Hobbyist's Christmas spirit is right on track by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Friday, December 4, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com An Oakville hobbyist recently got into the holiday spirit by unveiling a vintage Christmas train, which he has manufactured using materials from around his house. Paul Lightfoot, a retired elementary school teacher with the Peel District School Board, said he has always been a fan of putting models together. Four years ago, he decided to embark on the train project as a fun way of decorating his front yard for the holidays. "The idea came to me after visiting Disney World and seeing the lovely engines they have there," said Lightfoot. "It inspired me to come home and think about building one of my own, on a smaller scale." The train has been four years in the making with Lightfoot adding a car each year. The miniature locomotive stands about four feet high, 10 feet long and features an engine, coal car, eggnog tanker and a caboose. Most of the cars are painted in seasonal red and green with the exception of the eggnog tanker, which is bright silver. A mass of Christmas lights atop the coal car provides the illusion of glowing coals at night. From a distance, it appears as though Lightfoot simply built a train. It is only after a closer look that people understand how truly innovative he has been. "Most of the wheels are clothesline wheels. The boiler is a compost bin. It was damaged and I couldn't use it to put out the garbage anymore Oakville resident Paul Lightfoot poses with the Christmas train that he has been making over the years and which now adorns the front lawn of his Wyatt Street home. | photo by Justin Greaves Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) so I decided it would be the boiler for the train," said Lightfoot. "Two rakes joined together make up the cow catcher. Two paint cans serve as the cylinders. The piston rods are from shelving. The tanker is constructed of a retro milk can that was discarded by a neighbour. The ladder at the back of the caboose is a trellis. The vent at the top of the caboose once served as a tomato paste can. The track is T-bar for fencing." A lamp at the front of the train originally required a candle, but Lightfoot used his talents to electrify it so it lights up at night. The Oakville man said the train continues to be a work-in-progress as he plans to add a boxcar next year. The special project has been a hit, not only with Lightfoot's grandchildren, but members of the community who stop to admire it. "It's been interesting," he said. "I remember one time, a mother and father came and put their kids beside the train and took a picture. That was pretty nice to see." This is not the first train Lightfoot has built. He said that during his time as a elementary school teacher, he built a slightly larger train his students could actually get inside to do their reading or math projects. "It was like a reward for them if everything was going well," he said. Lightfoot typically has the train out on his front lawn from mid-November until after Christmas. Anyone interested in seeing it can do so at 2452 Wyatt St. inside today's Editorial Artscene Beaver www.insideHALTON.com Today's School for Tomorrow's World www.GlenburnieSchool.com 6 23 Sports Classified 25 27 Holland Park Garden Home Hardware LCBO Real Estate New Homes City Parent Starsky Fine Foods CAA Glenburnie School OPEN HOUSE Wednesdays 9am Preschool - Grade 8 2035 Upper Middle Rd. East at Ford Drive,Oakville (905) 338-6236 *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com Sore Feet, Sports Injury, Painful Ingrown Toenails? Plantar Warts? We can help! Exceptional footcare for all ages. · Routine footcare · Corns & calluses · Plantar warts · Heel/arch/foot pain · Diabetic footcare and education · Thick or ingrown nails · Nail surgery · Injections · Sports related foot problems & injuries · Custom made orthotics for sports and every day J. Richard Werkman · Sigvaris® compression stockings and socks chiropodist · Evening appointments available D.Ch., B.Sc., Podiatric Medicine · New patients welcome! · No referral required Winter. Water. It is more important birds have water in winter than in summer. Do you have a heated bird bath or heater? Woohoo! Northern Flicker Come and see us! open 7 Days 3350 FAIRVIEW STREET, BuRlIngTon 905-634-7700 · EmAIl: wbu1@bellnet.ca We bring people & nature together Ski and Skate in Comfort with Custom Orthotics located on the north/west corner of Maple Grove Dr. and Cornwall Rd. 1495 Cornwall Rd., Suite 33, Oakville www.werkman.ca T: 905-845-4817