Wooden toy train
Encyclopedia
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
. While the trains, tracks and scenery accessories are made mainly of wood, the engines and cars connect to each other using metal hooks or small magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
s, and some use plastic wheels mounted on metal axles. Some trains are made to resemble anthropomorphical
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
, fictional, and prototypical railroad equipment.
Early companies in the USA
Marshal H. Larrabee II founded the Skaneateles Handicrafters in 1936. This toy company made wooden toy trains and wooden tracks. The gauge was very similar to that used by most companies today. However, the connections for the track pieces were of a different design than the jigsaw style "peg and hole" system used today. The trains were made of mapleMaple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
and were often left unpainted and unstained. They are compatible with many brands of modern wooden train track. Playskool
Playskool
Playskool is an American company that produces educational toys and games for children. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and is headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.-History:...
took over the sales for Skaneateles Handicrafters in 1956. This company retained the design and track connecting system into the 1960s. Marshal H. Larrabee sold his company to the German based Habermaaß GmbH
Habermaaß GmbH
Habermaaß Inc. is a German toy manufacturing company based in Bad Rodach, Bavaria. The company defines itself as an “Inventor for inquisitive minds”, offering a broad selection of products such as wooden and textile toys, home furnishings and accessories for babies and children...
in 1980. The company was renamed T.C. Timber and its products were manufactured in Skaneateles
Skaneateles (town), New York
Skaneateles is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,323 at the 2000 census. The name is from the Iroquois "Indian" tribe term for the adjacent lake: "long lake." The town is on the western border of the county and includes a village, also called Skaneateles...
. The production line was closed in 2002.
The Jack-Built Toy Manufacturing Company marketed its own range of wooden toy trains under the brand name "Jack Built Snap Trains" around 1956 to 1962. These were manufactured in Japan and used a snap system to join pieces of rolling stock and tracks. Rolling stock from Jack Built Snap Trains and Skaneateles Handicrafters could ride on either manufacturer's tracks. However, individual pieces of rolling stock and track from the two brands could not be combined. This is because the coupling systems for the tracks and trains were different.
California-based Ben Orel filed U.S. patent #2847798 in 1956 and was granted the patent for his "snap coupling" system two years later. He describes how the track could be rotated to create a "rail" and a "road" side in U.S. patent #3013726 submitted in 1960 and granted in 1961. This is similar to the idea that Learning Curve later used for their "Thomas & Friends" range. He also submitted a patent for magnetic couplings in 1958. This patent was granted in 1960. It may have been the earliest attempt to use magnets with a wooden toy train system. Production stopped in the mid-1960s and the company disappeared from the toy market.
Early companies in Europe
In 1958, BRIOBRIO
BRIO is a wooden toy company founded in Sweden. The company was founded in the small town of Boalt, Scania in 1884 by basket maker Ivar Bengtsson For a long time the company was based in Osby, Scania, in southern Sweden. In 1908 Ivar's three sons took over and founded BRIO, which is an acronym for...
, based in Osby
Osby
Osby is a locality and the seat of Osby Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 6,947 inhabitants in 2005.Well known people born in Osby include Swedish ice hockey goalkeeper Magnus Åkerlund and their famous goalkeeper, the tremendous Awet Fesshaie....
in southern Sweden, introduced its wooden toy train system with wooden tracks in Europe. It may have been the first company to use the "peg and hole" system to connect the track pieces in mass production. The metal hook system for the rolling stock has since been replaced by magnetic connectors. BRIO was also one of the first companies to use beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
wood for such products.
Another Swedish company that started producing a similar toy at about this time was Micki Leksaker in Gemla
Gemla
Gemla is a locality situated in Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 1,312 inhabitants in 2005. Gemla is famous for the late poet and writer, Pär Lagerkvist, whose childhood memories of Gemla are vividly described in the novel autobiography Gäst hos verkligheten .The famous cyclist...
. It apparently produced its first wooden train sets for a Swedish department store in 1956, thus predating Brio by a year or two.
There was a long tradition of wooden toy-making along the mountain forests surrounding Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. Seiffen
Seiffen
The town of Seiffen is located in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, which is the south-center of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The earliest record of the town is from 1324 when it was referred to as "Cynsifen"....
made wooden figures and Christmas decorations and Blumenau (today a part of Olbernhau
Olbernhau
Olbernhau is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, 35 km southeast of Chemnitz, and 23 km north of Chomutov, Czech Republic.- History :...
) created building blocks and construction sets. Mass production techniques for polishing and coloring wooden toys were established and perfected in the Bohemian areas. Some of the early sets exhibited train designs that were later used for wooden track trains. In 1949, Hermann Eichhorn
Eichhorn
Eichhorn or Eichhörnchen is German for "squirrel"; "die Eiche" means "Oak" and "Eichhorn" is the creature that inhabits the oak.It is the surname of:* Albert Eichhorn, historian of religion* Christoph Eichhorn...
, of the Eichhorn family that made the PEWESTI wooden toys in Steinach, Thuringia
Steinach, Thuringia
Steinach is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 12 km north of Sonneberg....
, founded his company for wooden toys in the Bavarian town of Egglham
Egglham
Egglham is a municipality in the district of Rottal-Inn in Bavaria in Germany....
. In 1961, he started producing his version of a wooden track railway system. Eichhorn claims that his company is the first to have systematically used the "vario system" for the connectors. Eichhorn applied for a U.S. patent for a "battery powered toy train" in 1994. In 1997 the company had to be sold to the Simba-Dickie-Group, which moved production to Unhošť
Unhošt
Unhošť is a town in the Czech Republic.-External links:*...
, near Prague in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. In February 1999 two fires totally destroyed the old factory buildings in Egglham and consumed most of the company's archives and work models.
Heros (He+ros), the company of Hermann Rossberg of Lam
Lam, Germany
Lam is a municipality in the district of Cham in Bavaria in Germany....
in the Bavarian Forest
Bavarian Forest
thumb|The village of Zell in the Bavarian ForestThe Bavarian Forest is a wooded low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany. It extends along the Czech border and is continued on the Czech side by the Šumava . Geographically the Bavarian Forest and Bohemian Forest are sections of the same mountain range...
near to the border of Bohemia, influenced train design in the Blumenau tradition. He too started a line of wooden trains in 1968 to the same gauge, using bright colors in his train designs. In the 1970s the company experimented with plastic tracks based on the peg and hole design of the wooden tracks, but soon returned to normal wooden tracks.
The 1990s, new companies and new ideas
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
" is a character created by the Rev. W. Awdry
W.V. Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE , was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, better known as the Reverend W. Awdry and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.-Life:Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire in 1911...
in The Railway Series
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
of children's books, first published in the U.K. in 1945. In 1984 a television series called Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
was made adding to the popularity of the characters. It was first shown in the United States in 1989. John W. Lee founded the company "Learning Curve Toys" in 1993 with a wooden railway system called "Thomas & Friends" based on the Thomas the Tank Engine characters. This made the wooden toy trains even more popular than before. Learning Curve introduced some new designs for the track surface, such as the "Clickety Clack" rails patented 1995 and the newer tracks in 2003 with a relief to supply better traction grip for battery powered four wheel drive trains patented in 1998.
With the popularity of the toy system rising due to the success of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, new markets outside of the traditional groups and countries were opened. While companies such as Mapple Landmark adjusted its existing line of "Name Trains" to the gauge of the vario system in 1993, others such as Whittle Shortline
Whittle Shortline
- History :During the mid-1990s, former US Air Force pilot Mike Whitworth received a compound mitre saw as a gift from his wife, ostensibly for doing home improvement projects....
, established in 1997, started producing rolling stock based on the more realistic designs of existing American examples. While Brio and Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends clearly favoured the steam engine era, Whittle Shortline expanded into heavy duty diesel engines of designs hardly known in Europe. In the product line "Trains of the World" shown in the Brio catalog of 1998, Brio presents several historic steam engines, such as the Mallard
LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard
Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938. While in other respects a relatively typical member of its class, it is historically significant for being the holder of the official world speed record for steam...
or the Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
along with several modern high speed trains such as the Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
, TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
or ICE. The only diesel unit is from the Santa Fe line. Another project based on real-life prototypes is the "New York City Subway Wooden Railway" by the company named "Munipals".
Other companies, such as Nilo and KidKraft, concentrated on related items like train tables, among other products. Suretrack sells its track securing clips, and Choo Choo Track & Toy Co., founded in 1999, has concentrated on producing and designing tracks and accessories.
Electronics
Although the original push-along trains made mostly of wood still resemble the core idea of this system toy and as of 2006 form the base of all the involved companies' production lines, electronics have gained access to the wooden world. After introducing battery powered engines in the 1990s, remote control had been added by 2002, and so-called smart tracks introduced plastic parts to the wooden track pieces. In 2006 Brio even introduced a theme resembling electronic networking with some electronic gadgets. Altogether this has led to some new track designs allowing better traction for the self powered trains or means of communication between the tracks and trains using some magnetic or electronic gadget.Asian production
As with other toys, many wooden trains and track are manufactured in China and other Asian countries as of 2008. The lead paint problems of 2007 have brought this to public awareness. The connections are a lot older though. Already in the 1950s the Snap-Trains of Ben Orel were made in Japan.Probably the first major brand that was manufactured in China was the Chicago based "Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway". Some of the design, such as the character faces and the spoked wheels, have stayed unique to the brand while other attributes, such as the modular build of the units with a rectangular single block chassis holding the wheels and individual buildup on top, have become widespread designs in China and elsewhere. Another major brand is Maxim. Starting with traditional rather plain and abstract designs, Maxim sold products under the name "Tumble Tree Wood" for retail stores. They have since adopted their current design with a winged number on their rolling stock. The main supplier is a factory in Dong Guan
Dongguan
Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to...
, China. The trains with the winged numbers are also sold by other brands such as Babalu in Germany. In 2004 Brio of Sweden moved most of their production to three factories in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
Province, China. A more recent brand is Melissa & Doug that is also produced in China. Smaller projects were the short lived ventures of Remus and Europlay.
A producer that has sold its products under very many brands including its own name is Mentari Massen, with its main factory founded in 1988 in Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
, Indonesia. Their items have been sold as sets or individually bundled under such brand names as elile, FunToys, Toytopia, The Toy Company, Bino, Snap on Tools and Bigjigs, as well as Mentari Toys or Mentari Group.
A quite prolific producer with its own clear design is Plantoys of Thailand. They have been making children's toys and furniture from rubber wood, which has since been adopted by other companies. They have a range of car and city related sets that could be used as accessories for the wooden toy train ranges of other producers. They had a joint venture with Brio in 2001/2002, being present in the Brio catalogs of the time. By 2007 they had started their own line of wooden trains, expanding it in 2008.
In 1986 Bigjigs Toys Ltd started out by selling a large range of wooden jigsaws. Then in the 1990s they moved into the wooden railway market with a small core range of wooden railway system items. In 2007 they re-launched their railway range under the brand Bigjigs Rail, in new blue sky and green hills packaging. There are, as of 2008, over 70 pieces in the Bigjigs Rail range with 15 added in 2008. Bigjigs Rail offers quality at relativeley inexpensive prices. Some items of the range are clearly produced by Mentari Massen, such as the sets BJT010 - BJT015.
The gauge
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
the grooves are 3 mm deep, 5 mm wide and have 20 mm between them. The tracks themselves are 40 mm wide and 12 mm high. To be kept on track the system can be reduced to a shallow groove 30 mm wide, as in some road systems or small ramps that allow the vehicle to get on or off the track from the floor, or to a middle section 20 mm wide and 3 mm high, as in some beginners tracks or double track road systems. Most modern track systems have a somewhat sophisticated profile with varying degrees of slanted sides for the grooves or rounded edges. In the imperial system the tracks have been described as having grooves an eighth of an inch deep, a quarter of an inch wide and with three quarters of an inch between them. The tracks themselves are one and a half inches wide and half an inch high. However, unlike other model railroading gauges, which have been formally defined by enthusiast groups such as the National Model Railroad Association
National Model Railroad Association
The National Model Railroad Association is a non-profit organization for those involved in the hobby or business of model railroading. It was founded in the United States in 1935, and is now active in Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and the Netherlands...
or the Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen, there is no agreed gauge for wooden trains. The actual cross sectional profile of any given manufacturer's track is usually patented, compelling new manufacturers to alter their track design enough to allow compatibility with other brands without committing patent infringement.
Flipping track pieces
Some track pieces such as curves and points have grooves on both sides so that they can be used from both sides. By flipping the piece around one can convert a left-hand curve or point to a right-handed one. This feature seems to be unique to the wooden track toy train systems. Another possibility is to have the two grooves for trains on the one side and the single wide groove for roads on the other side. Ben Orel describes such a system in U.S. patent #3013726, which he submitted in 1960. Learning Curve made such tracks for their "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme.The Vario system
When trying to document a layout with exact geometry one quickly notices that a lot of layouts one builds with real track do not work using a CAD system or some track layout program. This is due to the so called "vario system" which allows some play when joining the tracks, so that with some wiggling around one can make layouts line up perfectly with no danger of derailing trains which do not use the exact geometry of the pieces. This is achieved by making the pegs somewhat smaller than the holes. Sometimes the round part of the hole is not an exact circle but rather an ellipse, allowing the tracks to connect with a small gap between them. Also, the neck gap does not have a sharp edge at the end of the track, but is carved round. This may have started as a production loss or to make it easier for small children to join the tracks. Some sources state that Eichhorn was the first to design connections using this system.Some track and layout geometry
Though not all manufacturers use the same system for their track piece designs some principle standards have evolved, as the geometry involved with track systems tends to pose the same problems to everyone. The first question may be how to divide the circle. The standard for wooden tracks is eight pieces. The next important length is the diameter of the circle made of a line along the center of the tracks. This length is useful for figures such as an eight with the crossing at right angles, a simple L-figure, a bulge to one side or a spectacles or Mickey Mouse head, to name the simplest.A division in two gives a handy piece of straight track. For the figure eight one could use two straight pieces to go underneath and a bridge made to the same length to cross over the other straights. If one wants a crossing on the same level, the diameter can be divided by three and a crossing piece made with straights of that length. Of course one can also produce pieces of a quarter diameter length to put to the left and right of a central bridge piece that is half the length of the diameter. As one can see, it is useful to determine the length of the straight tracks by dividing the diameter of the circle made by the curves. Brio uses lengths of half, quarter and eighth as well as a third and sixth.
To solve problems of offset produced by points that branch out at the same angle producing parallel tracks, it is also useful to design such points and switches so that one of the short straights can compensate the offset. An easy way to design points is by tracing a long and a curved track to the same piece using the same connecting point as the origin. Such a merged piece can thus serve as a curve for one branch and a straight for the other while using the same dimensions as the other pieces.
Road systems
Several approaches have been made over time to add a road system to the railway tracks. The first and still most widely used level crossings use simple ramps that enable vehicles to cross the thick tracks from whatever underground the tracks are placed on. The simplest way to add roads to this existing solution is to provide a layout printed on a paper or plastic sheet or even a carpet that uses the dimensions of the wooden tracks. Some companies have made thin track pieces out of plastic or other materials that can be joined by some connecting system and have special crossover pieces to allow playing together with a wooden railway system. The next step seems to have been road track pieces of similar thickness as the railway tracks but using some other connecting design. Using the same "peg and hole" system as the railway tracks seems to have come later. The "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme from Learning Curve used track pieces that had the traditional railway design on one side and a new road design on the other using a design invented by Ben Orel in 1960. These roads had the same profile and measurements as the railway tracks, except that the part between the grooves was missing so that the road was a broad "groove" with sidings. The road vehicles and the railway rolling stock could be used interchangeable on both systems. Brio had introduced a track with wider grooves that was used for trains aimed at a younger age group. These used the same connection system as the other tracks and had the same distance between the grooves. This made it possible for the normal trains to run on the wider tracks. When these wide grooves have the same width as the "Thomas the Tank Engine" road pieces they can be used as a two way road. Other companies have since adopted this system.Design origins and developments
As of 2007 there seem to be several design trends:
- One group seems to emphasize the material wood. Some are simple "back to the roots" designs, while others take a more artistic approach, searching for new ways to abstract the train theme.
- Another group tries to stay true to the material wood but use more realistic designs with series based on famous real life trains.
- A modern view is to use more and more plastic and build battery powered and remote controlled objects, with electronic devices gaining ground.
- Specialty trains for specific purposes like alphabet trains and name trains, as well as decoration sets like birthday trains with candles and promotional designs for special events.
Train tables are a popular way to set up trains and railways, with fixed versions often placed in waiting rooms at hospitals, doctors' offices, or other places where some entertainment for children may be offered. This way they stay off the ground and it is not necessary to take apart the track after it is built!
Bridges and tunnels
Early Skaneateles sets had rectangular supports that raised the track gradually. Due to the different connection system Skaneateles used at that time, tracks could be easily bent upwards at the connection point. The two-piece bridge with massive, self supporting, ramps has been common since the 1960s. Provided with supports, this bridge could be easily elongated using normal straights. More modern bridge designs have used large amounts of plastic since the 1980s, reducing the amount of wood needed and thus producing lighter and cheaper designs. A sturdy basic bridge is the three-part bridge with the connections in the ramp section. Such designs seem to be aimed at the youngest players as they do not come apart easily. However, the design is not extendable. The two part bridge led to the development of some raised track pieces. First versions had viaductViaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
-like designs or sported some sort of gadget like a drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
. Later ramps were track bent in an S-shape. As these were not self-supporting, new sorts of elevated track pieces were introduced. These consisted of a short piece of track raised by four legs. These supports were stackable and based on a square design, so that the direction could be changed by a right angle turn on the different levels.
Buildings
Early buildings had windows and doors made by drawing lines in a single color on simple rectangular blocks. Sometimes they had slanted roofs made with another piece of wood, painted another color, stacked on top. A common early station design consisted of a simple platform with a roof on two or three supports along the longer axis. Later buildings have printed multicolor patterns. There have always been building sets that were similar to the popular wooden building blocksToy block
Toy blocks , are wooden, plastic or foam pieces of various shapes and colors that are used as building toys...
, allowing lots of individual designs. Since the 1990s building designs have become more sophisticated and interaction with the trains has increased. Learning Curve may have made this approach popular with many designs based on the story plots of the Thomas the Tank series, such as a grain loader accessory or a logging mill.
Licensing and merchandise themes
- Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
- (Playskool 70s?, Strombecker-Tootsie toysTootsie toysTootsieToy is a manufacturer of die cast toy cars and other toy vehicles. The TootsieToy brand has its origins in a range of miniature cars in the form of charms, pins, cuff links and the like, introduced circa 1901 by the Chicago based Dowst Brothers company. The first actual model car from the...
1995), DealMakers 2008 - Thomas the Tank EngineThomas the Tank EngineThomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
- (Learning Curve 1993 and Brio) - Jim Knopf/ButtonJim Button and Luke the Engine DriverJim Button and Luke the Engine Driver is a German children's novel written by Michael Ende. Published in 1960, it became one of the most successful German children's books in the postwar era after having first been rejected by a dozen publishers...
- (Euro-Play pre 2000?(Tesco?), Brio from 2000 on) - Bob the BuilderBob the BuilderBob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
- (Brio 2001) - Benjamin BlümchenBenjamin the ElephantBenjamin the Elephant is an animated children's television show produced by Kiddinx Studios in Berlin. The show is based on audio stories by Elfie Donnelly. On the show, the eponymous main character resides at the Newtown Zoo, with friends Otto and Stella...
- (Eichhorn 2001) - Curious GeorgeCurious GeorgeCurious George is the protagonist of a series of popular children's books by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. The books feature a curious brown monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city.When...
- (Brio 2002) - BusytownBusytownBusytown is a fictional town inhabited by an assortment of anthropomorphic animals, as depicted in various books by the children's author Richard Scarry. Main characters of these books include the following: Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Mr. Frumble, police Sergeant Murphy, Mr...
- (Brio 2002) - Babar the ElephantBabar the ElephantBabar the Elephant is a French children's fictional character who first appeared in Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931 and enjoyed immediate success. An English language version, entitled The Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and also in the United States. The book is based on...
- (Brio,France) - The Little Engine that CouldThe Little Engine That CouldThe Little Engine that Could is a children's story that appeared in the United States of America. The book is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work...
- (Maxim until mid-2005, Whittle Shortline as of 2006) - Winnie the Pooh - (Strombecker-Tootsie toysTootsie toysTootsieToy is a manufacturer of die cast toy cars and other toy vehicles. The TootsieToy brand has its origins in a range of miniature cars in the form of charms, pins, cuff links and the like, introduced circa 1901 by the Chicago based Dowst Brothers company. The first actual model car from the...
2004?, Eichhorn 2006, Brio 2008) - The Polar ExpressThe Polar ExpressThe Polar Express is a 1985 children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, a former professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. It was adapted as an Oscar-nominated motion-capture film in 2004....
- (Brio 2006) - Mickey Mouse ClubhouseMickey Mouse ClubhouseMickey Mouse Clubhouse is a children's television series, that premiered in prime time on Disney Channel on May 5, 2006. The program was originally part of the Playhouse Disney daily block intended for preschoolers...
- (Brio 2008)
Europe
- BrioBRIOBRIO is a wooden toy company founded in Sweden. The company was founded in the small town of Boalt, Scania in 1884 by basket maker Ivar Bengtsson For a long time the company was based in Osby, Scania, in southern Sweden. In 1908 Ivar's three sons took over and founded BRIO, which is an acronym for...
, Company founded 1884 in Osby in southern Sweden. Has produced wooden railways since 1957. ProventusProventusProventus is a privately held Swedish investment company founded in 1980 by Robert Weil. It was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange from 1982 until 1995....
, a Swedish Investment companyInvestment companyAn investment company is a company whose main business is holding securities of other companies purely for investment purposes. The investment company invests money on behalf of its shareholders who in turn share in the profits and losses....
became the major shareholder in 2004. - Eichhorn, Company founded 1949 in Egglham in southern Germany. Has produced wooden railways since 1961.
- Heros, Company founded by Herrman Rossberg in Lam in southern Germany. Started producing trains in the wooden railway gauge in 1968.
- Micki Leksaker of Sweden, may be the manufacturer of the "Lillabo" wooden train series from IkeaIKEAIKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
. Has produces wooden railways since 1956. - Hartung, Berlin Germany. May sample some sets with products from different manufacturers.
- Babalu, sold only by KarstadtKarstädtKarstädt is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany....
, Germany, produced in China. Some items may be of the same origin as for Maxim and Imaginarium. - Bino, sells Mentari Toys sets. Old street systems with "double" peg and hole connections have been replaced by single middle line peg and covered hole connections, thus making the connection invisible from the top when assembled.
- Spielmaus, a "Home brand" of Vedes toy shops, Germany. Has made use of many manufacturers, such as Eichhorn in the 1960s or Mentari as of late.
- PlayGo, a brand of the Steckstäbi company, founded by Rudi Stäblein in Bad LiebensteinBad LiebensteinBad Liebenstein is the oldest spa town in Thuringia . It is situated 9 km east of Bad Salzungen, and 18 km south of Eisenach.A part of Bad Liebenstein is Altenstein, the summer residence of the dukes of Meiningen....
. He patented a system for wooden construction toys in 1995. The trains of this brand can be taken apart and put together again to build something else. In that respect it is somewhat similar to the system of Hybo. The connection system itself is reminiscent of construction sets of the 1920s and 1930s. - "Hornby", toy train line by Hornby RailwaysHornby RailwaysHornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...
of England. - Bentatec, has a small line of trains with a rather artistic design.
- "Tesco", sold at the TescoTescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
stores may be related to Euro-Play - Bigjigs Rail is the wooden railway system from Bigjigs Toys Ltd. There are over 70 different items in the Bigjigs Rail Range, compatible with all other wooden railway systems.
- Kids-Wood, has a wooden toy train line including a road system. Part of the Danish TOP-TOY company. Sold in the BR toy shops.
- Early Learning CentreEarly Learning CentreThe Early Learning Centre is a British chain of shops selling toys for very young children.-History:Originally set up as a mail order company in 1974 and was always based near Swindon; by 1980 it had ten shops; and it has grown to include 215 shops in the UK and over 80 in 19 other countries such...
has its own range of wooden toys under its brand name "Wooden World". This includes wooden cars and railway systems (mainly of the type produced in China) although they also sell the "Thomas & Friends" items from "Learning Curve" as of 2008. - Sevi, a toy company of northern Italy founded in 1831 in Val Gardena, also offers wooden train sets. These are designed in Italy but produced in China.
- Hybo from Symplo, a toy company from PaviaPaviaPavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
, Italy. The modular HY-per BO-ard system connects a modular system of connectable boards with groves in the same scale as the wooden railway systems with a peg-and-hole building system. Some of the modules provide connection points to regular rails. The rolling stock and other vehicles are compatible with the "Vario" system.
North America
- Skaneateles Handicrafts - T.C.Timber - Habermaas, Company founded 1936 by Marshall Larabee in Skaneateles NY in the northeast of the USA. Claims to have invented the wooden track gauge. Was purchased by Habermaas Corporation of Germany in 1980. All trains produced under the TC Timber brand after 2002 are made in Germany.
- Learning Curve, Thomas & friends, Company founded 1993 by John W. Lee in the USA. Produces trains based on the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends characters. Owned by RC2 since 2003.
- Maple Landmark WoodcraftMaple Landmark Woodcraft-History:Mike Rainville first came to woodworking as a hobby in the 1970s while he was in school. Working out of his parent's basement with scraps from his grandfather's carpentry projects, he duplicated household items such as spool holders and cribbage boards. Before long, friends and neighbors...
, Company founded 1979 by Mike Rainville in Vermont, USA. Has produced trains for the wooden track system gauge since 1993. - Whittle ShortlineWhittle Shortline- History :During the mid-1990s, former US Air Force pilot Mike Whitworth received a compound mitre saw as a gift from his wife, ostensibly for doing home improvement projects....
- Company founded in 1997 by Mike Whitworth, based in MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. Offers a line of wooden trains based upon North American prototypes. - LionelLionel, LLCLionel, LLC is a designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads, based in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line by cereal conglomerate General Mills....
Has produced a special line of realistic trains together with Maxim since 2006. - Suretrack, produces securing trackclips.
- Nilo, produces flexible tracks.
- Maxim, has been making toys since 1962. Has a joint venture project with Lionel since late 2005, introducing a new line of realistic trains under the brand name of Lionel by 2006.
- Imaginarium / Universe of Imagination, brand sold by Toys "R" Us. As "Imaginarium Toy Centers, Inc." the company originally focused on educational toys. It was purchased by Toys "R" Us in 1998 for 43 million dollars. Some items may be of the same origin as for Maxim and Babalu.
- Melissa & Doug, founded in 1988, have a line of train tables and complete wooden train world sets.
- KidKraft, a producer of child-related furniture started to sell train sets for its train tables.
- Choo Choo Track & Toy Co. established in 1999, has concentrated on track and accessories, using mainly American beech as the wood source. The company offers track adapters to connect wooden tracks with similar gauge, such as the blue plastic tracks from Tomy with the dove tail connectors and the tan tracks from Trackmaster.
- MeskoToys a division of MeskoTech, Inc., an engineering company founded in 1996 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They produce track and accessories, using mainly American "tree-cycled" solid maple hardwood as wood source. Their speciality is track crosses and switches of unique design to built layouts otherwise not possible with traditional standard track pieces.
- Munipals, a division of Fay Graphic Design Ltd, based in Shelter IslandShelter Island (town), New YorkShelter Island is a town and island at the eastern end of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It forms the tip of Suffolk County and is separated from the rest of the county by water. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, NY. "Munipals" specializes in producing subway and commuter train models for the MTAMetropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
, CTAChicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
, New Jersey TransitNew Jersey TransitThe New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
, and SEPTA. The MTA trains can be found in the New York Transit MuseumNew York Transit MuseumThe New York Transit Museum is a museum which displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, commuter rail, and bridge and tunnel systems; it is located in a decommissioned Court Street subway station in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City...
's gift shops.
Asia
- China produces for many companies (Remus, Europlay, Babalu, Maxim, Early Learning Centre, Learning Curve, Brio, Sevi). Most production seems to be centered in GuangdongGuangdongGuangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and ZhejiangZhejiangZhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
Provinces. - Zhejiang Siyu Toys and Crafts Co., Ltd., founded in 1973 produces for companies such as Melissa & Doug in the USA or Top-Toy in Europe.
- Plantoys, founded in 1981 in Thailand. Has specialized on using rubberwoodRubberwoodRubberwood is wood from the Pará rubber tree . Rubberwood has been produced on a small scale, but has become much more common. There are extensive plantations with these trees in southeast Asia; the earlier practice was to just burn the tree at the end of its latex-producing cycle, due to the poor...
. Produces a street system that is compatible with the wooden train tracks. Has changed the connection system several times. Plantoys now uses plastic connectors similar to those used by Ikea and Micki Leksaker; these fit into the all-female wooden road tracks. In 2007 Plantoys started its own line of train tracks and rolling stock, using the established peg and hole system for rail tracks and magnets for the rolling stock. - Mentari Toys, founded 1988 in Surabaya, Indonesia, where the production still is, while international sales are directed from offices in Taiwan. Products may have been sold under the brands elile, FunToys, Toytopia, Bino and Kidkraft.
- The Toy Company sells in Germany under the brand name Beeboo, also sells Mentari sets under its own label.
See also
- Model railroad layoutModel railroad layoutIn model railroading, a layout is a diorama containing scale track for operating trains. The size of a layout varies, from small shelf-top designs to ones that fill entire rooms, basements, or whole buildings....
- PlarailPlarailis a toy train and track system made by Tomy and introduced in Japan in 1959. It was expanded into an battery-operated electric toy train system in October 1961. The system is usually known as "Plarail system" in Asia and "Tomica World" outside of Asia...
(similar gauge but plastic) - Thomas and Friends wooden railway