SteveyDee68 Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Hi Recommendations please for locos and stock able to survive the antics of 8, 4 and 2 year old boys. Cousin's kids loved playing with an oval of track, wagons and locos I set up for them. However, repairs now required to four items of stock (one wagon may now be scrap as the wheel bearings appear to be shot) and my venerable Mainline J72 is beyond repair after the 4 year old decided to push it along by hand ... with a LOT of downward force to get the wheels to turn ... (they did, but sadly not all at the same time). Speaking with my cousin about their interest and suggesting perhaps she could have a layout for them at home, her response was that they could simply visit me and "play trains" ... So, very very small budget and bombproof/kid proof suggestions please! "Uncle" Steven PS Interesting aside - the youngest got very excited and was very keen to operate the trains ... he turned out to be the best driver, showing a very gentle touch on the controller dial, accelerating gradually and (gasp of amazement) decelerating the train to a stop, something neither of his two older siblings did! Is that innate modelling talent, I wonder?! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Phil Parker Posted May 31, 2019 Administrators Share Posted May 31, 2019 Get out in the garden with a cheap LGB set. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 This is where my kids started: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zo-4001-Passenger-Train-2-x-Car-Steam-Locomotive-12-Track-Railway/253397895774?hash=item3affb10a5e:g:a2AAAOSwZFdacF1j Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I have just bought a Hornby Junior set for £25 (still available from Hattons and I guess some others, but not many left), for my grandson, who is now 3 turning 4, but has a 1 year old sister, so a mains operated train set is out of the question for a little while longer, if they are to be left alone with it. His sister still makes a bee-line for electric cabling, in order to give it a chew..... I know it is not the most interesting train set out there, but it will transition him from Brio to joining up more difficult track, and begin to learn about driving instead of pushing a train along. Being so cheap, if he gets bored, or breaks it, fairly soon, it is not a great loss. We will get him a proper train set for Christmas. Your two year old sounds a tad more advanced than my grandson, so perhaps this may not appeal? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted May 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) Anything Triang / Triang-Hornby from before c. 1980 - cheaply available second-hand, virtually indestructible - if proven wrong, hardly matters. Made for this market! Edited May 31, 2019 by Compound2632 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernowtim Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 May be worth looking for lima locos such as their diesel shunter , J50 and pannier tank steam locos, cheap and reliable with not much to fall off, the bigger diesels could be harder for a youngster to put on rails . Hornby do a train set controller with a transformer that plugs directly into mains socket so only a low voltage cable to controller! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neil Posted May 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2019 I'd wholeheartedly concur with the pre 80s (Triang) Hornby, also worth a look out for is the even earlier Playcraft 0-4-0 tank engine, huge motor, crown and pinion drive, it can be pushed along by hand and will not suffer damage. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 A decent looking steam model which will take a hammering and survive, the original Mainline N2 if you can find one (the Dapol also, design unchanged). Big five pole motor which makes a noise like unto a coffee grinder but just runs and runs. If it falls off the layout onto the deck, they may convert it into the interesting cabrio version, the cab top unclips. Wagons now, I think the original Mainline wagons are near bombproof. The big moulded coupler more damage resistant than the Hornby versions whether all metal or plastic frame plus metal hook. Mine have withstood all the destructo-activity of kids various with no trouble, and some are even fairly realistic and may come back to you for modelling purposes in time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Nick C Posted May 31, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 31, 2019 You can pick up the various Hornby trainset 0-4-0Ts on eBay for around a tenner - I'd imagine they'd be fairly robust. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 4 hours ago, Neil said: I'd wholeheartedly concur with the pre 80s (Triang) Hornby, also worth a look out for is the even earlier Playcraft 0-4-0 tank engine, huge motor, crown and pinion drive, it can be pushed along by hand and will not suffer damage. That's where I started with model railways I still have some Playcraft H0 stuff around, including a couple of BR coaches Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brack Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I have a smokey Joe which I pulled the motor from for the first child to push around. And a couple of powered king George v 040t. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted May 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2019 Hornby Thomas locos are pretty robust, particularly Thomas and Percy. Bachmann Thomas locos are not as robust (as tested by my 3 and 5 year old). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastglosmog Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I bought my nephew a Hornby 0-4-0 Great Western tank when he was 5 and it is still working 4 years later, still in one piece apart from one cab step. Also gave him a few of the cheapest Hornby wagons, which are also standing up to the strain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Is there such a thing as a kid proof railway that's not Brio? They have an inbuilt need to run trains as fast as possible and as mentioned, push locos around. This happened years ago during WW2 when a distant relative arrived with a rather precocious child who was let loose on my Dublo layout. He managed to crank up a SNG so fast that it derailed on a bend and careened to the floor breaking all or some of the drivers. My Grandfather who worked in Devonport dockyard was able to machine some brass wheels that worked although they looked rather like Box-Poks, but that was a minor deal. All that happened to the kid was a few tut tuts and called a naughty boy! Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted May 31, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2019 That's why you run it on the carpet... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 42 minutes ago, brianusa said: They have an inbuilt need to run trains as fast as possible When do we grow out of this? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomsontour Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Get a Hornby smokey Joe and prepare for a land speed record Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomsontour Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Get a Hornby smokey Joe and prepare for a land speed record Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Playmobil. Their trains are LGB-compatible, but much more play-oriented. Photo below is in our toy cupboard, and there are things in there that were played with by a pal’s son, who is now 42yo, so they do indeed last very well. Dont be afraid to buy secondhand - a lot of ours came that way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Originally the Playmobil mechanisms and track were made by Lehmann. We have quite a bit of it tucked away Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Untuck it then. It’s made to be played with! Our two, and their cousin, have been into these trains since they were about four, the age when Brio ran out of interest. Our daughter (7yo) seems to have more of the ‘playing trains’, or rather creating giant scenes and stories involving train journeys, bug, and likes making things too, so ‘following in father’s footsteps’, than our son (11yo), who had moved on to sports as his main interest by her age. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 I'm not convinced that anything 00 is really suitable for very young children, but old Triang or Dublo probably comes as close as you'll get. The suggestions of LGB and Playmobil seem sensible. Tring/Novo Big-Big would fit the bill too, but now seems more expensive than I think it warrants. I've just discovered the delights of Post War Lionel gear, and the even simpler and more robust Marx trains from the USA. If you can find sellers who don't charge ridiculous prices for postage it might be worth considering. Designed to survive the nuclear armageddon that everyone was convinced was coming in the 1950s I'd be surprised if you could render a Lionel or Marx loco unserviceable without use of a steamroller. Lots of play value from working accessories too. Power supply might be the only issue, but they should work fine off an LGB controller (although some of the accessories won't) . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDMJ Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, brianusa said: Is there such a thing as a kid proof railway that's not Brio? Brian. Try Marklin myWorld. Uses standard 00 track, battery powered and robust. Trains will run on Hornby and Peco track. Edited June 1, 2019 by JohnDMJ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Playmobil is probably best. The other way is to try to gently teach little ones to treat the model railway stuff with respect. This is not easy but my three year old grandson is pretty good. He knows that N gauge stuff has to be handled extremely carefully. He also understands that deliberately crashing garden railway stock is not a good thing. I have never told him off, just explained things carefully. I have found the Bachmann G scale Thomas has been very tough so far. He has a few battle scars but is still completely intact and runs perfectly despite the close attention of two grandchildren. He has another one to survive yet.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Playmobil offers rather more play value than a conventional 'train set' as it has removable roofs, seats for passengers and other things for a young imagination to explore Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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