Low Cost Railway Station for Toy Train (from Scrap).

Good evening.

I wanted to make a railway station for my son's toy train; no much time (and no need) to try to do a high quality model, so I decided to do it using the thin cardboard from some food boxes (chocolate, pasta, cookies...) found in my kitchen, and some current stationary tools (scissors, paste stick...).

Let's begin explanations - Sorry for my poor English, I hope it will be clear enough.

Supplies

Materials: Some thick paper boxes. Also a small sheet of plain paper, for clock and the poles.

Tools: Scissors, paste stick, some transparent adhesive tape; a pen.

Colour felt pens and all things needed for decoration.

A ruler can be useful; maybe a stapler, also.

Optional: a small knife or cutter to do some small straight cuts in the paper (but maybe scissors are enough).

Step 1: Main Building

Take a box of around 10x8x4 cm (4"x3"x1.5"); I used the cookie's one in the picture, shortened to suitable length. Open it and find the small pasted flap, as in the picture; unpaste it to open the paper to flat.

Once flat, paper can be shortened to a suitable length, leaving some cm margin for later use (to close the box).

As you will see, the paper has some folding marks; following these marks, fold the paper in the opposite way: the aim is to get a box with the side out raw unprinted, easy to decorate; (the printed side will remain inside, not visible).

Step 2: Re-do the Pasting Flaps

If the paper is cut to short, then the pasting flaps have to be re-done, as in the uncut side.

To do so, measure the smallest width between two folding marks, as in 1st picture (here was roughly 4cm); draw a line parallel to the cut edge of the paper: the distance between the edge and the line has to be the same measure (no problem if it's a little less).

Using this line and the folding marks as references, cut the pasting flap; it's maybe useful to copy those left on the opposite edge of the paper (as in 3rd picture).

Step 3: Pasting the Building - 1

Put some paste on the thin flap, as the one on the left edge in the picture; paste this flap to the opposite edge, in order to get a sort of tube (the unprinted faces on the outside).

Step 4: Pasting the Building - 2

At one open side of the tube, paste the 4 flap just as they were at the beginning, to close the box on this side (1st picture).

You can use a long and narrow object to press down the flaps, or maybe can use a weight to keep it during drying.

Do the same on the opposite (still open) side, in order to completely close the box.

Step 5: The Dock - 1

Take a narrow box - I used the chocolate one, only 7mm thick. Open it in the same way as the previous.

Cut the large flap (on the right-side in 2nd picture) to a smaller one - around 2cm / 1/2" will be enough. This is to leave an opening on the bottom side.

Paste and close the box as the previous one, here again leaving the unprinted side out.

Step 6: The Dock - 2

Put the 'main building' box on the 'dock' box, in the position you like to be once finished (see 1st picture);

With the pen, mark on the dock the position of the building.

Step 7: The Dock - 3

Inside the marked area, cut a rectangle that is a little bit smaller, as in the 1st picture;

Cut a similar rectangle on the bottom of the 'main building' box (2nd picture);

Paste the main building box on the dock box in the position you choose (3rd picture);

As in the 4th picture, view from the bottom the two rectangle cut form a window, leaving access to the inside of the main building.

(this is also useful to eventually add some lighting at the end; a small battery-operated bike light would do the job)

Step 8: The Canopy - 1

On the main building box, mark an horizontal line at half of the height, on two walls as in 1st picture; this line will be the reference for the canopy position.

From a new box, cut out a rectangular piece of roughly the size of the dock (2nd pict.) - no need to be exactly the same size; and to be true, no need to be exactly rectangular neither...

This will be the 'canopy' roof piece.

On one angle, mark a rectangle with the size of the 'main building' box (3rd pict.), just as done previously with the dock; cut out the shape as in pictures 4 & 5, leaving 3 small flaps for further pasting.

Step 9: The Canopy - 2

Using the 'canopy' sheet as reference, mark the position of the small flaps along the line on the 'main building' box, as in 1st & 2nd pictures.

Cut these marks, as in 3rd picture.

Put some paste on the 3 small flaps, then insert them in the corresponding 3 cuts (4th pict.)

Once inserted, the flaps can be pasted in the good position by accessing the inside of the 'main building' from the opening on the bottom.

Step 10: The Canopy - 3

Fold the edges of the canopy sheet, in order to get some thin flaps, let's say with a width just less than 1cm (between 1/8" and 1/4"); it's useful to do some short cuts, as in 1st picture.

Fold these flaps down (2nd pict.) and fix them (3rd pict.); I used some staples (the quick & dirty way...), of course paste and/or tape can be used.

Step 11: Canopy Poles

Canopy sheet maybe needs some poles to stay right & horizontal...

An example in 1st picture: a paper roll between the dock and the canopy.

From the thin plain paper, cut a rectangular piece of about 5cm / 2" long; the width of this rectangle has to be a little more (let's say 1cm / 1/4") than the distance between the canopy and the dock: the need of this extra-width is to leave some flaps for pasting (2nd pict.).

Roll the paper to form the pole (3rd pict.), beginning from the edge far from the flaps: when rolling is done, fold the flaps as in 4th picture.

Put some paste on the flaps, then paste the pole under the canopy (5th picture - the model is upside-down). You can add some paste on the bottom of the pole, if necessary.

In the 6th picture there's the final result of the pole. I added a second pole, on the right (7th pict.)