Wooden Train Long Track (Vario System)

My family's wooden train set lacked a big train station or a train yard .

So I decided to create a custom double track piece.

This tutorial is meant for people who have basic tools and very little experience with wood.

It took me just a few hours to build and was finished the same day.

• long ruler
• hacksaw
• small 5 mm chisel
• exacto knife
• power drill and drill bits (1*thin diameter and 1*diameter 13mm)
• sandpaper to smoothen edges (medium grit ).
• table and clamps (workbench)
• triplay wood 12mm thick
• a train toy and a sample of tracks to check compatibility.

Although the track is meant to be compatible with the Vario system standard - Ikea, Brio, Bigjigs, Hape, Eichhorn, Lidl...- there might be slight differences between different sets. Therefore, you should make sure you take measures from a sample of your own tracks. While you are working, compare your work to your samples on a regular basis to make sure it fits.

On the pictures, these are the measurements for my train set.

For more info on the system and measurements : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_toy_train (paragraph "the gauge") and https://woodenrailway.info/track/track-math

Decide how long your piece should be. It should roughly match the length of several tracks from your sample. The longest track on the system is usually 216mm. It is important because the Vario System has a mathematically determined set of dimensions to allow maximum versatility. Odd measures might make it difficult to complete a circuit.

Decide how large your piece should be. If it is meant to fit a road plate, the space between the two tracks might be wider. If it is meant to fit train tracks only, you should make it compatible with switches.

On a 12mm thick triplay board, trace a rectangle with the width and length of the desired track. Cut your board off with the hacksaw. The cut was not too difficult to do as I found a piece of scrap wood roughly the size I needed.

Trace the female connectors and compare with the real samples. It is easier to create female connectors on both sides. They are also stronger and you can just add an adaptor when needed. Pegs made out of triplay are to easy to break.

Cut through the top layer of the triplay with an exacto knife to mark the grooves of the rails. You can then peel off the inside of the grooves with the chisel. If you need to dig deeper, use the hacksaw inside the groove. Regularly check depth and smoothness. You can check the evenness with a ruler and by driving a toy car on it. Vroom vroom!

If you have a table saw, just adjust your blade to the depth of the groove and run your piece of wood on top of it.

With a medium grit sandpaper, smoothen the edges of the grooves. My triplay was thicker than the rails I have, so I made the grooves deeper and used a coarse sandpaper to make the board thinner.

Run your finger against the edges and grooves of your rail to check that no splinter is left unnoticed. For this, the touch is more accurate than the sight.

Have the end user decorate with felt tips or acrylic paint. Spray a coat of clear lacquer on it. It will protect the art and the wood. Chu chu!