The Design and History of Wooden Toy Trains

contributed by Teresa Bohannon

In 1936, when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, the doctors instructed Marshall H. Larrabee to start taking things easy. Marshall Larrabee's response was to create Skaneateles Handicrafters, which later became famous for creating wooden toy trains. Skaneateles Handicrafters was based out of Skaneateles, New York.

A system of small trains that run on a wooden track are called wooden toy trains. Toy trains and their wooden tracks are over seventy years old. Collectors of old wooden trains know that the trains and cars used to hook together with the aid of small metal hooks, but that has since changed. Now manufacturers prefer to link the toy trains and cars with magnets; the magnets make them safer for young children who have a tendency to pop the wooden cars into their mouths. Another change toy train manufacturers have made to their wooden train sets is to make some of the parts, like wheels, out of plastic. The large non-mobile pieces, including the layout scenery, are generally crafted from wood.

The design of toy trains made from wood is very simple. Once you are past the basic structure, the design can be simple or complex. The locomotive and cars are made out of carved pieces of wood. The wheels are attached. A few extra pieces of wood are attached to the carving of the locomotive in order to distinguish it from the other cars.

The ends of each piece of the track look like the edges of jigsaw puzzle pieces; that is, a finger on one end fits into a slot on the other. Most toy train companies who make wooden train tracks conform to the Vario-System. By sticking to this system, wooden train tracks made by one company will easily connect to a piece of track made by another company. Most people refer to the Vario-system as the Brio-compatible, after the Biro company, which was the most famous wooden train manufacturer in the world. Interestingly enough, T.C. Timber, a company that used to be called Skaneateles Handicrafters, is one of the few companies who didn't conform to the Vario-system.

A rolling stock track is a toy train track that has wooden grooves that guide the train wheels. Most companies make the their train tracks so each individual piece is reversible; this allows the toy train's owner to reverse the track's curves.

The landscaping that compliments the toy train wooden sets are typically made out plaster, plastic, and plastic resin. Landscapes featuring deserts, the Pacific Coast, mountain ranges, and many more are available.

The world's most famous wooden train is Thomas. Thomas the Tank Engine was a character in a series of children's books called The Railway Series that first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1945.

In 1984 Thomas made his acting debut on a TV program called Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The show first aired in the United States in 1989. The popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine was large enough that manufacturers started selling patterned sets, for toy train's wooden layouts.

About the Author:

Teresa Bohannon, LadyWeb.com