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I have a 5-year-old and we frequently assemble wooden BRIO train tracks in a variety of configurations. As he's building out track, I'm often a few steps behind

I have a 5-year-old and we frequently assemble wooden BRIO train tracks in a variety of configurations. As he's building out track, I'm often a few steps behind him, silently reworking the track configuration so it's not over-constrained. It typically ends up being a fun, if not simple problem solving challenge that I get to spend time with kid my at.

trgn 3y ago
tangential comment: What I like about brio tracks is that they don't trash up the house like plastic tracks from other sets. They just look nice, feel good to the touch. The slow speed but high torque of the trains also feel like it gives "mass" (not sure how to phrase it) to the experience, unlike a lot of remote controlled toys, which go way too fast for their size but struggle with carpets, edges, ...
- bick_nyers 3y ago
  I played with them a lot as a kid, and I distinctly remember enjoying the sound the wheels made turning against the wood, as well as the tactile sensation of moving the train across it with my hand. This makes me want to get a CNC machine and start spitting out train tracks! I already know when I retire in 30 years I'm gonna be one of those guys that has a train room.
  - dolmen 3y ago
    My retired father did that: my kids got track extensions he made himself. His wood processing tools were much simpler than a CNC machine though. However, it's quite easy to find second hand Brio tracks.
bredren 3y ago
I’m at the start of my brio journey. Haven’t picked up a set yet as we are immersed in magnatiles. Curious if anyone has milled their own brio tracks. (Maybe to allow some unusual shapes not afforded by standard types) I’ve made a single brio track compatible banana car but haven’t had a go at making any track yet.
- johncalvinyoung 3y ago
  Custom router bits do exist for the track groove profiles, which suggests that SOME folks are doing it. I've always wanted to create some custom pieces--my siblings and I growing up played with Brio far later than the expected ages, as we were all railway nerds, and frequently mis-used the degrees of freedom of track components for wildly more complicated layouts spanning rooms. Nowadays one of my nephews ended up with lots of generic track (gifts from uncle: me) and some very specialized custom switches cast out of resin by his maternal grandfather. There are multiple ways to solve the problem!
  - imp0cat 3y ago
    Lidl and Ikea wooden tracks are pretty cheap and mostly compatible (you might have to file the joints a little, otherwise they can be hard to attach and detach).
    - euroderf 3y ago
      Lidl & Ikea tracks give a feel of cheepnis. I haven't stopped to properly contemplate why it is so. Maybe some sanding of edges would help - Brio are much more pleasing to the touch.
      - imp0cat 3y ago
        Yes, Lidl and Ikea tracks have rough surfaces. Brio tracks feel more polished. Or maybe they are just made from high-quality wood.
        bredren 3y ago
        If it’s just edges, routing existing track with a round over bit is nothing. Maybe not much of a challenge though.
- sircastor 3y ago
  We’ve 3D printed a lot of special tracks. Crossovers and splits, bridges, etc. It was really fun, and my kid pretty much always incorporates all of them into whatever layout we’re working on.
mcv 3y ago
I do that too. My son and his friends love building big train circuits. I love that too, but I've got a bit more eye than them for where things are under tension, and I try to correct for it.
euroderf 3y ago
Brio tracks are nicely designed in that altho you can combine them in myriad ways (with switches etc.), in general one of the shorter lengths of straight track does properly satisfy any gap you get. That is to say, in the overall system, only a _small_ integer number of different straight track lengths are required. In comparison, TrackMaster requires many more.

trgn 3y ago

tangential comment: What I like about brio tracks is that they don't trash up the house like plastic tracks from other sets. They just look nice, feel good to the touch. The slow speed but high torque of the trains also feel like it gives "mass" (not sure how to phrase it) to the experience, unlike a lot of remote controlled toys, which go way too fast for their size but struggle with carpets, edges, ...

bick_nyers 3y ago
I played with them a lot as a kid, and I distinctly remember enjoying the sound the wheels made turning against the wood, as well as the tactile sensation of moving the train across it with my hand. This makes me want to get a CNC machine and start spitting out train tracks! I already know when I retire in 30 years I'm gonna be one of those guys that has a train room.
- dolmen 3y ago
  My retired father did that: my kids got track extensions he made himself. His wood processing tools were much simpler than a CNC machine though. However, it's quite easy to find second hand Brio tracks.

bredren 3y ago

I’m at the start of my brio journey. Haven’t picked up a set yet as we are immersed in magnatiles. Curious if anyone has milled their own brio tracks. (Maybe to allow some unusual shapes not afforded by standard types) I’ve made a single brio track compatible banana car but haven’t had a go at making any track yet.

johncalvinyoung 3y ago
Custom router bits do exist for the track groove profiles, which suggests that SOME folks are doing it. I've always wanted to create some custom pieces--my siblings and I growing up played with Brio far later than the expected ages, as we were all railway nerds, and frequently mis-used the degrees of freedom of track components for wildly more complicated layouts spanning rooms. Nowadays one of my nephews ended up with lots of generic track (gifts from uncle: me) and some very specialized custom switches cast out of resin by his maternal grandfather. There are multiple ways to solve the problem!
- imp0cat 3y ago
  Lidl and Ikea wooden tracks are pretty cheap and mostly compatible (you might have to file the joints a little, otherwise they can be hard to attach and detach).
  - euroderf 3y ago
    Lidl & Ikea tracks give a feel of cheepnis. I haven't stopped to properly contemplate why it is so. Maybe some sanding of edges would help - Brio are much more pleasing to the touch.
    - imp0cat 3y ago
      Yes, Lidl and Ikea tracks have rough surfaces. Brio tracks feel more polished. Or maybe they are just made from high-quality wood.
      - bredren 3y ago
        If it’s just edges, routing existing track with a round over bit is nothing. Maybe not much of a challenge though.
sircastor 3y ago
We’ve 3D printed a lot of special tracks. Crossovers and splits, bridges, etc. It was really fun, and my kid pretty much always incorporates all of them into whatever layout we’re working on.

mcv 3y ago

I do that too. My son and his friends love building big train circuits. I love that too, but I've got a bit more eye than them for where things are under tension, and I try to correct for it.

euroderf 3y ago

Brio tracks are nicely designed in that altho you can combine them in myriad ways (with switches etc.), in general one of the shorter lengths of straight track does properly satisfy any gap you get. That is to say, in the overall system, only a _small_ integer number of different straight track lengths are required. In comparison, TrackMaster requires many more.