Fisher-Price Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway
We like
Very popular toy
Light and durable
Child appealing design
Good functionality
Many available accessories
Child safe construction/materials
Lots of fun
A historically tried and tested toy
Many available accessories can increase cost over time
How it works
For more than twenty years the Thomas wooden railway sets, accessories and a choice of twelve fun trains have engrossed children and certainly put smiles on the faces of millions of children. Over the decades, many accessories have been released to expand the adventures which Thomas can have with children. These toy engines have stood the test of time for popularity over the years.
In 1946 a Reverend would tell his sick son stories about adventurous train engines to keep the child amused and happy. Then he decided to write a child’s storybook about three friends and these friends were train engines. The book moved on to become an incredibly popular series of books and Thomas the Tank Engine was and still is the most popular character. Now, Thomas has his own online regular series on Youtube, video games, magazines and comics for children, TV series in many countries and a string of other hard working train engine characters with whom he plays, works and interacts. Children who own Thomas can refer to videos, children’s story magazines to pick up fun stories which they can re-create at home with Thomas.
Now, Thomas is at another new phase, a fresh make-over, a great design and lots of natural wood used in his construction. He has a built in engine and strategically fitted magnets to keep him from derailing. Visit online video stories about Thomas and his amazing fun filled adventures, plenty of fuel for a child’s imagination and the opportunity for endless hours of very enjoyable fun. As children grow they can expand their collection with more amazing toy engines characters to play and interact with Thomas, extend railway tracks, add a station, railway yard trucks, even a helicopter. It is true to say that adventures for children with Thomas are near to limitless.
Start your child off with a wonderful toy and friend called Thomas and watch her/him have so much fun, as time goes by your child can expand his collection and choices of games he can play. Thomas has an electric engine and can chug along on a floor or add train tracks to this toy and see him run on tracks, there is even a grand station available which can be added to this toy collection.
Materials Features
All materials are very child friendly, sturdy enough to easily work for young children, some parents report that even the occasional throwing of Thomas by a young child does not do any damage. Thomas has all the appealing visual features of a steam engine and he is battery operated. There is an extensive range of named Engine friends for Thomas and they are all featured in unique colors and with their own names, Thomas is blue and has a very child appealing combination of design features.
Materials include light strong wood and a combination of child safe plastics/fittings. This toy offers child friendly appealing features and there is an amazing range of accessories available to add for even more choices of play for children.
Durability
There are many interactive accessories which can be collected and used for playing with Thomas, all of these accessories have unique functions which further extend the potential range of playing activities for children.
A robust and study toy built from a design combination of wood and strong plastics, though Thomas is light weight for children, he is very durable. The know how for designing durability into this toy is a result of decades of tried, tested and very popular releases of Thomas for young children.
Safety
Years of producing toys for children do show that this brand have a good eye for creating child safe toys. All edges on the engine are contoured to a smooth effect and will not pinch or cut young fingers during play. Any paints used on the toy are toxin free and safe for children, the engine has electrical working parts and these are built deep inside the engine and not accessible to inquisitive children. A closed battery compartment provides power for the engine. All accessories which can be added to further enhance playing options for the children have also subjected to the same level of design to ensure safe child friendly products.
Design
The ingenuity in design is the fact that Thomas, his other engine friends and the amazing choice of accessories have a design which sits midway between cartoon appeal and realistic designing and this has proven to be a successful design concept for many decades. This toy engine, is very well balanced and further stability for staying on track is achieved through incorporating into the design strategically placed magnets so when Thomas chugs on his track he will stay safe. With the new predominately wooden versions we are looking at classic structure and design using very child friendly materials.
Ease of Use
Portability
Versatility
Children can follow Thomas the Engines videos, storybooks, magazine adventures and this will give them countless ideas for new versatile games and stories which they can act out with Thomas.
Age Range
Creativity
The engine features an electrically operated engine which is securely built into this toy. When Thomas is put on a track (available accessory) built in magnets assist in keeping him secure on the track. Thomas features a smooth wood frame integrated with child safe strong plastics for strength and durability. Thomas has had slight design changes in terms of materials used for constructing him and recently the makers have returned to include environmentally friendly wood for this toy.
Price Range
Bottom Line
Many of the stories involving Thomas have a moral message which serves to gently educate children while at the same time allowing children to creatively play. He is designed in a way which instantly appeals to young children, proven to be a very safe toy and very inspiring for a child's imagination.
Children are creative, they know about Thomas, they know of his adventure stories and if they have their own toy Thomas they are certain to spend many happy hours recreating his adventures. Over the last 60+ years Thomas has brought into his adventures many other toys, for example other different colored steam engines all with variable designs, duties and functions and this gives a good chance for children to collect more and gain even more options for creative games. Accessories for Thomas are not limited to other friends which are trains engines, they include figures such as a station master, a huge crane for loading up Thomas and his friendly, there is even an impressive helicopter and more.
Though Thomas looks like a steam engine, his power comes from batteries which are safely housed into this toy, the electric engine is strong and can easily power Thomas over flat surfaces or train tracks.
