Web site highlights student-created toy train designs

Drafting and design students at McIntosh High have a great summer project for anyone who enjoys woodworking and model trains.

The students have just published plans for construction of 14 different wooden toy train cars. The train cars are designed so that they will hook together in any combination. The cars are 7-10 inches long and can be easily built from inexpensive materials and common power tools. Photos of the finished product, along with the design details, are available at the following site: https://sites.google.com/site/awesometoytrains.

It took the students more than a month to research and conceptualize the train cars, draft designs and sketches, build and test the cars, make revisions to the plans, and publish them online for the public to enjoy. They worked in teams to complete the different assignments that follow the design process from problem to product.

Their task was to create a toy train from a one-by-four-inch block of wood. As a class, the teams collaborated on all of the details of the cars such as the size and type of screws, the size of the wheels, and positioning of the hitches so all of the cars would connect.

Drafting teacher Larry Singleton said the project gave students experience in taking a problem and developing a product to address it.

“The takeaway for students was a real world experience of collaboration with a team in a problem to product design process that resulted in a viable product,” he said.

The photo shows four students who worked on the toy train project. From left are Drew Perez, Colin Rice, George Watmore and Jesse Barnard.