What is it about train sets that give them their enduring popularity?

It can’t be the fact that kids are merely projecting their daily reality into the playroom since, in the US at least, very few of them travel on trains on a regular basis.

Perhaps it has to do with a kind of collective memory of an era when trains opened up vast new territories for exploration and settlement. Perhaps it is because there is something undeniably romantic and evocative about a steam train making its way across the landscape with a long white cloud trailing behind. It could also just be that, over the years, railway engineers (and their toymaker counterparts) have devised a vast array of interconnected ways with which to conquer the challenges that any terrain can throw at them. It could lastly be the case that kids begin their love affair with trains after being introduced to a cheeky little ‘tank engine’ called Thomas!

Whatever the reasons I for one am glad that the glory days of the railway are still with us, even if it is sometimes only in 1:16 scale! Playing with trains teaches kids (and adults!) lessons about planning and design that they will be able to draw upon for the rest of their lives. This is because playing with train sets is not all about seeing how fast you can make it go, or being entertained by a few flashing lights. Instead it teaches those with patience that there may be several innovative ways in which to put the different elements together and that it requires more than a bit of skill to design a railway where everything runs like clockwork. If this all sounds a bit serious it should also be noted that playing with trains is seriously good fun!

So how do you introduce trains into your kids’ lives? I would warn against going out and buying a complete set that will cover your whole garage floor. Children are different and not all of them will remember their train sets as their absolute favorite plaything (although those who do will often turn it into a lifelong passion). Depending on your kids’ ages you could perhaps start with a wooden railway system (of the kind manufactured by Brio or Plan City) and graduating from it to a ‘proper’ model railway. There are many excellent model train makers (of whom Hornby is perhaps the most famous) and your child (or you!) will be spoiled for choice should you decide to create your own system.

There are several factors to take into account when choosing a set:

• Does the brand do realistic models of ‘real life’ trains? Choosing such trains will initially be more expensive but they offer much more potential should you really become ’serious’ about trains as a hobby.
  
• Is the system expandable? Look for a system where you can easily add more tracks and other ‘infrastructure’.
  
• Is the system compatible with other brands? Finding tracks and trains that can work across several platforms can greatly reduce costs in the long run.
  
• Does the system run on electricity or batteries? Electric systems generally offer more opportunities for expansion.
  

Here’s hoping that your home will very soon be featuring its own stations and sidings. After that the only thing to figure out is who the station master will be!

Find more about building your own Model Railway Layouts