The Best Thomas & Friends Train Set for Toddlers
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Please note this blog post is currently being written (as of 6/11/2024) please check back to see the completed post soon!
The complete Thomas & Friends My First Railway Pals set! This has been retired for a few years now but it is still SO great! Hopefully, Fisher-Price will bring it (or something similar) back. It truly is the best Thomas & Friends train set for toddlers.
Fortunately, you can still purchase most of these sets on the second-hand market (new or used).
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This useful and concise Wiki article has in-depth details on when this set was produced (and discontinued), what locomotives were included, what sets were available, what “goofs” and mistakes there were, and more!
Our sets included MOST of the items that came in the Fisher-Price Railway Pals collection.
Read on for details on the train sets, engines, city pieces, and how this can entertain and educate babies and toddlers.
My son truly enjoyed playing with these! We got him the first set at Toys’R’Us and then the other sets on Amazon and eBay because he was obsessed from the time he was 9 months old. The recommended age range on the package is 1 through 5 years. Oliver, my son, just turned 7 and his obsession with trains has subsided so it’s time to pass these on to someone else.
This set is great for babies and toddlers to help with motor skills, learning, and using their imagination and decision-making skills.
Purchase This Exact Set from Me Here
I am selling this entire set on my favorite re-sale sites. Click below to shop this exact set at Kidizen, Poshmark, or Mercari.
Kidizen: Purchase this set from a second-hand website that specializes in Kid Items!
Ebay: The granddad of second-hand re-sale. Get this set here!
Poshmark: Oldie but goodie. This secondhand marketplace has it all!
Mercari: Shop toys/games, there are so many choices here too!
General Features of the Railway Pals Sets
The sets come with talking engines. Some sets come with one, some come with more than 1 engine. The engines require 2 AAA batteries (not included).
The engines begin to speak, sing, or play music (or a song) when they run over special tracks with a sensor that triggers a button under the engine. The trigger point is a white cloud-like oval shape on the track.
The engines have buttons on the bottom and depending on which trigger the track engages, the engine says something, plays music or sings a song.
Aside from the trigger points at the bottom of the engines, the front bumper can be pressed for more sounds and lights.
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Most of the time what the engines say is educational to help toddlers learn colors, counting, words, etc.
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Each set comes with “city” parts. For example the Big Mountain Quarry, Knapford station, rescue tower, etc. Some sets come with other characters that are not trains such as Owen the incline traction engine, a monkey, and Harold the helicopter.
What’s Included in the Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Sets
My First Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Destination Discovery
This set came out in 2017, I believe it was the 1st set produced in the Railway Pals series. It is the largest of all the sets in this collection and worth getting first and building upon it (if your child enjoys it).
What You Get in the Destination Discovery Set
Engine Included: Percy. Equipped with 50 different sounds when activating the bottom triggers on the tracks or his light-up bumper.
This set also includes a car that carries the included cargo (2 pieces) and can be attached to the back of the engines.
Babies and Toddlers can practice motor skills such as reaching, grasping, and releasing while loading and unloading cargo.
40 pieces of track included. Nine (9) colorful pieces of track with the activation points to make the engines talk. This track also includes hill pieces and support beams to keep the hill pieces intact. There are also little turntables that kids can turn to make the engines go in multiple directions.
Buildings / City / Extra Pieces: Perhaps the biggest set in the series. It includes Tidmouth Sheds that the child can spin to see which two engines stop at it. This piece requires 2 AA batteries because it does light up.
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Other landmarks included in this set are McColl’s farm where the windmill can manually spin.
The Island of Sodor’s Knapford Station is an archway your little one can click on the tracks to make a tunnel for trains to go underneath.
There is a surprise when you open the blue door under the #1 gate! It’s Sir Topham Hatt! It’s just a sticker but your little one will giggle every time they see it!
There is also a little trackside cargo bin for drop off and pick up of deliveries.
Finally, your toddler can place a crossing gate which can be manually lifted up or closed which was a lot of fun for my son when he was about 1-2 years old! Heads up! If you hit the crossing gate with the train’s light up front bumper it will trigger the Thomas & Friends character to play music, talk, or sing.
All these little moving parts are so engaging for kids 5 and younger. They promote curiosity, imagination, and understanding of cause and effect.
Note that some of the stickers have to be put on so pick the parent/caregiver with the most steady hand is my suggestion.
Here are the instructions for assembling the Destination Discovery Train Set directly from the manufacturer.
My First Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Rescue Tower
The Rescue Tower set (product#: FFY42) came out in 2017 and it is smaller, and less expensive than the Destination Discovery set.
Again, the age recommendation is between 1 and 5 years old but my son received this as a gift when he was about 9 months old and he loved it. It’s truly durable enough the withstand a 9-month-old.
This set, just like all the Railway Pals sets will connect to any other set with ease. It is another engaging train set for babies and toddlers. These are so sturdy that they will withstand babies crawling over them and trying to take them apart. And these will also withstand toddlers being rough with the engines and the track pieces. I am truly impressed. My son has played with these for about 6 years and they re still in amazing shape. I can even re-sell them and get some of my costs back (and help the environment by not disposing of them in a landfill). As much as I don’t like plastic, sometimes I’m grateful for it because it is durable.
What You Get in the Rescue Tower Set
The Rescue Tower train set comes with about seven (7) pieces of colorful plastic track.
There are four (4) points of activation that will trigger a total of 30 different sounds and music.
Each of the set’s 4 activation triggers produces unique sounds and phrases. One sounds music, another colors, the third one letters and numbers, and lastly rescue-themed phrases.
The front light-up bumper also engages even more sound options!
The oversized, red search tower is a highlight for babies and toddlers. The bright red color and contrasting yellow accents spark curiosity.
The yellow rescue tower searchlight is so much fun to turn and watch the platform below “fall” through to drop the cargo.
Open the green door on the rescue tower and guess who is there? It’s Fiery Flynn! Parents might not be impressed as it’s only a sticker, but your toddler will be surprised and will love seeing it.
The yellow crossing gate is fun for babies and toddlers to raise and close to allow or stop the engines from going through. This feature was one of Oliver’s favorites! He would make up stories about the trains chugga chugga-ing along and then – oh my gosh the gate is closed! What to do now?!
This set truly sparked my son’s imagination which is so important for kids between 1 and 5 years old.
It may appear that this is just a toy but watching my son, Oliver play with it I realized it encourages early childhood development.
Toddlers can practice their motor skills by turning the “light” on the rescue tower and by picking up and moving the cargo throughout the track.
Sparking imagination is the most obvious skill – building the track, moving the trains and playing with all the movable parts is part of imagination and curiosity.
This one took a little more thought but the complex theory of cause and effect is also a skill that is practiced with this toy! What happens when the gate is down? The train can’t get through. What happens when the searchlight is spun around? The platform retracts and the cargo drops down.
Simple for us adults to analyze but it will spark learning in babies and toddlers.
My First Thomas & Friends™ train set includes Railway Pals™ Thomas train with cargo car, multiple track pieces, 4 track activation points, rescue tower, cargo piece, archway, crossing gate, and cargo bin
Roll Thomas over activation points to hear sounds, music and educational phrases that teach children about letters, numbers and colors
Press Thomas’ light-up bumper for additional music, sounds and phrases
Includes over 30 sounds, songs and phrases (using Thomas’ bumper and activation points)
Twist the searchlight at the top of the tower to make the cargo piece drop
Raise and lower the crossing gate, or bump Thomas’ bumper into it to hear sounds and phrases
Open the door of the rescue tower to see Fiery Flynn artwork
Cargo piece can be placed atop rescue tower, in cargo car, or in trackside cargo bin
Set connects to other Railway Pals™ interactive train sets to create a world of educational play (additional vehicles and train sets sold separately and subject to availability)
Track and activation points are compatible with other Railway Pals™ vehicles (sold separately and subject to availability)
Here are the instructions for assembling the Rescue Tower Train Set directly from the manufacturer.
My First Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Mountain Adventure
This set is sold out but here are some similar items at Walmart.
Very useful link here: Directly from Mattel/Fisher Price. It’s detailed information about the Railway Pals Mountain Adventure. It includes a PDF of the instructions too, in case you lost yours! OR if your 3-year-old tore it up (speaking from personal experience LOL).
My First Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Animal Fun Train Set – coming soon
Extra Engines / Locomotives coming soon
Extra Other Characters coming soon
Where Can I Buy The My First Thomas & Friends Railway Pals Sets? coming soon
Other Toddler Approved Train Tracks and Where to Buy Them coming soon
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