"The electric locomotive does not move easily without the batteries. This product is labelled as for 2-5 year age category. Although our 2-year old loves pushing trains along tracks, he doesn’t yet understand the electronics. It is not a nice experience for him without batteries and with them he gets frustrated at the (in his perception) random start /stop behaviour of the train.
As a parent, it is also very frustrating that the train tracks (in particular the bridge in a separate set) are not compatible with ‘my first number train’ or some other trains and vehicles currently available. In my opinion it was a mistake to phase out the locomotive without electronics."