I’m in California. Bernice (almost 5) and Teddy (1.5) are in Chicago, and have been nurtured (by me of course) to love trains. Early on I have taken every opportunity to expose them to the joys of railroading in 1:160, 1:48 and 1:1. We have ridden the Metra in Chicago, light rail in Sacramento, visited my layout, the CSRM and the Museum of Science & Industry. I think they are ready for their very own O scale under their Christmas tree. I won’t be there on Christmas morning, but my wife and I will be in Chicago 2 weeks earlier. But I want to get some additional member thoughts before I jump in 2 feet first.
Are they too young for their first Lionel? It’s bluetooth (Lionchief is what I was thinking) and Bernice is more adept at using her dad’s phone than I am with mine. My son and DIL are both high school teachers, they understand proper nurturing and supervision. And the kids are just so smart. And they both really like trains - as well as Wicked, Bluey, Taylor, Frozen, etc. Anyway, I was thinking of a diesel vs a steam, however, as handling a loco/tender connected by cables might be a bit much, despite the attraction and greater variety available in steam. And I considered the battery operated trains and the Thomas ilk, but the former get lousy reviews and the latter just seem so short-lived.
Anyway, that is where I stand. What would you do? And if you don’t think this is a wise move don’t hesitate to say so. Thanks.
@ronpetrich Honestly, I think it depends on the kids themselves. Are they more destructive at play, like my older brothers were in our youth, or are they more careful with their things, like I was. A Lionel under the tree is a great way to engage the young ones with trains. I don’t own any recent Lionel, so will have to defer to other members on how robust any tender to steam loco connection is. If it is decided that going the steam route because of this is too dicey of a proposition, the bright colors often available on diesels should be a nice counter to losing the allure of a steam locomotive.
I do not know the best trains for your grandchildren, but I shall tell of my experiences this side of the pond.
My younger granddaughter had a pull along ‘Winnie the Pooh’ train set. She really liked that.
My grandsons’ like to run trains on my layout. They have done so since they were three years of age. As they grew older they are now 'doing their own thing.
My older granddaughter rarely ran trains on my layout, but she now has her own 0 gauge garden layout.
My younger granddaughter is the only one operating on my layout. Not only that she loves to be around 1-1 stuff whenever she can.
Well, the one and a half year old is very likely way too young to have a train. At that age most toddlers are grabbers and smashers when it comes to their toys. And, as others have said, it sort of depends on how the careful the five year old is with her stuff.
And since you are not going to be around all of the time, what do their parents say? Do they have the room for any type of O-Scale “train set”? And ultimately, the work of setting it up, monitoring the kids while they are around it, and taking it down and storing it is going to fall on them.
I would just suggest you get some answers before buying anything. And also be sure you are truly buying it for the grandkids - and not for yourself.
I know when I was a little kid one of the things I liked was seeing the Lionel trains under the tree when I’d go to my grandparents for Christmas. That said I think maybe wait until they’re older to get them a serious Lionel set. I know my brother and I had one of the TYCO GI Joe sets when we were little and it pretty much ended up either broken or with pieces scattered amongst the 4 winds because we were some real destructive little hellions when we were 4 and 5. I’d say maybe one of those cheaper battery operated ones would be better at those ages.
I saw those the other day when I was down at Walmart. I remember they’re supposed to be for the Polar Express. Not sure what scale if any they are. Still 40 bucks for some battery operated toy trains ain’t a bad deal.
You might look at Lionel’s “battery O” line. They use batteries and water for “smoke,” and cost about $125 for a starter set. The equipment can be used with the plastic track that comes with the set, on the floor, or with 3-rail track. Here’s a sample of what I’m referring to (from our store): Lionel® ELF Ready-To-Play Train Set – Trains.com Store
The set I reviewed doesn’t have Bluetooth but my understanding was that releases since that set now have Bluetooth, so you can use the smartphone app. I can say that the set was pretty fun and the “smoke” was impressive, considering it’s water vapor.
Despite of the good advice already given, to be perfectly honest with the young ones at their age, I wouldn’t go for a train set at all.
My English Grandmother sent me for Christmas and birthday presents, the Reverend Awdry “Thomas the Tank Engine” series of books.
Later, my Mum gave to my son and my nephew, also as Christmas and birthday presents, the same series but also including the later editions by Christopher Awdry.
I know in my case, I read those books so many times to my young son as bedtime stories that I memorised them, besides it was sometimes the only time I got to spend with the young fella. When he started to learn to read, I became redundant, but that was ok, he was learning a very important skill.
However, the kindergarten he attended from the age of 3 to 5 years old, had a large collection of the wooden “Brio” train sets. He and his friend would spend hours rearranging the track and running trains in their imaginary world, which would be tidied up and put in a box, ready for the next time.
No plastic, no electricity, but hours of fun for developing minds.
I am with Bear on this one, my son loved being read the Thomas stories and watching the videos. He really liked the Thomas music videos. He had a vast Thomas wooden railway that filled a 5’ x 10’ sheet of plywood. There were several engines that were battery powered by one AA battery and he had switches that could be set. He had a roundhouse and bridges. He had hours and hours of enjoyment out of that for several years.
The sheet of plywood was on saw horses. The layout started at about two feet high when he was very small and I made the legs longer as he grew.
I had my first Lionel electric train waiting for me when I was born in November 1969. It took about 3 years of getting my “new train” each Christmas before I stopped thinking it was new, I’ve been told. By 1973 I was old enough to be fascinated by it and sat watching it go round and round all day long.
Ask Mom and dad what they think. Die cast locomotives hurt, but it usually only takes one encounter to teach kids to “not do that”. It’s part of growing up. We all survived our childhoods likely playing with toys WAY more dangerous than what you find in stores today.
