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How to Construct a Wooden Toy Train Table

For junior trainspotters or anyone with a train set that needs a more permanent home, making a train table is fairly simple. Building one does use up some track, but it gives your train collection a permanent home while making it look really nice. Many model train enthusiasts and parents of mini model train enthusiasts often put these together, and it is a fun project to make a simple, sturdy table.

Things You'll Need

4-foot by 8-foot sheet of 1/2-inch, A/B or cabinet-grade plywood
Saw
Pencil and marker
Sandpaper
Train tracks
2-by-4-inch lumber, 5 feet long
Paint (at least green, blue and white colors)
Wood glue
Power drill
Screws

Instructions

- 1
  Measure, mark and cut the plywood into several pieces. The play surface should be 4-feet-4-inches by 3-feet-2-inches, with a pair of 5-inch by 3-foot-2-inch sides. You'll also need two rectangular pieces to make the legs with, which are 3-feet-3-inches by 1-foot-4-inches tall, and a brace which measures 3-feet-2-inches by 4-inches.
- 2
  Mark and cut out the leg pieces. Place the piece with the long-edge faces you, and mark from the top to the bottom, 5-inches in from the left and right sides of the piece. Mark along the bottom edge, again 5-inches in from the bottom. Cut out the rectangular piece marked by these lines. Repeat with the other leg piece.
- 3
  Cut the 2-by-4 into four 15-inch pieces of wood to form leg struts
- 4
  Sand all of the pieces.
- 5
  Plan out the track layout for the train set. Place the track pieces to plan out their location, and draw on areas you will paint to look like grass or water. For more ideas on layouts or decoration ideas, see the sites under Resources.
- 6
  Paint the leg and side pieces white, and the play surface with green and blue paint to indicate grass and ocean. These colors are merely recommended, if you have a preferred color scheme in mind.
- 7
  Screw the leg struts into place. Place one leg piece with the outside facing away from you. Stand a leg strut against the inside of the leg piece, so there's 1/2-inch between the left and right sides of the leg piece and the strut, and the strut stops an inch below the top of the piece. Place another leg strut in the same position, then glue and screw the struts into place. Repeat with the other leg piece and remaining leg struts.
- 8
  Attach the sides to the to the standing leg pieces. Place the leg pieces opposite each other, and 4-feet-4-inches apart. The top of the sides should align with the top of the leg pieces when you glue and screw them into place.
- 9
  Place glue on top of the leg struts, and around the inside of the frame. Drop the play surface face up on top of the leg struts, inside the table frame. Screw the table surface into place.
- 10
  Place the brace across the middle of the table, beneath the play surface. Glue and screw the brace into place.
- 11
  Paint, draw and glue any other finishing touches to the table. Make it look the way you want it to, then leave the table to dry overnight. If you plan to glue the track down, now is the time to do so.

Construction Toys