In the past month or so, Charlie has become absolutely, positively obsessed with Thomas the Train. We’ve had a train table since he was 18 months old, but the obsession is only recent, with Thomas now trumping Elmo and Barney as his character of choice. He’s memorized the names of almost every single train — even I can’t keep them straight because many of them look so similar!

I scored the deal of the century on a huge lot of used tracks, ~45 trains, and a ton of accessories for only $40. Charlie now spends at least an hour a day playing with his train table. Here is a roundup of Charlie’s favorite Thomas gear!

1) Thomas the train – Every Thomas fan has a Thomas train, but some other popular wooden trains to add to your collection include Percy, James, Gordon, Edward, Henry, Annie + Clarabelle, and Bertie (which Charlie likes because it’s a bus). They connect via magnets in the front and back of the trains.

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2) Amazon Prime Instant Video – Amazon offers free streaming Thomas the Train movies to Prime members. Charlie loves these so much we have to limit his screen time to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.

3) Thomas & Friends Steering Wheel Soundbook – This book is a lot of fun because it has a steering wheel and plays the Thomas theme song. But Charlie’s favorite Thomas book is probably Trains, Cranes, and Troublesome Trucks. When we pause at certain parts of the book, Charlie has the words memorized because they use a lot of repetition, which is awesome for kids this age.

4) Charlie the train – While the classic trains are made of wood, there is also a line of metal battery operated trains — these are Charlie’s favorites, so the only train we’ve had to purchase so far is an electric Charlie train!

5) Harold the Helicopter – Harold is one of the few nontrain characters in the Thomas series. The first night we gave Charlie Harold, he took it into his bath and slept holding onto it.

6) Thomas train table – With the table, accessories, and all the trains, fueling your toddler’s Thomas obsession can get very expensive, very fast. I was able to buy a used Thomas table, but there are many more affordable options out there. Tracks, trains, and tables made by other companies including Brio, Melissa and Doug and Kidkraft are all generally compatible with the Thomas trains. This Melissa and Doug Wooden Railway set, for example, is a nice expansion set.

7) Thomas boots – Other than the trains, I think these boots are the ultimate must have for the Thomas fan in your life.

8) Thomas shirt – Often getting Charlie dressed in the mornings is a huge battle. When he can wear clothes with his favorite characters, it makes getting dressed just a little bit easier. Bonus – this one glows in the dark!

9) Thomas raincoat – We had a lot of rainy days in 2011, so Charlie got a lot of use out of his Thomas raincoat.

I don’t see Charlie’s Thomas obsession waning any time soon, and this summer we hope to take him on a real Thomas train!

Is your little one obsessed with Thomas?