Wooden Train Sets: Brio vs. The Thomas Wooden Railway System
Tilman Sporkert
I'm looking for opinions on the two major wooden railway systems available in
the US: Brio vs. "The Thomas Wooden Railway System".
My daugther is 1 year old - which is probably too young for any. I'm checking
things out anyway - its kind of fun. If anybody has any strong arguments for
one of the two systems, please let me know. Also, if your children have a
wooden railway set, at what age did they get involved? My daughter enjoys
the display layouts in the stores - but mostly by picking up every piece of
rolling stock, checking it out, and putting it down somewhere else.
I'm in the process of dismantling my N-scale layout, and switching over to
G scale. She has gone through several phases of reaction to the G scale trains.
First, she had some decent respect for them, moving out of the way when a train
come along on the carpet. Then, she changed, and just ignored them when sitting
on the track. Sort of like "Why should I have to move for that stupid train?".
She gets excited looking at the old N scale layout, but gets rather destructive
when getting too close...
Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
- AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
- Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
compatible.
- Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
bridges etc.?
- BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
a clear sealer on the wood.
- BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
kids.
Thanks.
--
Tilman Sporkert Active Software, Inc. til...@activesw.com
Anything stated above is just my opinion, not an offical statement of
Active Softare, Inc.
Nicholas Russon
In article <tqsp7z2...@nscale.activesw.com>,
Tilman Sporkert <til...@nscale.activesw.com> wrote:
>
>If anybody has any strong arguments for
>one of the two systems, please let me know. Also, if your children have a
>wooden railway set, at what age did they get involved? My daughter enjoys
>the display layouts in the stores - but mostly by picking up every piece of
>rolling stock, checking it out, and putting it down somewhere else.
My son started his Brio/Thomas set when he was 18 months, and he's now
(at age 5 1/2) very dedicated to his 4x6' HO layout... ;-)
>- Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
> compatible.
Mostly...
>- Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
> bridges etc.?
Yes, the "Henry" and "Gordon" engines are just a bit too tall to fit
under the roof of the Brio tunnels (Henry's cab, but Gordon's funnel).
The Thomas series engines are mostly too long for the old Brio turntable
and enginehouse (both of which are now being superseded with larger
items)
>- BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
> a clear sealer on the wood.
The BRIO trains are, IMO, better constructed and much more appropriate
for a younger engineer.
>- BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
> The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
> wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
> kids.
Agreed on both counts, but I should mention that my son's first couple of
engines, both BRIO, now sit forlorn and lost...except when it's time to
stage another "Flying Kipper" train crash! ;-)
Regards,
Nicholas
--
Nicholas Russon | Government is a broker in pillage:
nru...@io.org | every election is a sort of advance
http://www.io.org/~nrusson | auction sale of stolen goods.
| (H.L. Mencken)
KEVIN
Tilman Sporkert <til...@nscale.activesw.com> wrote in article
<tqsp7z2...@nscale.activesw.com>...
> I'm looking for opinions on the two major wooden railway systems
available in
> the US: Brio vs. "The Thomas Wooden Railway System".
>
> My daugther is 1 year old - which is probably too young for any. I'm
checking
> things out anyway - its kind of fun. If anybody has any strong arguments
for
> one of the two systems, please let me know. Also, if your children have a
> wooden railway set, at what age did they get involved? My daughter enjoys
> the display layouts in the stores - but mostly by picking up every piece
of
> rolling stock, checking it out, and putting it down somewhere else.
>
> I'm in the process of dismantling my N-scale layout, and switching over
to
> G scale. She has gone through several phases of reaction to the G scale
trains.
> First, she had some decent respect for them, moving out of the way when a
train
> come along on the carpet. Then, she changed, and just ignored them when
sitting
> on the track. Sort of like "Why should I have to move for that stupid
train?".
> She gets excited looking at the old N scale layout, but gets rather
destructive
> when getting too close...
>
> Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
> - AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
> - Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
> compatible.
> - Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems
with BRIO
> bridges etc.?
> - BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
> a clear sealer on the wood.
> - BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
> The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
> wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
> kids.
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Tilman Sporkert Active Software, Inc. til...@activesw.com
> Anything stated above is just my opinion, not an offical statement of
> Active Softare, Inc.
>
The key to a successful train layout for a young child, is to NAIL THE
TRACK DOWN
to a piece of plywood or some sort of table. That is what all the toy
stores do on their displays. If the track is not nailed down, your child
will have as much fun
taking apart the track as fast as you can put it together for her. Getting
back
to your original question, Brio is the better quality train setup. The
paint is
applied to the trains in such a manor that it is soaked into the wood. This
way
when a child chips the wood on the train, the train still keeps its
appearance. I have
a 15 month old boy, and I recently bought him a Playmobil 123 train set.
The
Playmobil 123 is specifically designed for children under the age of three.
The pieces
are larger and easier for the toddlers to hold and play with. Playmobil can
be purchased at Watts Train shop at great prices (800) 542-7652.
Good luck
Kevin
Joe Ellis
Tilman Sporkert wrote:
>
> I'm looking for opinions on the two major wooden railway systems available in
> the US: Brio vs. "The Thomas Wooden Railway System".
>
> Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
> - AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
> - Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
> compatible.
> - Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
> bridges etc.?
> - BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
> a clear sealer on the wood.
> - BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
> The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
> wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
> kids.
It's hardly surprising that they look compatible... Brio -makes- the Thomas
sets! There MIGHT be clearance problems with some of the larger engines
(Gordon, Daisy, Boco) simply due to their length, but that's about the only
place you'll find conflicts.
--
Joe Ellis o/~ The Synthetic Filker o/~ | TesserAct Studios
\\ ___\\\\____ ell...@mail.idt.net | P.O. Box 18577
()X Darwin (;> Now on the Web at | Fairfield, OH 45018
//~~~LL~~~~LL~ http://shell.idt.net/~ellis69 | New Dimensions In Filk!
Joe Caruso
Kevin wrote:
> >
> The key to a successful train layout for a young child, is to NAIL THE
> TRACK DOWN
> to a piece of plywood or some sort of table. That is what all the toy
> stores do on their displays. If the track is not nailed down, your child
> will have as much fun
> taking apart the track as fast as you can put it together for her.
My 2 cents worth:
if your child is taking the track apart, perhaps the child isnt ready for
that toy yet. But I'd still buy it and have it lying around, as the child
will eventually grow into it
the child should be allowed to take the track apart and explore.
eventually, the child will try to put it back together, this is a great
way for the child to develop manual dexterity, creativity, etc. putting
together a working layout of their own creation together.
Tony Polson
Joe Ellis <ell...@mail.idt.net> wrote:
>Tilman Sporkert wrote:
>>
>> I'm looking for opinions on the two major wooden railway systems available in
>> the US: Brio vs. "The Thomas Wooden Railway System".
>> (history deleted)
>>
>> Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
>> - AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
>> - Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
>> compatible.
>> - Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
>> bridges etc.?
>> - BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
>> a clear sealer on the wood.
>> - BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
>> The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
>> wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
>> kids.
>It's hardly surprising that they look compatible... Brio -makes- the Thomas
>sets! There MIGHT be clearance problems with some of the larger engines
>(Gordon, Daisy, Boco) simply due to their length, but that's about the only
>place you'll find conflicts.
Wrong! Since when was any Brio made in China?
I've no doubt that Brio see the Thomas sets as a threat to their
market. The Thomas sets are made in China, and Brio are made in
Sweden. Whilst they are, as you say, mostly compatible systems, there
is a difference in quality.
The difference is not as great as when the Thomas sets were first
launched on the market, because the Chinese have significantly
improved their standards. However they are still not up to Brio
quality.
Regards,
Tony Polson
Haywards Heath, West Sussex, UK
email: to...@polson.demon.co.uk
Pete Gifford
On 30 Sep 1996, Tilman Sporkert wrote:
My son, now 11 and interested in HO, started with Brio. We found it to be
solid and easy to use. The best part, though not widely advertised, is
its lifetime guarantee. We took in a few pieces which were broken and
they were replaced without a question. It helps to deal with a high
quality toy store. Walmart might balk.
> Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
> - AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
Long time.
> - Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
> compatible.
Most of the systems are compatible.
> - Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
> bridges etc.?
Doubt it. Most larger good toy stores have both on display. Try it.
> - BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
> a clear sealer on the wood.
Agreed. I think Brio uses maple.
> - BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
> The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
> wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
> kids.
Probably. They also make some nice stuff for older kids, too. Santa Fe
Chief is really neat, as is the Mailliard.
>
> Thanks.
> --
> Tilman Sporkert Active Software, Inc. til...@activesw.com
> Anything stated above is just my opinion, not an offical statement of
> Active Softare, Inc.
Pete Gifford
Allegheny College Systems Manager
pgif...@admin.alleg.edu (814) 332-2755
Ron Morris
On Wed, 2 Oct 1996, Tony Polson wrote:
> Date: Wed, 02 OCT 1996 10:49:57 GMT
> From: Tony Polson <to...@polson.demon.co.uk>
> Newgroups: rec.models.railroad
> Subject: Re: Wooden Train Sets: Brio vs. The Thomas Wooden Railway System
>
> Joe Ellis <ell...@mail.idt.net> wrote:
>
> >Tilman Sporkert wrote:
> >>
> >> I'm looking for opinions on the two major wooden railway systems available in
> >> the US: Brio vs. "The Thomas Wooden Railway System".
> >> (history deleted)
> >>
> >> Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
> >> - AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
> >> - Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
> >> compatible.
> >> - Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
> >> bridges etc.?
> >> - BRIO seems to be using better quality wood. The Thomas trains have
> >> a clear sealer on the wood.
> >> - BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
> >> The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
> >> wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
> >> kids.
>
> >It's hardly surprising that they look compatible... Brio -makes- the Thomas
> >sets! There MIGHT be clearance problems with some of the larger engines
> >(Gordon, Daisy, Boco) simply due to their length, but that's about the only
> >place you'll find conflicts.
>
> Wrong! Since when was any Brio made in China?
>
> I've no doubt that Brio see the Thomas sets as a threat to their
> market. The Thomas sets are made in China, and Brio are made in
> Sweden. Whilst they are, as you say, mostly compatible systems, there
> is a difference in quality.
>
> The difference is not as great as when the Thomas sets were first
> launched on the market, because the Chinese have significantly
> improved their standards. However they are still not up to Brio
> quality.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Tony Polson
>
> Haywards Heath, West Sussex, UK
> email: to...@polson.demon.co.uk
>
>
>
A side note Brio does NOT make the Thomas the Tank Locomotive line. These
wooden trains are licenced by Learning Curve.
Ron Morris - Toy Train Refernce Library
Train Collectors Association
Darin Volpe
My friends have two kids, ages 18 monts and 4 1/2. All the track they
have is Brio, but they use several of the Thomas engines and cars with
it. I've noticed that a few of the Thomas items won't clear the Brio
bridges. I'd recomend either of them. They've had them for years,
and neither of them has suffered much damage, certainly nothing like
wheels or something falling off. One thing to note, though: The 18
month old get's *really* frustrated when he puts an engine in front of
one of the Brio engines (Brio only puts magnets on the back of it's
engines, the front gets either nothing or a little metal thingy...so
much for double heading) and it comes apart when he tries to pull a
train. I guess he's learning about magnetism, but he has enough
trouble with the polarity thing.
But the most important thing I can say is: STAY AWAY FROM WHITLIN'
DIXIE!!! It'll fall apart in minutes!
Darin Volpe
http://www.slonet.org/~dvolpe
Be sure to visit the North County Model Railroaders at
http://www.thegrid.net/ncmr
Alan Barrow
>Someone wrote:
>> >
>> The key to a successful train layout for a young child, is to NAIL THE
>> TRACK DOWN
>> to a piece of plywood or some sort of table. That is what all the toy
>> stores do on their displays. If the track is not nailed down, your child
>> will have as much fun
>> taking apart the track as fast as you can put it together for her.
You are missing the most fundimental part of how toy's stimulate
learning.
Nailing/gluing the track down only helps the parents. The kids do not
care! How many times did you play with a toy for something totally
different than it was designed? :-)
As a parent that has 3 kids under six years old (2 boys and a girl),
we have quite the assortment of Brio/Thomas/Generic. The kids love
them all. They like the Thomas engines better, as they know them by
name. All appear to be well made, even the generics at 1/4 the price.
Now, back to the point I suspect you were trying to address with
nailing down the track: Build a small train table with a lip on it.
Make it waist high for a 2-3 yr old. I used half a sheet of birch
plywood, screw in legs, and moulding for the lip. The half sheet is
just the right size for an oval/figure 8. The smaller kids can reach
the inner areas, which is important. Once the kids reach 4 or so, then
they take the track off and play with it on the floor. Rarely do they
use loops. They make long tracks from one room to another.
So get a basic set, build a table, stain or paint it if you want. (The
birch looks fine as is) Buy some extra track (generic has been fine
for us) later. Let grandparents buy cars & loco's for birthday/etc.
It turns out that the Ertle trains will fit on the track as well,
though not under the bridges.
In my house the Brio is used when the kids want to play w/o adult
supervision. The HO setup (flattop) is for special Dad/kid time. My 4
yr old boy is pretty good about operation. We have to remind them not
to push with their hands, but nothing has been broken in 18 mths of
usage. My 1 yr old daughter loves to watch the HO, and makes was
making whistle noises about the same time she said mama.
While you are at it... take your kids on an AMTRACK trip. We took all
five of us from Atl to New Orleans round trip for $260($130 per adult,
coupon for free kid per adult, under 3 free). It would have only been
$100 from B'ham! ($50 per adult, coupon for free kid per adult, under
3 free)
It was a great trip, and I cannot think of a better way to make a trip
to New Orleans. Plus, trains put 4 seats where airlines put 9. You can
walk around. Decent reasonable priced food. Need I say more? :-)
I wanted my kids to experience travel by train before it goes the way
of the dinosaur in the US.
Buy your kid a wooden train set.... Any of the ones you mentioned...
It will be ok with them, I promise! :-)
Have Fun!
Alan Barrow
j...@atl.hp.com
Clinton Hyde
In article <tqsp7z2...@nscale.activesw.com> Tilman Sporkert <til...@nscale.activesw.com> writes:
From: Tilman Sporkert <til...@nscale.activesw.com>
Newsgroups: rec.models.railroad
Date: 30 Sep 1996 11:04:55 -0700
I'm looking for opinions on the two major wooden railway systems available in
the US: Brio vs. "The Thomas Wooden Railway System".
great. I have the Thomas "blue bucket" which we got at a reasonably
substantial discount.
My daugther is 1 year old - which is probably too young for any. I'm checking
things out anyway - its kind of fun. If anybody has any strong arguments for
probably too young, yes. my son Joel (now age 4.75) got interested at
age 18 months. I'm not exactly sure why, but he liked the videotapes.
one of the two systems, please let me know. Also, if your children have a
wooden railway set, at what age did they get involved? My daughter enjoys
we got the blue bucket one year ago. he loves it. we have all the
metal die-cast ones.
the display layouts in the stores - but mostly by picking up every piece of
rolling stock, checking it out, and putting it down somewhere else.
I'm in the process of dismantling my N-scale layout, and switching over to
G scale. She has gone through several phases of reaction to the G scale trains.
if she's going to be interested at all (unlikely, as she's a girl
(pardon the somewhat sexist remark, but it's based on personal
observation)), she'll be good enough at it plenty soon. Joel is better
at re-railing cars (i, too, have N-scale) than I am, probably because
his fingers are closer to the actual size of the wheels.
Anyway, back to the subject. Here is what I have found so far:
- AFAIK, BRIO is the original, having been around for a long time.
yep.
- Both system have a similar selection of items, and seem to be mostly
compatible.
plug-compatible, yes. not 100%, but that's just mechanical variation (
or sloppy wood-cutting, some of the thomas track we have has very
tight fits).
- Thomas trains appear to be bigger. Are there any clearance problems with BRIO
bridges etc.?
this I don't know. but the thomas items are definitely bigger. more
detail, at least in the paint jobs.
- BRIO trains are simpler, and probably stimulate the imagination better.
I don't know. the thomas items has faces, which little kids like. they
also have distinct personalities, evidenced on the videotapes.
The basic steam engine is just painted black, with a red stack, and red
wheels. Thomas trains have more detail, and might appeal more to older
kids.
Joel's early interest was partly that of seeing the wheels go
around. and the fact that the engines had numbers (he *loves*
numbers). my impression is that the significant accessories for thomas
are somewhat fancier than the brio stuff (and probably correspondingly
higher-priced), like the new roundhouse, the fancier station, etc.
the fact that each of the engines has a name, a color, a number, a
unique face, different length & wheels, etc., all make for particular
kind of play. I'm sure joel would be interested with brio, but not as
much as he is with the thomas stuff. and by watching the videotapes as
well, he learned a lot about RR terminology, which isn't going to
happen otherwise with the brio stuff (which basically is visually
boring).
-- clint
--
Clint Hyde "Give me a LispM or give me death!" -- anonymous
BBN Internet: <a href="mailto:ch...@bbn.com">ch...@bbn.com</a>
Columbia, MD (410) 290-5061
Bruce McIntosh
It occurs to me that the magnet-polarity thing could be addressed by
replacing the front-back polarized magnets with magnets polarized
left-right, to wit <ascii drawing>
+-------+ +--------+
N| |SN| |S
S| |NS| |N ... etc ...
+-------+ +--------+
</ascii drawing>
That way the cars/locos would mate no matter which direction they'd
be pointing. I guess that the sticking point here is finding teeny
enough magnets to make this scheme work, and mounting 'em so that
the cars'd still go around curves without uncoupling or derailing.
Hmm...
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce H. McIntosh pers: afn3...@afn.org
U of Florida Division of Housing work: bru...@neufhou.mail.ufl.edu
http://www.afn.org/~afn37319
parental unit(Amanda Marie 1/5/94, Pending due 11/5/96))
minstrel(guitar) ferroequinologist(HO)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Burning like fire, falling like rain; I need to hear your voice again