Thomas Train Table Fun for All Thomas Fans

As the mother of one child, a girl, whose interest in toys revolved around dolls, I didn't know what a Thomas train table was.

I was familiar with Thomas the train, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Fast forward twenty odd years and I became a grandmother of boys whose interest in toys involves toys that roll.

Around the age of eighteen months, my youngest grandson fell in love with Thomas the tank engine and his many friends that live on the Island of Sodor.

I have since learned a great deal about Thomas train toys and train table sets and it's this information that I want to share here.

There are quite a few different styles of the Thomas train table made by several different toy manufacturers. You will also notice a wide range of prices.

The "top of the line" so to speak, is the Learning Curve Thomas train table from their Thomas and Friends wooden railway line.

The Learning Curve table is made of wood and the sides are covered with colorful 3-D images of Thomas and some of his friends.

While the table can be purchased alone, it is really not very useful without the optional playboard.

Some retailers create a set of Thomas table, tracks and accessories to sell packaged together, but generally the Learning Curve tables do not include tracks, buildings or trains, but are all sold separately.

These tables are large, generally around 4 to 4-1/2 feet long and around 2 to 2-1/2 feet wide and round 16 to 18 inches in height.

If giving up that much space on a regular basis is a problem you might want to take a look at the play tables that are made to slide under the bed.

A Thomas the train trundle table offer the same amount of fun with Thomas and friends as the train tables that have legs in a way that saves space.

A Thomas the train under the bed table on casters can be easily pulled out for playtime and then pushed back under the bed to regain floor space.

All of the trundle tables I have seen have a large storage drawer to hold the trains and track when you little engineer is not running the railroad.

There are some very reasonably priced Thomas tables that include tracks, trains and accessories.

Kidcraft manufactures and sell a couple of different versions.These tables must be assembled, but putting them together is not very difficult.

The most time consuming part is actually setting up the tracks and buildings, especially if you have an anxious child waiting to "play Thomas".

One thing I must warn you about, the trains that come with these sets are not Thomas and friends, but rather they are generic trains.

When I purchased the train table for my grandson, I also purchased a few "genuine" Thomas trains along with the table.

If you are the crafty type there are also plans online for building a train table.

If you decide to purchase just the table, you will need tracks, trains and accessories.

Even if you purchase a table that includes everything, your little one will need trains. I have found ebay to be the best place to find good deals on Thomas trains and accessories.

Lots of moms sell trains and other Thomas items once their children get older and move on to playing with other toys.

In addition there are many sellers that offer new Thomas items for much less than you would find in your local toy store.