Race on the Rails from Thomas the Tank Engine

Review, Where to buy and prices

How it works
The Race on the Rails toy is a plastic game with a large, continuous, curvy track. The four engines, Mavis, Thomas, Percy, and James, can be placed at the starting line, which will hold them in place until the child puts the flag down. They all zoom to a rubber ramp which has notches on it to lift each train at different intervals. When the trains reach the top they zoom down the track and stop back at the starting line if the flag has been put back up, or they continue going around and around if it hasn't. A different train usually wins each time, regardless of which track they are on. The trains are small, about an inch and a quarter long, a half inch wide, and an inch high. They have rollers instead of wheels on the bottom.

Cons
It's noisy and it has legs on the bottom that need to be put on in a certain order, and which fall off easily.

My Recommendation
I like this toy. My son is a huge Thomas fan and really wanted it every time he saw it at the toy store, but I balked every time because of the price and the fact that it's one toy and it can't grow or evolve (like sets or track). I finally got it for him when he was about 2 1/2. He loved it and played with it for an hour straight by himself. (I pay the neighbor girl $5 an hour to come over and play with him sometimes, so I can see I'm getting my money's worth already). When his father came home they played with it for another hour together. In a few days, when his interest seemed to be lagging I packed it up in his closet and now I bring it out whenever I need 10 minutes to finish dinner or send one more email.

Joe still enjoys it, although the closer he gets to three, the less it seems to hold his interest. However, Joe received two very similar toys to this for Christmas just before he turned two. He got the Pirate Race (just like the penguin race you see on the Baby Einstein videos) and the jumping dolphins toy from baby einsteins videos. He played with those things for hours and days and months (he still gets them out sometimes). So, I think if he had not already spent so much time playing with similar toys he would have been enthralled with this set a little longer.

FYI, the trains have been in the bath with Joe several times and have suffered little damage - just a little sticker peeling, so they seem awfully durable.