Whittle Shortline Railroad - Review and Promotion Code

I have been provided a product in order to facilitate a review. No monetary compensation was received unless noted otherwise. All opinions are 100% my own. Some posts may contain affiliate links that I receive commission or payment for in exchange for referrals. In the event of a giveaway, the sponsor is responsible for delivery of the prize, unless noted otherwise on the giveaway post. I only recommend products or services I personally use and believe will be a good fit for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 225: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” 

Both of my sons love trains of any kind.  They have several train sets and also an electric train.   When I was offered a chance to try out a train from Whittle Shortline Railroad I was ecstatic and knew that my boys would be as well.  I chose the Union Pacific mixed set to try and then patiently waited for its arrival.  

Before I get into my review of the train I would like to tell you a little about the company.  Whittle is a 20-year-old company that was started in a garage in Kirkwood, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) in 1996. The company was started by accident by a father of four and one of his sons.  The father was supposed to build crown molding for his wife's dining room but instead went on to make trains (she still doesn't have her crown molding).  All of the members of the family have helped out in some capacity throughout the years. Whittle started off making trains that were modeled after US trains but now, because of interest from customers, they have begun also making international trains.  All of Whittle's trains are made by hand from start to finish using child-safe paints and finishes.  Whittle's goal is to make all of their trains as realistic as possible while staying within toy-train scale.  They also make all of their trains to be compatible with major companies such as Thomas, Brio and Chuggington.  Please take a moment to watch the video to learn more about the company and their products. 



All of that being said, let's get to my review.  
My initial thoughts were that I loved the simple packaging. The train was packaged in a very sturdy, plain cardboard box and each train was individually packaged.  I love that the box is a sturdy cardboard because i can use it to store the train when the kids are not playing with it.  

The trains themselves are nice and solid and you can tell that they are made out of a great quality wood.  I was very impressed with the paint on these trains because I was expecting something that wasn't quite as polished because it is done by hand but, the paint job on these trains is amazing. Each train looks exactly like a Union Pacific train right down to the lettering on the train.

The wheels on the train are attached very firmly and I know that I will never have to worry about them coming off.  The wheels on the locomotive can move freely which allows the entire train to move smoothly.

Each train car is toy train size which makes it just slightly larger than my son's hand.

 My favorite part of the trains are the magnets that are on the end of each train car because my 5-year-old can put the trains together without any help from me and then he can move them around in line as much as he wants.  He has played with the train non-stop since it arrived.  I love to watch him play with it because he tries to be so gentle because he loves it so much that he doesn't want to damage it.  He usually is anything but gentle with his toys so it is amazing to see him be so gentle with this train.  Another thing that i love about this train is that it is compatible with Thomas train sets (as well as Brio, Chuggington and any other wooden toy train set) because there is a specific wooden Thomas set that my son has been asking for.  I think he will be thrilled to know that he can use these trains with the Thomas trains. Overall, I am so impressed with the Whittle Shortline trains and just as impressed with the story of the company (you really can't beat family owned and hand-made!).  

Now for the promotion:  If you would like to purchase a Whittle train of your own you can get 20% off of a mixed set (only mixed sets apply for the promotion) by putting the code WeLoveWhittle in the comments section when placing your order (available while supplies last) on their website.  Click the link to view their vast selection of trains. Whittle Shortline Railroad