Melissa & Doug · Budget
A compact 22-piece wooden starter set with an engine, a coal car and 20 pieces of track, including an elevated railroad bridge, laid out as a figure 8.
Check price on Amazon (affiliate link, opens Amazon in a new tab)As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. How we pick our gear
We have not tested it ourselves: strengths and weaknesses below come from the tests cited.
Not every gift has to be a giant layout. This is the small box a parent can wrap for a child before a Christmas train, a museum visit or an afternoon at a trackside park, and it carries the one idea that makes real railways exciting: a train that runs a figure 8 track over an elevated bridge. The set is a wooden engine with an attached coal car. Because the maker says it is compatible with popular wooden railway systems, it can also be the first piece of a collection that grows with birthdays and holidays, rather than a one-time toy.
The maker describes the set as 22 pieces: 20 pieces of wooden track including a bridge, plus a wooden engine and a coal car. The train is lightweight and sized for small hands to push forward or backward along the track, and the maker says it runs on kid power, with no batteries required. It says the pieces are easy to take apart and put back together. The maker lists the packaged size as 9.5 by 3 by 12.5 inches. The page presents it as practice for large motor skills and imaginative play. The maker does not give the footprint of the finished figure eight.
Strengths
Weaknesses
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Power | None; batteries not required |
| Pieces | 22 (20 pieces of track including a bridge, one engine, one coal car) |
| Material | Solid wood (maker) |
| Item number | 703 |
| Compatibility | Popular wooden railway systems (maker statement) |
| Packaged size | 9.5 x 3 x 12.5 in |
| Recommended age | 3+ |
| Product dimensions | 12.5 x 9.5 x 3.0 in |
Parents and relatives who want an inexpensive first wooden train set for a child aged 3 or older, or an easy add-on gift for a train-loving family. It also suits anyone who wants to test whether a child enjoys track play before buying a larger set, or a small present before a Christmas train ride.
Melissa & Doug Wooden Railway Set, item 701, is the same maker's much larger layout, with two trains, a flatbed truck and bridges.
Image: BRIO (Ravensburger) · source
BRIO · Mid-range
A compact wooden BRIO layout with a battery-powered engine that starts at the press of a button and climbs ramps, crosses supports and runs through a tunnel.
Image: BRIO · source
BRIO · Mid-range
The BRIO World Farm Train is a five-piece train set, an engine, two cattle wagons and two wooden animals, that couples magnetically and runs on a BRIO World railway.
Image: BRIO / Ravensburger · source
BRIO · Premium
A 54-piece wooden toy train set with a battery-powered freight engine, cranes, a suspension bridge and a storage box.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. How we pick our gear
Compare all toy trains.
