Review of BIGJIGS Rail Train Sets

We are train FANATICS at our house.  The younger boys love trains; in fact, we spent much of our last family vacation touring old train museums and allowing the kids to learn all they could about the amazing transportation giants!

We have a few train sets at our house, including a few wooden ones.  The problem is that there are hardly enough of the "good pieces" to go around; my two younger kids fight over the curvy tracks and the engines.  With our recent review of the BIGJIGS Rail Freight Train Set, however, there were so many amazingly fun components, they had nothing to complain about.

(Almost) all the pieces in the box

The perks of this set are many: durable wood construction, different levels of track to play on, adorable accessories, etc.  The full count of 130-pieces feels like a thousand when cleaning them up, so it's a good thing the set comes in a heavy-duty storage box with a rope handle to store it easily under a bed!  (Note:  The box and pieces together are super heavy.  I can barely move it, much less ask my kids to do anything with it.  We have accepted that, since this is a toy that they play with at least every other day, it will have to reside in the living room.  It's a nice, flat box, however, so it goes well behind the couch or under the toy cabinet.)

There aren't any negatives to report, except for the fact that it's a bit difficult for anyone to slide the top of the storage box back on completely.  Unless you lay the toys just right in the box (like a perfectly assembled puzzle), there is at least one or two big pieces that stick up too far to get the lid on.  We've resolved this by leaving the main train station out -- it's that big.  Everything else can be put away easily by even our youngest child.

Even when watching TV, someone is holding the crane.

With fun magnet action to keep the trains together when you want them to be together, but easy to pull apart for switching things up, this is a delightfully simple toy that encourages open-ended play and hours (I do mean HOURS) of construction and imaginative fun.  It also integrates easily with most brands of wooden train sets, so if you want to make your set even grander, add in the pieces from those sets, too!


(Some very basic assembly is required, but my 8-year-old did most of it with his low-powered cordless drill.)

Wooden trains are kind of expensive these days, but the value is superb.  If you own a daycare, have a large family, or just want to spring for the gift that will last YEARS, the Freight Train Set is a great idea.  Otherwise, the smaller sets (priced at under $17) are perfect for beginning train enthusiasts!

Get more info at the BIGJIGS website!


*Train samples were received to review.  Opinions are 100% our own.