Railway for children how to choose. DIY railroad layout

Plan your garden space appropriately. You will need to allocate sufficient space for laying paths, landscaping and additional elements such as buildings and bridges.

• Try to choose a visually appealing location with easy access.
• If possible, raise the railroad above ground level; so it will be easier to care for her and admire. Focus on a height that is comfortable for a small child.
• Do not forget about the main purpose of the garden, consider the possible consequences of the construction of the railway. Also think about possible problems that domestic and wild animals can cause, and provide appropriate protective equipment.

Find helpers. Building a railway can be turned into an activity for the whole family, because this way things will go not only more fun, but also faster. Usually children are very fond of helping, but their interest largely depends on how good they are, so it's best to find something for everyone by age. If the neighbors also want to participate, then why not?

Create a plan and path layout. The project should take into account aesthetic preferences, available space and available budget. If you are going to make a railway in several stages, then consider this moment when drawing up a plan.

• For starters, a simple round or oval path pattern would be a good option. So it will be easier for you to plant plants next to the canvas and install additional elements, if you wish, you can add a bridge or a tunnel.
• When planning a more complex structure, check the feasibility of the plan by first trying to assemble such a railway in a free place.
• Always consider the size of the train, as it affects the size of the tracks, which in turn affects the entire design.

For some time I have been analyzing all the children's railways for the age of about 2-10 years. I just collected a huge amount of information on almost all children's railways, which are only possible to buy at this time in Russia or on the Internet. I have collected all the material in a single article-review, which I present to your attention. Read, choose exactly what suits your child. I hope this material will be useful to many parents!
If you have any questions about the roads - do not hesitate to ask them! And be sure to write reviews about your roads - it will be interesting to read :))

Children's railways - all about them.

Children's Railways has been one of the most requested children's games for many years now. There are a fairly large number of railway models on the market, and it is often difficult for parents to choose the right one. We hope this review will help you navigate this diversity and choose exactly the path that best suits your child.

When choosing a route, you should pay attention to the following points:
- the quality of the roads - whether the rails are easily joined to each other, is it possible to build complex schemes, do the trains fall, the quality of the rails themselves, trains, additional buildings;
- the possibility of "growth" of the road - having bought one set of any company once, after some time you will definitely want to expand the capabilities of the canvas itself, make it more interesting and as close as possible to real life, it is possible to acquire new trains.
- safety of using the road - the absence of small elements for kids, the strength of fastenings of small parts on trains, etc.

It is also worth noting that parents often try to choose the road with self-propelled trains, but this is not very important for the children themselves, especially at a young age. From about 2 to 4 years old, children want to ride trains THEM, they are not satisfied that the train rides on its own, this is due to the psychology of children at this age. They like to carry the trains themselves, to move them with their own hands, so even sometimes children fight because they cannot drive the train themselves - there are roads where the train cannot move with the engine turned off. Therefore, the presence of self-propelled trains on the road is an important condition, but not mandatory for young children. But when the child has already grown up, it becomes interesting for him to observe the movement of the train, somehow control this movement with the help of the remote control, here the presence of self-propelled trains is important. But this should not exclude the possibility of moving the train yourself, because children still play longer if their game is not limited by any technical “bells and whistles”.

The author of this review had the opportunity to "play" live in all of the following railways, thereby truly evaluating their quality and professional suitability.

- Lego (Denmark)
- Wooden railways
- Do City (Fenbo, Hong Kong)
- TOMY (Japan)
- Chugginton (USA)
- Blue Arrow, Continental Express, Fairy Tale Journey, etc. (China)
- Krokha (Bauer, Russia)
- Tolo Toys (Hong Kong), Wader (Germany), Little Tikes (USA), Simba (Germany), etc.
- Railways of the plant "Ogonyok" (Russia)

Lego (Denmark)

Lego has two types of roads -LegoDuploAndLegocity.

Road lego duplo- for babies from 2 years old. The rails are large, the track is wide, the joining of the rails is very simple and strong, even a 2-year-old kid can do it. The roads of this company are of very high quality, the running train does not get stuck anywhere. At the same time, it is possible to simply roll the train by hand. Trains can be completely dismantled to the base-platform and assemble something of your own on this platform with wheels. In addition to the road itself, the sets include a belt loader, a crane, a gas station, and little men. The pieces fit in with all other Lego Duplo bricks, so it's easy to fantasize about roadside city life. The manufacturer positions it as a toy for children up to about 6 years old. After 6 years in Lego there is already another railroad - City. The rails on the City road do not join the Duplo rails. This is a completely different road, with its own buildings, trains, etc. City already has a lot of small details that are unacceptable for kids. Of course, on the City road there are much more opportunities to build some of your own buildings, but this is all from the age of 6, you need to pay attention to the age limit. But everything is relative, children at the age of 4 can also play the City road, but they are unlikely to be able to join the rails themselves.

Lego city, Brick, Sluban, BanBao(here we also include the roads of Lego analogues, their rails or trains are joined to the Lego rails). In this segment of roads, you need to know the features of these analog companies. Due to the high cost of Lego, it is possible to make a road out of Brick rails. They fit perfectly with Lego, except that the color is different - Brick has brown, and Lego has gray. But, nevertheless, for a variety of roadways, rails can be safely bought from both Lego and Brick. The rails are fastened to each other tightly and tightly, a 4-year-old child cannot join them or will join them with difficulty, so the manufacturer writes the recommended age - 6 years. But that doesn't stop a 4-year-old kid from just rolling trains on rails, playing around with different situations.

Self-propelled trains Brick No, there are only different special cars. The Lego City train is controlled by a special remote control and has 7 speeds. The value of Lego trains is that any train can be disassembled to the very foundation, all buildings are also disassembled and assembled at the request of the child, there are places for little men in the trains.

Constructor Slubanthe rails don't fit the Lego City rails, but the trains themselves can be rolled - the Lego City gauge fits them. This designer has interesting trains, with good detail. But their rails have a very unfortunate type of docking, which is the cause of frequent breakdowns of the docking site itself. However, the trains and additional buildings are worth a look.

Constructor BanBao also fits with Lego City according to some sources, but it is poorly studied by the author, if someone has information about it, please share it in the comments to the article, we will be glad to receive useful information!

Summarizing, we can say - of course, the original Lego Duplo and City roads are of high quality, well-made and have high gaming capabilities, but they have one, but, nevertheless, a significant drawback - especially for Duplo roads - VERY few additional elements are sold in Russia to the base sets. There are no bridges, separate rails or forks in Duplo roads in Russia at all - you will have to look for everything on the foreign expanses of the Internet. Well, one more minus that still has to be mentioned is their expensive price, a good set with trains, arrows and other buildings will cost more than 10 thousand rubles.

wooden railroads

This type of roads was approved by the psychological and pedagogical examination of the Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University in 2010. One of the most diverse and multi-plot roads. The most valuable and important thing about them is that it is produced not by one manufacturer, but by many - and they all fit together. We list the main manufacturers of wooden railways:

Brio (Sweden)

Ikea (Sweden)

Woody (Czech Republic)

PlanToys (Thailand)

Biltema (Finland)

Bino (Germany)

Eichhorn (Germany)

ELC (Early Learning Centre, UK)

Learning curve (a division of Tomy in America)

The recommended age to play these roads is from 2 to 10 years old. Even at the age of one and a half, a child can already assemble a small road himself, which is not unimportant - in most other roads, parents do it for him, and the child can only roll trains or watch their movement. This is a very big plus, the child himself imagines what he wants to see his way today.

All wooden elements of these roads are absolutely safe for the child (there are no sharp chips, splinters, notches). Brio roads are of the highest quality, but their price is correspondingly higher. According to history, the Swedish company Brio was the first to produce such roads, all other manufacturers - either under their license or their subsidiaries. Therefore, the range often overlaps, but each manufacturer can find something special to diversify the roadway.

The road has a remarkable quality - it can "grow" with the child. If a small set of rails and a couple of trains with trailers are enough for a two-year-old, then later you can buy bridges, cranes, and special purpose trains. In addition, the game can be diversified with additional buildings for a role-playing game - it can be a station with a real mini-elevator, a depot, a subway station, just a passenger platform, or even an airport - and all this will dock with the rails for trains. When the child is not so clumsy, you can already buy special racks with which the child will make multi-storey roads - there is no limit to perfection. Although, according to the observations of the author of the review, cubes of suitable height can act as racks. But still, for the construction of a solid and high structure, it is better to purchase special racks, the building will be more stable.

The trains are attached to each other with magnets, and some Brio trains have a special magnet attached to the train itself - it is not dead attached to the platform, but on a hinge, this ensures better grip of the cars on turns and their non-disconnection. You can "magnetize" as many cars as you like to one large tractor car. There are both self-propelled locomotives and ordinary wagons: crane cars, passenger cars, freight cars. It should be noted that wooden wagons are durable, but in many of them there is no accurate detailing of small elements, often - a drawing is simply applied to a rectangle. It all depends on what age you want to buy such a road. For kids, this will be a plus, because for them, excessive detailing is rather a minus, and for older children, you can buy more interesting trains.

Learning curve (Tomy in America) produces special trains for wooden roads from the animated series "Thomas and His Friends" - they are all well made, some with lights, with sounds. For unknown reasons, they are not sold in Russia, there are only cheap low-quality Chinese counterparts, but they are not of particular interest for review.

Brio has an interesting locomotive controlled from the remote control - with sound and light, there is a locomotive with a special removable battery - you can buy two batteries: on one the train rides, the other on recharging. All cranes are equipped with magnets - they can be used to lift or lower loads into wagons; magnets are also inserted in the loads.

Due to the excellent workmanship and wooden components, the road can definitely be inherited, providing joy to more than one generation of children in the family.

Some features of roads from different manufacturers: only their own engines pass under the Ikea bridge, Brio engines lack about 1 cm in height, Ikea rails are not the best in quality, and due to the fact that they have a plastic pin slightly shorter than a standard Brio socket, they do not always fit well with Brio and Woody rails. Woody has a well-presented assortment of additional buildings, the rails themselves and forks, but the assortment of rolling stock is poor - for its diversity, you can safely buy Brio trains.

Do City ( fenbo , Hong Kong)

Not a bad railway, bright, reliable, rail docking is tough, tight. A 2-year-old child cannot dock. By the age of 3-4, the child himself will be able to build a canvas from rails. There are no additional buildings on the road, everything you need can be bought immediately in one set. On the packing box, various assembly schemes are given (there are 9 in a large set). Trains do not differ in variety, you can’t put something in them and transport it, the train can go by itself, trains are docked with slotted rings. It is possible to lay rails on the second floor - on special supports. In general, this is a road to a solid 4 out of 5 possible. It is a pity that bridges and some other buildings are not being built to it, such as a station, a depot, cranes, and that there is no way to transport goods in wagons. The sets include fences, figurines of people, animals, lanterns. To expand its capabilities, you can only buy more such sets, which will make the roadbed itself larger.

Price range 800-2500 rubles.

An interesting and quite important note: the track width of the roads fenbo and wooden roads coincide, which allows you to ride on these roads trains from wooden sets (such as Ikea ), besides this, the engines from Tomy's "Thomas and his friends" sets are also perfectly suited for this track, the coupling of the cars is also the same - with slotted rings.

TOMY (Japan)

From Takara TOMY (Japan) there are two types of railways - this is the road "Thomas and his friends" and the road "Tomica". These are two completely different roads, without a special adapter it is impossible to connect their rails. Not all kits come with adapters. Roads "Thomas and his friends" in the new version of the TrackMaster series have a double rail fastening, the color of the rail is gray-brown; roads" Tomica » HyperCity series - one mount, blue rail color. "Thomas and Friends" is for younger children, and "Tomica" - for older children, from about 4 or 5 years old. Although, of course - the division by age is relative. If parents try to diversify the road "Thomas and his friends", then it will also please the child, who is both 5 and 7 years old, for a long time.

So, let's dwell on each of the roads in detail.

"Thomas and His Friends"

These railroads are made exclusively based on the famous animated series "Thomas and Friends", i.e. all locomotives and all trains are made with faces and names from this children's series. The action of the cartoon itself takes place on the island of Sodor, it has many roads and trains that run along these roads for some tasks, their needs. Accordingly, the road itself repeats the plot of the cartoon.

The workmanship of the parts is good, the rails fit exactly together, the trains don't get stuck or fall over, and it's very easy to put them on the rails.

The rails rise slightly above the floor, they are made as if on a mound of stones. The speed of the trains is good, they even pull two or three carriages remarkably behind them, the connections between the carriages are very strong - a ring with a slot - it is very difficult for children under 4 years old to uncouple or couple the carriages themselves. When the power is turned off, the motor is disconnected from the wheel axle, which allows the child to ride the trains himself. Now they even began to produce trains with smoke from the chimney. The roads are designed for approximately the age of 3 years old, it will still be difficult for the child to connect the rails, but by the age of 4 he will certainly master it.

In addition to rails and trains, there are also many additional buildings on this road - auto-crossings, stations, bridges, etc. Everything is made of high-quality (not thin) plastic.

Of the minuses - everything additional is not very common in Russia, mostly ready-made kits with a specific theme are sold - for example, a winter fairy tale, loading coal, from a depot, with an airplane, etc. All particularly interested persons need to turn to the overseas Internet - Europe, America, and best of all - to Japan, because. the company itself is Japanese and there is the largest possible range of these roads. Separately, almost nothing is sold, only rails with forks and trains. Well, and there is such a moment that if your child is not particularly keen on the animated series "Thomas and His Friends" and the island of Sodor, then, most likely, this road will not be of particular interest to him - here you need to look at the child already. Although, of course, the author of the review, for his long experience of communicating with children, has not met boys who would not like this cartoon)))

Price range 600 - 3000 rubles.

Tomica

The manufacturer claims age - from 4 years. The rails fit well and firmly, but even the kids are unlikely to be able to join them themselves. Although, of course, such a turn of events does not upset many children - they are enthusiastically waiting for their parents to collect everything and they will finally let their train on the road. The train looks realistic, runs fast enough. You can buy various buildings, a road, which is one of the components of the railway. You can even buy special cars for the road, although, of course, you can use the usual ones that any child has.

The road and buildings to it can be found in many stores in the city and online stores. In general, the whole road is designed for the construction of not only one road, but for the construction of the city of Tomy HyperCity - with stations, roads, tunnels, houses, etc.

Previously, this type of rail was also used by the company for roads with Thomas, now a special adapter is needed to connect the gray-brown rails of Thomas and blue Tomiki, as already mentioned above - adapters are not available in all sets.

Of the minuses - nothing can be put and transported into the trains - they only serve as a “wound up toy”.

Price range 700 - 5000 rubles.

Chugginton (USA)

This road is based on the recently very popular animated series Chugginton Engines. Trains have a very specific look, characteristic only for this cartoon.

The execution of the rail itself is not realistic - there are no sleepers and rails here - the road looks more like an ordinary highway than a railbed. Nevertheless, this is a full-fledged railway. The quality of the rails is good, fastened together firmly. There are few additional railway buildings, there are no urban ones at all.

The locomotives themselves are bright, colorful, made very high quality, but there is no way to transport people or goods.

In general, the road is not bad, but if, of course, the child is “sick” with this cartoon. Otherwise, it’s still better to buy some kind of neutral road so that it doesn’t turn out that the child’s interest in the cartoon has cooled down, and the road will have to be completely changed to another.

Price range 400 - 3000 rubles.

Blue Arrow, Continental Express, Fairy Tale Journey, etc. (China)

Here we will touch a little recently on the very common sets of railways of various Chinese companies, so to speak - not branded. The names of the roads may be different - "Journey to a fairy tale", "Blue Arrow", etc. The appearance of such roads is a huge transparent box, a train with wagons and a set of rails for building a circle or eight.

These roads have one thing in common - the very poor quality of the rails and specifically the docking mechanism. If they are constantly connected and disconnected, the lock mechanism can quickly break down. These roads are good to collect once and admire them. It is generally not advisable for children under 3 years old to play them, because the excessive detailing of trains makes itself felt - the details constantly fall off. The rail itself is narrow, the wheels of the trains are also narrow and small, so it is difficult for a child to dock the train and the rails, which can be frustrating for small railway workers. On bends, trains can either derail or disengage - in different sets in different ways, but the general trend is just that.

For these roads, it is definitely worth discussing the age limit - at least from 4 years old, not earlier.

Price range 500 - 1500 rubles.

Krokha Railway ( bauer , Russia)

Under this brand, railways are produced under the license of the German company Bauer. As usual, Russian products are inferior in quality to German originals - either the license is not the same, or the Germans did not discover the most important secret of a quality road, or ours have already done something. As a result, the idea is good, but its execution is lame. Very often, some parts, stickers, figurines, etc. are missing in the sets. It is not clear what this is connected with, but before buying, carefully check the contents in the package.

The butt mechanism of the rail is reliable and complex, but, in principle, it is realistic for a 3-4-year-old to master. The track is wide and comfortable, the locomotives are very easy to install. There are reviews of parents that during long-term operation, the assembled railway track seems to warp, while the ride quality of the locomotives does not change - they also ride well on rails. The only thin place near the road is the undocking of the rails, the child can break the latches and here you need to be careful. You can disassemble it yourself by an adult or teach a child to follow the instructions for disassembling the road exactly.

In trailers you can carry passengers or any cargo. It is possible to build various additional buildings from cubes. The bricks in the road sets are paired with regular brick sets that are sold under the same brand. From them you can build houses, bridges and other related structures around the road. The plastic of the cubes and the trains is not very thick, but strong enough.

In addition to railways, this company also has roads, rails from railways and roads are joined together.

In general, the brand of roads is not bad, it has great variability for role-playing games, which is especially important for children under 5-6 years old, you can easily buy it in stores or buy some other sets to diversify the game.

Price range 300 - 1000 rubles.

Review continued below ▼

The railway for children is one of the most interesting and popular educational games. The children's railway will bring joy and pleasure from the game not only to kids, but also to adults. This is an exciting family constructor, in the collection and in the game with which there is something to do for mom and dad.

How useful is this educational toy?

A toy railroad is a great gift for a child. Your child will be very interested in laying railroad tracks, installing turnouts and intersections, railroad crossings, stations, train stations, cargo terminals, bridges, trees and other infrastructure and sending trains on a journey through an apartment or a country house.

The railroad is a versatile and durable toy that suits both boys and girls. When choosing a toy railroad, you need to take into account many parameters, such as the age of the child, the temperament of the baby, the cost of the railroad, and the materials of manufacture, the brand, the control method, the possibilities for expansion so that the toy is interesting for as long as possible.

Typically, a standard children's railway set consists of a rail track, sometimes including arrows that can change the route of the train, and a train with trailers of various shapes and purposes. Collecting such a toy is not difficult. Also, railway sets sometimes include additional accessories: stations, tunnels, trees, barriers and other buildings. A remote control may also be included.

Child's age

One of the first questions to ask yourself before buying a railroad is who will play: the kids or the parents? And you need to answer it honestly. And if you understand that yes, dad will play - you can safely buy radio-controlled trains, collectible models of cars and multi-level interchanges: dad will cope with them. Quite a lot of adults are interested in modeling and railways are a great hobby. But if you are sure that you are purchasing a railway for a child, then pay attention to what age the selected set is designed for.

Psychologists say that a child under 4 years old needs simple models, without great detail and radio control. The child first dismantles what the parents built, then begins to roll the locomotives on the rails (they like to roll the locomotives on their own), then they begin to transport goods and little men, and only then they begin to build the road. Almost all children's railways for kids will cope well with a similar task.

For kids 2-5 years old, you need to choose a simple model made of plastic or wood with large parts, without complex components and mechanisms. The railroad for babies should not contain small parts (which the baby can swallow) or protruding sharp elements (which the child can get hurt on). For kids, the excessive plausibility of a steam locomotive and wagons is not required. No smoke or remote control required. On the contrary, we need simple and understandable forms, colorful colors. At the first stage, a steam locomotive with two or three wagons and one rail ring or figure eight will be quite enough. For young children, railways are suitable: Brio, IKEA, WOODY, Chuggington Wooden Railway, Chuggington StackTrack (Die-Cast), Thomas & Friends.

For children aged 5-12, it will be more interesting to model a railway with different switches, control panels, switch points, crossings, interchanges, stations, railway stations, trees, towers, sounds, light signaling, etc. Thanks to the switches and different mechanisms, the child will develop thinking and logic. It is better for children of this age to buy a train with batteries or accumulators. The more options you have to change the settings of the game, the longer your child will be interested in the railway. An excellent choice would be a railroad constructor from LEGO. In addition to it, hundreds of other sets are sold, from which you can build an entire city. If parents understand that they will not play trains, but their smart child, then when choosing a model, it is also worth considering the opinion of the future owner. Suitable railways:, Tomica, Strela.

For kids over 12, teens and adults, choose the most realistic railroad you can find. Detailed believable model railways with a metal canvas on a digital or analog control with a lot of additional details and elements will do. More interesting will be a toy in which there are such functions as light, sound, sometimes steam. Very popular models of modern and old railways, which are a reduced copy of the originals, in fact, these are real masterpieces. Such toys repeat every detail of the reproduced object. In addition to the railroad sets, expansion kits are sold to furnish the whole city: houses, landscapes, stations, trees, drawbridges, airports, railway signs, animal figures, etc. Good model railways are produced by PIKO, Fleischmann, Roco, Märklin, TRIX, Mehano, etc.

The cost and quality of the railway

The price of a toy railway depends on the quality of workmanship, detailing and elaboration, brand popularity, scale, the material of which the road and rolling stock are made, the availability of electronics and remote control, as well as the size of the set and the number of items in the box.

For example, in good large collection sets of well-known brands there is a digital remote control, the rails are made of metal, diesel locomotives and wagons are worked out in detail and are miniature copies of their real prototypes. It is clear that such railways are more expensive than plastic and wooden analogues without detailing and radio control.

On the other hand, we do not recommend buying the cheapest Chinese low-grade toys. Not only will their poor quality disappoint you and your child, but there is also the possibility that such a low-quality cheap railway will not last more than a few days. And you don’t have to console an upset child because of a breakdown and spend money on a re-purchase if you bought a solid toy from the very beginning (comparing price and quality) from a trusted manufacturer. Good railways always have high-quality packaging, with colorful pictures and good printing.

Production material

Children's railways are made of various materials: plastic, metal, wood. Wooden ones are used for kids 2-5 years old. Plastic railroads are versatile and commercially available for ages 2-12. Metal railroads look the most realistic, and they cost more. Such sets are usually produced for older children from 9 years old. It is important to pay attention not only to the material of manufacture, but also to the quality of the materials used and assembly.

Control method

Wooden and plastic railroads for toddlers 1-3 years old do not contain electronics and are designed for hand rolling. For toddlers 2-6 years old, battery-powered sets usually use simple controls. For example, the plastic one is easily controlled by one button located on the roof of the steam locomotive (this is the most successful and simple control for a battery-powered train). And the Chuggington or Thomas railroad, depending on the set, uses both button control on the locomotive and control using switches and levers on the track, and remote-controlled Chuggington locomotives are also sold.

Railway sets for children over 6 years of age usually have a remote control. For example, a battery-operated plastic one for children aged 6-12 is controlled using an infrared 4-channel remote control. Moreover, up to 8 toy trains can be controlled from this remote control, lighting is also controlled from the remote control. For model railways for older children, teenagers, and adults, digital and analog remote control is commonly used. With the analog control method, metal rails are used to transmit the signal.

Expandability

All good children's railroads have additional expansion kits. To begin with, a starter kit is usually bought, and then additional rails, stations, barriers, arrows, additional rolling stock, vehicles, tunnels, bridges, and accessories are purchased. When choosing a starter kit, it is important to clarify the expansion options. Many options for developing track facilities or surrounding infrastructure are available for Lego Duplo, Lego City, Brio, IKEA, WOODY, Chuggington Wooden Railway, Chuggington StackTrack (Die-Cast), Thomas & Friends, PowerTrains, Tomica, PIKO, Fleischmann, Roco, Mehano .

Scale

There are several standard sizes defined for detailed railroad models with a metal track. The most common of them (in ascending order): Z (1:220 - track width 6.5 mm), N (1:160 - track width 9 mm), TT (1:120 - track width 12 mm), H0 (1 :87 - track width 16.5 mm), S (1:64 - track width 22.5 mm), O (1:45 - track width 32 mm), G (1:24 - track width 45 mm). The "Z", "N" and "TT" standard are popular among adult rail model fans. The "G" standard has become widespread for outdoor construction (garden railroads).

Theme and era

This criterion may be important if you are purchasing a toy for older children, teenagers, or adults. Among the sets of railways, which can be found in stores, there are various historical eras, countries and themes. For example, for lovers of domestic railways, sets with modern Russian Railways rolling stock or USSR trains are sold. Also on sale you can find, for example, steam locomotives depicting the era of the Wild West or European railways during the First World War. If desired, you can purchase railway sets of different themes and purposes: freight, repair, fire, postal, military, oil, passenger trains, high-speed trains, electric trains, metro trains, monorail trains, etc.

Manufacturers of wooden railways for children 2-5 years old

Brio (Sweden)
IKEA (Sweden)
Woody(Czech Republic)
PlanToys (Thailand)
Biltema (Finland)
Bino (Germany)
Eichhorn (Germany)
ELC (UK)
ROYS (China)

Manufacturers of plastic railways for children aged 2-12

Lego (Denmark)
Tomy (USA)
Fisher Price
Little Tikes
Jakks Pacific
Joy Toy

Manufacturersrolling stock models for children from 10 years old

PIKO Spielwaren GmbH (Germany)
Roco Modelleisenbahn GmbH (Austria)
Gebr. Fleischmann GmbH (Germany)
Gebr. Marklin & Cie. GmbH (Germany)
Tillig Modellbahnen GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Brawa Artur Braun Modellspielwarenfabrik GmbH (Germany)
TRIX Modelleisenbahn GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Liliput (Germany)
Bachmann Industries (USA)
Hornby Railways (England)
Lima S.p.A (Lima Models) (Italy)
Rivarossi (Italy)
Arnlod (Germany)
Elektrotren (Spain)
Mehano (Slovenia)
Jago-Modellbau (Germany)
Kuehn (Germany)
L.S. Models (Belgium)
Graham Farish (England)
Kato (Sekisui Kinzoku Co., Ltd.) (Japan)
LGB (Lehmann-Gross-Bahn) (Brazil)
Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. (USA)
ACME (Italy)
wm. K. Walthers, Inc. (USA)
Ibertren Modelismo, S.L. (Spain)
Dapol (England)
Athearn (USA)
M.T.H. Electric Trains (USA)
BEMO Modelleisenbahnen (Germany)
Os Kar. International (Italy)
Broadway Limited Imports, LL (USA)
Rocuhan (Toytec Corporation) (Japan)

Manufacturers of premium models for children from 10 years old

Lemaco (Lematec Prestige Models SA) (Switzerland)
M1 Modellbau (Germany)
Bavaria (Germany)
Micro-Metakit GmbH (Germany)
Flugurex (Switzerland)
Weinert-Modellbau (Germany)

Manufacturers of model accessories for children from 10 years old

Faller-GERB. FALLER GmbH (Germany)
Auhagen (Germany)
Peco (England)
Noch GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Woodland Scenics (USA)
Busch GmbH & Co (Germany)
Vollmer GmbH & Co KG (Germany)
Viessmann Modellspielwaren GmbH (Germany)
Heki Kittler GmbH (Germany)
Heljan (Denmark)
Kibri (Germany)
Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH (Germany)
ESU electronic solutions ulm GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
Preiser (Germany)
Zimo (Austria)
Kadee Quality Products Co (USA)
Uhlenbrock (Germany)
Lenz Elektronik GmbH (Germany)

Manufacturers of domestic models for children from 10 years old

TT-Model (Russia-Germany)
Eurotrain (Russia)
Onega (Latvia)
Model Hobby-Orenburg (Russia)
Bergs (Latvia)
Russian Costum Train (RCT)
Modelldepo (Russia)
Peresvet (Russia)
Norkin-model (Russia)
miniaturmodelle
Phoenix (Latvia)
Model (Latvia)
ModellHouse (Russia)

Do you still have doubts?

Do not doubt the benefits of such a purchase. Having received a model of the railway as a gift, your child will be provided with a calm and interesting activity. Playing the railroad is a very exciting activity for children. This game performs an important cognitive and developmental function. Laying railway tracks and launching trains along the routes, your child develops figurative and spatial thinking, logic, coordination of movements and fine motor skills of hands. You can play the railway with the whole family, where everyone will have their own roles: the head of the railway, the train driver, the passenger, the railway worker, the cashier, etc. By inventing various game scenarios, children develop their imagination, have fun and spend time usefully.

In the end, which railroad to choose?

Our dear readers and customers, whatever you decide, in any case, the choice is yours. For ourselves, after looking at all the options and weighing all the pros and cons, we made this choice in favor of the LEGO railways. For our two children (one and three years old) we bought sets

The most detailed story in the world about children's railways (including wooden ones) from the railway fan and mega-expert Elena Sokolova. Manufacturers, prices, chips and highlights - after reading this review, you will know everything about railways!

[Children's Railways has been one of the most requested children's games for many years. There are a fairly large number of railway models on the market, and it is often difficult for parents to choose the right one. We hope this review will help you navigate this diversity and choose exactly the path that best suits your child. When choosing a road, note for the following points:- road quality- are the rails easily joined together, is it possible to build complex schemes, do trains fall, the quality of the rails themselves, trains, additional buildings; - opportunity for "growth" roads - having bought one set of any company once, after some time you will definitely want to expand the capabilities of the canvas itself, make it more interesting and as close as possible to real life, perhaps acquire new trains. - road safety- the absence of small elements for babies, the strength of fastenings of small parts on trains, etc. It is also worth noting that parents often try to choose the road with self-propelled trains, but this is not very important for the children themselves, especially at a young age. From about 2 to 4 years old, children want to ride trains THEM, they are not satisfied that the train rides on its own, this is due to the psychology of children at this age. They like to carry the trains themselves, to move them with their own hands, so sometimes children even fight because they cannot drive the train themselves - there are roads where the train cannot move with the engine turned off. Therefore, the presence of self-propelled trains on the road is an important condition, but not mandatory for young children. But when the child has already grown up, it becomes interesting for him to observe the movement of the train, somehow control this movement with the help of the remote control, here the presence of self-propelled trains is important. But this should not exclude the possibility of moving the train yourself, because children still play longer if their game is not limited by any technical “bells and whistles”. The author of this review had the opportunity to "play" live in all of the following railways, thereby truly evaluating their quality and professional suitability. In each section, we will give several photos typical for this company, one of them is a photo of the packaging, for clarity. We would like to note that in addition to the railways present in the review, there are many others that were not included in it. They are either completely for the smallest children, or simply not of particular interest for reasons of low quality - bad rails, poor rail connection, low-quality wagons, lack of additional buildings, etc. Also, this review did not include "serious" models of railways, such as firms such as Piko and Mehano. They are designed for ages of approximately 8-10 years and above - these are collectible versions of the road with a high degree of realism of the elements. We wish all readers a useful acquaintance with the review and a good choice (and maybe even a purchase) of such a railway that will delight not only the child, but also his parents, making joint leisure time and home games fun, interesting and educational. Also, we will be pleased to hear the opinions of readers about the roads presented in the article, or about other roads - which are not included in the review: share your comments!

Online store "Funny pieces of wood"

Lego(Denmark) Lego has two types of roads - and lego city. The road is for kids from 2 years old. The rails are large, the track is wide, the joining of the rails is very simple and strong, even a 2-year-old kid can do it.
The roads of this company are of very high quality, the running train does not get stuck anywhere. At the same time, it is possible to simply roll the train by hand. Trains can be completely dismantled to the base-platform and assemble something of your own on this platform with wheels. In addition to the road itself, the sets include a belt loader, a crane, a gas station, and little men. The pieces fit in with all other Lego Duplo bricks, so it's easy to fantasize about roadside city life. The manufacturer positions it as a toy for children up to about 6 years old.
lego city
After 6 years, Lego has another railroad - city. The rails on the City road do not join the Duplo rails. This is a completely different road, with its own buildings, trains, etc. City already has a lot of small details that are unacceptable for kids. Of course, on the City road there are much more opportunities to build some of your own buildings, but this is all from the age of 6, you need to pay attention to the age limit. But everything is relative, children at the age of 4 can also play the City road, but they are unlikely to be able to join the rails themselves. Legocity,brick,Sluban,BanBao(here we also include the roads of Lego analogues, their rails or trains are joined to the Lego rails). In this segment of roads, you need to know the features of these analog companies. Due to the high cost of Lego, it is possible to make a road out of Brick rails. They fit perfectly with Lego, except that the color is different - Brick has brown, and Lego has gray. But, nevertheless, for a variety of roadways, rails can be safely bought from both Lego and Brick. The rails are fastened to each other tightly and tightly, a 4-year-old child cannot join them or will join them with difficulty, so the manufacturer writes the recommended age - 6 years. But that doesn't stop a 4-year-old kid from just rolling trains on rails, playing around with different situations. Brick does not have self-propelled trains, there are only various special cars. The Lego City train is controlled by a special remote control and has 7 speeds. The value of Lego trains is that any train can be disassembled to the very foundation, all buildings are also disassembled and assembled at the request of the child, there are places for little men in the trains. Constructor Sluban the rails don't fit the Lego City rails, but the trains themselves can be rolled - the Lego City gauge fits them. This designer has interesting trains, with good detail. But their rails have a very unfortunate type of docking, which is the cause of frequent breakdowns of the docking site itself. However, the trains and additional buildings are worth a look. Constructor BanBao also fits with Lego City according to some sources, but it is poorly studied by the author, if someone has information about it, please share it in the comments to the article, we will be glad to receive useful information! In summary, we can say - of course, the original Lego Duplo and City roads are of high quality, well-made and have high gaming capabilities, but they have one, but, nevertheless, a significant drawback - especially for Duplo roads - VERY few additional elements are sold in Russia to the base sets. There are no bridges, separate rails or forks in Duplo roads in Russia at all - you will have to look for everything on the foreign expanses of the Internet. Well, one more minus that still has to be mentioned is their expensive price, a good set with trains, arrows and other buildings will cost more than 10 thousand rubles.

wooden railroads
This type of road was approved by the psychological and pedagogical examination of the Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University in 2010. One of the most diverse and multi-plot roads. The most valuable and important thing about them is that it is produced not by one manufacturer, but by many - and they all fit together. Let's list main manufacturers of wooden railway: Brio(Sweden), Ikea(Sweden), Woody(Czech), PlanToys(Thailand), Biltema(Finland), Bino(Germany), Eichhorn(Germany), ELC(Early Learning Center - Early Development Center, UK), learning curve(a division of Tomy in America) The recommended age for playing these roads is from 2 to 10 years old. Even at the age of one and a half, a child can already assemble a small road himself, which is not unimportant - in most other roads, parents do it for him, and the child can only roll trains or watch their movement. This is a very big plus, the child himself imagines what he wants to see his way today. All wooden elements of these roads absolutely safe for a child (no sharp chips, splinters, notches). Brio roads are of the highest quality, but their price is correspondingly higher. According to history, the Swedish company Brio was the first to produce such roads, all other manufacturers - either under their license or their subsidiaries. Therefore, the range often overlaps, but each manufacturer can find something special to diversify the roadway. The road has a remarkable quality - it can "grow" with the child. If a small set of rails and a couple of trains with trailers are enough for a two-year-old, then later you can buy bridges, cranes, and special purpose trains. In addition, the game can be diversified with additional buildings for a role-playing game - it can be a station with a real mini-elevator, a depot, a subway station, just a passenger platform, or even an airport - and all this will dock with the rails for trains. When the child is not so clumsy, you can already buy special racks with which the child will make multi-storey roads - there is no limit to perfection. Although, according to the observations of the author of the review, cubes of suitable height can act as racks. But still, for the construction of a solid and high structure, it is better to purchase special racks, the building will be more stable. Trains are attached to each other by magnets, and some Brio trains have a special magnet mount to the train itself - it is not dead attached to the platform, but on a hinge, this ensures better grip of the cars on turns and their non-disconnection. You can "magnetize" as many cars as you like to one large tractor car. There are both self-propelled locomotives and ordinary wagons: crane cars, passenger cars, freight cars. It should be noted that wooden wagons are durable, but in many of them there is no precise detailing of small elements, often - a drawing is simply applied to a rectangle. It all depends on what age you want to buy such a road. For kids, this will be a plus, because for them, excessive detailing is rather a minus, and for older children, you can buy more interesting trains. Firm learning curve(Tomy in America) produces special trains for wooden roads from the animated series "Thomas and his friends" - all of them are of high quality, some with lights, with sounds. For unknown reasons, they are not sold in Russia, there are only cheap low-quality Chinese counterparts, but they are not of particular interest for review. At Brio there is an interesting remote control locomotive with sound and light; All cranes are equipped with magnets - they can be used to lift or lower loads into the wagons; magnets are also inserted in the loads. Due to the excellent workmanship and wooden components, the road can definitely be inherited, providing joy to more than one generation of children in the family. Some features of roads from different manufacturers: only their own locomotives pass under the Ikea bridge, Brio locomotives lack about 1 cm in height, Ikea rails are not the best in quality, and due to the fact that they have a plastic pin slightly shorter than the standard Brio socket, they are not always fit well with Brio and Woody rails. Woody has a well-presented range of additional buildings, the rails themselves and forks, but the range of rolling stock is poor - for its diversity, you can safely buy Brio trains. Price range: the average price of one ready-made set with rails, a train and buildings is 2,500 - 3,000 rubles.

Do City(Fenbo, Hong Kong)

Not a bad railway, bright, reliable, rail docking is tough, tight. A 2-year-old child cannot dock. By the age of 3-4, the child himself will be able to build a canvas from rails. There are no additional buildings on the road, everything you need can be bought immediately in one set. On the packing box, various assembly schemes are given (there are 9 in a large set). Trains do not differ in variety, you can’t put something in them and transport it, the train can go by itself, trains are docked with slotted rings. It is possible to lay rails on the second floor - on special supports. In general, this is a road to a solid 4 out of 5 possible. It is a pity that bridges and some other buildings are not being built to it, such as a station, a depot, cranes, and that there is no way to transport goods in wagons. The sets include fences, figurines of people, animals, lanterns. To expand its capabilities, you can only buy more such sets, which will make the roadbed itself larger.

An interesting and important note: the track width of Fenbo roads and wooden roads is the same, which allows you to ride on these roads trains from wooden sets (like Ikea), in addition, trains from Tomy's "Thomas and his friends" sets are also great for this track, the coupling of the cars is also the same - slotted rings. Price range: 800-2500 rub.

TOMY(Japan) Takara TOMY (Japan) has two types of railways - the Thomas and Friends railway and the Tomica railway. These are two completely different roads, without a special adapter it is impossible to connect their rails. Not all kits come with adapters. Roads "Thomas and his friends" in the new version of the TrackMaster series have a double rail fastening, the color of the rail is gray-brown; "Tomica" roads of the HyperCity series - one fastening, the color of the rail is blue. "Thomas and Friends" is for younger children, and "Tomica" is for older children, from about 4 or 5 years old. Although, of course - the division by age is relative. If parents try to diversify the way "Thomas and his friends", then it will also please the child, who is both 5 and 7 years old, for a long time. So, let's dwell on each of the roads in detail. "Thomas and His Friends"
These railroads are made exclusively based on the famous animated series "Thomas and Friends", i.e. all locomotives and all trains are made with faces and names from this children's series. The action of the cartoon itself takes place on the island of Sodor, it has many roads and trains that run along these roads for some tasks, their needs. Accordingly, the road itself repeats the plot of the cartoon. The workmanship of the parts is good, the rails fit exactly together, the trains don't get stuck or fall over, and it's very easy to put them on the rails. The rails rise slightly above the floor, they are made as if on a mound of stones. The speed of the trains is good, they even pull two or three wagons remarkably behind them, the connections between the wagons are very strong - a ring with a slot - it is very difficult for children under 4 years old to uncouple or couple the wagons themselves. When the power is turned off, the motor is disconnected from the wheel axle, which allows the child to ride the trains himself. Now they even began to produce trains with smoke from the chimney. The roads are designed for approximately the age of 3 years old, it will still be difficult for the child to connect the rails, but by the age of 4 he will certainly master it. In addition to rails and trains, also in this road many additional buildings– road crossings, stations, bridges, etc. Everything is made of high-quality (not thin) plastic. Of the minuses- everything additional in Russia is not very common, mostly ready-made kits are sold with a specific theme - for example, a winter fairy tale, loading coal, from a depot, with an airplane, etc. All particularly interested persons need to turn to the overseas Internet - Europe, America, and best of all - to Japan, because. the company itself is Japanese and there is the largest possible range of these roads. Separately, almost nothing is sold, only rails with forks and trains. Well, and there is such a moment that if your child is not particularly keen on the animated series "Thomas and His Friends" and the island of Sodor, then, most likely, this road will not be of particular interest to him - here you need to look at the child already. Although, of course, the author of the review, for his long experience of communicating with children, has not met boys who would not like this cartoon))) Price range: 600 - 3000 rubles.
Tomica
The manufacturer claims age - from 4 years. The rails fit well and firmly, but even the kids are unlikely to be able to join them themselves. Although, of course, this turn of events does not upset many children - they are enthusiastically waiting for their parents to collect everything and they will finally let their train go on the road. The train looks realistic, runs fast enough. You can buy various buildings, a road, which is one of the components of the railway. You can even buy special cars for the road, although, of course, you can use the usual ones that any child has. The road and buildings to it can be found in many stores in the city and online stores. In general, the whole road is designed for the construction of not only one road, but city ​​building Tomy HyperCity - with stations, roads, tunnels, houses, etc. Previously, this type of rail was also used by the company for roads with Thomas, now a special adapter is needed to connect the gray-brown rails of Thomas and blue Tomiki, as mentioned above - adapters are not available in all sets. Of the minuses- nothing can be put and transported on trains - they only serve as a “wound up toy”. Price range: 700 - 5000 rubles.

(USA)
This road is based on the recently very popular animated series Chugginton Engines. Trains have a very specific look, characteristic only for this cartoon. The execution of the rail itself is not realistic - there are no sleepers and rails here - the road looks more like an ordinary highway than a railbed. Nevertheless, this is a full-fledged railway. The quality of the rails is good, fastened together firmly. There are few additional railway buildings, there are no urban ones at all. The locomotives themselves are bright, colorful, made very high quality, but there is no way to transport people or goods. In general, the road is not bad, but if, of course, the child is “sick” with this cartoon. Otherwise, it’s still better to buy some kind of neutral road so that it doesn’t turn out that the child’s interest in the cartoon has cooled down, and the road will have to be completely changed to another. Price range: 400 - 3000 rubles.

Etc. (China)
Here we will touch a little recently on very common sets of railways of various Chinese companies, so to speak - not branded ones. The names of the roads may be different - "Journey to a fairy tale", "Blue Arrow", etc. The appearance of such roads is a huge transparent box, a train with wagons and a set of rails for building a circle or eight. These roads have one thing in common - the very poor quality of the rails and specifically the docking mechanism. If they are constantly connected and disconnected, the lock mechanism can quickly break down. These roads are good to collect once and admire them. It is generally not advisable for children under 3 years old to play them, because the excessive detailing of trains makes itself felt - the details constantly fall off. The rail itself is narrow, the wheels of the trains are also narrow and small, so it is difficult for a child to dock the train and the rails, which can be frustrating for small railway workers. On bends, trains can either derail or disengage - in different sets in different ways, but the general trend is exactly that. For these roads, it is definitely worth discussing the age limit - at least from 4 years old, not earlier. Price range: 500 - 1500 rubles.

(Bauer, Russia) Under this brand, railways are produced according to l licenses of the German company Bauer. As usual, Russian products are inferior in quality to German originals - either the license is not the same, or the Germans did not discover the most important secret of a quality road, or ours have already done something. As a result, the idea is good, but its execution is lame. Very often, some parts, stickers, figurines, etc. are missing in the sets. It is not clear what this is connected with, but before buying, carefully check the contents in the package. The butt mechanism of the rail is reliable and complex, but, in principle, it is realistic for a 3-4-year-old to master. The track is wide and comfortable, the locomotives are very easy to install. There are reviews of parents that during long-term operation, the assembled railway track seems to warp, while the ride quality of the locomotives does not change - they also ride well on rails. The only thin place near the road is the undocking of the rails, the child can break the latches and here you need to be careful. You can disassemble it yourself by an adult or teach a child to follow the instructions for disassembling the road exactly. In trailers you can carry passengers or any cargo. There is a possibility of building various additional buildings from cubes. The bricks in the road sets are paired with regular brick sets that are sold under the same brand. From them you can build houses, bridges and other related structures around the road. The plastic of the cubes and the trains is not very thick, but strong enough. In addition to railways, this company also has roads, rails from railways and roads are joined together. In general, the brand of roads is not bad, it has great variability for role-playing games, which is especially important for children under 5-6 years old, you can easily buy it in stores or buy some other sets to diversify the game. Price range: 300 - 1000 rubles.

Tolo Toys(Hong Kong), Wader(Germany), Little Tikes(USA), Simba(Germany), etc.
Each of these firms has its own roads for babies - from about 1.6 to 3 years, so we will not dwell on each of them separately. Somewhere just a circle with a train, somewhere you can build a figure eight. Despite the fact that the roads are for very young children, nevertheless, they do not lose from this - the manufacture of all elements is very high quality, adapted for very young children. I would like to stop at one of the companies - Tolo Toys, the road is called "Train of the first friends." The age category declared by the manufacturer is 1 - 5 years. At this age, this road will justify itself by 200%. The difference between the road of this company and others is that to it additional items released– arrow, rounded and straight rails. The rails are strong, large, with a wide gauge, fit perfectly. Trains and wagons are made with high quality, the train can go by itself and with the engine off it can be rolled. For toddlers, various passenger figurines are also included. The road is very easy to use - that's what makes it great. Of the minuses– requires a lot of space for assembly and is very difficult to find in stores. For those interested - go ahead to the Internet, here you will find everything! The Wader road is also interesting for kids: it is large, the rails fit together well, and are very strong. For this road, a cottage or a veranda of a country house is well suited - where kids can truly enjoy the size of their road. Price range n all firms from about 500 to 4000 rubles.

Railways of the plant "Spark"(Russia)
They were produced in Russia, at the Ogonyok toy factory, two roads - "Kid" and "Good luck" (the last name is Ogonyok). For unknown reasons, they are now out of production. But, nevertheless, we included them in our review, because. many have them and many can purchase them at online auctions. The author of the review did not actually see these roads and did not collect them, but, according to user reviews, these roads are very good - with their own nuances, which is typical for the domestic goods market. However, there are more positive reviews than negative ones. The train goes by itself, the rails are big, the track is wide, it takes a lot of space to build. Age 3 - 10 years, and maybe more. Price range: 600 - 1000 rubles. for a new set, but now it is being sold more and more as an antique, so the prices can also be “antique”.

Modeling is a very interesting activity.

Since childhood, I have always dreamed of making a mock-up of the railway, in reality, I only made a few spans of experimental tracks. Unfortunately, during my work, I encountered many problems and scarce details, in this article I want to discuss with you the most common questions when creating a model of a railway track and transport.

In the second issue of ModelMen magazine, I published an article and some photos from the website of an experienced modeller who builds models of railways and participates in exhibitions with his creations. Even looking at the photos of the layout, you can already determine the amount of work for yourself, make a list of tools and materials. I will not immediately give the entire list of what is necessary because it may not be complete, let's better analyze together what is made of what.

Base

The layout of the railroad track must stand on something, so at the very beginning it is necessary to construct a base (table) for the layout. The base can be solid and collapsible. It is easier to make a solid base, but then you need to decide in advance on the room for the layout, it should be a spacious room in case of expansion.

For the base you will need legs; you can take them from old school desks or make them yourself. The whole structure can be easily made from plywood and wooden blocks. For fasteners you will need screws, metal corners. To make a collapsible layout, you will have to rack your brains over the base device and how to transport it.

Tool

To work, you will need many different tools:

Hammer
- screwdrivers
- nippers and pliers
- chisels
- files
- spatulas
- scissors
- knives
- brushes
- soldering iron
- and etc.

railroad tracks

In order for the trains to move in the right direction, we need rails, they can be purchased ready-made in specialized shops for modellers. If you, like me, do not have such stores in your city, then you can buy them through online stores or go for them yourself. In extreme cases, the rails will have to do it yourself.

The easiest construction option is to use rails, they are glued or nailed to the base with small nails, the joints can be soldered and cleaned with a file.

If there are no ready-made rails, then you need to think about how to make them yourself, you can take the dimensions of the rails that are sold in stores and make your own. For sleepers, you will need to cut a lot of thin bars, this can be done on a small machine. The rail itself must conduct current, so it is advisable to make it from thick copper wire, which can be rolled on a manual machine to a rectangular section. You can attach the rail to the sleepers with a good glue or solder it to the nails driven into the sleepers, this can be done after 3-4 sleepers.

electrical equipment

For the movement of the train, an electric current is required, unless of course you are making a steam locomotive. Factory and home-made power supplies are used as a power source (see diagrams, radio engineering), the output voltage should not be dangerous, they usually use power supplies up to 16 volts, for small models 6-9 volts are enough.

The train moves with the help of an electric motor, it can be taken from broken toys or purchased at a radio store. Electricity is supplied to the engine from two rails, voltage is removed from them using two or more counters or from the metal wheels of the train itself.

To distribute electricity along the layout (base), you will need copper wires and connectors.

In addition to the trains themselves, the layout may contain traffic lights, barriers, lights and other elements that need electricity. Before wiring, carefully consider every detail, after installation it will be too late to wire, you will have to change the layout.

Landscape

An integral part of a good layout is the design of the landscape, this should be given special attention. For similarity with reality, you need to work hard on simulating hills, vegetation, buildings, men, vehicles, etc.

Many parts can be used in finished form, i.e. take toy cars, figures of people, also in children's stores you can buy figures of animals, trees ...

To imitate hills, mountains, etc., you will need plywood, building plaster, papier-mâché, fiberglass, acrylic paints and other finishing materials.

Building

Models of buildings can also be purchased at toy stores or you can make them yourself from wood, cardboard, papier-mâché, plywood, etc.

Modellers often take real train stations as a model, photograph them and turn them into miniatures on the table.

On the site, I will periodically publish my developments and those sent by you, you are probably interested in information on how to make a train model, traffic lights, trees, bridges and other elements for the railway. I will also publish electrical diagrams, photographs and drawings of old and new trains.