There are two types of people in the world I’ve decided. Those who take pleasure in train sets, and everyone else. The day my Jouef Marchandises Express train kit arrived, I was literally in the process of walking out the door. I was gutted to be heading off anywhere without it. In the time between receiving it and opening the box, I'd already had quite a lot of attention over it. Several friends were offering to help set it up, visitors had seen it before they even walked through my door and I myself was building a little fantasy of having a train set running through the flat.

Then I opened the box, put together all the little tracks, put the train onto it and.... it didn’t work :(
Gutted I did a call out on Facebook and the next night one of my geek friends was over to sort it out. We tried everything, from adjusting the tracks, to checking the wiring and sending prayers up to God. Finally my friend figured it out! The wheels were too tight for the train to move! We loosened then up with our fingers and got it going on the track! I was so excited I posted a small video of my new train on Facebook.

Train sets have been around since the 19th century, with electric trains first appearing in 1897. In the 1990’s Thomas the Tank Engine arrived on the scene, thus ensuring there would be a whole lot more people growing up with a train fascination. Oddly enough British train sets have a different track size from their European and American counterparts, with the British tracks being OO and the EU and US being HO.

My train set came with 10 separate tracks, a British Diesel Shunter (used for assembling trains) and 3 wagons. The controls are fairly basic - You plug them into the track, then you use a large round control for speed and a switch for the train to go forward and backwards. I also got a miniature shunting tractor (Breuer Traktor), which is just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen! A tiny green motor with flashing lights, which can pull your engines around the track. Once you have your Express kit you can then add to it with points, signals, trees and even a proper locomotive!

My only complaint is that they are fragile. My friend accidently tripped over it one day and the track hasn’t worked properly since. I’m currently in the process of deciding which I need more, friends or a train set. The world is definitely a better place with trains in it.

RRP: £89.99 and available from www.ontracks.co.uk