I was contacted a few days before Christmas to make a train for her son. I knew it was out of the US
because the translation on Etsy is not great but works. I thought she meant the train I designed. I told
her I do not do orders outside the country and that shipping would cost more than the train itself. She
was persistent and showed me the train she would like me to design and build. It looked like a fun
challenge and was way underquoted for the design. After a lot of back-and-forth discussion, I
committed to making this for her on my timeline and she would cover all shipping costs. All I was given
for the design was a website.
Starting the process was getting the design together. My limits were 1” wheels on the cars. I don’t go
smaller because they don’t say on axles and become a choking hazard. This dictated a car size of 9”
long. The main thickness of the material I used was ½”. This is the thinnest I will go on structural
components. It is also easier to groove and machine with power tools. I did not have the luxury of
doing detailed plans for this project, so it was all done on paper. Once I had the basic car the rest
followed the same design with some different variations. The hardest part was having access to all the
insides of the cars. I will go into this a little later. I started with the simplest cars and ended with the
caboose and locomotive.
Looking back, this was a project that I should not have taken on. This was a burnout project. I worked
on this for four straight weeks and for the last two months I was working on it in the evenings sanding
and painting. The project was challenging and I learned a lot. There was a lot of pushing the boundaries
of my equipment and trying new things. This is not the way I like to do design projects. I like to create
the design and know how it is all going to fit before starting. This way I can communicate the plan and
get approval before starting. I was designing as I was building. I did not know how I was going to build
the last two cars until 6 weeks before finishing. I did not know how the train was going to link together
until I was installing the hooks and eye bolts. I knew I was burning out as I progressed on each car. I had
a lot of detail to put in each car and as the project progressed, the detail dropped off and the design
became simpler.
The train was primarily made from scraps that I had and leftover wood from my workbench. My
workbench was 6/4 thick so I could resaw and make two pieces of ½” thick material. I did have to
purchase some wood towards the end of the project as well as a lot of dowels and wheels. From a
material perspective, I broke even in costs. From a labor standpoint, I lost 4 months of work. Here is a
description of each of the cars and how I built them:
boiler, and hook placement. The challenge with the cow catcher was how to mount it to the chassis
without it interfering with the wheels and not having some complex cuts in it. This was the last car I
made so I compromised on some of the aesthetics. The groove in the cowcatcher is visible from the
side. It has a lap joining connecting it to the main chassis. I was planning on buying the smokestack but
forgot to add it to the order. I did not want to pay shipping, so I made it. I don’t have a lathe, so drill,
drill press and belt sander did the trick. The main column of the stack was sanded down turning it on a
belt sander. The crown was made by cutting a 2” dowel and drilling a hole in the center. I glued a dowel
in the hole and chucked in my drill. With a belt sander and the drill, I was able to put the profile on the
crown. Then I drilled the dowel out and put it on the main column. It would have been easier to buy a
smoke stack. The boiler did not have a lot of good surface area to glue to. I drilled a hole in the bottom
of the chassis into the boiler and then inserted a dowel. Simple fix, but visible. The chassis for the
locomotive and the rest of the train are not on the same level. So the hook needed to be in another
location. I would usually check this in the design stage, but I did not have a design stage. I tried a couple
of locations and they did not work. So I bent the hook up to reach the coal car connection.
because the translation on Etsy is not great but works. I thought she meant the train I designed. I told
her I do not do orders outside the country and that shipping would cost more than the train itself. She
was persistent and showed me the train she would like me to design and build. It looked like a fun
challenge and was way underquoted for the design. After a lot of back-and-forth discussion, I
committed to making this for her on my timeline and she would cover all shipping costs. All I was given
for the design was a website.
Starting the process was getting the design together. My limits were 1” wheels on the cars. I don’t go
smaller because they don’t say on axles and become a choking hazard. This dictated a car size of 9”
long. The main thickness of the material I used was ½”. This is the thinnest I will go on structural
components. It is also easier to groove and machine with power tools. I did not have the luxury of
doing detailed plans for this project, so it was all done on paper. Once I had the basic car the rest
followed the same design with some different variations. The hardest part was having access to all the
insides of the cars. I will go into this a little later. I started with the simplest cars and ended with the
caboose and locomotive.
Looking back, this was a project that I should not have taken on. This was a burnout project. I worked
on this for four straight weeks and for the last two months I was working on it in the evenings sanding
and painting. The project was challenging and I learned a lot. There was a lot of pushing the boundaries
of my equipment and trying new things. This is not the way I like to do design projects. I like to create
the design and know how it is all going to fit before starting. This way I can communicate the plan and
get approval before starting. I was designing as I was building. I did not know how I was going to build
the last two cars until 6 weeks before finishing. I did not know how the train was going to link together
until I was installing the hooks and eye bolts. I knew I was burning out as I progressed on each car. I had
a lot of detail to put in each car and as the project progressed, the detail dropped off and the design
became simpler.
The train was primarily made from scraps that I had and leftover wood from my workbench. My
workbench was 6/4 thick so I could resaw and make two pieces of ½” thick material. I did have to
purchase some wood towards the end of the project as well as a lot of dowels and wheels. From a
material perspective, I broke even in costs. From a labor standpoint, I lost 4 months of work. Here is a
description of each of the cars and how I built them:
Locomotive
Not my favorite car. It was a pretty straightforward design except for the cowcatcher, smokestack,boiler, and hook placement. The challenge with the cow catcher was how to mount it to the chassis
without it interfering with the wheels and not having some complex cuts in it. This was the last car I
made so I compromised on some of the aesthetics. The groove in the cowcatcher is visible from the
side. It has a lap joining connecting it to the main chassis. I was planning on buying the smokestack but
forgot to add it to the order. I did not want to pay shipping, so I made it. I don’t have a lathe, so drill,
drill press and belt sander did the trick. The main column of the stack was sanded down turning it on a
belt sander. The crown was made by cutting a 2” dowel and drilling a hole in the center. I glued a dowel
in the hole and chucked in my drill. With a belt sander and the drill, I was able to put the profile on the
crown. Then I drilled the dowel out and put it on the main column. It would have been easier to buy a
smoke stack. The boiler did not have a lot of good surface area to glue to. I drilled a hole in the bottom
of the chassis into the boiler and then inserted a dowel. Simple fix, but visible. The chassis for the
locomotive and the rest of the train are not on the same level. So the hook needed to be in another
location. I would usually check this in the design stage, but I did not have a design stage. I tried a couple
of locations and they did not work. So I bent the hook up to reach the coal car connection.
Dining Car
This was the first car that I did. It was a pretty straightforward design. I added the applique detail on
the sides. The roof was a build-up of several pieces. The detail was painted and then assembled. The
stairs were the hardest part of the car. They are grooved into the chassis to provide support. I started
with a 3/16” dowel for the rungs. These all broke when inserting the dowel. I remade them with a 1/8”
dowel and that worked a lot better
the sides. The roof was a build-up of several pieces. The detail was painted and then assembled. The
stairs were the hardest part of the car. They are grooved into the chassis to provide support. I started
with a 3/16” dowel for the rungs. These all broke when inserting the dowel. I remade them with a 1/8”
dowel and that worked a lot better
Ticket Car
This looks like an easy car to make, but it was one of the harder ones. It is all because of the roof. Thecurved roof was a problem. I wanted to have access to the car but there was no design for a door. This
was one of the last cars made so the design to get into the car was to lift off the roof. The roof was an
issue. I thinned poplar out to 1/8” thick and tried bent lamination. Which failed. I tried steam bending
in the microwave. Which failed. I changed to 1/16” thick balsa wood. I was worried that it would break
so I tried to rotate the grain. That failed. The last resort was to bend with the grain and support it. That
worked well. I used a piece of 6” PVC pipe as a form and laminated 4 sheets around it. I reinforced the
roof with battens on the inside. It worked well and that is how I did the locomotive, horse car top
blocks, and the caboose. I hope they survive shipping. They are a little softer than I would like them.
Equipment Car (Organ, luggage)
The luggage cart was pretty easy. It was a couple of pieces glued together with a lot of applique strips
added. The organ proved to be more complicated. It was one of the later cars I did sow it was made
from maple and a lot heavier than the others. I started to make the pipes using a dowel chucked in my
drill press and sanding it down the taper. I was taking a ¼” dowel and fitting it into a 3/16” hole. It was
taking forever and I was breaking more dowels than making. I decided to chuck the dowel in my
cordless drill and go to the belt sander. That worked too well and I made a pointed end. It took a
couple of tries but it worked out well. It was this technique that I used for the smokestack. The sides
were laminated 1/8” material with the design cut into it. I did not make designs for these cars
Caged Animal Flatbed Car
These cars were made in the middle. I did draw both of these out. I used the drawing as a template to
make all the small detail pieces. At one point I thought I lost one. The faces are from two pieces of 1/8”
material. I had to do a few changes on the fly for these cars. The wheels were going to be 7/8” in
diameter. This was too small and increased. I originally had twice as many bars on the cages. This was
too many and I cut the number in half. There are access holes in the top to put things in.
The luggage cart was pretty easy. It was a couple of pieces glued together with a lot of applique strips
added. The organ proved to be more complicated. It was one of the later cars I did sow it was made
from maple and a lot heavier than the others. I started to make the pipes using a dowel chucked in my
drill press and sanding it down the taper. I was taking a ¼” dowel and fitting it into a 3/16” hole. It was
taking forever and I was breaking more dowels than making. I decided to chuck the dowel in my
cordless drill and go to the belt sander. That worked too well and I made a pointed end. It took a
couple of tries but it worked out well. It was this technique that I used for the smokestack. The sides
were laminated 1/8” material with the design cut into it. I did not make designs for these cars
Caged Animal Flatbed Car
These cars were made in the middle. I did draw both of these out. I used the drawing as a template to
make all the small detail pieces. At one point I thought I lost one. The faces are from two pieces of 1/8”
material. I had to do a few changes on the fly for these cars. The wheels were going to be 7/8” in
diameter. This was too small and increased. I originally had twice as many bars on the cages. This was
too many and I cut the number in half. There are access holes in the top to put things in.
Caged Car
This was my problem car. I made everything twice on this. It was the design for all the other box cars
for dimensions. The door slides open. I started with 3/16” dowels and those were too big. I also had
the wrong grain direction on the rails of the door so the door broke on assembly. I ran out of poplar
material at the correct thickness for the door. I found some oak that would work. This is the only part
of the train that has oak in it. After assembling the car, I realized that I did not have enough room in the
groove for the door to slide back and forth in. I could not thin up the door for structural reasons. I had
to break apart the car and cut down the sides. With redoing the car, I also ran out of paint and had to
buy another bottle. It was the first car started and the last car completed.
Flat Car
There is nothing special about this car. I used a burr to make some of the boxes look canvass covered. I
was going to route lines in the green blocks that are supposed to mimic the tent structure. I tried
scribing the lines instead, but my scribe tool does not go deep enough. So I settled on a black, fine-point
Sharpie.
This was my problem car. I made everything twice on this. It was the design for all the other box cars
for dimensions. The door slides open. I started with 3/16” dowels and those were too big. I also had
the wrong grain direction on the rails of the door so the door broke on assembly. I ran out of poplar
material at the correct thickness for the door. I found some oak that would work. This is the only part
of the train that has oak in it. After assembling the car, I realized that I did not have enough room in the
groove for the door to slide back and forth in. I could not thin up the door for structural reasons. I had
to break apart the car and cut down the sides. With redoing the car, I also ran out of paint and had to
buy another bottle. It was the first car started and the last car completed.
Flat Car
was going to route lines in the green blocks that are supposed to mimic the tent structure. I tried
scribing the lines instead, but my scribe tool does not go deep enough. So I settled on a black, fine-point
Sharpie.
Horse Car
This was in the first group of cars to be started but one of the last to be finished. This is why the detail is
not as good as the barn car. The door was similar to hinged doors in the past. I put a lip in the side to
keep the doors from going all the way in The hard part was the two boxes on top of the roof. I could
not get the wood to form and stay. I ended up using a few sheets of thin balsa wood to do bent
lamination. Then cutting the curves to size.
This was in the first group of cars to be started but one of the last to be finished. This is why the detail is
not as good as the barn car. The door was similar to hinged doors in the past. I put a lip in the side to
keep the doors from going all the way in The hard part was the two boxes on top of the roof. I could
not get the wood to form and stay. I ended up using a few sheets of thin balsa wood to do bent
lamination. Then cutting the curves to size.
Barn Car
straightforward. I had an idea of how the roof was going to go. I cut the 45-degree pieces with the table
saw. They were a little large for the roof pieces so I needed to make them smaller. I sat for 15 minutes
trying to figure out how I was going to do this safely. I put in the t-slot on my router table and used a
hand plane. Three swipes and I was good. This car had a lot of hand tool usage. The door also caused a
lot of thinking and overcomplicating the process. My first thought was to just dowel it in and round the
bottom. This idea would not let the ramp touch the floor and I would need to have it assembled before
painting. I ended up cutting a notch in the bottom of the sides for a dowel to slide up and down in. This
allowed for the ramp to touch the ground. The trim hid the notch and it was assembled after all was
finished.
Caboose
After I had figured out all the issues on the ticket car, the caboose was a lot easier. The steps were
solved with the dining car. It was just a matter of putting it all together.
Conclusion
This was not a project that I ended up enjoying. I was about halfway done when I was emotionally done
with it. I had other projects that I wanted to do and provided profit. I received a fire pit for my birthday
so I could burn the plans and scrap. The plans were saved by my youngest because he wants to build one someday. I told him that I would not be helping him build it.
After I had figured out all the issues on the ticket car, the caboose was a lot easier. The steps were
solved with the dining car. It was just a matter of putting it all together.
Conclusion
This was not a project that I ended up enjoying. I was about halfway done when I was emotionally done
with it. I had other projects that I wanted to do and provided profit. I received a fire pit for my birthday
so I could burn the plans and scrap. The plans were saved by my youngest because he wants to build one someday. I told him that I would not be helping him build it.
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