Children And Trains Children adore trains. There is no doubt about that and there is not much doubt that most boys like trains more than most girls, but who understands why? Is it the speed, the power and the bulk of trains that hold the appeal? The days have probably passed when most boys wanted to become a train driver, but there are still loads of boys who do. On the other hand, all kids love to see toy trains whizzing about a circuit of track and this love of toy trains frequently remains with adult males, although rarely with adult females. Numerous manufacturers have attempted to take advantage of children's love of trains. Some make cheap train sets whilst others produce magnificent train sets that become classics and sell for numerous times their cost. Apart from the concrete train sets, there are also stories concerning trains and some of these achieve the cross-over into becoming real toys too. The Polar Express and Thomas the Tank Engine are recent instances of this. The Polar Express is particularly popular in America, where many homes with young children have electric Polar Express trains running about the base of the family Christmas tree. The Polar Express was first a book and then a very popular children's motion picture. Thomas the Tank Engine is more famous in the UK and Europe as a whole. Thomas started life as a children's book in 1946 but only became famous after a series of cartoons were made in 1984 for TV in the UK. He soon became world-famous, but most of the Thomas the Tank Engine kids' toys were pulled on a length of string rather than being electrified. Thomas the Tank Engine has brought in billions of dollars in comic strips, books, toys and other spin-offs such as bedding, garments, lunch boxes and wall coverings. There does not seem to be an end in sight to the popularity of Thomas and his friends among the young. Kids older than seven or eight like to connect the track into unusual configurations and regulating the speed and direction of realistic model trains. Different countries had their own train set manufacturers, a few of them going back 120 years. Hornby and then Triang Hornby was one of the first in the UK, Marx and Lionel held a equivalent place in the United States and Maerklin in Germany. Nowadays, original Hornby, Lionel and Maerklin train sets in good condition may sell for numerous thousands of dollars. Marx train sets as well, although they always were aimed at the budget end of the American market. Train sets are one of the classic gifts for children like a rocking horse, a fort or castle and a dolls pram. It would be a terrible disgrace if these old-fashioned toys died out, because unlike video games, a basic train set may get built upon until it is something
very impressive and then passed on to future generations as an heirloom for continued expansion. Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of subjects, but is presently concerned with trains and society. If you would like to know more about train sets for kids, please go over to our website for some special offers.