The 10 Best Train Sets for Toddlers
We all know that almost all toddlers love toys. However, the ones that are able to move and go quickly on wheels and perhaps have their own set of fast tracks filled with steep twists and turns to ride down might just take the cake.
Toddlers love trains so much because the fact that they move makes them unpredictable, and at the same time, children are able to control the speed at which they fly across the kitchen floor or the twisty turny tracks it might be zooming down by just applying more pressure to the toy.
For parents, it's good to know that spending your hard earned dollars on a train set provides huge developmental benefits for your toddler and older child.
In this article, we’ve reviewed the top train sets for toddlers and we've categorized them by the manufacturers recommended age.
Our Top 5 | Recommended Age | Average Review Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
18 months - 4 years | |||
36 months - 7 years | |||
3 years and up | |||
3 years and up | |||
3 years and up |
1. Brio My First Railway 15 Piece Train Gift Set
Top Features:
- 15 piece set
- Build your own wooden track
- Plushy fabric train tunnel
- Constructed from Swedish wood from certified forests
This is undoubtedly a wonderful choice for a toddler’s first train set. It has fifteen pieces, which is a wonderful number and enables children to completely set up the train set by themselves, but small enough to not be too confusing. The tracks as well as the train cars are constructed from authentic Swedish wood that was chopped from certified forests there. The plushy fabric train tunnel adds a quirky mixture to the rest of the wooden pieces, and the track can be constructed in any way that your little one desires.
Pros:
- Swedish wood is a highly durable material that you can be sure will not break or warp over time, which is perfect for little ones still getting their motor skills in control.
- The tracks are specially designed to enable children to create their train track in any way of their choosing, helping build decision making skills, as well as foster a more tangible learning of cause and effect.
- Fifteen pieces sounds like a lot, and while this is a larger amount of pieces included with this, it is still a recommended amount for children under the age of four. Keeping the number of pieces small eliminates toddlers from becoming overwhelmed or being over-stimulated.
Cons:
The only downside that I can perhaps see is that this is certainly for children who are pretty young. This train set is definitely specifically for children who are under the age of three. However, there are still plenty of other train sets on the market for those with older children or for those with little ones who show a more advanced interest.
2. KidKraft Farm Train Set
Top Features:
- 75 Pieces
- Little landscape, livestock, and people figurines included
- Build your own wooden track
- Includes molded drive through mountain
This train set comes with many different imagination inducing pieces for your children to set up their own farm and train tracks just the way their creative mind wants it. Your child can set little people or animals up on the train himself by simply adding a figurine. Or, perhaps he wants to make a tree block the track—that’s doable too, as this comes with landscape, livestock, and people figurines. This also includes a vibrant plastic molded drive through mountain.
Pros:
- Due to its 75 piece size, the KidKraft Farm Train Set is one that one or more children can enjoy at the same time.
- With all of the imaginative pieces included with this such as the little people, animal, and landscape figurines, children can let their imagination truly run wild.
- The molded drive through mountain allows toddlers to further their learning in an applicable setting that what disappears will reappear.
Cons:
The KraftKid Farm Train Set unfortunately does not come with any type of storage device. While this may appear as a forward inconvenience, there are plenty of storage units available for a mere dollar at your local bargain department store that will store each and every piece of this train set.
3. 100-piece Triple-loop Wooden Train Set
Top Features:
- Hand crafted out of beech wood
- Gorgeous and vivid colors hand painted on each piece
- 100 pieces of train, tracks, and environmental additions
- Many pieces to keep multiple children entertained for hours
Perfect little ambulances, police cars, buildings, train cars, and train tracks are hand crafted out of beech wood in this set. Their stunning paint jobs in vibrant colors are sure to inspire your little one. Since this train set comes with 100 different pieces, this is a piece for the big minded child as well as multiple children. Thirty five pieces out of the total of 100 pieces are just the track that is still fully customizable for tiny engineers to get a grasp on motion with as well as learn on.
Pros:
- Vibrant colors create not only an eye catching toy for your child, but also a large opportunity to learn colors
- Large enough for one or many children to learn and play with
- Durable and sure to last through many generations as beech wood is notable for being one of the most sturdy substances to date
Cons:
I truly do not fin any type of downside with this train set. It’s wonderful, it’s beautiful, and it’s sure to keep any child entertained for a long time as wel as build their motor skills.
4. WolVol Big Train Tracks Set
Top Features:
- Battery operated power
- Real working traffic light
- Cute little figurines included
- Working bridge
Little ones are able to figure out what schedule they want their train on as the bridge included with this set is batter operated and is able to be set to open or close at any time. This train set also includes super cute little figurines such as street signs, palm trees, and a real and working traffic light. In addition to the lights and motions being in sync, there are also lifelike sounds that are made.
Pros:
- This enables toddlers to be able to hear exactly what certain components of a train stop sound like as this train set provides real life train sounds.
- In addition to the realistic sounds, the battery operated power that the WolVol Big Train Tracks Set provides also gives children a realistic traffic light show.
- Over 100 pieces, this is a set that is great for one or multiple children
Cons:
This is certainly a set that isn’t for too young of a crowd. The WolVol Big Train Tracks Set is recommended for ages 3 and over. However, this is something that depends on where your child is at developmentally.
5. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Train Set
Top Features:
- 100 track pieces handcrafted from wood
- 30 train set accessories
- Instructions included
- Magnetic cranes
- Multiple bridges and other pieces of architecture included
With the different types of architecture such as bridges, train car lifts, little people, and little pieces of landscape with this train set included, there is still plenty of room for the young child’s imagination to run wild. Each piece is made out of hand crafted wood, so this is a train set that will definitely last for an incredibly long time. There is a four piece passenger train as well as a six piece freight train with this for added and customizable creativity in your little one.
Pros:
- There is no electrical or battery powered energy used in this set, so it’s entirely up to your toddler how quick or slowly he wants it to go with no strain on the environment’s part.
- With the 100 pieces of entirely creatively directional train track, there are genuinely no limits to your child’s creativity.
- The magnetic cranes that are included allow your child to have their toy train cars picked up and put back down in a real time motion.
Cons:
The only downside that some of the detail is not there as per the other train tracks mentioned in this article. With that being said, this is still a very nice train set that is still able to be used by children of all young ages
6. Lionel Little Lines Train Playset
Top Features:
- Freight station, cargo slide, and two way cargo dump included
- Battery powered
- 49 pieces
Forty nine pieces make up this gorgeous toddler wonderland of a train set. The realistic freight station, two way cargo dump, and cargo slide give your child a real life insight into how it really goes out in the train yard. The Lionel Little Lines Train Play set comes with forty nine pieces which include different types of architecture as well as real time working lights.
Pros:
- Forty nine pieces of real life train yard architecture can help shape your child’s world as he runs each train car over each piece of the tracks that come with the Lionel Little Lines Train Playset.
- Battery operated to ensure that the fun is fully functioning in real time and the train never runs out of steam
Cons:
As the train set is gear driven, not pushed, it may take your toddler some time to get used to this track. However, the set comes complete with everything that you need to help your child learn to control the trains.
7. LEGO DUPLO My First Number Train Building Set
Top Features:
- Trusted LEGO brand
- Complete with numbered bricks
- Buildable into a train or tunnel
The most amazing feature of this train set is the fact that not only can parents teach their children the value of engineering and mechanics by way of train workings, but each train car is numbered, so now, parents can teach their child counting right alongside of that. This train, being a LEGO piece, is also transformable from a train into a tunnel for other wheeled toys to run their course through.
Pros:
- This train set encompasses learning capabilities alongside its mechanical properties for optimum mental growth in toddlers
- This is a train set that is not only able to be built into a train and tracks set up, but also something that can be turned into a tunnel for other wheeled toys that your child has
Cons:
You may expect more in terms of the number of pieces, however, it’s easy to find more duplo to add to the collection.
8. 100-Piece Orbrium Toys Triple-Loop Wooden Train Set
Top Features:
- 100 pieces
- Constructed from gorgeous and durable beech wood
- Complete with realistic figurines
The Orbrium Toys Triple-Loop Wooden Train Set is not only extravagant by itself, but as it states in the title, it also fits the Thomas Brio Chuggington set, which is another popular seller that many children already have. Simply put—the 100 piece beech wood set is completely interchangeable to ensure maximum fun having potential.
Pros:
- Interchangeable pieces to the Chuggington set to maximize your child’s fun having experience
- 100 pieces of realistically painted figurines are also included
- This train set has been hand crafted with beech wood to enable the best type of durability on the planet.
Cons:
Perhaps the only down side to this beautiful train set is the fact that it does not come with storage. This is a situation that is easily taken care of by going to your local dollar store and purchasing a small storage unit.
9. 100-Piece Orbrium Toys Triple-Loop Wooden Train Set
Top Features:
- A fun ride along toy with a well-known character
- Prompt battery charging that lasts for up to 30 hours
- Push button operation
Children who are over the age of crawling can easily ride along on Thomas the Train with the Power Wheels Thomas the Train Thomas with Track piece. This brings the train set to life entirely with toddler-sized tracks available for real life usage. With the push of a button, your child can be on her way to fun town with this.
Pros:
- In the moment action to provide the highest level of fun for your little one
- Safety certified tracks that your toddler can ride along on are included
- This unit also includes a battery charger so the fun doesn’t have to end even when the batteries end up low
Cons:
This set is for toddlers that have grasped the maneuver of crawling and standing entirely. This is not for little ones who cannot perform these tasks.
10. KidKraft Waterfall Mountain Train Set and Table
Top Features:
- Silk Screen play board
- Three durable red bins for storage
- Engineered to keep toys on the table
With the gorgeous silk screen play board that clearly shows a map of the tiny town of your little one’s imagination land, you can feel good knowing that they will certainly be able to maximize their playtime with the KidKraft Waterfall Mountain Train Set and Table. This unit is also complete with storage bins that fold up under the table as well as a lip that surrounds the table so the pieces stay where they should instead of on the floor.
Pros:
- There are four lips on all sides of this play table in order to keep the pieces from becoming lost
- Three bins that slide in and out as drawers are on two sides of the table for easy put away
Cons:
This is certainly a table that is only for children who are of stationary standing age. However, this is still a treasure that parents can purchase and store until their child reaches the appropriate age for this.
Train sets for toddlers or even older children provide endless hours of imaginative play. Play is beneficial to children and to parents alike, so go ahead and buy a set today and go ride the rails, as one famous train says!