GeoTrax Rail and Road Systems are sets of interchangeable railroad tracks, roads and buildings that when connected create entire communities and working systems.

Introduction

Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...

 GeoTrax Rail and Road Systems, first released in 2003, consist of train engines, train cars, tracks for building layouts, and several playsets that can be used with the tracks and road sets. GeoTrax trains and toy vehicles can be used for push along play or be operated by battery powered remote controls that enable sounds and actions. Some GeoTrax toys are modeled after well-known trains. Adding more sets and track to expand the layouts is the goal of GeoTrax collectors. Children 2½ and older are the main users of this toy.

GeoTrax Toy Types

GeoTrax toys are categorized as Rail, Construction, Rescue, Elevation, Air and Sea, and City playsets. The Rail sets vary from small basic pieces that include an engine and one or more cars, to larger sets of 30 or more pieces that can be configured in a number of ways. Separate water works, tunnel, crane, and freight loading toys comprise the Rail playsets. Several Rail playsets include a remote controlled engine and cars with tracks and other pieces such as trees and signposts. Rescue playsets include fire stations, rescue response vehicles, and toy police cars and ambulances. Construction sets come in mining, trucking, fork lift and digging toy variations. The Elevation playsets include mountains, bridges and clock tower toys. Lighthouses, airports, seaplanes, jet planes, fishing piers, trains, drawbridges and tugboats make up the Air and Sea sets. Extra track is available to expand the playsets.

GeoTrax Figures

In 2007, GeoTrax train cars began to include miniature figures of conductors and passengers. These sets containing humans (typically one or two) and trains are identified according to “teams”—thereby giving GeoTrax train cars personalities and presenting additional play options. "Team” sets are available individually or in conjunction with GeoTrax playsets such as the Chop ‘n Haul Sawmill or the Rope ‘n Ride Ranch.

GeoTrax Layouts

GeoTrax train set layouts come in beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert levels, and are built around playset Rail, Construction, Rescue, Elevation and Air and Sea focal point toys. GeoTrax's appeal is due in part to the number of possible track configurations that can be created with interchangeable track and playsets. GeoTrax is known for its Snap-Lock track which can be locked together or taken apart to create a multitude of track configurations. Layouts can be set up flat or using elevated tracks, and can incorporate curves, ramps and bridges. Some adult assembly is needed to build the track layouts. The assembly process sometimes involves using a Philips screwdriver and snapping tracks together to create multiple play levels. Users can learn to build a number of prescribed layouts by visiting the GeoTrax site which shows pieces and sets used in each layout and printable pictures of the layouts.

Some enthusiasts create GeoTrax layouts in CAD, and work on complex processes such as engine teardowns and track cutting to gain new functions from GeoTrax toys. Some GeoTrax users post images of their layouts online.

GeoTrax Hobbyists and Hackers

Collecting GeoTrax trains, tracks, and playsets has become a hobby that is discussed on fan sites such as GeoTrax World and fan blogs, including GeoTrax Train Blog, where collectors and hobbyists interact with each other and find out more about GeoTrax collecting and play. Hacking GeoTrax toys is another facet of the hobby.

Animated Series

Fisher Price made 4 animated episodes, and coming up a 5th one.

1. "New Train in Town" - 2007
2. "The Legend of Old Rust" - 2007
3. "Flying Lesson" - 2008
4. "Steamer and Samuel Save the Day" - 2009

Recall

On September 4, 2007, some Geotrax trains were recalled by Mattel

Mattel

Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...

 due to lead based paint

Lead paint

Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead, a heavy metal, that is used as pigment, with lead chromate and lead carbonate being the most common. Lead is also added to paint to speed drying, increase durability, retain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture that causes corrosion...

. This follows similar recalls of other Mattel products, such as Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket

Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories. The name comes from the fact that many of the original Polly Pocket dolls came in pocket-size cases. The current Fashion Polly dolls sold by Mattel differ significantly from those originally sold by Bluebird Toys. The original Bluebird dolls...

 dolls and accessories due to problems stemming from Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

parts.

In Popular Culture

In Weird Al's video "Perform this Way", a repainted GeoTrax "Steamer" train was seen on a hat running on a GeoTrax rail.

External links

• Official Fisher Price GeoTrax Rail and Road Systems Web Site