"It's just for kids"

Nitrogen Studios did a stupendous job with the 4 chuffs per wheel rotation (e.g., four puffs of steam out of the funnel per one full revolution [turn] of an engine's wheels); Arc only does this on occasion, and I can name the few times I have seen it in specials and episodes:

Specials:

The Adventure Begins
- Gordon tricks Thomas
- Runaway James

When Gordon tricks Thomas, Gordon is in possession of power. Thomas is just lucky not to have collapsed by the time Gordon hits 110 MPH.
In the other mention scene, James is being pushed. He's not moving the cars, it's vice versa.

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I would love a "real" set than the horrible types like the new shipwreck rails set...what happened to making stations and turntables?? Bridges and tunnels?? I would buy those up in a heart beat! My son takes the trackmaster trains and puts them on his wooden tracks (he doesn't care if they get stuck he just keeps them going) he says he likes that sodor better than the grey sodor (such an imagination). I actually just took apart a piece of the set that comes with Skiff because the button to release the train does not work properly and frustrates him to no end. So I took it out, and because the way they are made you can't connect anything to it and have them run continuously. It drives me nuts!!! If it is "just for kids" why oh why is it so irritating?
That being said they still get played with daily I just wish we could get some decent accessories.

The quality has dropped and the quantity has been raised.

Most people probably know my views, blue track all the way, even for kids as it stimulates the imagination rather than providing a puzzle which once completed is boring after a few circuits. The other way to look at it is that blue tracks can potentially lead to a 'real' railway (aka Hornby/Bachman etc...) later in life because if the kid remembers it and enjoyed it rather than remembers frustration and boredom they are likely to carry on playing with trains

As it happens I have got a few hornby/bachman Thomas loco's now as well (I already have a large range of 'normal' OO/HO gauge trains )

Have fun

What...these toys are for kids?...I think not!
These toys are for adults to buy to play with them with their kids.

+1 for me and my son