About 1.5 Million Thomas and Friends wooden railway toys have been recalled due to surface paints containing lead. As you may have already guessed, these wooden toy trains, buildings, vehicles and other parts were made in China.
(Note: There have been millions of toys recalled since this event. Please click here to read a current List of Toy Recalls)
Lead is toxic, and can be deadly when ingested by small children. As children often place small toys in their mouth, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is on constant lookout for toys containing lead and lead-based paints. We see at least two recalls every week involving potential lead poisoning. The products are made in China most of the time.
This particular recall is important due to the sheer magnitude: 1.5 Million Recalled Toys. Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway toys are extremely popular and are sold at major online retail sites like www.AllAboardToys.com. The official Thomas the Tank Engine Train and Friends’ website can be found here .
How to Find Out if Your Child Has a Recalled Thomas The Train Toy:
If you still have the packaging, check for the “Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway” logo in the upper left corner.
Below is a list of the recalled products:
Red James Engine
Red James’ # 5 Coal Tender
Red Lights & Sounds
James with Team Colors Engine & James with Team Colors #5 Coal Tender
Red Skarloey Engine Brown
Yellow Old Slow Coach
Red Hook & Ladder Truck
Red Water Tanker Truck
Red Musical Caboose
Red Sodor Line Caboose
Red Coal Car labeled “2006 Day Out With Thomas” on the Side
Red Baggage Car
Red Holiday Caboose
Red “Sodor Mail” Car
Red Fire Brigade Truck
Red Fire Brigade Train
Deluxe Sodor Fire Station
Red Coal Car
Yellow Box Car
Red Stop Sign
Yellow Railroad Crossing Sign
Yellow “Sodor Cargo Company”
Cargo Piece Smelting Yard
Ice Cream Factory
What You Should Do if Your Child Has a Recalled Toy:
Take the toy away from the child immediately and return the toy to the RC2 corporation for a replacement.
return the toy !!! godammmmnit , where do I sign up for the class action lawsuit !!!! ?
well!1
my 5 years boy just love so much all the thomas and friends.
how can I return or trash all the toys that he have..
this is really something to him and all other children…..
My 2 year old just tested high for lead at his 2 year old appointment routine finger prick. We have been busy treating him and trying to get to the bottom of the source. I think we may have found it!!!!
Throw them away??? Well these are not exactly cheap toys!! My son LOVES Thomas and has quite a few on the recall list. Who opens these toys and keeps the packages!?!?
This is crap – my kids have been playing with these toys for TWO SOLID YEARS NOW! I’m with above, these toys are expensive and I want to know where to sign up for the lawsuit.
In order to bring a law suit for personal injury, you need to prove that your child was injured by this recalled line of toy trains. If your children have learning disabilities perhaps that could be a places to an attorney to start.
The other way to go about it might be a class action. You should contact a lawyer if you are interested in pursuing this.
Another possible side effect of lead poisoning is seizures. My 5 year old too, has TONS of these trains and several on the recall list. Two weeks ago he had a seizure, never having had one previously, you can bet your ASS I’m checking into thiss, his blood test is schedule two days from now. At this time the seizure is being classified as ideopathic (unknown cause), maybe the cause has just been diagnosed!
NO PARENT SHOULD HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR CHILDS HEALTH IT IS 2007. I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS DAY AND AGE WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SUCH AN ICON OF A TOY!!! For goodness sake we have to disclose if our home has or has had lead paint in or on it when we sell it. I can not accept “JUST TOSS THE TOY – or you can exchange it” These toys are very exspensive and some one needs to be held accountable. NOT ONLY FOR THE TESTING OF OUR CHILDRENS BLOOD TO SEE IF THEY HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF LEAD IN THEIR BLOOD BUT ALSO FOR THE TIME AND THE LEAD TESTING THAT WILL OCCUR ON THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF THOMAS TOYS WE ALL HAVE IN OUR CHILDRENS TOY BOXES!!!!
We have 5 of the recalled trains. Our sons (ages 3 and 1) are had blood tests done to screen for lead poisoning and we’re waiting for the results. I called the RC2 Corp. to ask if they reimburse the costs for these blood tests and the answer was, of course, no. Our 3-year old has developmental delays, including diagnosed speech apraxia, has been tested for autism, and receives speech therapy. Up until now, we had no explanation for his problems. I never would’ve thought his favorite toys could be the culprits! He has played with these toys for hours a week, including sleeping with them in his hands or at his face, for months, maybe even a year. The paint has worn off some portions of the trains, including from my boys putting the toys into their mouths. If the negligence of this terrible RC2 Corporation has caused my son’s developmental delays, and who knows how his future learning and life may suffer, I will spend every free minute making sure they pay for it and making sure other families with children with Thomas & Friends toxic lead poisoning find out the truth. Shame on RC2 for putting money-making ahead of the health and welfare of our country’s innocent little children!
Please let us know how those lead poisoning blood tests work out.
Everytime you turn around there is some toy recall that completely stuns me. I mean, do toy companies test these toys for safety AT ALL before they are placed on store shelves? If it’s not lead paint it’s a choking hazard issue. This is America not some third world country!!!!!!! Why aren’t our children being protected better? I have just found out about the toy trains and will be rummaging through every corner of the house for these Thomas trains. He is due for his 3 year check up in 2 weeks and so help me if there is any presence of lead in his system at all I will definitely be contacting someone regarding a class action law suit!!
okay every one, don’t freak out! So i bought a toy that was on the recall list, and i called the store where i bought it from. they said that even though i don’t have the reciept, and the toy is missing pieces, they have to buy it back, or replace it with a toy of equal value. So no money is wasted!!
Fishy, fishy , fishy. That is all I have to say about this MASSIVE recall. What is up with China??? We pay millions every year to adopt all of their unwanted children, and the thanks we get in America is lead tainted toys???? I cannot even express how upset I am in this comment!!! I am considering lead testing for my son. I also would love to look into testing his toys that were made in China for lead. Wonder if there are private labs or some sort of lead testing kit we can buy? Sad to see how many toys there actually were in my son’s room that were manufactured in China. Crazy!!!! Good luck to all. I smell a HUGE class action lawsuit!
Well I would like to know who is going to place the whole in my checkbook when i throw all this lead in the trash, Why wont the Gov open there eyes that some one (CHINA) is killing us , MAKE OUR PRODUCTS WHERE WE LIVE SO OUR CHILDREN CAN LIVE LEAD FREE
Anita…
my son had a seizure seven days after his 1st birthday. After alot of expensive testing the doctors said that there is no reason to believe that he will have any more. You can be assured that I will call his doctor today and have him tested for lead. My son is now 17 months. I had no idea that so many toys out there had been recalled. This last major recall made me think about researching recalls. I am shocked! Why can we not find more American made toys! If anyone has a list of brands that are made in America, I wood be interested in looking at the list before the next holiday season approaches.
I am so sorry for those of you whose children have LD’s/seizures etc. But the small amount of lead in a few Thomas Trains isn’t enough to cause any serious damage.
In the 80’s, I worked for two years sand-blasting century homes to remove lead paint. I was young, and initially did not realize doing this without a chemical siut and a respirator was considered dangerous. (BTW, I grew up in a house filled with lead paint and asbestos pipes and went to shools that were covered with lead paint and asbestos insulation. We used to poke the insulation on the pipes with pencils.)
Anyway, after learning how supposedly dangerous lead abatement was, I had my lead tested. After all that….my blood lead level was undetectable. I cannot imagine sucking on a few Thomas Trains is worse than spending two summers breathing lead dust all day.
My advice is, if it really bothers you, throw away the wood ones and buy the metal ones. Otherwise, just keep a better eye on your kids and take away any toy they put in their mouth. If anything, they are more likely to sick from the germs on those toys then get a bad case of lead poisoning.
People today almost have too much information. With cable tv and internet we are inundated with bad news. We are being poisoned by toys, lettuce, all types of meat. Despite the fact that E.coli cannot get into the muscle of a piece of meat, we have restaurants refusing to serve a rare steak. If they actually do allow it, the customer gets a you could get sick and die warning first. We have anti-bacterial wipes at the supermarket to wipe cart handles. We have to wait for hours at the airport and be treated like criminals to board domestic flights. We drive our kids to school because we have a map of where all the sexual offenders live. We lock our door in the middle of the daytime because we are sure that anyone could just walk in despite the fact that per-capita crime has consistantly gone down just about every year since the 60’s.
If we allow ourselves to worry about all of this nonsence, we cease to live. We have created a society based on fear. Years ago, FDR made the famous statement ” There is nothing to fear but fear itself”. Just a thought, but when he said that, maybe more people should have listened.
This is rediculous! I have three children, and my two boys love Diego and the Thomas toys. Infact we have 3 train sets, not to mention the dozens of assorted “made in China” toys. I am a singel mother and cannot afford to just trash and replace these toys. They’re expensive dammit! The manufacturers will replace them if I send in the tainted toys, but my question to them is, why don’t they pay for the shipping? Or maybe we should ask China to pay it. I am worried about buying anything made in China now. My daughter is only 6 months old, so ALL of her toys go in her mouth. Maybe that is China’s intention??? Just a thought
I did mail back 4 Thomas toys that were recalled. It cost me $1.84 and I did receive that back in the form of a check. Go to the site and fill out the form and know that you will be reimbursed.
To all my friends and parents:
Re: Call Greg and let him know what you think!
Today, yet ANOTHER recall has been announced from RC2. This is the toy company making THOMAS THE TANK trains. This is the second recall from RC2 in less than 6 months.
RC2 is currently holding trains from the last recall which they still have not sent back. So, we have put our hard earned money into these toys for our beloved children, and some greedy toy company who PUT OUR CHILDREN IN DANGER by producing lead tainted toys has stolen them back and is refusing to mail them back in a timely manner. If anyone else took something of mine for 4 months with no forsight of it being returned, it would be called STEALING! Why are we letting these companies get away with this?
My spouse just got off the phone with the COO of RC2, Greg Kilreau, for the 2nd time. Mr. Kilreau, when asked to do something about the slow return of my son’s toys, flat out said the words, ” I’m not going to do anything.” Apparently one parents voice isn’t enough to let this company know that they cannot put our children at risk and hold our property without return of product or money paid.
Perhaps a few more voices will convince Mr. Kilreau. Lend your child your voice! Call Mr. Kilreau and let him know your child’s safety and your hard earned money are not to be “toyed” with! (Sorry, I had to get that pun in). Greg Kilreau can be reached at (630)573-7362.
I cannot believe what I am reading! Have any of you people had a proper education? I have never seen so many lawsuit happy people on one page. As a Chemistry major I know that the amount of paint that your children could have ingested from these trains is insignificant. You are all money hungry losers looking for a quick fix for your children’s problems. I grew up in a home full of lead paint(which I found out only a few years ago) plus a basement full of asbestos. I am currently a 40 year old athlete with 2 happy, healthy Thomas loving children. Get a life! Stop spoiling you kids so much!! Nobody forced you to spend that money. THIS IS THE USA, ENJOY THE FREEDOM THAT YOU STILL HAVE!!!
It really surprises me that so many people want to sue the COMPANIES that manufacture these products. Sure, they are at fault for not having a better knowledge of their quality control. However, NO ONE is saying anything about the Chinese government not having any standards and OUR OWN government not REQUIRING THEM to have any standards on OUR TOYS? There needs to be LEGISLATURE to DEMAND that there be standards in that country! Otherwise STOP buying anything that is made in CHINA! I suggest you get proactive and write your legislative teams – do you even know who they are??? I wonder…
The autism fact is that 1 in 150 children, that is 1 in 94 BOYS, now has some form of autism. Chances are, it is not because your child played with Thomas the Train. My son is one of them, I even blog about him here on blogger. There is so much more out there that is going into our food and environment that they are getting into their systems in the womb, in vaccines, and in their FOOD that is causing this a lot more than the lead concern.
Millions of children, your own parents and grandparents, played with toys with lead in them before it was banned and came out with NO problems whatsoever. I think people are overreacting in a sense regarding suing these people – you would have no case. You simply cannot prove that your child’s ailment has been caused by the lead, you just can’t. Not when the statistics of ASD and everything else that lead causes has jumped 100’s of percent in the last decade. Considering that there is actually probably LESS lead now than there was 30-40 yrs ago, and if lead caused these problems, then the statistics should be LOWER, don’t you think?
There are people that are DYING of cancer and other ailments because of companies that have done some real damage – ever watch Erin Brockovitch? THOSE are the people that should be suing companies – to pay for their MEDICAL BILLS AND THEIR LOSSES.
Umm, is there anywhere on-line to see pictures of the recalled Thomas toys?
Secondly, I would like to suggest that everyone take their anger and WRITE THEIR SENATORS AND CONGRESS PERSONS!! If you need to look up the e-mail addresses, they are readily available through google. Oh, yeah- don’t be put off if they send you some nonsense in reply about trade relations with China (as my senator did). This has NOTHING to do with trade relations with China- it is ONLY a matter of putting the safety of our children first. Express a little bit of this outrage where it will do some good.
I have been reading all the replies to the lead issues. I, like most of America, have probably 90+ percent of my stuff is made somewhere other than USA. I have decided to make a commitment to my family that we go through the house and get rid it. All the crap that’s made cheaply and may be poisonous. Don’t rely on the company’s word that “all our toys are tested”. More than likely they are not and all they care about is money not safety… those were the days long ago!! We are not a well to do family and I know all the stuff costs lots. I don’t care about that. I care about not supporting such businesses that only see $$$$ and could really care less about lead paint, and all those toys & stuff we purchased at the you know who MART stores and other big box (made in China) stores are going in the trash. I don’t care about fighting for a replacement- it’s not worth the time. Just trash it, buy quality American products and let there be a lesson learned!!! I know I have. BIG TIME!!
Wow, the kids that paint the toy’s with the lead paint must be tested to. Just think if we had the factory in America. We could regulate the toxin in the toys. I think the factory closed because they could skip our regulation and pay slave wages to other country that don’t value life of there people.
This is everyone’s fault. We have demanded cheaper and cheaper products. Made in USA is quickly a thing in the past. Are you willing to pay more for government regulated USA produts? You say yes but your shopping patterns show different. Each day independant quality toy stores close due to the Marts. Are you innocent?
To the Chemistry major and all of the other people who are insulting the parents of the children who have tested positive for lead: How would you feel if your child was sick? It’s a natural reaction to want to blame somebody when something like this happens to somebody you love. How many of these people do you think are really going to follow through with a lawsuit? They are mad right now and voicing their frustrations. You could have a little decency and compassion for the parents of these sick children. You should be ashamed of yourselves for bashing these parents who are already going through enough hard times without your inconsiderate comments. I have a son who has the whole Thomas the Train railroad collection. You people can say what you want, but it is aggravating when you spend that much money on toys only to find out that the contents of the toys could cause harm to your child. We should be able to buy our children toys without having to take them to a laboratory and have them tested for harmful chemicals! For all of you parents with sick children, I will keep you in my prayers.
please someone tell me where you can find a toy that isn’t made in china. It is kinda like domestic terrorism hurt the children and the adults fall apart
This type of thing has been in the works for a long time. I cannot believe that it is just now happening. We have been killing USA industry for years sending all manufacturing overseas where we have no regulations and no control. China has had NO incentive to protect US citizen. In fact more incentive not to. It has always been the responsibility of the US to protect its children and economy. Our government sold out to the all mighty bottom line of big business and is responsible for this situation. If US citizens do not start acting now, we will never recover. I may already be too late!
“Greed is good” must be the motto of the toy manufacturers who keep getting their cheap toxic toys made in China.
Where do we sign up to sue? I am sick and tired of looking up my children’s toys to see IF THEY MIGHT BE POISON!!!!
The Chinese could wipe out a whole generation and we wouldn’t know what hit us. They are still our enemy. Remember when they seized one of our planes a few years ago? Then of course there is the Korean War and Vietnam War! Are they trying their brand of population control on us unwitting consumers?
if americans would quit buying toys and other stuff made in china maybe the government will open there eyes and do something about it!
If you ask me, I think this should be classified as terrorism. There is no worse place that a terrorist can hit…our children. I think China knew exactly what they were doing and they did this intentionally. Someone needs to be held accountable for toy testing…screw the war…lets spend money on protecting the people who are in the states.
Even some toys made in the USA are tainted with lead and other toxins. Get real, and stay real!
I am very disappointed in the Chinese Government as well as the U.S. Government for allowing this stupidity to happen. Our over-rated and over-paid Government officials once again are not doing their jobs to keep our children safe.Please,wake-up and do your jobs.
to the complete idiot who said something about the thanks we get for adopting children from china. first of all, they’re not trying to give “thanks”. they’re just clueless. nobody forced anyone to pay to adopt a child from china. when these unfortunate things happen, why do ppl have to place the race cards. it’s our government not looking into things, it’s our government trying to save a buck.
LET’S SEND CHINA A MESSAGE BY PACKING AND SHIPPING ALL THOSE LEAD TOYS BACK TO CHINA. HERE’S ANOTHER IDEA IF CONGRESS DOES ACT LET’S PACK AND SHIP ALL THE DEFECTIVE AND LEAD CONTAINING TO THE WHITE HOUSE DOOR STEP. WHO’S WITH ME?
I wonder how many people on here thought the NAFTA agreement , passed by Congress when Bill Clinton was in office, was a great idea. The reason these toy companies are going overseas with their business is because they get cheaper labor, and obviously cheaper materials. So, next time your government wants to pass a law to do business overseas, think about China, and the toys manufatured there.
We are not happy about this situation.. our son has been playing with them since he’s been 2 and now he is 5.. How do you explain to an upset child that we have to take his trains away & SHAME on RC2 Corporation for letting these products make it into our homes and jepordize the well being of our son!
Where do we sign up for the ‘Lawsuit’ metioned below???
Very ANGRY Parents
My son recently turned 3 and has been diagnosed with childhood speech apraxia as well as hypotonia. For those who don’t know, Hypotonia is just a fancy word for low muscle tone. I don’t believe that lead had anything to do with his developmental delays. We have been living wih lead for many years and I am sure that many of us have been been playing with many of the same toys our kids play with. If you haven’t realized it by now, lead is in almost every product we own. It would take a large amount of lead to be consumed for it to affect our kids and including ourselves. My son is 3 and still has a habbit of putting things in his mouth. It is our responsibily as good parents, to keep a close eye on what are kids are doing. I think that our generation has grown a bit lazy and lack the attention to detail when it comes to our kids safety. China is not the one to blame. It is our greed that has allowed other countries to produce our goods for lower cost. It was only a matter of time before this would back fire. Our country is in jeopardy because of her greed which is now affecting our nations health and not to mention the high amount of unemployment rate due to outsourcing. Again, it is all because of greed. I do a lot for my son and I take advantage of many of the programs that are offered in this area. Instead of complaining about it, we should do something about it.
Claudia Wilburn
Radcliff, KY
THIS IS SICK THAT OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS NOT PROTECTED OUR NATIONS CHILDREN. My younger son’s lead test has come back within the high range on the scale. Normal is 0-9…his is 8. I HATE CHINA AND THE US GOVERNMENT. IF ANYTHING happens to my kids from these goddamned Thomas toys….I WILL BE IN THE CLASS ACTION SUIT.
He has to be re-tested in 6 months.
i bought my grandson literally hundreds of these trains and toys now at 8 he is diagnosed with aspergers disease. i am really mad and upset at these companies to think we would want a replacement of something that is harming our children!!!
my 2 year old son now has lead poisioning from playing with toys made in chinia. i am pissed to know that the goverment is still importing toys from other countries that contain lead! today is july 23rd 2009, two years after the whole “lead in toys thing” so can someone tell me why in the hell is my son just now getting sick? no, i’ll tell you why its because the fucking goverment dont give a shit about our childern. if they would have stop the toys when this shit happened i would not have a sick child now would i?
I personally have put over a $1000. in Thomas the Tank engine. It is the only thing that my son will play with and I think its a great collection to have. I do feel bad for those parents that have sick children. Do I believe the lead is the cause of all these illness’ , no. However, previously the Cars toys were recalled and the news was telling parents they needed to have their children tested for Lead poising. Obviously, a child can become very ill from these toys or Doctors would not have stated you needed to have your child tested. The last round of serious recalls, almost all of my sons toys had to be returned. Everyones body is different, so for those of you who are saying it took years and years of exposure for you to become ill, your body is different from a child. I was able to take them to Walmart and return them. The only problem was that Walmart expected you to keep reciepts from over 2 to 3 years. No ONE keeps reciepts that long. Do you know how many boxes of reciepts would be in your home if you kept all of them? Too many. All in all, no one should be criticizing someone elses opinion on here because we dont know what the other person is or isnt going through. Stay focused on the issue at hand. Yes the companies have done wrong, and so has China, after researching into the situation there is not much we as consumers can do unless you are in the company/government. So what do we need to….we need to do what is best for our children. Start buying American made items, eventually America will build companies and we wont need to relie on China or any other place for that matter. Perhaps if we would have done things like this the economy wouldn’t of hit us all hard. If you feel unsafe then sacrifice the money you spent and dipose of the toys. Yes these items cost a lot of money but isnt our child’s safety more important then the money we spend? I mean look at things that we all waste money on for stupid reasons. I personally don’t think my sons safety is a waste of money. I would rather pitch it all then have him lying in a hospital bed. The lawsuit wont happen and I don’t think thats really the answer to the problem the answer is we need to start watching what we let our children play with. The best solution is to find things that they can do outside during the summertime, and in the winter do family things, go places, what happend to family time? I just think there is other ways to deal with all this then to critize others opinions, sueing, and buying products outside of America. If your child is very ill from lead poisoning I am sorry to hear and I do wish you the best. But some of the illness’ listed above are not caused by lead poisoning.
In regards to the person that said to stop purchasing the wooden trains and go for the plastic or diecast, It does not matter. My son has had trains from each area on a recall. The diecast are actually recalled more then the wooden the plastic has had less but there still has been.
Well all I know is if anyone has any recalled toys that’s why they are “re-called”. YOU CAN SEND THEM BACK!!! THEY WILL SEND YOU A REPLACEMENT FOR WHAT YOU HAVE FOR FREE!!! They didn’t tell you that part. I have many other not Thomas that were recalled that I have had to send back and they give me a voucher or replacement and that’s that. SO you can choose. Lead can come from many sources not just toys. Pain on your walls, candy, food, clothing… us as parents have to always looks this stuff up. Scary stuff!!!
I am trying to find a list of the magnetic thomas toys. My mother just recentally purchased a whole set of magnetic thomas trains from our local goodwill. I have been looking everywhere for these items, and all I see anything about is the wooden sets. Does anyone know if these are lead paint based?