Wooden Train Sets

Wooden trains are great for young hands to build their own model railroad. Durable and easy to grab, wooden trains let the very young enjoy the experience of building their own model railroads.

The play value of a wooden railroad is especially high for pre-school youngsters. It lets them create something of their own while letting them develop their motor and problem-solving skills. They are quite durable, too. A wooden engine will survive many, many more drops to the ground than electric engines of any scale.

Easy to manage

Wooden train sets are easy to play with and build. The pieces of track fit together like simple puzzle pieces. However, the fit is not designed be snug, since wood is subject to expansion and shrinkage due to variations in climate and weather. There are wooden trestles, switches, curves, and straight pieces, just like regular model trains. Toy train set-ups like these can be extensive and become fairly large, with many of the same features found in other model train layouts.

The scenery and realism, of course, will not attain the level of electric layouts. Wooden sets have more of toy aspect to them. Building them is half the fun, and creating different layouts and variations is one benefit to this simple sets. This activity actually works to teach young children about spatial relationships and about solving problems associated with building a complete layout.

One size (mostly) fits all

Special additions to wooden train sets are usually made to fit one typical size. There are exceptions to this, so before you buy, make sure that what you want is compatible with your current set. The leader in wooden trains is Brio, and has been for some time. So, usually, most pieces for wooden trains are made for to fit their system. It is for this reason that most cases, engines, cars, or tracks made by a different manufacturer will fit with what you already have.

There are many different specialty items for wooden train sets. A popular element for these train sets are cars with letters of the alphabet on them. These cars let kids build "name trains" where an engine will pull the cars to form their name. However, these letters are often too tall for trestles or tunnels.

Engines that come with wooden train sets usually have two wheels on each side, have no headlight, and are powered by the hands of your little engineer. This may different if you buy a specialty set. For instance, a Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train set, where the engine will, obviously, look like Thomas. Of course, in addition to engines, there are also other special cars you can buy, too.

There are engines available to add to your wooden train set that are based on famous ones from history, such as the Wabash Cannonball and others. These engines often run automatically via battery power, and have fun features like a headlight and two-direction operation.

Aspects of wood train sets make them a perfect introduction of a young child to the world of railroading. And, a wooden train set will help them learn, as well as being a joy to play with.