THE TOY LOCOMOTIVE.
The thin ends of a common soap-box afford very good material for the base of this locomotive, while the end of a curtain-roller makes a capital boiler. The cab can be cut from a cigar-box, and a button-mold will do for the boiler-head. First cut from the thicker wood a base in shape like Fig. 1, and seven inches long by one and a half wide; with a jackknife bevel it on either side of the pointed end to correspond to the shape of the pilot, as shown in the cut. Saw the roller even at either end just four inches in length. Next cut from a solid block of wood a smoke-stack three inches high and an inch in diameter across the top. The cab is cut from the cigar-box wood, and consists of a front like a, two side-pieces like b, and a top like that seen in Fig. 1; round off the edges of the top to give it a slightly convex surface like the tops of the cars. Now, with brads, fasten these three parts together. Then with a long, slender brass screw fasten the button-mold and smoke-stack on front of the boiler. The screw should have as large a head as it is possible to find, and should be long enough to extend half an inch or more into the round section of wood or boiler. Cover the whole, excepting the cab, with two thick coats of black paint, being careful that the first is perfectly dry before the second is put on. After the blackened surface is thoroughly dry and hard, put the red stripes on the pilot, as seen in the cut: and for the brass bands around the boiler use chrome yellow. The cab is painted Indian-red, and after this is perfectly dry, the windows are painted on with black, as in the cars.
The little ornamental lines on the cab are made with the yellow paint. A large round-headed brass screw driven through a low flat spool (such as is used for button-hole twist), into the top of the boiler in front of the cab, makes a good steam-chest and whistle, and adds the finishing touch to this indestructible little toy. If you anticipate making this train of cars for a Christmas present, begin it in time, as paint dries much more slowly in winter than in summer, and it is absolutely necessary that each coat be perfectly dry before the next is applied. Varnishing greatly improves the durability and appearance of the painted surface. Shellac dissolved in alcohol makes the best varnish for this kind of work. It should be made moderately thick, and if intended for light-colored work, white shellac should be used, as the dark leaves a slight stain upon the surface. I forgot to add in its proper place that a brass button, caught in on top by a stiff wire, is made to represent a bell. The wire should be first bent into the shape seen in the illustration; the button then hung in position, and the wire finally driven into the holes made to receive it.
The tender consists of a piece of wood the same width but only half the length of one of the cars, and one inch high. This is painted black with a narrow band of yellow running around the sides near the top, and is fastened to the locomotive and car by means of the screw-eye and hook.
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