A wooden train set is a must-have toy for kids. I bought one for my son when he was almost 2 year old. I can tell this is the best toy I bought for him. He plays with it everyday for about 2 hours.
I started with Thomas and Friends Water Tower Figure 8 kit as train set. I didn’t know yet my son would love to play with a train set. Though the price for this set is a bit on high you won’t be disappointed. This train set is high quality. The tracks and accessories are strong and sturdy.
Few months later, I was walking at Toy’R’Us for my Christmas shopping and I saw Imaginarium City Central Train Table (Toys’R’Us exclusive). The price for this set is great. Toys’R’Us sell it for $159.99 regular price. I bought it on sale for $119.99. The train table take about two hours to set up but it’s worth it.
This train set sits on a table, which includes one large drawer to store train and tracks. The town features a Central Station with lights and sounds, a light-up bridge, a geared roundhouse, a scrubbing train wash with sound, a heliport, and a geared lifting crane. It also includes town characters. This Imaginarium City Central Train Table is compatible with Thomas & Friends and Brio wooden train sets. My son love’s his train table. He’s playing with it everyday since more than a year now.  Over time, I upgraded the trains for Thomas and Friends Woooden Railway trains and they fit perfectly with this train set.
Because, the walls of the Imaginarium station were a little shaky and my son became a huge fan of Thomas and Friends, I replaced this station by Thomas and Friends wooden railway Tidmouth Sheds. I also, added Thomas and Friends accessories like the deluxe railroad crossing, deluxe over the track signal, cranky the crane and Toby’s windmill. My son loves to create different train layout. It is fun and helps him to develop his imagination.
The only problem with wooden train set is the tracks are easily disconnected to each other. Some parents suggest mounting the track permanently on the table by gluing them together. But it’s actually not the best solution, because the train set, should allow your children to improvise, think and create a new layout. I found a product online called Suretrack Clip that helps to keep the tracks stay in place. It’s very easy and keep the tracks steady. You can find this product on amazon.com for about $10.00.
Image Source: Toys R’Us, Amazon.com