Subway Train Coloring Page

This subway train coloring page takes you down to the platform at Central station. A silver train with a big number 5 and a Downtown sign pulls in on the right, with the driver smiling in the window. Two kids wait on the left behind a yellow safety line. Blue tile covers the pillar, a bench sits by the wall, and lights run along the ceiling toward the dark tunnel.

It suits ages five to eleven and takes about half an hour. City kids will spot things they know. Everyone else gets to see a place they may have only heard about.

Colors for an underground station

The train looks best in silver gray with a red stripe. Red is also a nice choice for the round 5 at the top. Yellow fills the safety strip and the ceiling lights, and it keeps the page from feeling dark.

Tile is where you can have fun. Color every tile on the pillar in one shade of blue, or make a pattern with two. On the side wall, the band of tiles near the top could be red and yellow, like the signs in many old stations.

The track bed is dark, so a charcoal gray or navy works. Brown ties will show up well against it. Give the two children any clothes you like. Maybe one wears a school uniform and the other is headed to a game.

Tips for this subway train coloring page

• Do the wide front of the train first, then the narrow side going back.
• Use a ruler or a card edge to keep the colors inside the long platform lines.
• Leave small white gaps in the windows, and the glass will seem to shine.
• Color the tunnel last with your darkest crayon, pressing hard.

If your child gets bored of tiles, try this trick. Color every third one and leave the rest white. It looks planned, and it saves time.

Is your child fond of details? The little faces, the door handle and the two red lamps on the front are all small enough for a sharp pencil. A fun extra is to add a poster on the tile wall for a pretend show in town.

The first trains under a city

London had the first one. The Metropolitan Railway began to carry passengers on January 10, 1863, and it is known as the first passenger line built under the ground. Those early trains were pulled by steam engines, which must have filled the tunnels with smoke. The cars were made of wood and lit by gas.

Picture that next time you stand on a clean platform. You can read about it in this history of the Metropolitan Railway, which also covers how the line grew across London.

Ride along at home

Set up a pretend subway. Line up four kitchen chairs, make paper tickets and call out the stops. Your child can draw a map with five stations and color the route line red to match the train. Kids who are nervous about a first subway trip often feel better after they have played it through.

Talk about the rules while you color. Stand behind the yellow line, hold a hand, and let people off before you get on. The two kids in the drawing are good models, since both of them are waiting in the right spot.

A teacher could use this page for a community helpers unit. Who drives the train? Who cleans the station? Who fixes the lights? Each answer can become a small drawing on the back.

Other rides to color

You can find this subway train coloring page with our other train coloring pages. For the same smooth city feel, try the monorail. Or stay at street level with the yellow school bus.

Questions