Train Toys?

we also have imaginarium set and we have a few thomas trains they really don't care if its thomas or not a train is a train. My oldest is 8 and a half and I still see him set up the trains and play with his little brother

Imaginaruim all the way! The table comes with everything you need, the track, table, trains, little men, etc. Toys R Us has them on sale often.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3931028

Imaginaruim (Toys R Us)- wooden, very sturdy, fits Thomas trains and tracks, and much less expensive! We gave our son his first set just after 12 months, and he wasn't able to put them together by himself right away, but he has been able to play with them in different ways as he's grown!

We have a train set from Ikea. If I remember correctly, there were three or four sets of different track components that cost about $14 each ( probably has increased a little by now). Wooden track, wooden cars - nothing fancy. We keep the track in a storage bin under my son's bed. Taking it apart every time means you get a different track shape every time. Sometimes he just wants a circle, sometimes I try to see if I can use every piece.

Might want to reconsider the train table...I almost guarantee that it would be well worth the money and get used for years! I velcro-D the tracks down on mine and it was the best thing we have bought thus far, toy wise!

Keep your eyes peeled and start looking at hobby stores and the smart kid stores, like whiz kid and such!

Thomas rocks!

We bought a wooden train set (70+pieces including tracks, trains, cars, scenery, people) last christmas for our 18 month old and just turned 3 yr old. THey love love love it! It is Target brand. It cost in the $30-40 range. I don't remember the exact price and think we got it on sale too b/c of the holidays. We have been pleased. The ONLY thing about not getting a table is the baby will pull the track apart and the older child will complain about that AND you now have 70 little peices to keep up with. I thought I didn't want a table too but honestly if I could do it differently I would. My husband has talked about getting a peice of plywood to glue the track to that way it doesn't come apart and it can be slid under a bed or propped against the wall when it isn't being played with, so there's an idea but he has yet to actually DO it :)

My brother LOVES the Thomas the Train trains... they have magnetic links, and you can buy and add tracks. some of the trains have sounds, and there are tons to choose from or add to his collection if he likes them. (my brother is turning 4 this year... and has accumulated about 75 trains and hundreds of track pieces. LOL. they are just about the only things he would play with!)

We have the Thomas train tracks and trains, but I got the Imaginarium table (MUCH cheaper) -and it works fine with the Thomas stuff. Both of my kids have really been into Thomas the cartoon, so we went with the Thomas brand stuff, but the Imaginarium wooden train sets from Toys R Us are good too. My 4 year old got some at 1 and we weren't going to get a table, but it was a good move, because by 2, there were LOTS of trains and tracks -too many to go on the train track floor mat we had started with originally. The table has been great -and now he's still loving it at 4 and my 22 month old loves it as well. Your daughter is also probably going to really enjoy it. All kids seem to love them. My Goddaughter loved ours so much, Santa brought her a table and set last year!

We have the Imaginarium ones as well, and our kids love them. They're well-made and have stood up to 3 years of use, easy to replace, and much less expensive than Thomas.

IKEA also has small sets that are much less expensive. We've not gotten them because we had the Imaginarium ones, but it's an option pending your budget.

Here's also a link to a local place that has a national retail presence. They just happen to be based about 1 mile from us and have many different brands. http://www.trainsgalore.com/

Thomas the Tank Engine tracks and trains has been a life saver in my house! : ) My 2 yr old son, 4 yr old son, and 9 yr old daughter all play with them. Usually my daughter builds the track and my sons drive the trains along. You should also look into some Thomas books, the ones that make the train noises are great too and I think I have almost every Thomas DVD ever made! As you can tell, I have big train lovers in my house and we've pretty much stuck with everything Thomas (mostly because it's what we find easist at the stores) but I'm sure any type of hard plastic train sets will work just fine. : )

Take care!

My son has had the Thomas Take along trains and track for years now.
He's 5 and my daughter is 8 , they both still play with them.
The track is plastic, so it won't be ruined buy being chewed on. The trains are diecast. and the buildings and play sets fold up.
You can get them at Target , Kohl's , and Toys R Us.

We, too, have the Imaginarium table and our son loves it (and our 7 month old loves it because it's the right height for him to pull up and cruise).

One word of advice: if you're wanting to get this for Christmas, shop early! Everyone and their grandmother wants one and they sold out quickly. We had originally wanted to get it for a Christmas gift, but with being in the last trimester and having a baby, we didn't order it early enough and it was sold out. Fortunately our older son's birthday is in February so we got it in time for that.