This is such a good starter set. My grandson is just 4 and his dad built a base for the layout that will be big enough to extend as he gets more proficient. The information on the box explains what other kits you can get to develop the layout. The basic one is still interesting, and the controls easy to operate even for a 4 year old. Already his grandad has bought a station, and his dad has created a tunnel to add interest. This is the start to a brilliant father and son hobby!Hornby R9271 00 Gauge Thomas & Friends Passenger Train Set
Rating: 5 / 5

I recently bought this for my 3year old grandaughter as she is thomas mad it helps her to bring the story books to liffe an excellent set
Rating: 5 / 5

My son was very happy to receive the Christmas present for he had been asking for one for the last 6 months, but sorry to say only when it worked fully. I only make this comment because the transforma / power reducer kept cutting out every 3/4 minutes and we had to wait about 5 + minutes before the train set could be used again which became very frustrating for him. I do feel however the train set is still very good value and a good starter for those interested in trains and I will be purchasing another one for my son as a replacement.
Rating: 3 / 5

The only thing I did not like about this Toy is that its not easy to join the tracks together and needs some practice. Otherwise brilliant for its price. Kids will love it.
Rating: 4 / 5

My son is fanatical about trains and he is now old enough for a Hornby. He was lucky enough to get 3 sets in one year (birthday and Xmas) as presents from family, The Devon Flyer, Eurostar and Thomas sets.

They all have most of the same plus points and minus points.

Plus –

They are great fun for any train loving child (or adult)

They can be converted to digital (at extra cost) which makes it able to run multiple trains on the same line

They can be extended and added to, to create a toy that should last years

Minus-

These will not last years, barely hours. They are made in China (not always bad), however in this case they are of very inferior quality. The engine is just a 12v DC motor in a train shell – how hard can that be?

The Devon Flyer lasted 1 hour before the motor burned out

The combinations of transformer and control box (just a variable resistor in a plastic box) which provide the power are very unreliable on sets and work intermittently. I will look to replace these with a unit I will build myself from Maplin components. How do you explain to a child that this is broken on Christmas morning, 1 hour into playing with it?

Also several couplings broke on all of the sets.

Overall, very disappointing that such a profitable company should resort to such cost-cutting at the expense of quality. I will buy other brand 00 Gauge trains from now on for my kids. Hornby are expensive and very poor quality.
Rating: 1 / 5