains and accessories as your child gets older and becomes more confident building their own railway layouts.
Brio sets a

Save Money and Buy Wooden Train Tracks in Bulk

The fun you get out of wooden train tracks is building lots of different combinations. Of course you need the track to make this happen. Having lots of track pieces encourages creativity, improves fine motor skills and gives lots of play opportunities too. Buying a bulk buy train set is a good option to make this happen and can work out cheaper.


This set featured is a great basic buy to 68 pieces of train track.

​More Tips When Buying a Train Set for a Toddler

Here are some more things to look out for when buying a train set for a toddler.

How interactive is the train set - some train sets have some really interactive parts for toddlers to play with including gates to lift, cranes to work and pieces such as helicopters and airplanes to promote imaginative play. Look at the number of pieces in the train set and see what kinds of pieces there are to encourage imaginative and interactive play.

Number of track pieces - make sure that there are a good number of track pieces in the set you are buying. Many train sets will have a lot of pieces but if half of them are trees and not many of them are tracks this will limit the track configurations you can make.

Check the suggested age range of the track - some tracks are better suited to older toddlers and pre-schoolers as they may require more skill to play with the set. Having said this, sometimes the age ranges are misleading so its worth reading reviews as well to see what age children are getting the most of of the set you are buying.

Benefits of Playing with Trains and Train Sets

Believe it or not, playing with trains is not only a source of fun for toddlers and big kids, there are many educational benefits too. Here are a few:
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Improves fine motor skills and hand and eye co-ordination. Using little hands to put track pieces together and pushing trains around the track increases the strength and control toddlers have in their hands. This is great for writing later on in their school life.

Develops social skills - working with another person or a team to build a train track helps build social and communication skills. It could be their first experience of working within a team.

Encourages imagination and creativity - putting together different configurations of sets, building towns around the tracks, getting the tracks to fit together in different loops can all help with creativity. Of course train sets also facilitate lots of imaginative play.

Increases vocabulary - as you build and play together with your toddler, talk to them about what you are building or what different parts of the train are called. Play while talking through scenarios. It's a great way to introduce new words and vocabulary.

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