Wooden Train - Help

[Dennis Peacock]

A lady has asked me to build her grandson a wooden train. I don't want to buy a book for a one-time project and was wondering if anyone here may have a wooden train book or plan for a steam engine that I could borrow??? Or maybe point me in a direction here on the inter-webs for a resource? I'm thinking it can't be that hard as I don't think she wants it to be very detailed, just hand-made.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

I gotta get out of the habit of getting myself into situations like this. :D

[Lee Schierer]

The plans here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/347692033716588356/
Are supposedly free

There are some really nice plans in "The Great All American Wooden Toy Book" by Norm Marshall. (https://www.amazon.com/Great-All-American-Wooden-Toy-Book/dp/0878576282)

[Bill Bukovec]

Have you tried a library? If they don't have it, they may be able to borrow from another library system.

[David Sloan]

414834I have made several trains over the years. This is a picture of the last. I used the plans from Les Neufeld's book 'Making Toys that Teach'. There are 6 additional cars for the train, one of which I am currently making for my grandson's birthday. I had fun making the engine, used different hardwoods (maple, walnut, bloodwood,sycamore, cherry, ebony and padauk using up random scraps). I modifed the plans a little, turned some of the parts like the oversized ebony smokestack. It's quite heavy as you might expect. The grandchildren play with it a lot which is saying something. Anyway,the book is worth buying. The author is a professional educator as well as a woodworker. I have made other toys from the book as well. Have fun!

[Dennis Peacock]

OK, I broke down and ordered the book from Thrift Books online. It was $1.99 plus $3.99 shipping. Should arrive next week.

[Pete Staehling]

Glad you found something that suits your needs.

I usually find that it is fun to look at a bunch of pictures on line including plans and also completed stuff for sale on etsy or where ever. Then I usually print out a few pictures of more than one item I like, to look at while working and to get general proportions right. From there I wing it. I usually find I can have more fun and wind up with something I like better than what I robbed various ideas from.

I put enough of myself into the work that I think I can claim the design as my own in most cases.

[Bill Lyman]

I have made a bunch. Much simpler than the plans I have seen, but people love them and children play with them for several years. Dowels for engine, tank cars, axels, smoke stacks etc, wheels, engineer's heads were ordered from various sources. Everything else I made. There are no metal parts, including the couplings.
the chassis is 2-1/4 wide
The cars vary in length
engines 10-1/2"
tender 7-1/2"
box car 8-1/2"
tank car 7-1/2"
container car 8-1/2"
caboose 8-1/2"
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[Dennis Peacock]

Very nice Bill..!!! I hope to do stuff like that as well.!! Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated.