Lego Duplo Trains 3774: Bridge Review

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(More customer reviews)OK, others provided reviews of the fun. I want to provide additional useful information in my review.
First, I selected the LEGO Duplo trains for our son because they are very high quality and not as expensive as other wooden push trains. And of course, they work with everything else that is LEGO, making the value so much greater. He can mix and match pieces from all his other LEGO Duplo stuff.
The bridge looks impressive and it is big for a toddler toy. Be sure you have enough track and floor space to make this work well for you. If you only buy this bridge and a Duplo train set, you may not have enough track.
Consider buying several boxes of LEGO Duplo 2734 straight track and at least one LEGO Duplo 3775 switches and 2735 curved track to add to what you have with a Duplo train set, such as the LEGO Duplo Legoville Deluxe Train Set (5609).
You can also use any of the push trains (esp. Thomas and Friends series while you can find them) with this bridge, but the Duplo motorized locomotive is excellent, and is proof that toys can be designed and built to work properly and last for years.
The bridge is designed with cogs in the 'rails' (really wheel gutters) so that the motorized Duplo engine can climb the bridge approach without slipping.
The educational benefit for this bridge is primarily two things I've observed:
learning to assemble a complex structure by following the illustrations on the box, and learning about clearances for trains going under the bridge or over the bridge through the plastic girder truss structure. And there is great potential to re-purpose the bridge components for other things with Duplo parts. This continues almost two years after purchase, unlike almost any other toy set he has.
The illustration on the cover shows every individual piece (separate and assembled in three configurations) so that you can encourage your young child to carefully check the picture to figure out how to assemble it. It's not obvious, but it's not any harder than any other LEGO Duplo item.
If you have enough track to allow the train to pass under the bridge as well as over it, then your child can learn about oversized loads on the freight cars and what will fit and what won't. This is play, but it is educational play in my view, that makes this kind of toy worth the money. If you can't acquire it at retail prices then you may need to pay a premium. These are hard to find. I got mine right here at Amazon. (I can't offer advice on the value per dollar, just on the toy itself in the context of LEGO Duplo trains.)
Advice: don't discard the box -- the illustration is useful for assembly.
Keep the pieces for this bridge segregated from the rest of the train set when put away. I use a ziplock bag to put the small blocks in, and the large pieces go in the box. If all the pieces get mingled with every other set, then it won't be likely that the bridge will assemble as illustrated. Your child can always substitute different colors and shapes to get the required lift, but the blocks that come are perfect and unique for this purpose.

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