Train Table Recommendations and Reviews

K.,
Check out the NILO table. http://nilotoys.com/ It is solid wood. Your whole family can stand on it without a problem!You can buy bins for under it and once your son outgrows using it as a train table you can add extenders to the legs to make it a higher work table. I have two of them. My boys started playing trains on them at 2 1/2 and still play wooden trains (Thomas) on one (my boys are now 4 & 6). The other table they use as a knex station to build all kinds of crazy things. These tables are pricey but so solid- much nicer than the Thomas tables, the ones at Costco, or really any other train table I've ever seen. If you buy the NILO table be sure to get the train table, not the lego table. The lego table is smaller. The train table fits a Thomas play mat if you wanted to buy one to put on it. I didn't, we used the one that came with the Nilo table.

For the most part the wooden train sets all fit together and are interchangeable. Brio make high quality train sets that work well with the Thomas stuff. My boys liked having the actual Thomas trains because they recognized them from the videos but I bought lower cost, less well know sets to get extra track and it all fit together.

Costco has a great one!!

If you want real Thomas the Train railroad and cars. I went to Michaels. They sell them and when yo get the newspaper sometimes they offer 50% off coupons on full price. You can only buy one at a time but I went to several Michaels at a time. Most were nice enough to let me use their coupon. Or I would ask neighbors for coupons. Also if you register on the website for Thomas they offer deals where spend so much money get a free train and all you pay is shipping. I would mail them to my mom sister etc because I could only get one train per addy. Good Luck!

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I am adding...JCPenney has the same table on sale for $69.99

Hi K., We just got ours at Costco for Christmas, $129 and it comes with over 100 pieces and 2 trundles for storage underneath! It is made by KidKraft, so a good brand. I have a 18 month old and so I am hoping too that this purchase will last for a few years. Here is the link if you wanted to check it out. It says it is $219, but the one in Lewisville is $140 with tax. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11227840...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4837473

We have the above table for our two boys (4.5 and 2.5) and they have had it for about a year. It is great because it never comes apart, you can store trains, cars, etc. on the table itself due to the deep grooves. It also comes with a "topper" to put over the tracks so it can be used for crafts, snacks, reading, etc. Lastly, because it is made from the plastic it is easy to move around the house (sliding or carrying) if you need to clean or have company coming. I would recommend this to anyone.

We have been able to use hotwheels and all trains that we own (thomas included). The only cars that are a little wide are the CARS movie cars, but my kids still race them around anyways.

Hi Kelly,

I have a train table and the geo trax train set for my 2 year old and he LOVES it. The one recommendation I would make is to make sure it will fit in the dimensions you have. I bought one and while the table is great...it takes over my son's room. I was so focused on getting one that would be big enough to put the train set on that I didn't take that into account. Silly mom!

Good luck!
A.

We have a train table that we bought at Sam's 4 Christmases ago and it is still in good condition--so as long as it seems sturdy, I don't think you will have any trouble. The drawers underneath are a MUST. The cons of a train table are that they take up a lot of space and for the little ones (unless you are willing to glue down the track) it can be a little frustrating to play with because the track is a bit unstable. They do sell pieces that hold together track (especially needed in elevated areas) on the internet if it is a big problem. If I had to do it over again, I would skip the train table and wooden train and go right for GeoTrax. My boys ages almost 2 through 6 love them. The baby can put the track together himself and since the system is a little larger it is easier for the baby to run the trains on the track. It is much sturdier and can be continuously added to with new sets, etc. Since they are remote control and the track configurations are endless, my 6 y/o still plays with them (and so does my husband). We have gotten more bang for buck on those sets and they can be stored in plastic bins in a closet instead of taking up valuable floor space.