LEGO DUPLO Town Steam Train Set - Battery Powered Remote Control Train Toys for Toddlers - Learning Toy for Boys, Girls, and Kids 2-5 - Gifts for Birthdays & Holidays - 10874

Summary:This train is awesome. Filled with surprises right and left. Along side of the cargo train set 10875 it’s the most interactive DUPLO set we own and also an astounding price for what you get, well worth the cost. It is great for all ages. Design is intuitive.. Even my one year old can play with it correctly and the layout possibilities will be fun for years to come, probably past Duplos recommend age limit. Bluetooth connection to app is great, very easy to set up. App is totally unnecessary to enjoy this set but it does add some extra features. This set is Compatible with all older sets although the new track is a different color, light grey (pictured). Would recommend getting an expansion pack (10882 with switch tracks or 10872 bridge) as it doesn’t really come with enough track to fully take advantage of all the train can do. Highly recommend this train for anyone who loves to build or anyone who loves trains.Note:If you are trying to decide, I recommend getting this set over the cargo set 10875 which we also own. If you already have some track and a good stock of duplos. at full price that set is almost twice the price of this one (which usually runs around $60) and the only difference that I can see is that that set comes with a handful of extra track, an extra coach, and a crane and a boat. I might even recommend grabbing this set and the two expansion packs (10882 with switch tracks or 10872 bridge) which will run you about $100 and give you almost everything set 10875 has to offer plus the bridge (my favorite piece!) for less.Full review:This and the cargo set 10875 are my favorites of all the Duple sets we’ve purchased as of yet and at this price point you just can’t beat it.DUPLO has been building electric trains for a little while now. This set was made to replace Set 10507 made in 2013.. which was made to replace set 5608 made back in 2008. We’ve been in the Duplo electric train scene for about a year now with set 10507 and it never disappoints, but this new offering has some serious advantages over it’s predecessor and if you already have any of the old Duplo train sets, at this price point the new set is still worth it. We got this for my 4 year old as a birthday gift and even though we already have multiple sets it was a huge hit. He immediately wanted to open the box and dive in. The first time we got it all out he played with it for a while (without using the optional app at all) and I’m sure he’ll enjoy this set for years to come.It is a bit different than the older sets, in mostly good ways though.The first major difference obviously is the engine. Its easier to maneuver, considering you just push it to go which ever way you want it to and then stop it when you’re finished. The old train was a bit difficult for a 3 year old as you had to catch it to stop it and push the button while it was still trying to move. The push to move feature is so easy even my one year old enjoys playing with it with ease. The only disadvantage to this design that I have figured out as of yet is that if it’s going up the bridge part 10872 (not included in this package) and it’s carrying a lot of coaches (We have one of this set and another 3 from older sets) then it sometimes stops because of the weight. Although this is obviously an interruption to the continuous play, that’s ok because that drawback comes with some great advantages too. For example.. if your train runs off the tracks and into the wall, it will stop. Or if your 1 year old stops it on the tracks and holds it, it will stop. It prevents the train from continuing to try to move when it is being forced to stop. I feel like this is probably good for the lifespan of the product.This is also good for battery span because when the train isn’t moving anymore, neither are the wheels. In fact, the wheels stop as soon as you lift it off the track. So obviously, even though this train does do more, I’m going to imagine that the batteries will last longer because I think the design is more efficient. The other train goes over the bridge with all the coaches but will also keep running until the auto shut off feature tell it too.Another nice feature of the engine is, as far as I can tell, there is no auto shut off feature. If it’s on the tracks and you tell it to go, it will keep going until you stop it, it comes off the tracks, or one of the action blocks tell it to do so.Both engines run off the tracks too but obviously if something gets in the way of the newer engine it will stop trying to move where as the older engine persists.The new engine doesn’t make noise automatically. The older engines will making chuffing noises and blow it’s whistle at random throughout the duration of it’s trip which I think is nice, but probably also uses more battery power. The new engine is silent until an action block has told it toot it’s horn or complete any of the other actions, they all call for some kind of sound.The new engine and coaches all have rounded rounded edges and this is to accept the pieces that go on top that also have equally rounded edges. Not to fret, though, as you can still use the new pieces on the older engines and coaches and vicaversa. To use the new sections on the old coaches all you have to do is add a couple duplo blocks to prop the new rounded edge pieces up to sit on top of the square edged coaches. It ends up being a pretty perfect fit (pictures included). As with all things lego and duplo, with a little bit of editing you can make almost any thing work.This train and it’s coaches are totally compatible with the older sets. They do look a little different, I will have pictures.. but they still interconnect with each other perfectly.As far as the track goes. The track on the newer and older sets is exactly the same.. other than the color (as pictured). For some reason they decided to go with a lighter grey on the newer sets. Although I don’t know why they would feel the need to change it.. I don’t think kids will care much.. although my son was somewhat resistant to mixing the different colored pieces together at first until we explained to him they all worked just the same.I like that this set came with a section of track to build a station on as we had nothing like this prior. This is nice because not only could you use this as a station, but you could obviously build whatever you wanted to on top of the baseplate. Train station, fill up station, motel, or add on with more base plates to create a little city. Sky’s the limit.I also love that the new engine is flat on top.. This provides for some seriously fun possibilities. Not only can you put all of the old engine pieces on the new engine and some (there’s more room on top).. but the rounded edges allow you to put other duplo vehicle offerings on top. So now we can have a tow truck pulling coaches.. or Mac from our Cars set (pictured). We can even use Thomas from our mega blocks set (also pictured). None of those will fit under the bridge, however (not included in this set).. but If we wanted to we could just have a coach running around the track by putting the coach top on the engine bottom (basically would be a trolley then), or whatever else you could imagine. I really like the possibilities a flat engine provides.Bluetooth.. It’s not necessary at all as you can still play with the train in full without it (and we did the first time we played with it) but it does add an extra layer of fun onto the toy. It’s also very easy to set up. I’m confident anyone with little to no computer skill can do it. You don’t even have to leave the app. It tells you to turn on the engine and the app starts connecting as long as you are there in the set up process. Some of the things you can do with the application: change led light color, full the train with coal, control quickly whether the train goes forward or reverse (just flip a lever back and forth), toot the horn on command, and play games with your train. The connection is solid and even though it has dropped a couple times it reconnects pretty quickly. My son loved watching his train interact in real life along side of what he was doing in the game. There are also instructional in there on how to put some of the train set pieces together. This is a really neat addition to the already very fun toy and again at this price point, considering the app is free, the value is unbeatable.The action blocks.. I love them. They are so easy to use my 1 year old can use them, but they are intuitive and interactive and turn this Duplo train from a five minute activity to an hour long activity for a 4 year old easily. Before we used to build the train and just watch.. and then that was it. Now you can build the train, watch, lay some action blocks, watch, change them, watch.. and so on. They all work perfectly and the train never skips over them without calling on the action. Sometimes the train gets pretty far into the block before performing but that’s fine. Our set came with one of each blocks accept for two of the noise blocks for some reason. The action blocks do fit on the new track and the old track just the same so no worries there. As of yet I don’t think you can buy more action blocks although I wish you could because as of right now you can only get them with one of two of the new Duplo train sets. It would be nice if they sold a set of them you can use to create more fun scenarios on the track (talking to you Duplo! :) You can still use the older trains on the newer set, even with the action blocks in place as the set into the tracks quite a bit.. but obviously the older trains won’t call any of the actions. The way it interprets the action blocks is using some kind of sensor on the bottom of the train. The sensor is neat, it as a small set of multicolored lights which you can see on the track pieces as it drives past. It looks kind of neat.Durability.. Extremely durable. Our train has already fallen off the table, maybe even multiple times and still works as new, and no cracks as far as I can see. It has also been a little beat up by our one year old trying to learn how to play with it. As with all things Duplo I think this thing is probably built to withstand some level of abuse as I’m sure Duplo is a good company and knows how kids can be sometimes, especially the younger ones. I have no concerns about this product being broken.Battery power.. we have been using this for only a couple of days but I imagine the batteries will last a long time. We hardly ever change the batteries on the older engine and I’m fairly confident this newer engine is even more efficient.The train itself with it’s new LED light on the bottom front looks very modern which is something fun as the older trains didn’t look as attractive in my opinion.One drawback.. if I could think of any at all, would be that the tracks fit together pretty loosely. This has almost no negative effect on the train at all.. unless you are building on an uneven surface, in which case the tracks won’t stay together. Something like a textured rug or maybe textured tile too although I don’t have experience with the latter. We have a textured rug in our playroom which makes track building pretty much not possible.. unless you remedy the issue. Luckily we are talking about Duplo here.. and with most things Duplo and lego, you can connect bricks to them. You can join the track pieces together using bricks on the bottom (pictured) if you want or need to (not necessary for flat surfaces). This would not only remedy a non flat source but could also help a young child from easily pulling apart the track (although that’s not always the case :)Over all this is really a great set. Pretty much 100 percent compatible with the older sets and at this price range I think can really compliment an older set (my son rather enjoyed watching the new train and older train race each other on the tracks). In fact it will even connect to and carry the cheaper non electric train coaches (pictured).. although they don't go over the switch track pieces very well (not included in this set). This set will provide hours of entertainment for both you and your children probably up into past Duplos recommended age range as setting up the track and trying different scenarios with the action blocks is even fun for me let alone children. If you are on the fence for any reason, just go for it. If it’s because you already have an older set, this one is compatible and complements the older sets nicely. If it’s because you think your children are too young or too old, this set is very durable and I think interactive fun for all ages. If you are going to buy this set I really recommend getting an expansion pack.. either the bridge 10872 or the switch tracks set 10822.. or both because this set comes with a very limited set of track.. honestly not enough pieces or variety to really take advantage of the action blocks.

The boys love it! Keeps them off screens, and gives their brains some building time with high quality products that were around when we were kids, so we still know how to play with them too!

My grandson loves this set. He's is happy.

Nice train set for little boy, great to put together and easy.

Search stores, products, and couponsAnother quality Lego Product. We purchased extra tracks for this set. Love the light and sound features.

Hardy and engaging with 2.5 year old

This was the best gift we’ve ever given!! My 3 year old nephew was obsessed! He loved the action pieces that made the train respond. Such a great setup and sensory item for kids! It can also connect to other Duplo train track sets!

Wait til they get a little older than 2 before buying this one! Our 2 year old was picking up pieces of the track and walking away as the train was traveling. LOL! Also the little items like the shovel were finding their way into his mouth A LOT! I love the train, but we are packing it up until he gets a little older.