Thomas the Train Sets

There are lots of thomas the train sets available for toddlers and preschools and this article gives a rundown of what's available. My own son loves everything Thomas so I've done quite a bit of research into the Thomas sets.

The sets featured in this article include:

Thomas Megabloks playsets - Megabloks is a great educational toy for this age group. They are bigger blocks which are perfect for little hands to grasp at and put together. It helps develop motor skills and generates lots of opportunities for creative and imaginative play.

Thomas trackmaster sets - Thomas trackmaster sets include motorised trains which will chug around the tracks. If you have enough track you can create all kinds of pathways for Thomas to chug around on his adventures. Each set has different features for kids to use their imagination and play with.

Thomas take and play sets - Thomas take and play sets have tracks Thomas can whizz down depending on the set you get. The great thing about these sets is that they fold up for easy storage and you can easily carry them around so they make great take along toys to friends or relatives houses.

Read on for suggestions of each type of set.

Thomas the train megabloks sets are normally aimed at the 2 to 5 age group. Small children will probably need some help putting together the sets for the first time. But as they watch adults do it they will copy how it's done and will soon be doing most of it themselves. My son received his first megabloks set for his 2nd birthday. At first we worked together to build structures but now at 2 1/2 he will sit down and build for some time on his own (giving me a few minutes to get things done!).

The Thomas the train megabloks sets also offer opportunities to act out Thomas stories the children have read in books and seen on DVDs.

Another advantage of Thomas megabloks sets is that they can be used with other megabloks sets to build an infinite amount of structures.

This playset includes 65 pieces with new yellow track and buildable Thomas engine.

It also includes colorful sticker sheet to decorate your rebuildable castle.

The bag it comes in is great for storage.

If space isn't an issue and you're looking for a big and impressive set for you kids this could be the one for you.

This trackmaster set is based on the Thomas DVD King of the Railway.

It comes with a Thomas engine, cargo cars, King's Crown and track set.

There's a motorized Thomas and as he goes round the track there are lots of obstacles he has to avoid including a falling gate, a swinging trap and a crumbling castle.

As Thomas goes past the obstacles, kids have to reset them so that he doesn't crash on his next way round keeping them engaged and not just watching the action.

This is a really fun take and play set. The spinning saw blade on the drop saw cuts the bluestone and deposits it right into Thomas’ cargo car. Thomas and his cargo can be pulled up the steep incline by Owen. Then he wizzes down the hill on the other side.

It's inspired by the Thomas movie the Blue Mountain Mystery so kids can act out what they've seen on the TV

The great thing about this set is that it can be folded away so it doesn't take up much space to store. It's also great for take along play to other people's houses.