Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Cool Download link to track layouts
At my favorite off-the-beaten path train track store, Meskotoys, they have downloadable PDFs of some train track layouts. Meskotoys is always helpful! Enjoy!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Cool link to a grooved homemade playboard
My kids are old enough that we like to change our train layouts, so this grooved, permanent track wouldn't work for us, but it's still a super neat thing to look at. Have a look at what this Indonesian mother of two designed for her children: Moshe Things
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
My husband says he thinks I'm more into the trains than the boys
My husband accuses me of being more into the trains than the boys. Maybe he's right. Being any type of artist or creative person, having a child, the ultimate act of creation, surprising stunts your ability to create anything else! I'm a singer and a writer, and having all this pent up creativity has opened other interests I wouldn't have pursued. One is photography. After taking a bazillion photos of my son, and a lifetime of having taken travel photos, I decided to go whole hog and get a decent SLR. And having such willing and captive subjects, I went from 0-60 in about 4 months. Pictures that people complimented originally, make me cringe now! I eventually went pro, and now when I'm not mommying or singing, I'm taking portraits.
But I can't have a camera every second, and the 3 year old will no longer even look in my direction if he sees one, so my next creative endeavor became train tracks. My dad had said something once about mechanical engineering as a possible career for me (more based on HIS strengths and the money aspect), but it took me until now to figure out that perhaps he was onto something. Building things and having to figure out the mysteries of angles and how things to fit together is great. But somehow, I think I enjoy Thomas the Train more than I would've enjoyed a career in mechanical engineering!
Leave comments below on how and why you got into wooden trains. I'd love to hear other stories.
But I can't have a camera every second, and the 3 year old will no longer even look in my direction if he sees one, so my next creative endeavor became train tracks. My dad had said something once about mechanical engineering as a possible career for me (more based on HIS strengths and the money aspect), but it took me until now to figure out that perhaps he was onto something. Building things and having to figure out the mysteries of angles and how things to fit together is great. But somehow, I think I enjoy Thomas the Train more than I would've enjoyed a career in mechanical engineering!
Leave comments below on how and why you got into wooden trains. I'd love to hear other stories.
Cool DIY Link about making your own train playboard
Found a cute blog while researching how to make a train playboard yourself. I doubt I'd do it, since I like the rugs that I've found, but the blog looks interesting.
http://idmommy.blogspot.com/2010/09/id-mommy-projects-make-your-own-train.html
http://idmommy.blogspot.com/2010/09/id-mommy-projects-make-your-own-train.html
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Before you try nails of glue, try Suretrack Clips to hold your track together.
When I first considered a train set for my son, the thought of having to put the tracks back together again every twenty seconds was daunting. I noticed that most of the toy store train sets were glued together or nailed down. I considered doing that. Luckily I didn't. Firstly, your resale value goes out the window. Genuine Thomas tracks keep a very high percent of their purchase price, and even generic still resells easily. But if it's glued down, it's even hard to unload on Craigslist.
Secondly, when your child is very young, say under 2 1/2, a stationary set is great. But when they get older, closer to 3 1/2, they'll want to build their own sets over and over again. So before you glue, before you nail, consider SureTrack.
For building spiral layouts, for building elevated layouts, or building anything with a younger sibling, the Suretrack clips are a Godsend. They aren't a 100% panacea, but they really help. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I call the one year old lots of nicknames, among which Mayhem and The Deconstructionist are my favorites. He loves to destroy whatever we build. These clips keep things together. He can still rip the tracks apart, but it slows him down substantially. What he used to be able to trash in 5 minutes, now would take him a lot longer. And even then he can only destroy one section at a time.
The only downside is that they are slightly homely. But for those of us who really need them, the tradeoff is welcome. They fit best on generic track, like Imaginarium or Orbrium, etc. Genuine Learning Curve Thomas tracks are slightly wider and thus a little harder to et the clips on. I've heard that these clips can stretch and become looser over time. I have a feeling that those complaining of this were using Thomas tracks. I usually start securing the generic pieces first and then do the real Thomas track last. We bought two packs and that would be plenty for most people, but I think we need one more set if we'd want to secure every single piece in some of our larger layouts.
Secondly, when your child is very young, say under 2 1/2, a stationary set is great. But when they get older, closer to 3 1/2, they'll want to build their own sets over and over again. So before you glue, before you nail, consider SureTrack.
For building spiral layouts, for building elevated layouts, or building anything with a younger sibling, the Suretrack clips are a Godsend. They aren't a 100% panacea, but they really help. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I call the one year old lots of nicknames, among which Mayhem and The Deconstructionist are my favorites. He loves to destroy whatever we build. These clips keep things together. He can still rip the tracks apart, but it slows him down substantially. What he used to be able to trash in 5 minutes, now would take him a lot longer. And even then he can only destroy one section at a time.
The only downside is that they are slightly homely. But for those of us who really need them, the tradeoff is welcome. They fit best on generic track, like Imaginarium or Orbrium, etc. Genuine Learning Curve Thomas tracks are slightly wider and thus a little harder to et the clips on. I've heard that these clips can stretch and become looser over time. I have a feeling that those complaining of this were using Thomas tracks. I usually start securing the generic pieces first and then do the real Thomas track last. We bought two packs and that would be plenty for most people, but I think we need one more set if we'd want to secure every single piece in some of our larger layouts.
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