We have and love this train set from Target: http://www.target.com/Maxim-145-pc-Train-Set/dp/B000BY3TF8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=wooden%20train%20set&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-2&qid=1281364124&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Maxim%20145-pc%20Train%20Set&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0

The $120 price tag seems steep but considering that you're getting 145 pieces I think it's entirely reasonable especailly considering the prices of other sets of the same size.

They also have this one: http://www.target.com/50107-Maxim-50-pc-Train-Set/dp/B000BY28MS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=train%20set&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-4&qid=1281364256&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=50107%20Maxim%2050-pc%20Train%20Set&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0 which is only 50 pieces and comes at a much more reasonable price of $30.

We love our train set and my daughter spends countless hours pretending. And I picked up a used Melissa & Doug train table off of CraigsList for $25!

Brio lasts forever. My Mom saved my brother's set from 25 years ago and it's still in perfect condition. She keeps it at her house for when kids come to visit. When my son is old enough, he'll get to play with the set, too!

Brio is great! Imaginarium is very good. SKIP IKEA. The track does not integrate w/ the other track systems, or didn't when I bought about 3 years ago. The stems of the male ends are too short (sorry, couldn't think of another way to write that) and don't fit into other brands, and the tunnels are too small for most non-IKEA trains to go under.

Another vote for Brio! It lasts forever! My parents still have the set they bought for my brother and I about 25 years ago.

we have a ton of brio and love them. very very durable and cute too. we got a ton of them at tjmaxx a couple of years ago.

plan toys also makes some really cute rail sets too. we have on of these too but the track don't always fit correctly with the brio pieces.
it's great quality from a green company though.
http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Toys-0620700-PlanToys-Road/dp/B001B9L61Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1281367048&sr=8-1

Brio is nothing like what it used to me. It is now made in China and doesn't last like it used too.

We are big fans of the Plan Toys train line. Really well made and lots of fun pieces and accessories. Green manufacturing.

Also, we like Maple Landmark a lot too. Excellent quality and even if you don't buy there sets, the bridges are awesome.

I wanted to add that Maple Landmark is made in the US.

Check Craigslist for deals. You can find great bargains on tracks, trains and even train tables.

I have this one _http://www.amazon.com/Sevi-81974-Village-Train-Set/dp/B000WQMXFW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1281375519&sr=8-1

I recommend NOT getting too many cars for a small boy; you can always add more later. When we had too many cars available my son would make giant trains that covered the whole track and then get frustrated when they would come apart under their own weight if he tried to move them. If I only had 5-6 cars available, he would play more appropriately.

There's a nice Thomas starter figure-8 set available, and sometimes you can get it with a 50% off coupon at Michaels or AC Moore.

I agree with LaughingSara. You can get a lot of mileage out of a simple figure-8 and a few trains. We got a basic Circo one with three train pieces at Target, and one compatible Thomas engine, and that has been just about perfect for our 3-year-old daughter.

Lots of comments about trains today from me.

Think about what kind of play you want to develop from the train set. A preconfigured track set nailed to a train table is very limiting and is only going to appeal to a child for a short period of time.

My son started "free play" at 2 1/2 on the floor and his creations are amazing. And we have lots of trains and cars etc.

I've spent a total of $25 on Brio and Thomas the Tank Engine tracks, and accessories, all from yard sales and we now have 20 gallon tub FULL of trains pieces. Yard sales are where it's at.

I'm pretty sure my husband has just as much fun building crazy, huge tracks, as my sons have playing on it.

My son loves the Ikea one. He plays with it all the time at his Papas house. We have geotrax here at home which isn't on your list since it is plastic. We got it since the tracks once put together stay together unless you want them to come apart. Unless you plan to buy other brands of wooden trains, the Ikea set works great. My son has played with Brio sets elsewhere and I haven't noticed much of a difference and neither has he. I agree though, check Craigslist and garage sales, but if you want to get new, you can't beat the Ikea price for something that he'll play with till he is about 5-6.

My 2 year old son has the starter set for Thomas the Tank Engine. He loves the Thomas train and carries it EVERYWHERE but never plays with the tracks. HOWEVER, the activity table covered in tracks and trains is set up in a few stores that we visit as a childrens' activity area and he freaks out over it every time and I have to pry him away from it. BAH, drives me nuts! I think it helps that those tracks (in stores) are glued down and he hasn't demolished the whole set-up 2 minutes into playing with it...

One more train thought: Duplo train tracks are super easy to put together. We don't have them but have played with them many times at a local museum. I wish that I'd bought them right at 2. My son would have loved them and they require less skill. Available new or on ebay. And like most Duplo, made in Europe.

My son is train-obsessed and we have a little bit of everything, so I'll give you my observations.
I also echo others who say skip ikea. They are cheap, and you get what you pay for. They are also not terribly compatible with other brands and the bridge is too low for other brand trains to go underneath.
We started out with the smaller nuchi set you mentioned. We love it and my son still loves that little blue engine even though he probably has at least 50+ other trains/cars at this point (because of the story the Little Blue Engine that Could). Nuchi quality is on par with brio. We also love Melissa and Doug and you can get an excellent starter set on Amazon for a great deal. Their trains are great too. Thomas stuff is ridiculously expensive so unless your little boy likes Thomas, I'd stay away from that.
My little boy's (age 3) FAVORITE trains of all time are the imaginarium ones because they look like real modern diesel engines. They are far cheaper than Thomas trains and come in three-packs.
I've found Brio stuff is hard to come by, but as stated above, it is great quality.
The other favorite of ours is Plan City Toys roads and rails - these are cool because there are roads that link into the rails to create realistic train crossings, etc. They are spendy, but excellent quality.
Enjoy! Our little boy has been using his trains for a whole year now and they are still the only toy he wants to play with. A good investment.

We started with the "deluxe" starter set from Plan Toys. They are CRAZY durable as they are made out of super strong rubber wood. My son when he was little would hit the pieces on the floor trying to release them. Never broke them.

After playing with just the starter set, my husband said that my son *ahem* wanted to build more elaborate tracks so we needed to expand. (In truth, my husband was the one frustrated by the limitations.) So we called grandma and had her bring down my husband's old Brio set which is compatible and super strong also (but not as pretty as the Plan Toys). Since then, we've added some fancy track pieces and the buildings/cars/trains/etc make good gifts from the grandparents because they are relatively small (I can't imagine if he were to collect those WOW vehicles or such.)

So, in short, it all depends what you're looking for. We wanted super durable, not hard to find, attractive (our play room is our living room so I have to look at them) and I want my grand kids to inherit the set. For us, that meant Plan Toys.

I recommend NOT getting too many cars for a small boy; you can always add more later.

For girls, however, get as many cars as possible.

Lol, eeka, I was thinking along the same line.

My sister and I used to play for hours with our Brio set, and it's still in perfect condition. Lucky future kids, nieces and nephews of mine!