By R. Ferguson (Earth) :
Nut-job Lego-loving parent here. Ignore my star rating. I don't get free Lego for these reviews...
Lego's Duplo trains are great. They are big enough that little kids can manipulate them easily. Since they are made of blocks, kids can create their own engine and car designs AND use the same blocks to build towns, etc. We have lots of different trains in our house and I can tell you that the Duplo trains have been the most flexible and long-lived for the early age bracket. Duplo has an earlier age-safety limit (2 years) versus many of the wooden trains (that start at 3), yet the building flexibility of Lego means that the system remains interesting even as kids move out of the recommended age range.
This train features number blocks (in ROYGBIV order), a simple steam engine, a single Duplo boy-figure and a dog. The cars connect to each other with simple hitches. Lego uses the same hitches for its Duplo trucks and tractors, so these cars can do double duty. One caveat about this train is that it uses the wide train wheels. These are very durable, but if you were thinking of purchasing track and building out a Duplo train set, these wheels are wider than Duplo's proper train wheels. These operate okay on straights and curves, but they are too wide for Duplo switches, bridges, and level crossings.
In August 2013, Lego releases two new Duplo train sets: 10508 Deluxe Trains Set (a motorized engine, two freight cars, a bridge and figure-8 of track for $110) and 10507 My First Trains Set (a motorized steam-train with one passenger car and a circle of track for $45). While I very much like these larger sets, the Number Train is hard to beat at $20.
Cheers
Possibly my favorite Duplo yet!, May 14, 2013
By Alizabeth Szilagyi :
My son loves trains, so when Grandma and Grandpa gave him this I knew it would be a hit. We also have the baby zoo ville, and we immediately made this a zoo train. I loved watching my boy pull his "animal train" around the house. One word of advice, you (the child rather) cannot carry this train around the house. Because there are so many duplo cars, the cars in the middle will become detached. This is nothing to complain about, my son just kept picking it up to put on new surfaces and we had to reconnect it each time.
I love the number blocks as well. This is practically a two for one. We will use the number blocks to try and understand quantity. Stacking one block with the #1, two blocks with the #2, etc and so forth.
This set works well on its own, or as you can tell by my review, it works fabulously paired with other duplo sets.
We have about seven different duplo sets and this is quite possibly my favorite. I'd recommend this one, the zoo set (full or baby ville size) and the pale of 71 pieces. Between these three sets you have hours of various building structures and lots of creative play.
Super Fun!, October 30, 2013
By millekas:
My son LOVES this train when he's not walking around his train table! The train is compatable with other Duplo Legos and can be used for multiple purposes! I enjoy the numbers on the blocks to help him learn too! We've made different structures and cars with all of these blocks! The possibilties are endless...my only complaint is regarding the engine compartment...it's difficult to get the little people lined up appropriately to fit in the compartment.
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