BRIO has started rolling out it’s new Smart Tech railway products in Europe. You might remember the Smart Track products from the mid-2000’s, which used RFID chips embedded in A1 track and some accessories to control the actions of the Smart Track engine. You also got little plastic signs to help you remember which track was where. The system was expensive, the Smart Engine was temperamental, and the track was only available in those A1 straights, but by and large it worked.

In contrast, Smart Tech does away with the track and instead uses little plastic tunnels that go over the track. Like the old Smart Track, each tunnel has a specific action programmed into it which controls the engine. The actions haven’t changed much, though it’s still the first year of the product line (and there aren’t really that many actions for a train, anyway). The tunnels are obviously more flexible than the track since they can be placed anywhere without altering your layout, provided you have space on both sides.

Both Smart Tech engines released so far seem to be the same design (three pairs of wheels, with the last being the drive wheels), in two different color schemes. The 3-wheel design should address at least one common complaint with the older system: negotiating the sharper E1 curves without derailing.

Update: Smart Tech will come to the U.S. in June.

If you live in Europe, 2018 is also bringing a mostly-new vehicle for you: the #33907 Tanker Truck with Wagon.

This two-piece vehicle is an accessory for the #33883 Airport with Control Tower. That may not seem obvious at first, but the product description helps out a bit: “Service and maintenance is a crucial part of keeping any airport up and running. The BRIO Tanker Truck with Wagon makes sure every airplane is refueled between landing and take-off.”

Whether or not you want it for your airport, it’s still a nice piece. The wagon is the same wagon used in the fire truck with new livery, but the tanker truck is a completely new design and an awfully nice one at that. Given the magnet at the top it looks like the tank is a removable load, too.

Alas, for those of us in the American markets it’s not slated to cross the ocean this year, so we’ll have to rely on importers and international sellers on Amazon and eBay.

If you live in Europe you can buy the new Curved Bridge as a separate product, BRIO #33699. Those of you living here in the U.S. can also find it on Amazon from international sellers, though you may find cheaper shipping from sellers on eBay.

I only find starter sets interesting if they have something unique to offer, and the BRIO #33627 Travel Station set has something that has been missing in the BRIO lineup since it first appeared in the 1950’s: curved bridges!

Buy it on Amazon

There’s two of them in the set, and they are designed to fit the large E curved track. The track is not attached to the bridge: it fits (snugly) inside the curved frame, allowing you to slide the track forward and back to get the positioning you want. You can very easily put two of these bridges end-to-end.

The bridge itself is a simple truss style, but what it lacks in frills it makes up for in just being unique. It’s the only curved bridge in the BRIO lineup.

Of course, US$80 (as of April, 2018) is a steep price for just two bridges, but there are several other components in the starter set that are enticing including a F parallel switch (which hasn’t been in production in nearly two decades) and a rather unique curved-Y track station design. If you like the BRIO World styling, the latter is another unique addition to your setup.

After a lackluster couple of years, BRIO seems to be returning to its roots with a couple of its accessories in 2018. The biggest news is Brio #33886, the Cargo Transport Helicopter.

Buy it on Amazon.

This is a modernization of the classic #33580 Helicopter from 1988.

The new version is a mix of plastic and wood like most of BRIO’s current lineup. A nice feature is the cockpit windshield, which opens up to reveal a seat for the pilot which is included. It also comes with a cargo car. The wheel base looks the same as the airplane, which means that, as with the latter, you can use the helicopter on a runway made from the road track.

Brio #33866 marks the return of the Low-Level Crane. This first appeared in European markets in 2017. In the US, it looks like it will be part of #33878, the Lift and Load Starter set. This set includes the classic, plastic tunnel and a classic tree.

Buy the #33866 Low Level Crane on Amazon or on eBay. Find the #33878 Lift and Load Starter Set on Amazon.

There’s even an update to the BRIO Airport set from 2013. The new version is a bit simpler by doing away with the monorail, and the new plane comes in red, adding some variety to your BRIO fleet.

Buy it on Amazon or on eBay.

I love these jets. They are one of the best accessories BRIO has made, and it’s nice to see new colors come along.

It’s a good start to the year.

Want a closer look at the upcoming 2016 Wooden Railway lineup? BRIO has posted some videos on their YouTube channel showing off some of their soon-to-be-released products.

BRIO’s web site has posted some thumbnails and larger-size images showing what appear to be some of their new toys for 2016.

The first is #33789, the Lumber Loading Set (click for a larger, alternative view). Note that the red, tied-arch bridge is yellow in this starter set, and the yellow train car with the green arm looks somewhat similar to the #33316 Lift and Load Train from the early 2000’s. It’s not visible in the large image and hard to see in the small thumbnail, but there does appear to be a conveyor or slide in this set as well.

The second is a series of figures, #33829 the Figure Play Pack.

The file names on the larger images suggest that these will be part of the “Hero” them.

BRIO has made a couple of interesting announcements in the past couple of weeks. While details are still a little thin, here is their sneak peek at some new Wooden Railway products for 2016:

BRIO World — Railway App

BRIO’s first ever game app, BRIO World — Railway will let you build your own virtual BRIO railway complete with track, trains, accessories and characters. The worlds will be interactive and will supply “missions” for you to complete as part of the play experience. The more you interact with the game, the more your world will grow and the more features will be unlocked.

The app will sell for 2.99 EUR (with no in-app purchases) and be available for tablets, phones, and traditional computers running iOS, Android 4, and Windows 10. Read the press release on BRIO’s web site.

Character-based theme: Village

BRIO will launch a new set of character-based themes, starting with Village. Rather than try and summarize this one, I’ll quote from the press release:

Village is BRIO’s first character-based play theme that encourages boys and girls to play together with the help of stories from their own everyday life. The Village environment is constructed with modules like the Family Home and School Playsets, the Market stand and Ice-cream shop. Staying true to the BRIO spirit, it is up to every child whether to assemble the predefined modules or come up with their own creations. Everything is in the same scale as the railway sets, and themes in the BRIO World can easily be connected as part of a bigger setting.

See the press release for more information.

Other new accessories

Look for a new accessory called the Lumber Loading Set. Built with a sustainability theme in mind, it comes with trees, and tools for planting them. The Rescue theme launches in the fall, and they’ve announced three accessories: the Rescue Emergency Set, Central Firestation, and Firefighter Helicopter.

In the United States we are saddled with Schylling as a distributor for BRIO toys. I use the term “saddled” deliberately: we tend to get “new” releases anywhere from six months to a year after they have already been out in the European markets, assuming we even get them at all. Schylling picks and chooses which items it’s going to bring in from BRIO’s catalogs, and we are stuck with their choices and their timing. The good news is, there are options for you if you are interested in some relatively recent Wooden Railway products.

First, Schylling has released their catalog supplement for 2015 and it looks like the Fun Park theme will be available in the U.S. for the holidays. Also showing up will be the all new #33766 Railway World Deluxe Set, a huge starter set with a nice mix of some recent accessories. Based on Schylling’s dealer pricing, expect the latter to run about $400.

If you want some of the Fall 2015 products, a few 3rd party sellers from Europe are listing items on Amazon’s U.S. site, and selling at very reasonable prices with either free or very cheap shipping. This week, I noticed LeVida Toys listing most of the Horse Farm theme, including the large #33791 Horse Stable. A couple of other sellers have these items listed as well. Be sure to look around.

If you celebrate Christmas, you might be interested in this: the BRIO Advent Calendar. New for 2015, this advent calendar can also double as scenery in your layout and it includes some holiday-themed accessories, including a two-piece travel train, figures, a snowman and magentic “present” loads. The front flap of the box folds down, revealing the calendar doors in the front of the building, and forming a scenery “base” for the accessories.

So far I have only seen this sold in Germany, so I got mine off of eBay from Spielkiste. This seller seems to be offering the best international shipping to the U.S. so far, though of course other sellers may be less expensive if you live elsewhere in the world.