I was raised in an affluent family. Then we weren't any more. But we were doing ok. Then in about a month's time I was near destitute. Things stayed pretty bad for about four years. Now things are better.
During the time I was incredibly poor, I couldn't afford my hobbies. I also couldn't afford decent gifts for holidays. So I ended up making stuff. I was totally winging it having never done projects like these before. They're basically made from scraps of wood. Unfortunately I don't have photos of most of what I did and much of what I made was either destroyed or lost by the people I gave them to.
Anyway... the thing I think was the nicest was given to my sister as a tree ornament. She still has it. It's pretty obvious how it's made. The spokes are from toothpicks cut lengthwise into four pieces.
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This train was built the same year for my mother. It's gone. Nobody knows where it went.
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I built this train a few years later. My sister-in-law has it.
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The hardest part of the trains were miters of the coal car. I didn't know how to calculate them (still don't) so I just kept making test pieces until I got it right.
More to come...