Show us your train themed jigsaw puzzles!

I've done these 2 that were offered in Hallmark stores years ago.

I don't have a pic handy of my completed ones, but I did get far enough that I tried to use the puzzle glue to hold them together for possible framing.  I had a little bit of the glue leak through to the front surface in an area or 2, though in general I think the gluing went well considering I had never done it before.  (while I think the glue instructions said you could glue the front surface, I was reluctant to do that, not knowing how it might look if the glue was a bit uneven, or how the glue might change the look of the unaltered surface).  If I do some day go through with the framing, I would try to see if there was a safe way to remove some of the excess glue showing through before completing the frame.

The odd sizes of these particular puzzles make finding a simple "off the shelf" poster frame difficult (the shorter dimension is larger than the somewhat standard 2' x 3' sizes you can easily find for movie posters in Target, Walmart, etc).

I had considered a few possibilities using plexiglass, maybe thin hardboard for the back and some method of holding it all together using some sort of molding to allow screwing the assembly together in a way that wouldn't show too badly.  I never did push the thought through to completion though. 

Here are some box pics snagged from the net:

I fully agree on difficulty of the one you did.  Those nearly identical pictures would be really really hard to put together if they were all mixed up in one bag! 

The one I showed above with the 5 painted engines was hard with the smoke from the steam engines and the clouds.  The PW wall of trains had some challenges too.  It's amazing how the stripes of a crossing gate can be mistaken for a small detail on a piece of rolling stock or engine.

Good topic!

-Dave

Dave: I have both of those puzzles mounted. I used clear dacapoge on both sides and backed them up with 1/8 foam board and used self adheasve velcro to hang them on the wall. Along with all the others my wife and daughter built.

I think I have about another dozen or so still packed away to be assembled someday! The Coke puzzle has Lionel trains scattered around in it.

Thanks Dave, I figured there were some other puzzle fans out there. I think I'm going to take your advice and use a couple zip locks to keep them separate when I put them away. If I'm not mistaken I have the 1500 piece on the bottom. I really like that picture. Great subject matter makes them extra fun to do.

John, that's interesting that you framed yours. I always put mine away so I can do them again later. I'll bet I've done my London Underground map puzzle half a dozen times since the late 70's, New York at least three times and Boston three as well. Those can be difficult when you get down to the end because they have a solid color background, and you have to work on shape alone.

RJT, I have that Santa Fe and I think I have the one next to it too. I don't have the Coke, but I have the one next to it. At first I couldn't see the top one because of the glare and reflection of your layout, but I looked more carefully, and it is a huge yard and the name of the puzzle is "Sidetracked" if I'm not mistaken.

white glue spread all over the top holds puzzles together with no ill affects.

here is a few.

My wife does a lot of puzzles.  She gets them at thrift stores, then passes them on to others.  She always puts the pieces in a zip lock bag before passing them on.  We have a few with trains, but I don't have any photographs.  I used to do them more than I do now.  The pieces are getting harder for me to pick up.

I hear ya Mark, about the pieces getting harder to pick up. I had a lot of trouble with these last two. I always like to keep track of how long it takes me to finish a puzzle. My other thing is, once I start one, I can't stop. I just keep going into the wee hours of the morning, until I can't see straight. The other night, as I was working on the second one, I saw the sun come up.

My wife got started on a 750 piece puzzle yesterday and finished it last night.  I put in a few pieces, but she did the bulk of it.  It may have been a bit harder than her average.

This one replaces the tractor for a while. The second is definitely train related, as one always accompanies me to the train room after work.

I can hardly find time to thrash in the train room, how do you guys find the time to do all those neat puzzles and get stuff done on you RR??

Tom LOL

I get your drift!

My late father did several rail-related puzzles for me, as this was his main hobby after retirement. This one is my favorite and remains on my living room wall today.
It is approx. 22"x28" and is mounted on posterboard with special glue.
It is an adaptation of a Phil Hastings photo, c.1950,which depicts Boston & Maine (B&M) locals at Peterboro Village,N.H. The original photo by Hastings appeared in Portrait of the Rails, by  Don Ball on pg. 102. There are 3 main differences between original photo and the puzzle.

Tom Tee posted:

I can hardly find time to thrash in the train room, how do you guys find the time to do all those neat puzzles and get stuff done on you RR??

Well Tom, until recently, I hadn't done a puzzle in years, but a few things happened. I stepped on a nail back in May, so I'm supposed to stay off my feet. In spite of that, I did a lot of ballasting. Then I hosted a few forum members a couple Saturdays ago, which caused me to put the leaves in the kitchen table. With a nice huge clean table, the puzzles just called to me. I can still put in a full day on the layout, as puzzle time is usually late in the evening. So it can be done.

I agree with Elliot!  If I get laid up again, I'll be putting in more time on the puzzles.  Ones with bigger pieces than the one Kim had going yesterday, which I mentioned earlier.  

I haven't put a puzzle together in years, been busy with school, work, and raising a six year old. We also have cats, which that in it self will make it difficult to do any puzzles. That said I do have a puzzle that will be fun to do, especially because of what the picture is off. If I ever have an area to work on it. Though not my picture here is the cover of the puzzle I have.

My Mom got it for me, but I have not had the time to work on it, it will probably take me a while to put together.

Here's one the wife and I did a few years ago.  Saved it with a puzzle glue I got at Michaels. Have it hanging in the garage.

- walt

Quite the collection Walt!

Big dodge, nice gallery.

It's not a jigsaw puzzle but it is 250 pcs. 

I found this in the attic rafters of my grandmother's home in Baltimore when helping to clean it sometime in 1979.  My Aunt told me it was to be a Christmas present for my father and it was forgotten about or hidden too well.  

All I know is that it was made during the WWII as part of wartime efforts.  I would appreciate any information someone may have about it.

Very cool. I have only seen that once, and your box is much better. They needed lionels's production and supplies for war efforts, paper or wood was about all they could spare, so these were made to give the kids something to dream on.

Cool Steve, I can't remember ever seeing one, but I have heard of them. They appear to be in perfect condition. Very rare. All the metal was being used for the war effort, so Lionel, in addition to making various items for the military, turned out those paper trains.