Trains for a Three Year Old

Walmart has a good one.

KidKraft Bucket Top Mountain 56-Piece Train Set
  $40

Target has some:

Fisher-Price® Thomas and Friends Trackmaster - Maron Station Starter Set
$14.99 Online Price

Both on line sites are good.  Search train sets and sort price low to high.

Hi Susan, thanks very much for those suggestions.

Paul

Paul

My nephew, same age, likes the Thomas because he can hold them and push them.

I got him a Lionel child set and he did not get the remote control aspect. as he wanted to self-control them.

Bianco's Trainworld in Brooklyn has a battery-powered Little Lines POLAR EXPRESS playset for $58.95 (www.trainworld.com)

My wife, Beverly, suggested looking for a wooden set in Salvation Army or Goodwill stores.

I guess this depends this depends on the 3 year old's interest level. I received my first train at age 3 years 1 month in 1946, a Lionel 726 Berkshire set with several cars including a log dumping car, box car, crane car and caboose with a searchlight. Within a year i had learned to disassemble and reassemble the engine all by myself.

When my eldest daughter was 2 years 3 months she had already shown an interest in trains; loved riding the cable cars in San Fransisco and we couldn't get her past a Spencer's Gifts window in the malls where a train on display did back flips. Well after Santa spent several hours the morning of Christmas Eve in the basement trying to make the "back flipping train" work properly, he left for one of the discount stores (K-Mart?) and spent $40 of his last $50 on an entry level Lionel (MPC) set pulled by a NW-2 switcher. Turned out to be a wise purchase for her and later on for me too.

So my answer is, it depends on the child. But while not going way above what you think is their ability level don't be afraid to challenge them; kids are a lot smarter than we might think, and they go for the new command controlled stuff like a bear goes for honey.

jackson

I got my 3 year old grandsom the wooden Thomas set. If you want to go this route check out the internet for prices. I found a place in Indy that had the stuff 1/2 off. Also the track can be expensive but I found a track that was compatable with Thomas and it was a lot cheaper, and made by the same producer that made thomas track. That was all done last year in December.

My suggestion: Get him the wooden Thomas the Tank Engine. Kids that age can be more creative with various track configurations and the ease in doing so. My kids loved the wooden trains the most in their early years. And don't forget the Thomas DVDs.  Then buy yourself a flashy, nice locomotive that he would enjoy running on your layout with you. Father and son time.

The best all-around train for my Grandson, when he was 3, was a Lionel postwar engine and some inexpensive cars. He could run it via the transformer, and he also loved pushing it.

Lionel had the little lionel polar express on sale on their site for 45.  I got that for my 4 year old for Christmas.  He runs the new lionchief polar express all day long with is 2 year old sister though, so I wonder if he is ready for his own o scale. he has been connecting my cars for a long while.

I want to thank everyone for their replies, insights, and suggestions. I'm leaning towards the Thomas stuff or the Lionel battery operated set. The sets Susan suggested looked great but no stores around us have them and we need it by Saturday to drop off at church.

Funny, my view of model trains as a three year old was looking up at my older brothers running a layout in the furnace room. I don't recall getting much run time

I think I was 12 when I built my first layout in Hillsdale NJ. But I digress...

Can't go wrong with the wooden Thomas set.

Bought it for my 3 year old grandson this past January.  It was fascinating watching him mature playing with it actually pushing the the cars around the track and using the crane's magnet to pick up the cargo.  You could almost see the light go on in his head as he made the connection as he played with it over the year.

George

My boys 2 and 5 have both the Thomas wooden trains but also the Thomas Take n Play.  The Take n Play stuff is nice because it can be folded up and easily stored or moved from one place to then next.  In fact my little one prefers it over the wooden Thomas.  You can't go wrong with either. 

I will add mine never did well with the wooden sets.  they got bored early.  they got to liking my trains instead.

Received my first Lionel electric train set when I was 3.  It was a Scout set.  I had a good time with it.

I have to wonder why so many of you want to wait until a kid is "older" to get a "real" electric train. Is it because you don't want to admit that we are playing with toys?

My 5 year-old Grandaughter probably knows more about my computer's capability than I do.

I'd toss my vote in the hat for a real electric train set, perhaps the Thomas.  My grandson has an extensive collection of the wooden trains, but he tired of them very quickly.

Let me throw in another consideration.  Take a look at Geotrax.  For the 3 year old I believe this is the best way to go.  This is similar to lionel's toy train set, but much better.  There are a lot of accessories and track available, much more than the lionel sets.  You can easily find used sets and pieces on ebay and local classifieds. You can buy many different engines and train cars and they also sell automobiles to drive on the same track as well.  Geotrax is much, much, much better than the lionel sets.  They are indestructible and they have a special rail to set the cars on that automatically align the train onto the track. 

Paul,

My niece's son will be 4 in Feb.  At a mall recently, he visited "Santa" and asked for only one thing: a train that runs itself.  He apparently has become bored with a wooden set.  This little fella loves trains; so much so that he has watched the Polar Express DVD many times.  Given the above, I thought a super present for him (from Santa, of course) would be a Lionel G-scale Polar Express passenger set.  The set is run by batteries (thus, no electrical plugs to deal with).  It has a remote control; lights, whistle and bell.  The only thing I see this does not do compared to a conventional electric train is smoke.  Anyway, my niece can't afford this right now, so I decided to bite the bullet and play Santa.  I hope this set will entertain him for a year or so.

Good luck and regards,

Bill

  I vote for a die-cast unit, it will likely be the only toy that survives childhood, and most plastic shells don't fare as well over the years.

  I remember thinking the wood trains and track made by Grandfather with his router table and other goodies, were like upgrades to my blocks. And while they are a fun, and important "learning tool/toy". By three, I definitely looked forward to being perceived as "big enough" to assemble and solo-run my PW 2037 received at birth from my other Grandfather. And once allowed? Well..the wood trains are gone now, not the Lionels. I even got to "show and tell" it in kindergarten, first, and second grade. Most of my "grown-ups" used this all to their advantage when trying to "corral" my mischievous little butt. And later, through denial, it was very effectively used to impose a sense of responsibility, and need for caring for Ones possessions. It also gave me an early basic understanding of electricity, I cant stress how often that's come in handy!

Kids are often ready to handle much more than you'd think. If he is not ready yet, he will be, very soon. Go for it.    

You might want to look at the "TRackMaster" stuff from Fisher Price.   I have a ton of it here and my 7 year olds still break it out from time to time.  Lots of options, different sets, etc.    Track is plastic, locos run on batteries, and you can get a remote engine as well.   Most al of the usual Thomas suspects are available, which makes for a nice variety as well.   You can get pretty elaborate with it - we had some pretty crazy layouts.  (I think there another company that markets this as well - I'll try to find the name of it, but Fisher-Price should have everything you need

Thomas Track Master

BTW:  I didn't want my 3 year olds playing with electricity without me watching them like a hawk, which can be hard to do 24/7.   It's nice to have something that they can just sit down with a play with without much supervision.   

Wow, parents today sure seem over protective.  I did get poked by 110 volts (not related to my trains!), once when I took a light bulb out of the socket and stuck my finger in.  It hurt and scared me, but no damage.  Kids are not all the same at a given age, but I think most can handle an electric train at 3.  The new beginner sets from Lionel now use a wall wart to reduce the voltage, so there is little chance of a young one getting in contact with line power.  Probably safer than turning a lamp on (see above).

I'd go for one of the new Lionchief sets as they look like they have lots of play value.

 Or if your on a tight budget one of the Lionel scout sets. I think the LCCA site had these

for about $124.00.

I started my 2 1/2 year old grandson (Now 8 yr. old) on Fisher Price GeoTrax. He and his siblings still use them and have even incorporated them into his basement floor o gauge layout.

A lot depends on the kid and parents. Ours got a basic Lionel set when he was three, but we were willing to supervise. If it's someone you don't know, or whose parents you know won't be comfortable with a plug-in, a pack and play Thomas would do nicely (I have one ready for the toy drive, but with a nice storm coming it may have to wait.) 

brio and Thomas wood push trains were really popular around here, too. when other kids came around, those were safe for all to play with and were sturdy enough for the careless or mean ones.

Probably not the best choice for a secret Santa project,but the Mighty Casey train set is the perfect toy for a three year old.I had one when I was a kid and my brother's little grandson loved riding it a few weeks ago.There is usually a set for sale on Ebay under"Remco Mighty Casey".

Dan 

GeoTrax is fine if your kid is very neat...otherwise, the room will be full of sections, bits, and pieces. This is the present day version of a floor covered with Lite Brite pieces (beware of walking in bare feet).

My 2 1/2 year old grandson is getting pretty good with the remote Thomas in the last year. 8-10 ten minutes and he is done.

He likes the Playschool TrackMaster battery powered trains. We have the Cranky and Flynn Save the Day with the 30" tall remote Cranky the Crane. He really likes that. 10-15 minutes and he's done.

Not much interest in the pusher types.

So, go by your child's activity time and interest. Everything is very tactile at that age. The trains, track and such get handled quite a bit. Remote Thomas has proved to be a very durable and useful engine. Cranky has taken some rough play, too. The little battery powered engines tend to get the tractions tires rolled up, but they untangle easily.

Have fun!

My kids had Brio wooden trains when they were three.

IMHO, wooden trains are well suited for kids in that age range.

They can assemble the tracks and rearrange them at will.

Same goes for the cars and accessories.

Kids enjoy being able to do for themselves.

How many 3 years olds can assemble electric train track, and connect the wires?

quote:

We spent a lot of money .... but, what a great investment it was. The most played-with toy we ever bought the kids. Their ability to easily build, and rebuild, the layout as they desired really kept their interest.

Same here. My children would accompany me on a weekly visit to our local train store. Just about every week we'd come home with some to add to the Brio. There was also an educational toy store in our local mall that carried Brio. Periodically, they would put something on a fantastically discounted price.

I built my kids a scaled down train table for their Brio. It was about two feet off the ground, and painted green with porch enamel paint.

Nothing was fastened down, although I did fasten trestle bents to some of the track. I did this because the kids liked to build long elevated sections, and they had trouble with them falling over. The bents were fastened at the socket end with a little less than 1/2 the top surface was protruding from the end of the track. This allowed the trestle to hold the next piece too.

Most likely none. But, they can run the train with the remote. He still hasn't figured out the handles on the ZW. Full, stop, full, stop,

quote:

Most likely none. But, they can run the train with the remote. He still hasn't figured out the handles on the ZW. Full, stop, full, stop,  

Sounds about right. I put a heavy duty pot underneath my control panel so I could adjust the top speed for my kids.

They had the option of either using my train layout or playing with the Brio. Both were used, but I think the Brio got a lot more use than the electric trains.

Later, as they got older, I gave them a box full of Lionel track, including switches, wide radius curves, etc. They often liked to build their own layouts on the floor, as opposed to using mine.

I re-read the original post and think I missed the you were buying as "Secret Santa"

If you cant find an Og R.C. train, G-scale offers kid friendly size and assembly, some real low priced trains that are RC and battery operated (with whistle/ bell/ smoke). Although I don't find them extremely durable, like say a new Williams might be, they are fun, and will run on all plastic track, or electric 2-rail track(on bat.) if they wish to "expand". Even the cheapest trains seem to run pretty well (noisy but well).