kid proof passenger cars

JHZ,

My product testers are 7 & 3 years old and they have validated that the MTH amfleet cars are rather robust!! They have smaller Windows that withstand poking and very thick plastic shells. Plus they are not any add on detail parts to break off. They are still going strong over here!!

Disclaimer: Past results are no guarantee for future performance. . Good luck!

Couplers are always at risk.

Lee Willis did this- magnet coupler mod - I suppose you could do it for any car  I did it for the Thomas cars also - added a lot of play value - the most difficult thing for littles is to couple the cars.

Lionel Baby Madisons are pretty tough, always with the proviso that truck/coupler attachment is going to be most vulnerable.

you might search for RMT passenger cars.

Thomas' friends Annie and Clarabel do a good job with children....

Yes, the Annie and Clarabel cars are great from a play standpoint since the roofs come off and can be loaded with all sorts of stuff. However, they have the European style buffers that break off way too easy. 

Maybe the 3 year old is too young to run 3 rail trains without Dad's help.  Maybe wooden trains might be better at this time.

All good thoughts guys! I forgot about the RMT cars.  Maybe some of the short ones, whatever they were called.  Also then I can just pick up one or two without breaking the bank.

My guy has gotten pretty good with the couplers. I have an older Annie and Clarabel with non-operating couplers. I have hesitated to pull them out because they are so light they don't track well and as mentioned by others, the couplers are a weak point. Also, in this case I want to get him something with lights. 

Any other thoughts please feel free to share!

The Phillies and other MLB passenger cars seem sturdy and can probably be had for $15 each after set breAks. My 4 year old runs the Lionel Strasburg RTR set pretty well and they are sturdy as well.  And as stated, Annie and Clarabel are great too

My vote goes to the MTH 12" Railking passenger cars. I personally like the Madison's, but the streamliners might be a touch more durable, and the Dome cars are always popular, they do have lights too.

With supervision, a 3 year old will be just fine, there are 3-4 year olds using I phones these days.

Doug

I picked up some of the Pennsylvania MPC cars; Washington Circle, Penn Square, Times Square fairly inexpensively and my 2 year old now 4 year old always was able to play with them without much problem. I always told him he had to be gentle with them like a kitty, and he was generally always pretty chill with them.

Kids will vary though.

My son is now six and he's had the polar express set since he was three and there is nothing broken. Of course the observation railing always falls off. And the little figures go missing from time to time but great play value with that set.

I've had to replace couplers and the buffers on his Thomas set, but those are still running as well.

Now he prefers using the DCS remote and running command engines. Knock on wood he hasn't so much as caused a scratch on any of those. He can now run any of my trains he chooses.