Does the idea of watching a model train go around and around the same closed track make you want to pull your hair out? Well, this one’s even worse, likely making you want to poke your own eyes in disgust disbelief. We are referring, of course, to the smallest model train set in the world, which should require either 20/20 vision or a magnifying glass to thoroughly admire.
How small is the thing? The whole set, including the tracks, measures a mere 0.125 x 0.25 inches and was based on a 1:35,200 scale. Yep, even Thumbelina won’t be able to ride it comfortably.
Created by New Jersey train enthusiast David Smith, the minuscule creation features a five-carriage train that travels around an oval track. The train, which cost him all of £6 to build, is powered by a standard rotating motor head, with a body carved out of moldable plastic (yep it’s just one small slab, instead of separate carriages). Not to be accused of ever taking the easy way out, he even added a ride through a tunnel, as all train sets seem to be required to do.
According to Smith, the excessively-miniaturized toy was built as part of a more normal-sized train set (1:220 scale) he was setting up at home. Apparently, that set features a village called the James River Branch with a model shop, where the tiny trains are supposed to be the store centerpiece. Yep, it’s a train set within a train set. Kind of blows the mind, right?
[James River Branch via Telegraph]