11 Best Wooden Toy Train Sets Reviewed: Ideal Educational Toys
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Children's favorite toys? That is not very difficult to guess: a train with long rails to ride on!
Or even better, a durable train playset made of wood with accessories that make it even more real. Beautiful basic and pure toys for your child and very educational too!
The overall best wooden train set I have come across is this Bigjigs Alps train set because he actually has everything in it already with accessories to build your landscape, and also a slope to drive down the mountain.
Plus they fit many other brands (more on that later).
I've listed my top picks for the nicest wooden toy train sets for you here.
I will discuss them in more detail later in the article. I have taken into account children of different ages.
Overall best wooden train set
The train track is a fun challenge to assemble and with the help of support pillars the rails even go up in height. Very spectacular, the train travels through mountains, valleys and over bridges!
Best Wooden Train Set Expansion
Get to know the shipyard and how containers are loaded from a ship onto the truck and vice versa. Especially the tap is interesting for our kids.
Best wooden train table
The Table With Waterfall And Mountain Train is a great gaming table with a huge landscape that a train track runs through but fits in the practical, extendable storage bins under the table. The table is empty in no time.
Best Magnetic Wooden Train Set
On the farm, the cow and horse are grazing in the meadow, while the red tractor is making hay. The crane lifts the hay up to the hayloft, where it stays nice and dry.
Best Electric Wooden Train Set
The trains have a lot of tracks and switches to drive on. There is even an elevator that really goes up and down! This set is a bit more difficult to set up.
Best cheap train set
The rails are universal and fits well on all other brands, the set comes with a magnetic crane, trucks and train wagons. The crane can load and unload all goods.
Best Small Wooden Train Set
A simple and solid wooden platform with a preformed rails that your little one - from 3 to 6 years old - can play with independently. Simply fold the set and take it with you.
Best luxury train station
Suitable for children 3 years and older with real train tickets for the travelers and a display board with lighting.
Best wooden train track with wild animals
The safari train leaves for a great adventure. Along the way you will encounter all kinds of wild animals, such as a monkey, a giraffe and a beautiful lion!
Best Movable Bridge
This BigJigs Rail Lifting Bridge is also a great addition to your child's train set. Your little one can even move the bridge higher and lower!
Best wooden wagon
The train is suitable for children from 3 to 8 years old and made of beautiful, solid wood. A perfect extension to any other train set, because it fits on the universal train tracks.
A play theme in your mailbox every month?
Fun play tips, activity books and more, with the first email being our free mini-guide "educational toys"
We will only use your email address for this newsletter and respect your privacy
Wooden Toy Train Set Buying Guide
A train set gives your child the opportunity to have fun and develop communication and interaction skills while enjoying pushing the train across the track.
There is an awful lot to choose when it comes to wooden toy train sets. So it can be difficult to make a good choice!
What will your child like? Which toys are solid and can take a beating?
Of course we would prefer a train set that is made of sustainable wood and lasts a long time.
A set that is also educational for our child and that they can use in all directions.
There are also a number of plastic train sets available, but we find those made of wood the most suitable and nice and basic.
Your child should have a lot of space to fantasize and act out situations.
Make sure you choose a set in the correct age category and also whether any expansion is possible.
Is the train set solid? With wood we actually know that you buy good quality toys. Wooden toys are practically indestructible and usually last for generations.
Most wooden train sets are suitable for children from 3 years old. However, always check the age, in connection with the safety of your child!
Pay attention to small pieces and keep them separate for the first time if necessary.
Then, where is your child's interest?
Perhaps your little one has a preference for train sets that can be loaded and unloaded, with a crane, a truck and containers, for example.
It may also be that your little one likes to move 'normal' wagons with animals.
Your child can go in many directions with the train sets from our top 11!
Which tracks and trains fit together?
If you want to expand your train set with a set from another brand, pay attention to whether the rails fit together.
If you want to buy additional accessories, you can easily combine the following brands:
- BigJigs
- VERVE
- Eichhorn
- Janod
- KidKraft
- Mentary
- Hape
- Bandits & Angels
- waytoplay
No one rail is completely identical, but that does not mean that the brands do not fit or connect.
Perhaps the pieces do not always connect seamlessly, but the train will be able to pass them without many problems.
They are interchangeable, which means that both the trains fit on the tracks of other brands and the tracks can click on the tracks of other brands.
Which tracks and trains do not fit the above sets?
Unfortunately, not all train tracks will fit the above brands.
The train track of the Ikea children's department for example, can cause problems, it is sometimes difficult to get these pieces of rails together and apart.
I have found that the following wooden train tracks do not fit well on the aforementioned brands:
- Lillabo from Ikea
- Playtive wooden train track from Lidl
- Hema train set
These sets would work well together again.
Read all about it here combining train track brands
Top 11 Wooden Toy Train Sets Reviewed
Now let's take a look at the top picks for wooden toy train sets.
The 11 best wooden train sets are:
- BigJigs Alpine train set (BJT016)
- BigJigs Container Shipyard
- Kidkraft Adventure Town
- BRIO farm 33719
- BRIO Travel Switching Set with platform 33512
- Tiny Land 60-part track with crane and trains
- Melissa & Doug Take-Along Railroad
- Hape Grand City Railway Station E3725
- Bigji's Safari
- Big Jigs Rail Lifting Bridge
- Janod Story Fire brigade train
Each has its own highlights. Which will be your little one's favorite?
BigJigs Alpine train set (BJT016)
- The train is right on a slope to drive down
- Very nice details for the landscape
- big set
- Pricey
- Higher rails on supports are not for the little ones
The beautiful Bigjigs Alpen train set is a good choice anyway, and our top recommendation.
Bigjigs makes very good quality, and what makes this set extra beautiful is the possibility to expand it endlessly.
Your child will not get tired of it and the toy set also lasts a long time.
This extensive train set is suitable for children from 4 years; There are a lot of detailed parts included.
The train track is a fun challenge to assemble and with the help of supporting pillars the rails even go up high.
Very spectacular, the train travels through mountains, valleys and over bridges!
A set to enjoy for a long time, ideal as a first train set for a child, and expandable with rails by means of the BigJigs Rails Expansion Set.
All other Bigjigs train sets fit in seamlessly with it. How about a Dino Train Set with its matching T-Rex tunnel?
It is very educational and very comprehensive because the train travels through different landscapes to the next station. Mountains, forest and village all come along, it is therefore a long train tracks.
And along the way, your child will not only encounter traffic signs, but also figures in various professions and vehicles.
What a pleasure to play with this train that travels over mountains and valleys!
Usually a train set only becomes fun when you buy more of it so that you can actually make some different tracks, but the Alpen set is already quite extensive.
The crane construction is completely finished wood with a simple dial that allows you to wind up the rope. There is also a small magnet with which you can attach the accessories of the tren can pick up.
The set comes with three train carriages with freight designations such as sugar, milk and grain. These can be lifted off the wagons with the magnet and swung aside.
Furthermore, Bigjigs has a lot of fun, and sometimes special (such as a pirate ship wreck, or a dinosaur), expansions that you can connect to it.
Or a pink-purple princess train set, with a bright pink bridge and a purple and pink gate to drive under: houses, trees and even a cool pink helicopter!
Give your creativity free rein and build the whole room with your child with this beautiful train set!
BigJigs Container Shipyard
- Fun and educational
- Containers and crane are fun on every train set
- Opens the door for pretend play in the water
- It would have been better to have a train wagon for the containers
At number 2 our best wooden train set extension: BigJigs Container Shipyard.
We really like this one because of its modern, cool details and bright colors.
The set introduces children to the shipyard and how containers are loaded from a ship onto the truck and vice versa.
Fun - and educational - to expand your child's train set. The crane is especially interesting for our kids.
This cool BigJigs Container Shipyard is another great addition to any BigJigs train set.
Suitable for children aged 3 to 6 years. This extension can easily be attached to an existing set by your child. The pieces are not too small.
Your child will be introduced to a real shipyard here. What's going on there?
A truck loads containers; they are moved from the ship to the truck via the crane and vice versa. What kind of cargo would be in the containers today?
All accessories are nicely colored and especially the tap is a real eye-catcher.
kidkraft Adventure town
- Very large set with nice decor
- The table is a handy addition
- Difficult to expand or combine due to space or table
The Table With Waterfall And Mountain Train is a great gaming table with a huge landscape with a train track running through it.
Along the way, the train will encounter a waterfall, but also mountains, forests, a bridge, a police station and much more ... This solid 120-piece train set lets your child experience great adventures!
A large yellow crane lifts the load from the train, a helicopter flies over, there is so much to do! There is a red in the lake speedboat waiting to go sailing.
Here you can see how to assemble it and what is included:
Is it dinner time yet? Then your child has to tidy up, and preferably quickly.
The whole set fits in the practical, extendable storage bins under the table. The table is empty in an instant.
The accessories have beautiful, bright colors and the game table is solid and large enough to play with all friends.
This set is perfect for kids aged 3 to 6, but they do need help setting up the table.
Attention Parents: Please follow the detailed step-by-step assembly instructions for the console.
Setting up the track and also cleaning up can be done by the child himself, because of the large bins under the table.
Do you like the idea of a gaming table? I have Here are more beautiful play tables for children listed!
VERVE Farm 33719
- It can't be firmer than Brio
- Good magnet at the farm plays very nice
- You can only build the same round with it
On the red-black-yellow BRIO Farm Train Set, the cow and horse are grazing in the meadow, while the red tractor (here are some nice ones) is haying.
The crane lifts the hay up to the hayloft, where it stays nice and dry.
When it's time to bring the animals in, your child can put them in the wagon and transport them to the stable by train.
This set is easy to set up for a 3 year old. The pieces are a bit bigger, but your child is still challenged in his hand-eye coordination and in his creativity.
In this video Brio shows how it works:
The set can be expanded for not too much money with, for example, the Magnetic bell signal (how cool?) And the red Train of the fire department.
VERVE Travel Switching Set with platform 33512
- Tracks and switches make it challenging
- Electric train set on a wooden track
- Difficult to assemble
Great, this electric BRIO train set with platform!
The blue line has a battery-powered train that transports all passengers to the ultramodern station: there the track connects to the train with the red line.
The trains have a lot of tracks and switches to ride on. There is even an elevator that really goes up and down!
This set is a bit more difficult to set up, but with some help from an older brother, sister, or mom and dad, it should work out fine.
We think this set is suitable for children from 4 to 8 years old.
TinyLand 60-part track with crane and trains
- Excellent value for money
- Universal rails and trains can be used on other sets
- Crane and bridge are fine, but not the best quality
This 60-piece track with crane and trains of the Tiny Land brand is beautiful construction toys for 3+ children.
The rails are universal and fits well on all other brands, the set comes with a magnetic crane, trucks and train wagons. The crane can load and unload all goods.
All items have a cheerful appearance and are colorful, this set inspires the imagination and spatial logic of your child.
Tiny Land toys meet all US safety requirements; the brand is known for ensuring that all materials used are safe and non-toxic.
Your child could build the set themselves. Does this not work the first time? Then show how to work small. There is a good chance that he can do it all by himself the second time.
This luxury train set stands for hours of fun and many learning moments and comes with a colorful storage box.
In this way, your child can easily tidy everything up again and possibly also take the set to a guest address.
Melissa & Doug Take Along Railroad
- Easy to carry
- Small but still a lot of pretend play
- Not really building anything
- Not a traditional train set with track
A very nice one, this Melissa & Doug wooden train track.
A simple and solid wooden platform with preformed rails that your little one - from 3 to 6 years - can play with independently.
Simply fold the set - it becomes a portable briefcase - and take it with you to your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Of course that makes it too a very nice game to take with you when you stay!
Experience all kinds of beautiful adventures with the trains, houses and animals.
Of course this track does not fit on the other sets because it is a closed system in a take-away box.
Hape Grand City Railway Station E3725
- Voted toy of the year
- Large station with 2 floors and elevator
- Very solidly built
- It's not much use without a train track
In 2018, this fantastic set was voted Toy of the Year in various countries.
This wooden railway with stations of the Hape brand has no less than two floors and a lift for the passengers.
It is suitable for children aged 3 and up and will require some help from parents to set up the set the first few times.
What a luxurious set and how many nice extras: real train tickets for the travelers and a display board with lighting.
Hape has a huge train collection.
Your set can be nicely expanded - for little - with the Hape Big Engine Shed, the perfect place to park your trains after a long working day.
The train house has three tracks and fits perfectly with your Hape railway set. All Hape sets are made of solid wood and treated with a child-resistant paint.
The bright red Hape Extended double suspension bridge bridges the gap in your child's track, allowing the trains to continue safely.
The bridge is also made with sustainability in mind and meets international safety and quality requirements.
This item is suitable for children from 3 years old. An exciting addition to any train set!
The Hape brand stands for non-toxic substances and child-resistant materials.
bigjigs Safari
- Small ramp is nice to run the train
- Nice artwork
- Not much extra to do except the animals
The best train track set with wild animals!
The safari train leaves for a great adventure. Along the way you will encounter all kinds of wild animals, such as a monkey, a giraffe and a beautiful lion!
This 38-piece wooden track set features a locomotive with two carriages, as well as wildlife including an elephant and a zebra.
Did you know that there are all kinds of extra accessories available to expand this set? The rails can be expanded with, among other things, the BigJigs Rails Expansion Set.
The train set is suitable for children aged 3 to 6 years.
BigJigs Rail Lifting Bridge
- Bridge system is very solid
- Can be connected with both bridge and tunnel
- Requires a lot of extra track pieces to connect the tunnel bridge
This BigJigs Rail Lifting Bridge is also a great addition to your child's train set.
Your little one can even raise and lower the bridge!
The bridge fits well with, for example, the BigJigs Alpine train set, the number 1 in our top 11. But of course also with the BigJigs Safari train set just discussed.
Suitable for children aged 3 to 12 years. The little ones will need a little help setting them up.
Janod Story Fire Brigade
- Ladder and dolls are a nice addition
- Turn on pretend play on the train tracks
- There is no hose or extinguisher included
What a beautiful red train, the Story Fire Department train has four wagons and 2 firefighters. The ladder on one of the wagons can be folded out.
The train is suitable for children from 3 to 8 years old and made of beautiful, solid wood.
A perfect extension to any other train set, because it fits on the universal train tracks.
In this video I show you what's included:
However, this is also a great toy to play without rails, your child will love this fire train!
Why buy a train set for your child?
Your child can master a lot of useful skills while playing with a wooden train set.
His vocabulary will increase and his spatial awareness will improve enormously.
He will have to rely on his hand-eye coordination and a lot of puzzling to be able to place the rails properly in order for the train to pass smoothly.
However, it is good if you guide him in this in the beginning.
What a beautiful wooden train set can teach your child:
- (together) building and setting up a train tracks, how does your little one puzzle the rails together?
- name the dolls, animals, vehicles, buildings and surroundings (tree, mountain, river, etc.)
- naming colors
- making and naming sounds
- show associated professions
- make up a story together about the environment
After you have played together like this a few times, your child will then automatically name everything and understand how everything works.
He will feel confident in himself and will make increasingly beautiful rail combinations.
You gave him a real challenge… and he can now handle it all by himself.
Hats off to your toddler or toddler!
Why is a train set good for the development of your child?
Play is very important for a child's overall development.
A child plays for fun, but in a playful way it becomes more convenient and learns a lot about itself and the world around it.
While playing, the child also becomes more self-assured.
A basic wooden train set with some accessories that a child has to bring to life is a great way to play. Your child's imagination is stimulated and the role play begins.
Does your little one choose to be the train driver, the conductor, or maybe a passenger going on a trip today?
Playing with a train set not only inspires your child's imagination, but also improves his spatial awareness.
While playing your child learns about professions and sounds and develops his vocabulary.
Children learn to build and work together. To run a train, you need a track, which you can build nicely with your boyfriend.
You can take turns acting as a driver and take the train with its passengers or cargo to its final destination. And what do you encounter along the way?
Watch out for the mountains and sharp bends, you don't want to tip over wagons!
Do you want to know what a primary school teacher has to say about toy trains?
See here what Miss Maike says about trains.
Conclusion
We have already indicated that we think a train set is great toys for a child: for a toddler, toddler as well as toddler.
Of course, pay attention to any small pieces with a toddler!
Wooden toys is - compared to plastic toys - finer, more environmentally friendly and often a bit more basic, so that your child has to provide the necessary input.
There are no batteries, no loud noises and unnecessary items. Your child will have to make up the sounds themselves, just like the story and the structure of the set.
Playing with a wooden train set is attractive and enjoyable for every child.
And you know, through role-playing and his own imagination, your little one will learn a lot: words, sounds, functions and professions.
By building the rails and placing the set, eye-hand coordination is stimulated and your child improves his spatial awareness.
He will be able to use this spatial insight well, at primary school and in his later life.
If you let your child play with a friend, building and setting up together also improves his social skills.
Last but not least another tip from us: it is also very nice for your child to go out with the real train and experience what it is like to see the varied landscape fly by.
He will also see the train driver and the conductor at work and once at home, everything can be reenacted, what a pleasure!
So is a wooden train set educational and responsible toys for children?
We can only answer with a resounding "Yes!"
Also read: When can a child travel alone by train?
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.