This was the big present for my sons 3rd birthday. He really loves trains and already had talking Action Chugger, which he had bought with his own money after Christmas, and talking Dunbar, and often plays with both. This set is currently selling for £59.99, but I am certain I paid much less. I think it was on special when I bought it, just after Xmas.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
Talking Wilson
Cargo car
A small roundhouse which sleeps 3 trains and Speaks in Vee's voice.
A crane to load cargo.
A small arch with a drop down barrier.
39 pieces of track.
6 pieces of cargo
Plastic Vee (which always falls down).
Supports barriers and a couple of base parts.

WHAT IS NOT IN THE BOX:
If you look at Amazon's photo, a fuel station is still clearly displayed as part of this set. This is no longer listed on their list of contents though. One of the main reasons I bought this set was the fuel pump - which is no longer included. A couple of other bits were missing as well. I phoned the company, who were happy enough to send the missing support bases, but at first informed me they had stopped including the fuel pump with this set, but planned to reintroduce it soon. She suggested I wait a few months and buy a new set ..... or I could just buy the pump separately for around £12. I declined, and stated that I would rather take this up with trading standards for false advertisement, and they decided to just send me the part. The parts arrived about 2 weeks later. If you choose to buy this set, you may or may not get the fuel pumps.

A bridge and tunnel are listed on Amazon's site, but these were not included in my set, although I did buy them seperately, packaged with Brewster. I am not certain but believe this may have been added after my purchase, and perhaps the set now includes these instead of the fuel pumps.

Also this set really does work better with more than one engine. I bought Brewster, Koko, and one other engine to go with this, plus we already had two. I would imagine most children would want at least Brewster and Koko though, as they are the main characters in the series.

SETUP:
Could be summed up in one word "Nightmare". The track bits are very fiddly, and impossible for either my 3 year old or his 6 year old brother to assemble. I have trouble with my hands and found assembly extremely painful. My husband was helping as well. Between teh two of us, this took us well over an hour the first time. Don't expect to set up and walk away though. It comes undone quite easily, so frequent repairs are required. I would also advise that this is very large - too large for a table, and it takes up a lot of floor space.

PLAY:
Once set up though, both children do enjoy this. The engines must be pushed along the track, but they will race down the ramp and go a fair distance if pushed to the top. The boys both enjoy this. They also really like the crane and loading cargo, although it is difficult for the little one. The youngest has more fun putting the trains into the roundhouse. I bought a proper bridge and tunnel separately as well which they love, and the fuel pumps are ever popular as my sons both have a thing for filling up vehicles with "car food" or in this case "train food". They enjoy all the different sound effects which really are quite varied. The ad states this is capable of 300 phrases, but no I am afraid I am not going to count them.

When I set this up I can be guaranteed the children will play with as long as I will keep putting it back together. They do like this toy, and I can't rate it down too much, but I wish I could just set it up and let them play on their own.

BATTERIES REQUIRED:
A whopping 11 batteries will be required to run this if you do not get the fuel pumps. The pumps add another 3 and each additional engine or accessory will add more. Batteries were supplied with my set, but they do not last long. You must remember to turn off each piece when not in use. The fuel pumps went through 3 Duracell's after only one use because we forgot to switch them off.

OVERALL:
I was not at all impressed by this company. I do feel if the contents of a set are to be changed, this should be made clear to buyers. I have to admit, at times I really regret buying this. It takes up so much room, and requires so much set up for a limited amount of playtime. The cost of batteries also makes this an expensive item to use. Our old wooden set still gets much more use than this.

Still- it is Chuggington, who for those of you without very young children, is immensely popular at the moment. The engines are well detailed and their voices realistic. They really do recognise each different engine or play area, and the dialogue changes appropriately as they greet each other by name, or comment on specific activities. As much as I hate this toy - my sons do enjoy it so I am giving this 3 stars.

DO I RECOMMEND IT?
If your child is a huge Chuggington fan, as my youngest is, then yes, it might still be worth all the headaches. I would suggest you shop around for awhile and wait for a sale at least, because I do think £59.99 is just way too much for this. But I would also advise that the die cast Chugginton sets are very similar, without batteries, much sturdier, and a fraction of the price. The only advantage to this set is that the engines talk to each other.