Trains Still Rule

I purchased Bentley a wooden train set almost two years ago. I bought the cheaper Melissa & Doug basic train set and then carefully selected a few quality Brio and Thomas pieces and trains to upgrade the train set.

Bentley wasn't yet two at the time, but he liked playing with the trains and track from the moment we opened the boxes.


At first we had a track layout that we adults set up on our fireplace ledge and it stayed up in a single conformation.


Well, that was the plan, but in reality the layout was changed regularly because of twin trouble.



Two years later, the train set is still a big hit with the boys. Since we moved into our new home we keep it in our bedroom and Bentley and Jake come in at least once a week and set up the track on the floor. Sometimes Bentley asks me to help him and sometimes he does it all on his own or with some help from Jake. (He doesn't always appreciate Jake's help.)



Because Bentley insists that the train track go around the circular chair in our little alcove, the layout is usually around 40 feet long. To make set up and clean up quicker, I have invested in sixteen pieces of 14" straight track. I love those pieces! I need to buy even more of them. Forgot those short little 2" pieces, 4" pieces, 6" pieces and 8" pieces. 14" track is so much easier to build with.

I want more T-switches, too, but at $8/piece, I cannot bring myself to buy them. Besides, if you saw what the boys do with the switch pieces, you'd urge me to save my money. Four switch pieces in a row do not make the track easy to navigate, especially when you have a train that is fifteen cars long.