I also occasionally use poplar. It's much stronger than basswood, though still a little soft in terms of nicks and dents. It's also almost impossible to sand to a fine finish, so it pretty much has to be painted. Poplar varies in color from light yellow to green to purplish black. It's available in various thicknesses from 1/4" to 1" at many hardware and home improvement stores.

In early 1999, I decided to switch to "real" hardwood for most of my trains, because basswood tends to get dented in rough play. Hardwoods, like maple and walnut, are much tougher, though more difficult to work and to find in the thicknesses I use. I can buy 3/8" basswood at almost any hobby or craft store, but I have to drive a couple hours for 3/8" maple, or spend a lot of time milling lumber. I guess it's a "cost vs durability" decision. I sometimes still use basswood for prototypes, for my personal train collection, and for Christmas tree ornaments. Of course, using hardwood meant buying real power tools, like my baby bandsaw (a benchtop model with a small footprint).

For track, I've used just about everything, from good old yellow pine, to poplar, soft and hard maple, and even red oak. This is another "cost & availability vs durability" decision. There's also an "appearance vs work involved" decision. Whatever makes you happy.

Most commercial wooden trains use plastic wheels. I mostly use 3/4" diameter by 3/16" thick turned wooden wheels. You can find them at most craft stores and many woodworking stores. Some have a 1/4" axle hole, designed for wooden axle pins - I avoid these, as it's too big for such small toys. My personal preference is for wheels with a 1/8" hole, which I bore out to 5/32" for #6 wood-screw axles. Boring out the axle hole sounds like a lot of work, but I just brace my hand drill on a stable surface (I made a jig to hold it), set it to low speed, grab a couple bags of wheels, and zip-zip-zip! I've got dozens of wheels all ready to go. I have also found 1" wheels (which really are too big) and 1/2" wheels, which are good for special applications, but require some extra work because they are so small. I found a bag of 5/8" wheels in a hobby shop locally (and NOT cheap!), but the only other place I've ever seen them is in the Wood-n-crafts online catalog. I intend to use the 5/8" wheels for four-wheel bogies. I've also built some prototype steam locomotives that used a pair of 5/8" wheels for the trailing truck, but those were actually 5/8" wooden buttons that I had modified by adding a center hub. Necessity is the mother of invention. Here are some links to companies that sell turned wooden wheels:

Cherry Tree Toys

Lara's Crafts

Wood-n-crafts

Of course, if you are a REAL glutton for punishment, you can try turning wheels on a lathe. I've done it, because I wanted some wheels made of walnut, but I can't recommend the experience.

As I've said, I use #6 wood screws to attach wheels. I prefer the round head type. I think that they look best. They can be found in zinc-plated steel, nickel-plated steel, brass-plated steel, stainless steel, solid aluminum and solid brass. I've experimented with painting the heads of the screws, and that can turn out well, but I prefer natural metal. I've tried using 1/2" x #6 screws, but they don't hold as well as I'd like, so I've standardized on 3/4" x #6, which I cut down to 5/8" long. I use a heavy pair of cutters to nip off the ends (wear safety glasses!).

Since my nephew knows what a screwdriver is, I'm also experimenting with nailing wheels on, using 3/4" linoleum nails. Another approach is to glue the wheels to a 1/8" wood axle using a dowel that runs all the way through the frame. I'm not too keen on this method, because the 1/8"+ axle hole gets awfully close to the surface of the wood, and just because I like the way the screws look!

Other hardware I use includes flat head screws for attaching trucks to the bodies of diesel engines and small nails for details, headlights, or sometimes just to add strength to a piece.

I use yellow carpenter's glue (aliphatic resin) for all my trains. It's strong, non-toxic, dries fast and cleans up with water. It isn't waterproof, but we're building trains, not submarines. A good coat of varnish should protect the glue from most water hazards.

I attach my couplers with five minute 2-part epoxy. Yellow glue will do the job, but epoxy is stronger. I usually mix a drop of paint into the epoxy to color it and make it a little less glassy and brittle.

My preferred method is to use 1/2" ceramic "doughnut" magnets, with an an upholstery nail through the hole. When I first started making trains, I didn't have a source for the magnets, so I had to settle for button magnets and just the domed heads of the nails. Without the dome, the couplers are too strong and won't allow train cars to flex. The domes also improve the appearance of the couplers. You can find the upholstery nails in a variety of finishes (nickel-plated, brass-plated, or painted).

When I use 1/2" button magnets, they have to be the ceramic type (available at Radio Shack(tm), hobby shops, and hardware stores) because the plastic button magnets that I've found at craft stores aren't strong enough. Warning! Ceramic magnets are strong! I can lift entire trains just by picking up the engine. Keep them away from your floppy disks! J

With a button magent, I clip off the shafts of the nails with a pair of diagonal cutters (be sure to wear safety glasses - that nail will fly!). Sometimes I have to grind the stub of the nail down a little with my Dremel^TM hobby grinder. Then I glue the domes onto the magnets using Goop^TM, a very strong rubbery adhesive that stays slightly flexible after it sets. I've tried 2-part epoxy, but it was too brittle for this particular application.

After a year of hard play, most of the Goop'ed couplers are still in one piece. Still, just to make sure the couplers stay put and avoid any choking hazard, (and to eliminate a construction step!) I've switched to the to the nail-and-"doughnut" magnet couplers.

You can get 1/2" "doughnut" magnets from Cherry Tree Toys. You'll need to find them in the printed catalog. They're usually on the page with whirligig parts, rather than with the craft magnets.

Each pair of couplers will need to be magnetic opposites - one North and one South. Otherwise, the car or engine won't hook up to the next car - the magnets will repel instead of attract. To find out which one goes in front, buy or borrow a BRIO or Thomas locomotive, and experiment. I have a "master" magnet with markings on one side. When I open a new package of magnets, I put each one on the master, and mark it to match the master. Then, when I make coupler pairs, one has a dome glued to the marked side and one to the other side.

I usually brush paint my trains with nontoxic lead-free hobby paints. Before painting, I undercoat with white spray primer. I also usually varnish with gloss polyurethane - it's tough and shiny, though you will want to find a brand that isn't too yellow. Be sure to check labels for health or safety warnings. After testing with the most destructive force in the universe (the small boy-child), my paint jobs have held up about as well as the commercial products. The chips and dents are marks of honor in my book, anyhow.

Painting Tips:

A couple good primer coats can cover up a lot of mistakes.

If you use white primer (rather than gray or brown), your colors will be brighter.

Red and yellow are two of the hardest colors to paint, because they tend to be translucent. Use white primer and build up several thin coats of color.

Properly thinned paint and good quality brushes make a big difference.

Metallic colors, like silver, tend to make woodgrain or flaws in the surface much more obvious, and they just don't look realistic to me. I prefer to paint "metal" surfaces a light blue-gray. I also have problems with metallic colors rubbing off (NOT good for toys!) and reacting with clear overcoats.

Patience is a virtue. Let the paint dry before touching it!

Every handyman has his own favorite set of tools, and his own way of doing things. If you can think of a better way of doing something, then do it! Since my "workshop" is also known as my apartment, I don't have any big heavy power tools. My Delta baby band saw, a Skil hand drill, and my Dremel are the only power tools I use. Other than these, the hand tools I use for wooden trains are: X-ACTO^TM razor saws and miter box, utility knife, a little hand plane, files, pliers, screwdriver, tack hammer, and sandpaper.

Two essential tools are gloves and safety glasses, especially when working with power tools. I don't know how many times I've said to myself, "I really should be wearing my gloves - oh, it will be okay" - just before a trip to the bathroom to stop the bleeding and get a bandaid. I've got a lovely scar on the inside of my right index finger to remind me. Safety glasses are even more important. A little cut on a finger will heal, but you only get one pair of eyes. Be careful!