21 Train Coloring Pages (Free Printable PDFs)

Steam, subway and scenic routes

Train fans care about the details, so each type here is drawn differently. The classic group has a steam train with its boiler and rods, a diesel locomotive and a little red caboose. The modern group has a sleek bullet train, a subway train at the platform and a monorail above the city.

The journey group shows trains out in the world. Follow one over a tall bridge, up a mountain, through a tunnel or across the snow. There is also a cheerful circus train.

Train coloring pages by age

• Ages 3 to 5: The kawaii train and the toy train have big, friendly shapes.
• Ages 4 to 6: The number train teaches counting from one to ten, one car at a time.
• Ages 6 to 10: The train station and the steam train have many small parts.
• Ages 10 and up: The freight train and the forest train take the longest.

Coloring a train that looks real

Steam engines were mostly black, with bright red wheels on some models and brass trim that shines gold. Try dark gray in place of pure black, so the small lines still show. Add yellow to the bell and the pipes for a touch of shine.

Modern trains are often white or silver with one bold stripe. Keep the body pale and let the stripe be the star. For a freight train, give every car a different color, since real ones come from many different rail lines. Rust brown, faded red and dull blue all look right.

Tracks are easy. Color the ties brown and the rails gray, and fill the ground below with small gray and tan dots for gravel. A puff of smoke can stay white against a light blue sky.

Parts of a train to look for

Many young train fans love to name every part, so these pages are a good way to learn the words. Look at the steam train together and find the boiler, the smokestack, the cab where the crew stands, and the big driving wheels joined by rods. Then look at the caboose and the cars behind the engine, and talk about what each one might carry.

Freight cars each have a job. A boxcar keeps goods dry, a tank car holds liquids, and a flat car carries big loads like logs or machines. Ask your child to guess what is inside each car on the freight train page, then write the answers on the side.

Scenes that tell a story

A train scene gives you more to color than the train itself. On the bridge page, the water below can be deep blue with a white wave or two. On the mountain page, leave the peaks white for snow and use cool gray for the rock. In the forest, try many shades of green, so the trees do not blur together.

Time of day changes everything. An orange and pink sky turns any page into a sunset run. Dark blue with yellow windows makes it a night train, and that looks wonderful on the snow page. Ask your child where the train left from and when it will get home.

For a rainy afternoon project, tape several finished pages together into a long landscape, and draw a single track that runs across all of them. Kids can add their own town, farm or tunnel along the way.

The people who run the railroad

Trains need a crew, and a few of these pages put them up front. The conductor carries a pocket watch and a lantern and calls All Aboard from the platform. A brakeman waves from the back porch of the caboose, and travelers stand with suitcases at the station. Kids who like pretend play can take it from there.

Set up a row of chairs and hand out roles. One child is the conductor and checks tickets, one drives, and the stuffed animals ride in the back. Cut a few tickets from scrap paper and write a town on each. The passenger train page can sit on the wall as the timetable, with faces at each window for your child to name.

Odd machines worth a closer look

Some of these trains have strange parts, and each one solves a real problem. The mountain train climbs a toothed track because smooth wheels would slip on a slope that steep, so a gear on the train grips the teeth. The front view engine has a cowcatcher, a metal frame at the very front that pushes things off the rails. The steam engine in the snow has a plow for the same reason.

The bullet train is the famous one. Japan opened its first high speed line in 1964, and the pointed nose helps it cut through the air. Ask your child to compare that nose with the blunt front of the diesel locomotive. The monorail is simpler to explain, since it runs on one raised beam and not two rails. Write a short label beside each odd part, and the sheet becomes a small science poster.

A safety talk for train fans

Children who love trains tend to want to get close, so these pages are a good time for a calm chat. The subway page shows two kids waiting behind the yellow line. Ask why the line is there. The passenger train and the diesel both roll past a crossing, which is a chance to teach the old rule: stop, look and listen. Have your child color the crossing sign last, and go over what to do when the lights flash.

Print one car or the whole train

Press PDF on any card to get that drawing. Press Download all at the top of this page to get every drawing in one file, with one drawing on each sheet. The pages fit US Letter paper. On A4, choose Fit to page. No printer? Press Color on any card and fill it in on a phone, tablet or computer.

Train play and learning

Kids who love trains often love to line things up, so try laying the finished pages end to end to build one very long train. Print the engine once and a few cars as many times as you like, then tape them along a wall. Add a number to each car for an easy counting game.

Pair these pages with a real outing if you can. Visit a station, a train museum or a railroad crossing, and let your child spot the parts they colored. Back at home, ask them to tell you where the train in the picture is going and who is on board.

Teachers can use train pages for a lesson on how goods move, or to practice ordinal words such as first, second and third. A train is also a good way to teach patterns: red car, blue car, red car, blue car. All pages are free for home, class and library use. See our free use license for the simple rules.

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