Editorial Review

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is an ensemble of lovablerailroad characters that includes Cranky the Crane. Cranky is one of theadd-ons to the award-winning Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway System.Straight out of the books by W. Awdry that made Thomas famous, Crankyhas a fascinating history and a captivating personality. This cranecomes with experience, a slightly testy temperament, and two large redhandles for easy operation. Cranky's body attaches lickety-split to thecrane tower. One handle pivots Cranky around; the other raises andlowers cargo for loading and unloading cars by magnetic power. Crankythe Crane comes with one piece of cargo, also durably built of wood.--Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Not the Best Choice for Cranes
On a recent trip to Strasburg, PA (train heaven)we allowed our 3 1/2 year old son to choose a special Thomas item. He had recently become familiar with Cranky through one of our videos. We tried to gently steer him to the Sodor Crane but he was adamant (that darn character identification starts early). Our experience with the toy has been mixed. He loves picking things up with it and recreating stories. But the piece itself is very awkward for a young child to control and we find that it is always falling over, bumping into other items, etc. I think it would be a lot easier if it were attached to a piece of track, the way the water tower is. It would give additional stability that is lacking. Some people would prefer the flexibility of moving the piece wherever they like. We've also had several instances where Cranky's head has come off - rather traumatic but fixable. Even with these problems, my son still is very happy with his Cranky.

Great gift!
We bought this toy for our twin sons for Easter. They are 3 and LOVE Thomas! We were dissapointed that, when my husband took it out of the box, the head fell off. We thought about returning it, but the boys love it so much, we just can't bear to take it away from them. I admit that it is a pain to have to keep putting the head back on, but one of my 3 yr olds can do that himself (much to his joyous discovery!) so this makes it easier. My 16 month old loves it too. Now all we have to do is get the Down By The Docks set (minus Cranky) and they will be all set!

Skyler's favorite
My son recently got this piece for his 3rd birthday. It's his absolute favorite piece hands down. It can be used with any magnetic or metal cargo like the scrap cars. I bought some extra cargo from BRIO as Thomas does'nt sell thiers separately. Cranky's head sometimes comes off so my son brings it to me and it goes right back on. A very versatile piece too. Because it is not connected to the track, it can go anywhere in your layout.

Very poor design
I bought Cranky for my 2 1/2 year old son. Initially we all loved it, however I have gotten really tired of sticking Cranky's head back on. His head falls off whenever too much weight is attached to the magnet (like the weight of any of the engines). I also wish he had come with a boat to load cargo on and off of. I wouldn't recommend this toy unless it was re-designed.

For the older Thomas fan
My son got Cranky from Santa this year. He is 2 1/2, and finds Cranky a bit difficult to operate. His hand/eye co-ordination is not developed enough yet that he can really get Cranky to work properly. I think this toy would be better for an older child, perhaps 4 and up. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Fun, but not practical
My mom bought this for our thomas enthusiacs 3rd Birthday. Although this is a cute toy and he loves to play it...the legs fall off too easily and the trains do not drive aroudn the track as well as they should. He still likes to play with it, but I have to store it on his dresser to keep the legs and tiny trains from getting lost.

Thomas race on Rails Review
I got this for my grandson's 3rd birthday. He absolutely loves Thomas, as does his older brothers. All of them were enthralled with the race at first, but the toy didn't last very long. It tips over quite easily, and that's frustrating for the little ones. Also, after a few uses, the trains wouldn't race anymore. They couldn't go down the tracks without a push. Changing the battery didn't help, either. If there were replacement parts, I would buy them, but unfortunately, I can't find any, so I guess the set will go in the trash. Unfortunate for such a cute toy.

This toy is a keeper!
My son is 3 years old and is beg. to like thomas the train- I purchased this toy as a starter to see if he would take the time to play with a train set. It is very cute - however, it is on the noisy side. The legs do come off very easy and cannot be glued (they come undone) He plays with it all the time and I would recommend it to others. The cars are very small so if you have other young children in the house you may want to think about that. It was definately worth the [money] we paid for it.

A big hit at our house!
I got this for my now 4 yr old son for Christmas. He absolutely loves it! In fact, when we put it together Christmas morning, every single kid in the house gathered around it for ages, including nephews and a niece ages 4-8. We have it on a play table in our living room, so it doesn't get carried around, and we just leave it set up all of the time. That way, we don't have a problem with the legs. They do need some adjustment occasionally.
My only complaint is that the noise can get on your nerves after a while. Of course, since it's in our living room, it seems worse! :) My son can operate this toy very easily, which is a plus. Every one of his friends who comes over just gravitates right to it. The engines are small, however, so I had to make sure he knew not to carry them around so they don't get lost.
I'd recommend this for any Thomas fan over 3.

It's a mess!
I bought this for my then 4 1/2-year-old son last summer after seeing it in action at a Thomas the Tank Engine fair. It looked like a lot of fun and my son loved it. But once I got it home, it was such a disappointment! The legs do NOT stay on and are very hard to put back in their proper holes. This toy sits on the floor of my son's bedroom perpetually tipped over and my son got very frustrated with it and never plays with it. Defiinitely now worth $40! I can't wait to get rid of it. It would be so much fun if it worked well. ... Read more

Editorial Review

James the Red Engine is one of Thomas the Tank's friends featured in thefamed stories by Rev. W. Awdry from England. James comes with three cars to ride therail on the Tomica Road & Rail System: a coal car, cattle car, and passenger car. Onebattery runs this plastic steam engine replica. Young fans of the Thomas the Tank bookand TV series know just how much trouble James can get into; here they can createwhole new escapades for this storybook train. --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (3)

mom to alex
I bought this for my two year old to go with his Big Set. The battery is in the coal car and its' lid/cover keeps coming off! I have taped it on to keep my son from playing with a battery and that works for about one day. All the other trains that we have of this set have battery compartments in the bottom and you need a screwdriver to get to them. I do not like this James set. There are others that are better.

Buy Percy Instead
My 3 year old loves playing with his Tomy Thomas Train Set so we bought him this to expand his original set. The Thomas engine in the original set took a lot of abuse from my toddler and it continues to run fine. However, the battery for James is pulled behind it in the tender car. There is a wire that connects the car to the engine. This wire broke after about two weeks of play so the engine doesn't run any more. The only good news is that my son is able to hook up the cars that came with this to his Thomas train to make a longer train.

My recommendation for younger children would be to buy Percy. The battery for Percy goes inside the engine, just like Thomas.
I think James would be fine for older children who can handle it more carefully.

Great but the pamphlet that came with it was misleading!
James the Red Engine,

The small pamphlet that comes with it to show how to insert batteries is misleading and incorrect.

Using only diagrams (with no words) it shows how to lift the cover of the caboose to insert one battery. The diagram also shows how to lift the cover of the locomotive to insert a second battery. Squeeze from both sides and lift up. Tried it, it wouldn't lift up. Used a knife to force the 2 parts of the locomotive to separate but luckily stopped short of breaking it. Finally used a screw driver to unscrew 4 screws on the bottom of the locomotive ... 7 parts came out ... what a mess, but wait ... there was no place to insert a battery either! Took me half an hour to put it together again while my 3-4 kid hovering around. What a relief when I finally flicked the switch on and the train wheels started to move. My son loves it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hippo opens and closes its mouth as you move the train
I wish all the expansion cars had as much thought put into them as this set does.

The Hippo's mouth opens and closes as you move the train. The animal cage car has a sliding door. My 2 year old loves both.

Other cars to check out: The gold prospecting car which tumbles gold rocks as it moves. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I like George. I just got him for Christmas.I got Sir Handel first, then I wanted Duke and George and I got them too! Now I can play stories like "Steamroller" and "By George". In my opinion, this is one of my favorite trains. You'll like it too! ... Read more