Wooden train sets - Brio v others

sulkisu

We are planning to buy DS1 (nearly 3) a train set for Christmas, and originally wanted to get a Brio set. I still like them but have since discovered that many of the big retailers do similar versions, but much cheaper. Sainsbury's, ELC, Tesco all have them and the good thing is that they all seem compatible with each other. I just wondered if anyone else has bought one of these others, or the Brio and how they compare? Is there one that is particularly good value (or bad) or are they all pretty much the same?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

It was a long time ago - but the ELC stuff was great. And significantly cheaper from not having the posh label on the box.

building_with_lego

I consider myself a bit of an expert on these matters as we have a huuuuuuge box of the stuff. (I'd always wanted but never had wooden trains as a child so [STRIKE]indulged myself[/STRIKE] bought some for my children.)

We have stuff from Tesco, ELC, Ikea, Bigjigs and Brio. The only one I don't like is Ikea- it has plastic plugs to join them and they're really tough to take apart- but all the rest fit together nicely, allowing you to mix and match all the lovely bridges, tunnels, stations, turntables etc.

I have to admit though that I can tell the Brio track from the others by touch alone- it is much harder wood, and very smooth, whereas the cheaper versions are quite soft and light and sometimes have splinters. The Wooden Thomas bits from ELC are almost as good and have track on one side and road markings on the reverse.

You could always take the mix and match approach- but him a small Brio set and ask relatives to contribute, from the Brio range or another. You can quite quickly get a decent sized layout that way

cutestkids

Hi we have a combination of real Brio, tesco own make, Ikea own make, ELC own make and Asda own make, it is all compatable and you would not know the difference on the whole.

we have had ours between 8 and 10 years now, we started with a small brio pack and expanded with the cheaper own make packs.

Frith

We had my brother's old Brio but that was only about 20 lengths of track and a shed. We were lucky enough to pick up a 92 piece box from Tesco in the sale at 75% off and the Brio and Tesco tracks are indistinguishable.

Agree about the Ikea track, it's not good.

FatVonD

I bought a box of second-hand Brio from the local paper and then supplemented it from Tesco. Kids really don't know the difference, insisting on Brio is just yummy mummy snobbery (though the Brio TTTE trains are nice ) Maybe buy the budget track and then a few BRIO trains? (I sold all our trains on ebay so I suppose it holding its value is a plus point), maybe look on there?

earthmother

With three boys, we too have a huge collection of wooden railway - enough to run a railway through the whole ground floor of the house in fact (it's been done). I agree with the other posters - as far as track etc is concerned, they're all much the same with regard to quality, though each range will have different add-ons (bridges, buildings, scenery, special sets of points etc).

Where we noticed the difference is in the rolling stock - Brio and Thomas are generally more true to 'real' shape, slightly more substantial pieces, with ELC coming in close second and the supermarket lines more basic ... all last just as well when being played with though, and we've never had any fall apart despite some pretty heavy handling.

loobylou2

I spent £75 on a Brio set for DS when he was 3. He's nearly 16 now!!! Although it was expensive it was by far and away the best toy he had when he was small until he discovered Lego. He absolutely loved it and played with it for hours on end and we kept adding to it until he had a huge collection. If you can afford it I'd go for Brio every time however having said that I have no idea how much it costs now. It wasn't exactly cheap 13 years ago!!!!!

sulkisu

Thanks for the replies. We have three sons (DS2 and DS3 are nearly 1) so in hindsight have decided that this should be a present for all three - which will be added to over the years (otherwise we'll end up with three sets ). I still haven't decided what to do. Apparently Brio is no longer quite as expensive as it once was. The rolling stock will no doubt take a beating over the years with three boys playing with them, so they really need to be durable - probably more so than the tracks.

msb5262

Hi OP,
Bear in mind that Brio etc. is much cheaper second-hand...and it's fairly easy to find at car boots, on eBay, via postcards in post office windows etc. As it's a long-lasting plaything, buying second-hand is definitely worth doing for at least some of it.
HTH
MsB

jellyhead

We have a selection. With brio I think the trains are much nicer. They are heavier and the wheels are less flimsy so they roll along the track much better when going around corners, etc.

We've had some excellent track from Tesco, but their trains we don't tend to use much.