For the past couple of months

William has played trains more than ever

He is absolutely obsessed with electric engines

TrackMaster trains

For years now he has has been train mad

Loving Brio and Big Jigs

Now TrackMaster too

He loves everything about engines

And knows EVERYTHING there is to know about Thomas

He was so excited when he received the latest Thomas movie on DVD

And beside himself to discover that he had been asked to test

The race track from The Railway Show

The Great Race

The TrackMaster track is enormous

At over 6 feet long

It is easy to set up

William, age 6, did most of it himself

The mechanisms are simple but effective

And with rigorous daily use still work every time

This is a well-loved constantly used toy in our house

And it is wearing well

Withstanding a bashing from Bea too!

Once set up the track is sturdy

But light enough to be moved around

The Great Race is very easy to use

The set comes with two engines

New streamlined Thomas

And his best friend, Percy

Both engines require 2 x AAA batteries

Not included with the pack

As this is a TrackMaster track

Not only can you link up with other Trackmaster track pieces

You can also use any other Trackmaster engines

William spends hours choosing engines

Lining them up

Ready to race

To begin

Two engines are selected

And placed on the starting track

A special switch allows both engines

To start the race at the same time

The engines race around the track

Setting off switches and changing points

As they go

The race is fast and exciting to watch

It must be

William, and often Esther

Will watch the engines racing over and over again

William likes to set up Fastest Engine tournaments

And World’s Strongest Engine competitions

This special track

Released to celebrate the launch of the new movie DVD

The Great Race

Has provided us with hours of entertainment

And fun

Through train play

William develops his language skills

His maths

He refines lines of scientific enquiry

He is testing, comparing, adapting and improving all the time

Which engine is the fastest?

How can I make this engine faster or slower?

How many trucks can this engine pull?

Thomas and Friends have taught William a lot

The new movie has lessons of it’s own

About friendship

Teamwork

And celebrating being different

It teaches children that everyone is special

In their own way

It teaches us all to be the best us we can be

You can read more of our thoughts on the film here

We love the songs in the film

And the DVD has a great sing-a-long section

Which is lots of fun on a rainy day

As a break from races and train play

The Great Race DVD

Also comes with 12 Top Trumps Cards

William has become very attached to these indeed

Playing with anyone who will play him

And when no one will he just plays on his own

Or races the cards

Esther and William have loved the cards so much

And got so much value from them

That Daddy made them each their own special card

Which. of course, they adore!

William is now using the cards to help him write his Christmas list!

Electric engines please!

If like me you have a train mad tot

I would definitely recommend this race set from TrackMaster

And have some fun with the DVD too

You can have hours of fun with these two Thomas things

And all just in time to make their way

Into Santa’s sack

For delivery on Christmas Eve!

The TrackMaster set costs around £40

And is well worth the money in my humble opinion

Will you, won’t you take me to the railway show?

I was sent the race set and the DVD for the purpose of this review