Toby's Windmill and Maron Water Tower

Following on from our initial purchase of our Thomas Rides the Rails Trackmaster set we were keen to expand our sons set with some interactive accessories, and as our son has a fascination with windmills, we were attracted to the Toby's Windmill & Maron Water Tower expansion.

This Expansion set doesn't include any additional track or trains but does include two well detailed models, a water  tower and and a windmill both of which have a mechanical feature.

Toby's windmill has a button on the base which when pressed rotates the windmills blades and when the spout on the Maron Water Tower is pressed down the blue plastic water moves down into the tower giving the effect that water is emptying into the a train.
Whilst the is no direct interaction with trains on the track this expansion set adds extra character to a Track master set.
The video below shows the Toby's Windmill & Maron Water Tower Trackmaster expansion set in action.

You can buy the kit by clicking here
 

Thomas & Friends Trackmaster. Thomas Rides the Rails

As previously explained we had decided to buy our son a Thomas and Friends Trackmaster train set, and we purchased the Thomas Rides the Rails set which is described on the box as The Perfect Starter Set.

Thomas Rides the Rails Starter Set

The first thing that you'll notice is how small the box is that contains all the parts, if you are expecting a monster sized set you are going to be disapointed, but if it eases the pain it is well packaged, although the truth is that this isn't a big set. Consisting of 2 straight sections and 8 bend sections the track forms an oval shape, with 1 of the straights containing the flip switch to stop the train moving at the station.
The set comes with a plastic station and sticker set to decorate it as Elsbridge station, and it provides the perfect setting to stop the train.

The well detailed Elsbridge Station

The set comes with a battery powered and well detailed model of Thomas, which is the perfect choice for a starter set, Thomas runs on a single AA battery, although you might want to invest in rechargeable batteries and a charger.
To show the set in action I've created the following video, which shows the size of the track and how trains can be stopped at the station.
You can buy this set from Amazon

Why did we choose Thomas & Friends TrackMaster

Our Two year old son has recently discovered Thomas and Friends on DVD and has become fascinated by trains, so we decided to get him a train set, and one which would grow with him.
We wanted a set which would allow him to interact to a certain extent but where the trains were self powered so that he could sit and watch them without having to push them around the track. It was this requirement that led us to Trackmaster, after research on YouTube it became apparent that the Thomas and Friends design, expandable & exciting track along with battery powered trains made these sets for our requirement.
So off we went to Argos and picked up the Thomas Rides The Rails Starter Set and our son's Thomas adventure had begun.