The basic ChooChoo car is a 66”x42” platform on which you are free to build whatever you want. The height of the platform and the hitches need to be standard in order for the train cars to all be interchangeable.
There are many different ways you can build the platform. If you know how to work with metal, you may want to weld your frame. Since a lot of people don’t know how to work with metal and the tools are both dangerous and not readily available, we will stick to building a wooden platform in this tutorial.
The basic plan is to build a 2x4 frame and cover it with plywood or wafer-board. Here is a drawing of the frame:
Click the image to enlarge it.
To begin, you’ll need to go to your local building supply store. If you have a recycled building materials center in your area, it’d be great if you used recycled materials. The initial materials should cost you less than $20. You’ll probably need a truck or large car to get them home. Here’s what you need:
- 2 10’ 2x4s
- 1 6’ 2x4
- 4’x8’ Sheet of wafer-board (cheaper) or plywood
- Box of 3.5” wood screws (or drywall screws)
- Box of 1.5” wood screws (or drywall screws)
You’ll also need some tools. A lot of home improvement stores will let you rent power tools if you want to make the job a bit easier. You can also use hand tools if you want some exercise. Here are the tools you’ll need:
- Drill
- Set of drill bits and a philips head screw driver bit that fits the screws you bought above.
- Some sort of saw that will cut 2x4s. Either a hand saw, circular saw, miter saw or sawsall. A hand saw, circular saw or sawsall will also allow you to cut the plywood or wafer-board. If you choose to cut with a hand saw, you should also get a saw box that will assist you in cutting 45 degree angles on the 2x4s.
The first step is to cut the main 2x4s to length. You should be able to cut a long side and a short side from one 10’ 2x4. The cuts will be 45 degree angles. Make sure you measure the lengths on the outside (the long side) of the angle. Also make sure you cut the angle on both ends so that the long sides are on the same side of the board.
You should end up with 4 boards. Two 66” and two 42” lengths. If your 45 degree angles are true, the boards should all fit together into a rectangle.
Next cut the cross supports. They should be 35” and have a normal 90 degree cut on each end. It’s usually good to make them 1/4” larger so that they will fit snugly in the frame. Depending on the reliability of your 45 degree angles, you may want to cut them a bit larger to give yourself room for error. You can always trim them later if they don’t fit perfectly. You should end up with two 35” cross supports.
Next, you’ll need to drill pilot holes for the screws that will hold the main part of the frame together. It’s easier to drill the shorter 42” boards. You can place them on edge with the long side facing up. You’ll need to gauge where to drill the holes so that the screws go into the other board, but not all the way through it. Here’s a photo of the process.
Make sure you drill the holes at an angle. Don’t try to just screw the screws straight into the 2x4s without drilling holes or you’ll probably crack the wood and ruin the piece.
You can start the screws like this to make it easier to screw the other pieces on. If you have a recessed drill bit, you can get more of the screw to go through into the other side.
Drill two holes in each end of the short (end) pieces and start the 3.5” screws. Next you’ll need a bit of space on a flat floor. It helps if you have someone else to help you hold the 2x4s while you screw them together. Place the 45 degree angles next to each other and get the square. Have someone hole the pieces while you screw them together with the drill. Make sure you keep your fingers away from where the screw could possibly come out of the wood in case your angle was off. You don’t want the screw coming out of the wood into you fingers! Get both screws in the go to the next corner and repeat the process until you have a rectangle of 2x4s. Don’t worry if it seems a bit weak. We’ll get it stronger in the next step.
Next we need to put the cross supports on. Put your cross supports into the rectangle. Measure 22” from each end. The 22” line should be the center of each cross piece. If your cross pieces are a bit long, you may need to trim them down. Get them to fit nice and snug. Once you have them laying together, there are two options for screwing them together. You can toe-nail (toe-screw) them, or you can get some longer screws. I recommend toe-screwing them. Toe-screwing is where you screw at an angle through the outside pieces into the inner pieces. It can take some practice, so you might want to try it out on some scrap wood before trying it on your ChooChoo platform. Use the 3.5” screws for this.
Once the cross pieces are screwed in, you should have something that looks like this:
At this point, check your corners. If they seem a little wishy-washy, you might want to put some more screws into the opposite corners of where your first screws were. This will sure it up a bit. It’ll still be a little flimsy until we install the wafer-board in the next step.
Next you’ll need to cut your plywood or wafer-board. Unless you had it pre-cut, it usually comes in 4’x8’ sheets. You’ll need to cut it down to 66”x42”. A cutting guide and a circular saw will make this easy. Measure our your dimensions then place the cutting guide on your marks. Make sure to allow for the offset of your circular saw table or you’ll cut it too small. If you don’t have a cutting guide, you can draw a line, or snap a chalk line to help you cut a straight line.
In this picture, I’m using a circular saw and a cutting guide to get a straight line.
Once you have your wafer-board cut, you can screw it down onto the frame with your 1.5” screws. You should then have your completed platform.
Screwing the wafer-board onto the frame.
Here is the finished platform. We set it up on some crates to test out the strength. It’s very strong and not super heavy.
In the next post, we’ll talk about adding the wheels. Email help@playachoochoo.org if you need help with any of these steps. Happy building.
