Accessories for 5 year old train guy

The advice in this thread definitely applies:

https://ogrforum.com/t...24#68722173720005224

Hi Butch,

As a parent of similar aged boys here are my thoughts. I also took into consideration that his parents will not or cannot assist in the electrical side of the hobby and he will have to manipulate all of the items on his own. 

Go with the manual switches. My boys like the physical aspect of controlling the movement. It also keeps them very engaged in the play aspect of the trains. 

For a crane I would lean towards finding a Brio or Thomas version that is manually controlled and more robust. It would also get more use since it can be used for both train sets. 

Your third request about an accessory is a little more tricky. Plug and Play from Lionel may be the way to go. If you have time to show him how to set up a traditionaly powered option I'd go with the saw mill since it offers a cool visual allusion and is hands on. It is also a favorite of my boys. 

Butch

I'm going to second "BigTruckPete" on going with manual switches and a crane that would work with his Brio/Thomas trains.  My 5 year old son is constantly changing the manual switches on our Christmas layout, but he won't touch the switch controls on the permanent layout.  And until recently there was always a Thomas accessory somewhere on the permanent layout.  

As far as other accessories his favorite is the coal loader with a dump car.  Easy to fill the car and dump it back out.

James 

Thanks Guys,

This is the kind of information I was looking for. I will check out a crane that can be used with both train sets and I was leaning towards manual switches due to the high engagement factor. He'll just have to remember to manually set them both so the train doesn't derail if he only does one. 

Coal loader sounds like another good option.

Butch

I suggest Gondolas, Gondolas with Containers, and flat cars.  He can then put his stuff to ride the train.  Action cars like the log dumps and milk/dry ice cars are fun as well. The log dumps can dump little people and figures very easily.  My son (13) and I still play with our helicopter car.

I also suggest you give him the electric switches with the hand controls.  These make it fun to have to switch the directions.  Kids are smart.  Show them how to do it, and let them go.  My kids figured out these and the MTH remote at a early age as well.

As for routes, I do not suggest sidings, it is hard for them to get the concept of stopping.  Loops are better until he gets older. 

When I was six I loved the 362 barrel loader, 397 Coal Loader and coal and log dump cars . I also didn't have any problem working the controllers on O22 switches or a ZW transformer. Red/Green  lights on the switches showed how the switches were set and my Pop had wired up the anti-derailing feature. The big handles on the ZW were easy to control due to the wide arc of movement between full-off and full-on. In contrast, the small handle and tiny arc on my sister's AF 8b transformer gave us fits.

bigtruckpete posted:

Hi Butch,

 

Go with the manual switches. My boys like the physical aspect of controlling the movement. It also keeps them very engaged in the play aspect of the trains. 

For a crane I would lean towards finding a Brio or Thomas version that is manually controlled and more robust. It would also get more use since it can be used for both train sets. 

 

Pete, 

Great suggestions. Thanks!

Just going against the flow a bit, my sons had no problem operating the powered switch controls at that age. One of their favorite accessories was the magnetic crane and they remembered which of the three levers controlled which function more quickly than I did. And even if there are issues, kids are not stuck at age five for long. As most parent who have raised kids will agree, they go from playing with blocks to driving cars in the blink of an eye! The difference between what they can do at five and at seven is tremendous and they advance even faster when challenged. Kids are surrounded with electronic and digital devices of all kinds that didn't exist when we were that age and have little trouble mastering them. Powered switches and other operating accessories are fairly simple by comparison. In the end, you are more familiar with your specific child's abilities and aptitude than any stranger on the web. Give them the appropriate supervision when needed and they will be fine. 

things to keep in mind - I have small kids as well & think of these things -  The fastrack electric switch lanterns are very small & could be lost or swallowed . They are also very pricey.  I think the manual ones come in 036 only which match the curves of his set.   I would go with the cranky thomas crane or something similar.  While the electric lionel crane is nice, they also are not cheap & the newer ones have a very fragile gear arrangement ( my 6 year old broke mine by accident). Last thing to consider - the engine that came with set is very small & doubt it could pull more than a few cars.  Adding heavy operating cars may strain the engine & burn the motor out.   

I'm a newbie who mostly does the christmas tree train or a loop on the floor for my five year old, but I can attest that Gondolas are the way to go.  Sure it's not accurate, but being able to put is own cars, and action figures in them without them falling out has kept him busy for many hours.  

I'm also going to eventually pick up a couple of switches for him when I get some extra scratch.  I just haven't decided whether to with two of the same and do an inner loop or one of each for a passing loop.  I'll probably go with Manual switches to give him more reasons to move around the layout and engage with it.