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BuiltWithNOF
Toy Train

Unlike the dumper truck and fire engine - this is not a toy I made from scratch.  It had been passed down through Caroline’s family and whilst only about 40 years old - was in a sorry state.

Toy train before restoration

 

Most of it was just well worn - but the front end piece had actually been damaged at some stage. I decided to use my router table to copy the back piece so as to make a new front one. The original looked like 9mm beech - so 9mm ply was a handy choice.

The replacement front end

 

I wasn’t happy about the fittings - especially the wheels - so all the metal work and wheels were replaced. I added new strips of wood to strengthen the chassis and to ensure the wheel screws did not break through. For this I used cheap white wood (probably pine) which I cut into strips on my little table saw.

New wheels and extra wood

 

After that - it was a lot of painting. All the paint came from Hobbies except for the varnish which was a water based acrylic gloss varnish bought from a local artist supplier. As this was designed to protect paintings and not toys - I wasn’t sure how durable it would be - but I applied 2 coats and these have held up very well.

In the paint shop

 

The finished model. I found the screw cups new at a car boot sale - but all the other fittings were bought new. The rubber bumpers and brass screws came from a local ironmongers and the wheels and wheel screws came from Hobbies. I also decided that the wheels looked better (and might be better protected) with washers between them and the screws.

The final result

 

A 100 years ago I expect any 5 year old boy would have been happy to own a train like this - but not now. Benjamin feels he is too old for it - but our youngest son Rupert regularly ‘drives’ it around the house! :-)

Since writing the above I have in August 2011 just finished a tender for this train - complete with computer controlled whistle and steam noise! More details to follow:

Train with 'new build' tender

 

All text and images Copyright © 2000-2011 Roland Givan, unless otherwise stated. All Rights Reserved. Game artwork copyright their respective publishers.

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