Thomas Train Recall: Update
Last month I (and everyone else on the Internet) warned you about the Thomas Train recall. We only had a handful of those trains and I took them all away as soon as I heard about the recall. They're beloved toys, so I was pretty surprised when a week went by and none of my kids noticed.
Something must have jogged their memory, because last week there began in our house a rising chorus of "Where's my trains?" that turned into a steady roar that no amount of "They had lead in them," "They were poison," or "Congress and the Consumer Products Safety Commission don't make testing kids toys for toxic chemicals a priority," seemed to appease them.
So, I found out which trains were part of the recall and boxed them up and sent them back to the company. The kids got the lead-free trains and they were so much cooler since they hadn't seen them in several weeks.
I don't suppose anyone else has received replacement trains yet?
No, I have not received our new Thomas trains yet but they said it would probably be 6-8 weeks and that we would get a gift for our troubles and a check for the postage. It definitely will make up for the possibility of brain damage in our kids.
Posted by: ajpresto | July 08, 2007 at 05:02 AM
Here's a good link (from boing boing) for all of the China based recalls etc this year. Scary that companies care to save a few bucks rather than provide a safe product.
http://www.who-sucks.com/business/made-in-china-2007-danger-timeline
Posted by: Paul Cyopick | July 08, 2007 at 01:37 PM
I was at a children's museum last week, and they had some there--the wooden ones. I told the attendant that I was pretty sure those were the ones that had been recalled because of lead paint. She said she'd seen the notice and had forwarded it to the head of the museum, but no action had been taken yet.
Some of the trains were missing significant amounts of paint, chipped off through the years.
I'm thinking a children's museum really ought to respond to these things immediately. They could've pulled them until they knew for sure which, if any, were safe. Right now, they're looking for a lawsuit.
Posted by: Dale | July 08, 2007 at 10:34 PM
Not yet. I'm a big believe in toy cycling. We bought a bunch of clear rubbermaids and rotate which toys are out for the kids to play with. When you bring out some toys they haven't seen in a month or two it is like xmas morning all over again. Makes it a little easier to keep the house clean. Less sorting, but just as much pickup :)
Posted by: John | July 09, 2007 at 02:58 PM
While we have not yet been sent replacements, the Thomas people did return a few trains that we sent in that were not part of the recall (we decided to err on the side of caution and send in all of the red/yellow trains we had).
Posted by: David Wm. Brown | July 10, 2007 at 09:15 AM
Lead paint poisoning is cumulatively dangerous - every exposure adds up and can contribute to lead poisoning, which leads to serious health problems, especially in very young children. It is illegal for companies to manufacture and distribute toys that have lead in the surface paint. I bought a lead paint test kit to test my child's Thomas trains that were not recalled, and I'm still unwary of the toys and wish that I had never purchased them. I will continually monitor my child for lead poisoning.
Posted by: Parent | July 17, 2007 at 11:51 AM
What was the free train?
Posted by: Shawna | July 22, 2007 at 06:02 AM
Hi, Megan!
We just got our replacement train today. They send it along with an extra car (in full retail packaging, no less) and a nice enough letter apologizing for the trouble and stating that they mailed a check separately from the package to cover our shipping. All in all, a decent enough transaction considering.
Oh, and the free train we got was Toad.
Posted by: Kevin and Max | August 01, 2007 at 11:22 AM
We have the same result as Kevin and Max. Very nice service from the distributor, too.
Toad is a nice addition to our son's collection and he's a happier camper since James' return...
Posted by: Dwayne | August 05, 2007 at 11:39 AM
We received Diesel as our free train along with a nice letter. We're still waiting for the replacement trains.
Posted by: Sara | August 06, 2007 at 10:48 AM
We received Fergus along with the letter. You can read a copy of the letter on our blog.
http://marloelaine.com/2007/08/07/thomas-friends-recall-gift-received/
Posted by: Marlo | August 07, 2007 at 06:27 PM
The free car that we received, Toad, is now being recalled (the one that we were sent has the serial number for the recall).
Posted by: James Tilghman | September 27, 2007 at 01:16 PM
We have wooden Thomas trains with no numbers on them. Are they possibly included in the recall?
Posted by: grandmother | January 16, 2008 at 04:17 PM