The gold prospectors cars are both red and have Sodor mining company on the side. The first one has a kind of clear barrel in the middle and is carrying what looks to be gold and gold sand. The second one has a solid mound of gold on it.

My son has recently become interested in a new aspect of toy trains. He plays with wooden trains and track on a train table and the thomas diecast metal trains inside on the floor. These days he likes to watch other kids play with trains on videos -- there is a Baby Genius video that has kids playing with thomas trains during one of the songs and he asks to watch it over and over again. I found a series of videos called I Love Toy Trains and I ordered them for it for Christmas.

I really like to give Thomas the tank engine toys as gifts, especially to kids that have not yet discovered him. There are perhaps hundreds of thomas books that attempt to impart important messages of hard work and the importance of treating friends well in colorful, fun stories. The simple, well-built trains allow for incredible pretend scenarios. Although sometimes expensive, small train sets with starter trains are available in all price ranges.

These trains make really great gifts. If you know a child who likes Thomas, it's always easy to figure out what to get them for presents. A bad point is that Thomas can be quite expensive.

In my experience, the metal sets are excellent for portable play because they fold up and have storage areas for track and trains. The metal trains are the a little smaller than the wooden trains, albeit heavier. We take whole sets with us when we go camping or to hotels and set them up for Joe to play with while we are in the room. I also like to carry a few in his diaper bag or my fanny pack or purse for standing in line or waiting in the car.