Big Trains, Little Trains

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Great for young railfans!
We originally borrowed *Big Trains, Little Trains* (VHS) from the library, along with the *I Love Toy Trains Vols. 1-3* DVD; *Choo Choo Trains: Close Up and Very Personal* (VHS); and the *Travel Adventures* DVD, which contains *There Goes a Train.* My 23 month-old son enjoyed *Big Trains, Little Trains* the most out of the bunch. I just purchased this title on DVD. Most of the footage seems to have been shot in the San Diego area, and includes trains from the LGB of America showroom, model railroad clubs and enthusiasts, museums, and mass transit. The variety of footage really holds my son's attention. As previous reviews state, the dialogue can be rather annoying at times, but the 2 children in the video are engaging and enthusiastic. Carly, the little girl, comports herself very well as narrator. The segment on the commuter railroad, near the end of the program, also has its cheesey moments when Connor drives away in the train. Although the scene is portrayed in a cutesy manner, including a "don't try this at home" warning might have been apropos. (A general disclaimer about the dangers of railroads and playing on tracks _is_ given at the end of the program.) The soundtrack includes instrumentals, as well as songs with vocals, and both are unobtrusive and enjoyable (which makes a big difference for parental sanity, if your child wants to watch the video again and again, day after day). My son didn't care much for the *I Love Toy Trains* DVD, which seemed to have choppy editing (both audio and video) and cheesey sound effects. *There Goes a Train* didn't hold his interest, either, as there's a lot of narration; and the goofy narrator, Dave, got pretty annoying (to Mama) by the end of the program. The *Choo Choo Trains: Close Up and Very Personal* video was probably my son's next favorite after *Big Trains, Little Trains*, because it contained straight footage of steam and diesel trains--no narration, no music, no actors. He's totally entranced by *Big Trains, Little Trains.* It's just right for his attention span and interest in trains. He loves his wooden Thomas the Tank Engine trains and his train books, but really isn't into the Thomas videos yet, so *Big Trains, Little Trains* was a great alternative.

Very appealing, especially for its genre!
Child narrators in videos tend to get on my nerves pretty quickly, but the kids in this video are really pretty appealing, and I can tell that my son likes them too because he refers to the video as "Carly-Connor". Yes, they do have a couple of silly lines, but all in all, the annoyance factor is pretty minimal, and I love how they interact with some of the train hobbyists. It also does a nice job of bringing in a lot of variety without straying from the subject matter at hand - for example, we may see a petting zoo or a tractor being used to load coal into the tender car, but then we are right back to watching trains - overall a very well done video that does not feel overly "slick".

great for little train fans!
My 4yr old daughter and 2 yr old son would watch this video over and over and over if I let them. I also find some of the lines annoying, as mentioned by another reviewer. But my kids don't seem to mind at all. And it doesn't talk down to kids-no goofy adults or bad special effects. Just trains, trains, trains. I found it much more enjoyable for repeated viewing than the "I Love Toy Trains" series.

Lots of interesting train viewing
My train-loving sons have really enjoyed this video. They like the Big Train portions best---especially seeing the inside of an Amtrak and seeing the newest commuter rail model. My only problem with this video---why do the writers of such videos give the child actors such annoying lines? They are good actors, but are made to constantly say lines like "I want that!" when they see anything train related, and to ask everyone for a hamburger, etc. If they were just allowed to act like the natural train lovers that kids are, I think it would be more realistic and enjoyable! But it's still a very enjoyable video.