Lionel’s No. 7-12124 Battery-Powered Harry Potter Train Set is the perfect way to introduce youngsters to the wonderful hobby of toy trains. How do I know this? Because I used this exciting and entertaining passenger set to introduce my two young grandsons (ages 6 and 4 years) to operating electric trains. Believe me when I tell you they loved the set and had no trouble running it on their own.
So, if you’re a parent looking for a way to show a boy or girl under the age of 10 years how to get started with toy trains, this set or another one of the battery-powered sets offered by Lionel is the answer. The same applies if, like me, you’re a grandparent eager to accomplish the same thing and bring a youngster into the fold by allowing them to have a wonderful experience with a toy train.
Road traveled
As you might imagine, I started providing toy trains for my grandsons long before purchasing this battery-powered set. Like many of you, I wisely acquired Brio trains and a ton of track so they could assemble with ease a big network of wood track and push over it Brio locomotives and rolling stock.
Every time my two little grandsons would visit from out of state, my wife and I would cart up from our basement the massive box packed with Brio straight and curved track plus the wood trains that coupled together via magnets. Next, we would clear the family room of much of the furniture and give the boys free rein.
A network of track went together with ease, and our grandsons learned a lot about how to assemble a rail line. Sometimes, they made sure it was a large loop; at other times, the Brio system amounted to a point-to-point line. Either way, they had lots of fun pushing their train and pretending to transport cargo or carry passengers from one station to another. Brio boosted their imagination.
The next stage of my grandsons’ journey with toy trains involved a battery-powered passenger set from the impressive and enormous line of sets made and marketed by LEGO. I had originally purchased the train to use with my teaching, and so the construction of the locomotive and two passenger cars had taken place several years earlier. Since then, I’ve had only to change batteries.
At our home, my wife and I have built a 4 x 8-foot table that stands 30 inches off the carpeted floor of our finished basement. The table is there for our grandsons to use with various toys, but especially the LEGO train. The height is perfect for them, and I made sure the plywood top and edges were sanded smooth.
Typically, our grandsons spend time thinking about how to assemble a loop of Lego straights and curves that fills just about the entire perimeter of the table. There are plenty of S-curves, and sometimes we incorporate two turnouts.
Then the LEGO train comes out and is gently placed on the track. Pressing a green button on the roof of the locomotive gets it ready. A similar act launches the handheld controller. Running the train forward or switching it to go in reverse is as simple as can be. Our younger grandson figured it out when he was only 3!
Current fun
Right after my wife and I learned that our grandsons and their mom and dad would be coming to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, I decided the time was right to guide them to the next stage of enjoyment with toy trains. But I didn’t think they were ready at ages 6 and 4 for an electric starter set, despite their experience with trains and their intelligence, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills.
Fortunately for me and families everywhere, Lionel has anticipated our needs and concerns. The firm, now celebrating 125 years in business, has brought out Large scale and O gauge battery-powered sets, including versions of the Polar Express and the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter books and movies.
My grandsons, like boys and girls around the world, have become well acquainted with the world and characters associated with Harry Potter, and so I knew the Lionel No. 7-12124 Harry Potter Set was going to please both of them.
I purchased the train and then carefully unpacked the locomotive and tender as well as the two passenger cars and the package of track. The straights and curves snapped together easily to form a 50 x 73-inch oval. Originally, I planned to keep it on the tabletop, but our grandsons preferred it on the floor.
Following the instructions outlined in the booklet packed with the train made everything so easy. I used a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the case holding the four C batteries required for the locomotive and then had it back on again in just a minute or two. Keep in mind that the set does not come with them.
The train can be run in a conventional manner with the remote controller that comes with it — just insert two C batteries. Then you just push the button on the roof of the locomotive to one side to run it forward or in reverse with the easy-to-use controller. You get station announcements right out of Harry Potter land!
For more fun, go ahead and use the small squeeze bottle included to put a few drops of tap water into the opening next to the smokestack. Soon, you’ll have billows of “smoke” (safe water vapor) coming out of the stack for a slick effect.
Downloading the Lionel Cab3 app to my smartphone made it a breeze to operate the train via Bluetooth. The additional effects ranged from bells and whistles to more station announcements and speed control. My grandsons were immediately taken with the Bluetooth and insisted on running the train with it. So did I! And yes, even non-technological Roger got the hang of it fairly quickly!
Perfect gift
I’m sure my grandsons will get other gifts during the upcoming holiday season, but I’m going to lay odds none will surpass in entertainment and joy the battery-powered Lionel Large scale Hogwarts Express occupying my basement. This innovative and reliable train set helped their imaginations grow and grow.
So far, the set has proved to be the perfect gift. The track stayed together well, and the locomotive and cars proved to be tough and durable. And the two types of controllers (remote as well as Bluetooth) were dependable and loads of fun. In time, my grandsons will move on to an electric train, but for now the Lionel 7-12124 Harry Potter Train Set is just right for them and will enable them to gain the confidence and experience to appreciate more expensive and elaborate locomotives and cars from Lionel and others that they’ll run on command control.
Resources
See an unboxing of a similar Thomas the Tank Engine set.
Read a review of a similar Thomas the Tank Engine set.
Learn more about downloading the Lionel app on your phone.
