Children's toys with trains are unique in many ways. After all, a baby at 2 years old, and a toddler of 4-5 years old, and a schoolboy, and even an adult can play with them. They are of interest to both boys and girls. And most importantly, all railways are excellent educational toys. It remains only to find out how to correctly choose a locomotive for a child ...

How is the railway useful for children?

Locomotives, carriages, passenger and freight trains, rails, sleepers, semaphores with barriers, stations and train stations - all this is fanned by the charm of a long road, from which even small children, who are not really familiar with charm, cannot turn their backs! Therefore, toys that allow a child to get to know the railway theme closely are always popular as a gift. However, their charm is not only in the fact that they are able to awaken a sincere interest in a given topic in a baby and to captivate him for more than one hour. For loving parents no less important is the developmental factor of such fun. The children's railway improves fine motor skills, develops coordination, promotes imaginative and spatial thinking of the child. Moreover, all these qualities only increase over the years! After all, complex sets designed for older children are comparable to full-fledged ones, where it is necessary to create your own railway network from a variety of elements. This requires being known and focused, as well as imagination, ingenuity and creativity. What can I say, if the passion for the miniature railway world can turn into a real hobby for life - a huge number of adults collect model trains all over the world!

What kind of "railroad" toys are there?

But, as often happens with children's toys, in order for the baby to be really interested in trains and trains, a number of factors must be taken into account. And the most important of them is the correspondence of the selected set to the child's age. An unnecessarily complicated railway for a little man he will not fully appreciate, but will completely ignore a completely simple one. Therefore, start with the age group:

During this period, children are just mastering "transport" toys. For them, the accuracy of reproduction of a real object and its ability to copy the behavior of the prototype are not important - it is much more important for the toy to be large, understandable and durable. Therefore, choose simple trains made of plastic or wood, with a bright design (it is not bad if the train is "animated" with the help of drawn eyes and a smile, or is stylized as heroes of popular cartoons) and a minimum of small details. For an interesting game, 1-3 carriages and short looped rails are enough. And very young "machinists" can pick up a set without a railroad at all. For them, a little train is often enough, which can be rolled directly on the floor and table (in fact, this is not a train, but a kind of machine "for a train"), and not be limited to one direction of movement in a circle. By the way, for the same reason, crumbs do not need mechanized trains. It is much more interesting for them to move the locomotive with their own hands, and not just watch it move at the behest of the electric drive.

By this age, kids can begin to get bored of the simplest trains. Therefore, it is worth choosing more advanced models. Thus, the design becomes more realistic and detailed (although still far from large-scale modeling). The number of cars for an exciting game is also required much more - at least 5-6, and different in content (passenger and freight cars, tank, platform for cars, etc.). The child's wish also changes for the structure of the railway itself. The basic ring no longer captivates, and you need a set that allows you to collect a variety of options for train tracks - with forks and arrows, turns and crossings. All this contributes to a noticeable variety of games, they do not bother the child longer. This also makes the games more difficult. If before that the kid is "behind the eyes" of the train ride, periodically saying the cherished "tu-tu!", By the age of 3 he is already interested in role-playing and story games. Therefore, it is worth telling him (or better yet, showing him on video) how the railway works.

3-5 years and older

The child is already old enough to become seriously interested in the functioning of trains. That is why he perceives with a bang very accurate miniature copies of real steam locomotives, diesel locomotives and electric locomotives! He demands the same realism from all the other attributes of a children's railroad: rails, stretches, train stations, driver's booths. Some sets even include drawbridges, tunnels, trees and animals, allowing you to create around playground"Real" landscape! Separately, it should be said about the mechanization of the toy mentioned above. If at 2-3 years old, many children are glad that the steam locomotive can move independently with the help of a built-in motor, started by a button on the body, then from 3-4 years old it is already too easy. That is why it is good if the little "chief of the station" has a real remote control in his hands: for starting, stopping and reversing the train, for translating arrows, raising barriers and even turning on semaphores! Needless to say, in this case, not only wagons, but already one train is not enough - better than 2 or 3 ...

What characteristics of the children's railroad are important?

When choosing a specific railway set, it is worth paying attention to a number of its features. Among them:

light and music: many trains for both the smallest and older children have light and indication: flashing lights and signals while driving, this makes the game more fun;

smoke: the apotheosis of realism, put on expensive models, this is real smoke coming from the chimney of a steam locomotive, obtained as a result of a safe chemical reaction - just keep in mind that it can smell unpleasant;

hitching: pay attention to how easy it is to hitch the wagons to each other and to the train - remember that for a small child it is better to have a simple hitching with a hook or a magnet, which does not require much effort;

the size of the locomotive: the rule is simple - what less child, the larger the train and carriages are needed for the game, so that it is convenient to handle them for children's fingers with an underdeveloped fine motor skills, and vice versa;

the size of the canvas: here the rule is the opposite - for small children it is better to take a set of rails that is not very large, and for older children, the set is 2-3 times longer (it is only important that there is enough space in the nursery for its installation);

accessories: it is important to consider the possibility of further expansion with the help of separately purchased rails, crossings, bridges, stations, new cars, etc., so that the game “grows” with the baby;

quality: try to evaluate the set without packaging - whether there is a chemical smell, cracks, traces of inaccurate assembly, glue, chips, paint peeling off, whether there is any backlash at the hinges, whether the toy cracks from slight compression;

materials: children's toys should be made exclusively of safe plastic, wood, metal, so do not forget to look at the quality certificates that guarantee the high quality of the trains;

era: relevant for older kids. If you choose a railway of a historical type, you need, like with, to take into account whether the child himself is familiar with that era - otherwise he will not understand what kind of steam locomotive it is, and why it is so different from modern trains.

And one more, largely unexpected, but important nuance when choosing in a store. Try to put the train with carriages on the tracks and ride a little back and forth. It should not only roll easily and without the slightest creak, but also ... not go off the rails. For some manufacturers, the design of the set is such that with any careless handling (and for children this is in the order of things), the composition falls off the canvas. Which, of course, disappoints the child, causing him more than legitimate indignation. Therefore, if there is a suspicion that the wheels are not very confident on the rails, it is better to refuse to purchase.

Does your child already have a set of children's railroad - or are you just planning such a gift?

9 237976
Leave comments 8

Hobbies are different: someone quietly and calmly collects stamps or candy wrappers, containing their entire collection in a thick album in the top drawer of the table, someone plays golf on Saturdays, and someone chooses a whole area of ​​art as a hobby and devotes to it all of my life.

This is exactly what can be said about lovers and fans of railway or railway miniatures, because to create crafts of this kind, one desire is not enough - it will take a lot of time, effort, careful collection of information, sometimes resources, and financial investments, as well as, undoubtedly, skills to As a result, you have a real miniature railway of your own.

A miniature railway is a subject of interest not only for children, but also for adults, and even more and more adults. Almost every child had a children's toy in the form of a railway station with rails, steam locomotives and carriages, and if it was more expensive, the set included various railway signs, a semaphore, figures of drivers and other interesting details.

It's interesting to play such a game, but I always wanted more, for example, for the railway network to be more developed and contain many branches and turns of the rails, so that the train models are inertial or move by themselves, and you can control them using the remote control, so that there are many additional elements: tunnels, bridges, roads with vehicles, trees, people, etc.

To make such a toy, or rather, no longer a toy, but a real model of the railway with your own hands, you need to work hard, and not all children have such an opportunity, so the help of their parents will most likely be needed. It's good if they share your hobby for railway miniatures and help you create crafts. For an adult lover of railway modeling, of course, it is easier in this regard.

As for the directions in which there is a hobby of railway in miniature, they are divided by several:

• some simply collect only toy rails, trains and all accompanying accessories;
• others also collect, but already scale models;
• still others are engaged in the manufacture of miniature railways, recreating entire historical stations and train stations, laying a real railway network from different directions of the tracks, doing the actual reconstruction of certain objects;
• someone is trying to make miniature copies of real or existing locomotives and trains in the smallest detail;
• and another interesting type of railway modeling is a park or garden railway, for the creation of which very large scales are used, therefore such a model of a railway can even be used as an attraction and transport people in it.

A bit of history

A miniature railway is not at all a tribute to fashion and is not a new phenomenon, because the history of railway miniature and modelism has been going on for more than one hundred and fifty years. For the first time, the model of the railway appeared like a toy in the nineteenth century (in the second half of it). Germany, represented by the manufacturer Märklin, took over the provision of the required industrial volumes. Their miniature railways were so high-quality and good that even the royal family ordered such a model for the Winter Palace.

Based on the scale of rail presented in miniature German production, scaling standards for rail modeling were later adopted. By the end of the nineteenth century, America was also involved in the business, for the first time in the world putting on the market an electric model of a railway (manufacturer - Carlisle & Finch).

Almost until the middle of the last century, both an ordinary toy in the form of a railway rails with a train, and a perfectly exact replica or a miniature railway were perceived the same way, however, after the toy they ceased to cause such excitement, and modeling began to form as a serious hobby, gradually finding more and more more fans.

Therefore, the manufacturers tried to please their new admirers - adults, who were eager to assemble a full-fledged miniature model of the railway. To do this, they began to produce more improved models, where the rails could be folded into a full-fledged railway track in miniature, where the locomotives and carriages had many parts and elements, which also included various buildings, road paraphernalia and signs, a semaphore, etc.

In our time, there are practically no global giants left that would be engaged in such production, however there are many small successfully functioning companies specializing in the production of certain models trains or additional accessories, without which a miniature railway is impossible.

Scales, components and other nuances

To make a model of a railway, you must understand many nuances, for example, on what scale a miniature railway is usually performed, what kind of sets and configurations of a craft can be obtained, whether a diagram is needed and where to get it, what to do with components, necessary details and various accessories, etc.

The standards of scales and sizes for railway modeling are very different. The most common are standard sizes bearing the symbol TT and BUT.

The standard size of the TT - from the English Table-top trains - means that the model of the railway is carried out on a scale of one to one hundred and twenty (1: 120) with a track gauge of twelve millimeters. Such a miniature railway is still called twelve-millimeter. All mobile models of trains are also made in it - this is done by supplying electricity along the rails, although it is possible to connect an electric locomotive through the contact network.

A large number of models and all kinds of accessories for assembling railway miniatures of this standard size are produced:

• German companies Berliner TT Bahnen, Tillig;
• European manufacturers Roco and Piko have a small selection;
• Jago company pleases fans with rare models of old locomotives;
• Russian firms "Peresvet" and "TT-model";
• American PossumValleyModels, GoldCoast (some models of cars and locomotives).

Another common standard size is NO. The name comes from the English abbreviated HalfZero or half zero. The model of the railway in this case is produced in a scale ratio of one to eighty-seven (1:87). There is also a standard size 0, in which the scale is taken twice as large, that is, 1 to 45. And here half zero is obtained, but the Latin letter O is used instead of it in the designation.

A miniature railway on this scale is considered the most popular and widespread in the world due to the fact that it can be made without using complex devices, moreover, these models of railways are large enough for detailing, but at the same time they are quite convenient and compact for placing a layout in a house or apartment.

A miniature railway of this standard size is also mobile: energy is supplied from a contact network or on rails (in the case of electric motors in locomotive models). Plus - you have the opportunity to use additional interesting elements when creating crafts:

• the device of a smoke generator that will run on oil and create a smoke effect over diesel locomotives or steam locomotives;
• installation of a sound decoder in the rolling stock - you can play any sound files that simulate the noises and sounds of train movements, etc .;
• signaling devices, which stands for alarm, centralization and blocking.

There are also various other standard sizes. For example, the large-scale standard G, which has been developed and produced since 1968 and is still being dealt with by the German company LGB. This is the clearest example of an open-air garden railroad. In general, the more the scale is chosen in which the miniature railway is executed, the more detailed the prototype should be repeated, the smallest details and elements should be taken into account.

DIY or buy?

Today you can find many thematic forums, special editions dedicated to railway modeling. You can purchase various elements separately and then assemble them together, assembling your own model of the railroad.

However, first of all, you will need to decide on the available free space. Can you allocate half or even a whole room for the layout of the layout? If not, then you will first have to deal with the construction of a model or equipment of a special place. To do this, you can use at least a separate table or make a retractable / folding tabletop that will be used only for your project and for nothing else, which means that you do not have to fold and remove the layout every time.

There are also options for modular layouts, which consist of individual blocks, cantilever structures (you can attach the layouts to the walls like shelves) and lifting (easily retractable to the ceiling).

The scale for the apartment is also better to take the appropriate one, for example, with a standard size of 1:87, you won't do much, because you will need at least one by three meters of space. It is better to stop at scales of 1: 120 or 1: 160, since designing a layout in an even smaller standard size Z (1: 240) will require very great skills, efforts and financial investments.

To create your own miniature railway, you will need to come up with and think over to the smallest details its future appearance. Perhaps it is worth starting with the simplest scheme, for example, to make only one rail ring and a locomotive with several cars. Over time, you will add additional tracks, trains, semaphore and signs, station and buildings, figures of people, etc. to the project.

Experienced craftsmen already know how to create whole detailed landscapes - mountains and plains, bridges and tunnels, forests and fields, miniature streets, numerous forks, depots and other interesting things.

Even for the simplest project, it is better to make a diagram. Just try to draw what exactly you want to create. If your plans are to create a railway of a certain historical era, then you need to thoroughly study all the available information on this topic, find archival photographs, copy them, etc.

Also detailed diagram will be needed for the manufacture of models of steam locomotives and carriages. You can use the schematic drawing of a particular car by looking for its photo. Just divide the real dimensions of a particular train by the scale you need and you will have a ready-made construction plan.

Step by step work plan

1. Provide space for the project and make a sub-layout (a simple configuration can even be placed on a plywood sheet).
2. Transfer the diagram of the future railway miniature to the layout sheet (draw how the rails will pass, mark forks and turns, roads where you will place buildings or structures). For a complex rail arrangement, the circuit can be designed on a computer in a special program.
3. Laying the rails. Rail material can be purchased from a specialist store or you can make your own. Since current flows along the rails in moving roads, craftsmen make them from thick copper wire, rolling it to a rectangular section on a hand-held machine. Sleepers are made from thin pieces, which are also cut on the machine. The tracks are attached in two ways: either they are glued, or they are nailed to the base with small nails, then you can solder the rails to the same nails, or you can also glue the rails to the sleepers.
4. For a mobile model, you need to additionally develop an electrical circuit, and then mount it on a breadboard. Homemade blocks are usually taken as a power source, you can also take a factory one. Do not forget about safety rules - the output voltage cannot be high, use a power supply unit up to sixteen volts, and if the model is small, then six or nine volts will be enough. An electric motor for a train can be purchased at a radio store or removed from a toy. Conduct electricity from two rails to the engine. To route electricity to the entire base, stock up on connectors and copper wires. Think over all the details before wiring - where the semaphores and traffic lights, barriers will be located, whether the lights will be on, etc.
5. Backfill and place the ballast, matching it to the size of the aquarium soil or any household bulk materials.
6. Design and design the relief and landscape. To make your layout look like a real one, be sure to decorate a beautiful landscape. You can use professional materials such as a spatula-mass, forest bedding, meadow powder, different layers of earth, crushed stone, sand, gravel and other interesting accessories from well-known manufacturers. If you choose more budget options, then for imitation of mountains it is quite possible to do with construction foam, which can then be easily painted in any desired color. Hills, fields, vegetation and other decor can also be recreated from plywood, stucco, fiberglass, papier-mâché, wood and others finishing materials... Use acrylic paints to paint the parts.
7. If there is no time and desire to bother like that, then many elements can be taken on the model and ready-made, for example, from toy sets, which contain figurines of trees, and dummies of grass or bushes, animals, cars, signs, people.
8. The situation is the same with buildings - either use ready-made options, or build yourself from cardboard, wood, plywood, papier-mâché. Use photographs of real train stations and other buildings as examples.
9. Add the necessary components: apply the roads, paint the grass, arrange the figures of people and put the trains on the rails.

The hobby for railway modeling can begin with a donated set with a railway and trains. Such a hobby, although it requires a lot of effort and expense, undoubtedly helps to develop, think, create and not stand still.

This toy is probably one of the most common childhood dreams. Previously, it appeared on the shelves extremely rarely, while it cost a lot of money, and its quantity was so limited that not everyone got it. Now there is no such problem.

And, besides, you can pick up almost any option you like: from the minimum configuration to large sets with additional parts. Therefore, the modern toy railway is not just a toy for a child, but also a construction set for the whole family. Playing with the railway will take your child's attention for a long time, and the possibility of modernization will increase the length of the game for a long time, and it will constantly attract the interest of children of different ages.

Children's railway for the little ones

The simplest railways, which are offered in the minimum configuration, are suitable for children younger age... But for older children, the options are more varied, that is, it may include more elements, and the kit may include a variety of figures. You will see that even adults can get carried away with this fun game!

Both psychologists and teachers agree that toys that reflect the essence of the surrounding life are useful for a child of three years old, because it is at this age that the child develops a basic idea of environment, his self-identification takes place. And in the mind of the child there is a classification of everything visible and felt. At this time, it is very important role-playing games... It is they who help the child to behave correctly in a given situation, help develop skills that will be useful to the baby in later life. will become very good choice for a gift, this toy will be one of the favorites for the kid for a very long time.

When you choose a railroad for a child under four years old, it is best to pick up more simple options, in a more colorful performance. Buy models made from environmentally friendly materials.

For small children: IKEA, Brio, Thomas, Chuggintones, Lego duplo.

Children's railway for older children

For older children, from five years old, you can purchase more complex models with objects such as trees, towers, water stations, etc. Such kits make it possible to actively develop imagination. And some manufacturers generally offer thematic games, that is, you can separately assemble a training ground or a factory with railway tracks.

For kids school age a good choice would be railways that are replicas of the real ones. In fact, these are real masterpieces. Such toys repeat every detail of the reproduced object.

It is also worth noting that at present the buyer has a choice, that is, you can give preference to a railway that is fully consistent with the modern one, but you can also choose a model that will be stylized for objects corresponding to the Wild West, for example, or Europe. And caring parents will be able to come up with many exciting, instructive games for the child with her participation. Happy choice!

For older children: Arrow, Tomica, Lego city.

Children's railway - photo

Toy railways are inherently associated with childhood. Many of us have young age there was once a plastic or iron railroad prefab model. And those who could boast of a foreign-made model were considered lucky.

In modern times, the toy railroad hobby has grown into a major modeling industry. Moreover, this business is already more focused on an adult audience than on children.

Trees, houses, roads, cars, relief surroundings were added to the main attributes - a track and a locomotive with trailers. And a table with a full-fledged model of a railway, with many details and trifles, is already a real art.

Abroad, such products cost from 2 thousand dollars, but in this article I will tell you how to make a full-fledged model of a toy railroad with your own hands.

Table

You will need space for the layout. Ideally, this should be a separate table, but you can get by with a small table, or just a fenced-off area on any suitable surface. It all depends on your desire and scope. I recommend starting with a small place - for example, a part of the table, and then, if inspired, make a large layout. It's better to start small than to take on a large amount of work right away and leave it half way.

Starter kit

Without which it will not be possible to make a model of the railway - this is the railway itself. Or rather, a set of rails, a train and a power supply system for it. Here, alas, there are no alternatives - all this needs to be bought. It's good that nowadays the market has a lot to choose from.

Sketch

To know where you are heading, you need to have a goal in front of your eyes. Make a rough sketch on paper - where what should be, and what the general appearance of your layout will be. Browse the Internet, look at the numerous models of railways and take note of what you like - bridges, crossings, houses, stations. You can make a mock-up of a half-station in the Wild West, or you can make a station in the center of a modern city. But be sure to decide before you get to work. And make markings on the table so as not to suddenly find that the track goes beyond the boundaries of the table, or that the barrier will cling to a passing train.

The mountains

The presence of a mountain, with a tunnel through which the train will pass, will decorate the layout. To create a small mountain, you will need polyurethane foam, plywood, a knife, alabaster and sandpaper.

First, think over and, if possible, draw a sketch of the future mountain. Then knock a small box of plywood or other suitable material over the rails. Make sure that the size of the box will allow your train to pass freely through the tunnel. Then start applying the foam around the box, with pauses of one and a half to two hours, to allow the layers to dry and not sag under their own weight. After applying the required amount of foam, leave it to dry for at least a day.

In a day, pick up a knife (more convenient - a clerical one), and start picking the mountain - cut off excess pieces, giving it the shape you have planned. Cut out depressions, crevices, try to make it as natural as possible.

Then you will need alabaster. Dissolve it with water, and cover the entire mountain with a thin layer of up to 3 mm. It dries quickly, so dilute it in small batches. Then wait a few hours again until everything hardens - it is better not to use a hairdryer.

Now you need to paint over the mountain in gray... To do this, buy a primer bottle in any auto shop, the color of gray stone, and you can paint your mountain. Just test the paint on something else first to make sure the color is right for you.

Next, use sandpaper and rub in some places on the mountain to remove the layers of primer here and there. This will make the mountain more naturalistic, so that it is not a uniform color, but a shade from light to dark gray. You can repeat painting and sanding several times until you get what works for you. You can also paint individual pieces of the mountain white or black for more believability.

Finally, take a green paint and tint the pieces of the mountain in the color of greenery - this will make it even more naturalistic. Only the paint should be a believable, mossy color.

Your mountain (or slide) is ready. Congratulations, you have already done a fair amount of work. The next step is the rest of the relief details.

Here everything depends on your imagination, the size of the free space and the suitable details that you have. Fill an unoccupied table surface with, for example, a dummy turf that is available in stores. Toy houses, figures of people, transport, railway crossing, train station with station, bridge, trees - these are all those details that will decorate your model. Many of them can be found in Lego blocks, or simply individually in toy stores. Railroad modeling firms also sell great kits, but be prepared to spend a lot if this is the case.

You can make a model on a large table, with many details, relief terrain, electric drive and a real town in miniature. But you can also make a small model - a battery-powered train, with a small piece of landscape and a few decorative elements.

Whichever option you choose, the model you have made will adorn any home and be interesting to any company, both children and adults.

When choosing a railroad for a child, take into account his age and temperament. Starting with a simple set, you can later complete it with more and more functional details, thereby developing the imagination and life experience of your young railroad worker.

As a rule, manufacturers of plastic "railways" release them in a complete set, which excludes the possibility of continuing your railway history.

Therefore, it is better to give preference to wooden toy railways (forgive the pun) - they are often compatible with elements from other manufacturers, which opens up unlimited scope for improving and updating the game. And, of course, such toys are more environmentally friendly, since the smallest travelers are not averse to trying a colorful trailer for their teeth - what if it makes it go faster?

And, finally, there are railways, that is, sets where rails are made of real metal. This is the most expensive option, which collectors are more interested in than children.

So, we will consider toys made of wood as optimal: they can be offered to babies from 1 year old - it is from this age that the child will show interest in the children's railway. Interest will increase when your baby first has to go through a real, not a toy, railway journey - after that, the child will apply the experience gained in the game.

As they grow up, children continue to play with pleasure "with little trains" - up to the junior and even middle school age. So when choosing a children's railroad, remember that you are making a purchase for years.

IKEA

Today this brand is the leader in the toy railroad market. The series of railway toys is called LILLABO and is presented in different configurations. Basic set consists of 20 items: straight and swing rails (with a total length of 300 cm), a steam locomotive, three carriages, a bridge. The cost of such a set is about UAH 500 (depending on the place of purchase: a store or an online store, as well as current discounts and promotions).

Subsequently, it can be supplemented with a set of 12 items worth about UAH 400: additional rails, carriages, a bridge, a tunnel. You can also buy a train of three cars separately (at the time of this writing, it cost UAH 164 on the official IKEA website in Ukraine).

All toys of the LILLABO series are compatible with each other, which makes it possible to combine and vary in the laying of tracks. The rails can be positioned in a variety of ways, including laying out the "eight". The only drawback is that IKEA tunnels will turn out to be low if you buy trailers from other manufacturers in your family railway fleet (rails are compatible with many other brands).

The manufacturer emphasizes the undesirable use of toys by children under 3 years old (at least, without adult supervision) due to the presence of small parts.

Rails are made of solid beech, wagons are made of beech and birch, wheels and fasteners are plastic, axles are steel.

Other rail options with IKEA-compatible rails are available under the WOODY, PLAN TOYS and BRIO brands. The assortment of online stores includes both complete sets of railways and individual elements: stations, bridges, tunnels, switches, crossings, depots, trailers, locomotives, toy passengers and even related equipment

WOODY

These railways, like IKEA, do not have much detail - passengers, animals and trees in sets are flat, made of cardboard. Trains and carriages are presented in two types, but the sets include road signs, cars, houses, trees and bushes. Additional kits also include short rails, X-shaped and T-shaped intersections, various bridges, tunnels, depot, turntable, crossing and station. A complete set can cost up to UAH 4,000