Like many organizations, we are always looking for things to enhance our gift shop/sales catalog offerings. Currently we have nothing geared for children. What items have your organization found that sell well but are tasteful - that is not junk? I am thinking of stuff that can stand on its own, not Thomas stuff.

Personal suggestion:

Toy/wooden train whistles are what you buy for your enemy's children.

The single most popular item in our Museum Store are those small pull-back and friction locomotive toys. They sell by the dozens!

Besides the friction toys mentioned, I have seen children size "engineer caps" in both blue and pink. Also simple story books.

When placing them in the store place these items at a level that both the young children and their parents/grandparents can see them.

What he said...

Thomas stuff?

A couple of suggestions from a buyer's perspective.

Include a least some low cost (less than $3 IMHO) items for those parents on a tight budget. My daughter picked up a little black steam loco shaped easer for a buck some years ago and it still gets played with;

The pink hats are nice, but I'll challenge anyone to find train related toys that have a older girl's orientation - 7-10 years. Mine still likes trains, but there isn't much out there. Partly thinking clothes, t-shirts, scarfs, etc;

I have no connection other than being a customer, but at the B&O museum shop we stumbled on Whittle Shortline Trains (http://www.woodentrain.com/. Prototypical, run on Thomas tracks, made in USA. These have been very fun for my 5 year old son as he grows out of Thomas;

He likes any "set" that runs on track. A $12, small set with simple track and wind up engine provided a number of hours of entertainment before the track broke. Well worth the cost;