Train Sets for Kids

Here, you will find train sets for kids offered by all the top suppliers of train sets for kids and plenty of information to help you decide which locomotive or train track layout is right for you. Or maybe you are just looking for railway station accessories like signal lights, a porter's trolley or even a green flag and a whistle!

Train Sets For Kids

Train sets for kids were popular in the mid 1900's, but the tradition of buying train sets for kids started in about 1920. In those days people made their own railway stations and railway accessories like station boxes, signal boxes, signals and platform.

Hornby patented its first train sets for kids with train track in 1920. Although they were only clockwork toys, they were far more exciting than the previous wooden trains. By 1925 Hornby had his first electric train sets for kids on the market but they were quite unsafe being powered by 100-250 volts.

In 1929, he brought out train sets for kids that would run on a 6 volts transformer which were practically harmless.

That was the era when fathers caught the model railway bug as well because they 'had' to make sure the electricity was safe. Fathers were using the train sets for kids for themselves. Our toy railway set was a very solid, rather heavy 'Flying Scotsman', I think, made by Hornby.

The carriages were well-build and my four brothers, my father and I loved to set up the train track, the railway station, bridges, fly-overs, the station guard, the signal box and run the locomotives on it. We used to man the cross overs and stop lights just like the real thing.

We did not have room to leave the layout set up, but putting all the track together and weaving it around the furniture was as much fun as playing with it. We did not use a train table because we needed two crates to house all the parts, tracks, signals, workers, passengers (and a dog), a transformer and three locomotives. Hornby said they made train sets for kids, but it was more locomotives for adults.

You don't see train sets for kids so often any more, although Thomas the Tank Engine and and Christmas train sets are very popular.

American Flyer Train Sets

American Flyer train sets were manufactured in Wide Scale, which is comparable to Lionel's Standard Gauge locomotives, O Gauge before World War II and in S gauge which is the most widespread gauge train track for American Flyer train sets. American Flyer train sets have always ranked highly in the listings of the top 10 train sets.

Although American Flyer train sets are best remembered as S gauge locomotives of the 1950's (made as a division of the A. C. Gilbert Company), American Flyer was initially an independent company the origins of which go back almost half a century earlier.

Chicago, Illinois-based toy maker William Frederick Hafner developed a clockwork motor for toy cars in 1901 while working for a company called Toy Auto Company. According to William Hafner's son, John, he had developed a clockwork model locomotive running on O gauge track by 1905.

Marx Trains

The locomotives of the 1930's were a blend of steam locomotives and streamliners. Marx produced its own versions of the popular trains of the day. These were stamped steel and tin lithographed toys all the way.

The cars they pulled were bright, attractive toys. There were boxcars, stock cars, gondolas and cabeese. Marx produced operating searchlight and crane cars. For the line side were operating crossing lights and signals, plus tin litho railway stations, track, station boxes, guards, stop lights, switch boxes and other model railway station accessories.

Marx trains offered the customer model railway sets at affordable prices. Marx trains were the budget model railways of the day and one could afford an entire Marx trains toy railway plus railway station for the cost of just one Lionel locomotive.

Christmas Train Sets

At one time, wooden trains with no track layout were the only Christmas train sets available. Children dreamed of receiving new Christmas train sets or additions to their existing train sets. Giving Christmas train sets died out in the Seventies with the advent of other electric toys.

Then computers kept Christmas train sets off the top five gift list, but model railway stations and locomotives are making a come-back and Christmas train sets and railway accessories will soon be in the listings of the top 10 train sets again soon. All children like Christmas train sets and most adults do too.

Polar Express Train Sets

Polar Express train sets come from the book "The Polar Express", which begins on Christmas Eve with a boy in bed hoping to hear Santa's sleigh bells. Suddenly, he hears rumbling on the street as a magical locomotive called The Polar Express stops at his house.

The boy ventures outside and is invited on board by the train conductor and the station master waves the green flag for the Polar Express train to rumble on.

Nowadays, many children hope that their Christmas stocking includes one of the many Polar Express train sets. There are many different styles of Polar Express train sets.

Train sets for kids have come a long way since the original wooden locomotives with no rail track. no railway station, no platform and no other railway accessories either.