Best train sets

Thomas Trackmaster
This is a big range; there are several railway tracks available and lots of motorized Tomas and Friends trains to choose from. There are even glow-in-the-dark trains and light up trains. 
We like this Blue Mountain track, which is currently £29.99 @ Smyths. Featuring over 40 coloured track pieces, the Blue Mountain Builder Bucket lets children expand their motorized railway by building a variety of individual layouts, or connecting to other TrackMaster toy train sets. This massive collection includes curved and straight track pieces, buffers, directional switches, and risers, so kids can incorporate height and elevation. The bucket acts as storage for track pieces, and the lid can be built into the layouts as a 6-way crossing for TrackMaster motorized toy trains. 





John Lewis 
John Lewis make a range of railway sets and there is an extensive number of accessories that you can purchase separately, such as additional stations, sidings, crossings and bridges.  The 120 Piece Train Set costs £60 and includes a double engine shed, 2 engines and 5 trucks, a train platform with buildings, a swing bridge and a level crossing, as well as assorted friendly animals. It's compatible with all leading wooden brands.

BRIO
The name Brio has come to be synonymous with wooden railways. You can't go wrong with a BRIO set; they're good quality and produce a wide range of interesting sets. This one is the Travel Switching Set (retails for £80) where children can switch from the lower level circuit to the higher level where they will find a station with a passenger lift to take them back to the lower level. Comes complete with one battery powered train, another push along with different livery and passengers with poseable positions.


Bigjigs
Bigjigs Rail and Brio track pieces fit perfectly, and one brand is virtually indistinguishable from the other.  Curves from both have track grooves on both sides  so that the pieces can be reversed and curve left or right, whilst straights have grooves on one side only. Most Bigjigs Rail items are made with a very high proportion of wood. Generally only the wheels are plastic, and detail is added through painting and printing.  The Bigjigs Rail range goes as far as to include models of real old steam engines in their Heritage Collection, such as Mallard and Bluebell and other engines seen at railway museums or working on preserved lines in the UK. 
We like their imaginative choice of tracks, such as the Medieval train set (retails for £42). The 46-piece set includes track and castle with rising and falling track, characters including: king, queen, wizard, jester, dragon and knights, train and carriages, archery target, water well and trees. An extensive choice of accessories is available to buy separately.

Hornby Junior
Quite a delicate kit, but still high quality. The Junior kit is a great way to start a model railway hobby. It includes a 3-carriage express train with lights, a tunnel, station, 8 straight track pieces, 16 curved track pieces, 2 signals, 4 power poles and 2 trees.

Lego

One of the pricier options and aimed at slightly older children, the Lego City High-Speed Passenger Train Set (£112.95 from Amazon) includes a motorised locomotive with eight-channel, seven-speed infrared remote control, removable roofs on locomotive cars. The station features a small platform with two seats, map of train services, warning sign, lights and a crossing. The set also comes with three minifigures: train driver, traveller and cyclist, a full circular track with 16 curved rail tracks and four straight rail tracks. LEGO City toys are compatible with all LEGO construction sets for creative building.