Train in the Snow Coloring Page

This train in the snow coloring page is a winter scene with lots going on. A steam engine with a red plow blasts through the drifts, throwing up a big spray of snow. It pulls a tender and a small green coach past a village with a white church. Down below, two kids skate on a frozen pond, a snowman watches from the bank and a pine tree stands by the ice.

Give it about thirty five minutes. Ages four to ten will enjoy it. The sky and the snow are open and easy, and all the small houses give kids something to take their time over.

Winter colors

Snow is the star, so let the white paper do most of the job. Add a pale blue under the drifts and along the sides of the track. It only takes a touch.

Make the train bright, so it pops out of all that white. A red cab and a blue boiler look warm and bold. The coach could be green with yellow trim. Color the houses in the village five different colors, and keep their roofs white.

For the sky, use a soft blue or a deep navy if you want a night scene. The moon stays yellow either way. With a dark sky, the snowflakes will really stand out, so color around them with care.

Tips for this train in the snow coloring page

• Color the sky first, then leave the flakes and dots as they are.
• Use the side of a light blue crayon for soft shadows on the banks.
• Make the ice pale, with a slightly darker ring around the edge.
• Give each skater a bright scarf or hat, since they are small against all that blue.

White crayon on top of a pale blue pond can look like scratches from skates. Press hard and draw a few long curves.

How trains clear the snow

A deep drift can stop a train. The simple fix is a wedge plow like the one in this drawing, a big metal blade that pushes snow off to the side of the track. That works well in most storms. In very deep snow, though, there is just too much to shove out of the way.

That is why people came up with the rotary plow. A Toronto dentist named J. W. Elliot thought of the idea in 1869, but he never built a working model. Orange Jull of Ontario improved it and tested small models with sand. Then the Leslie Brothers built a full size machine in the winter of 1883 to 1884. Its big spinning blades chew into a drift and throw the snow out through a chute. You can see one in this article on the rotary snowplow.

Look for the snow lying on the roofs of the train, too. It proves how deep the storm has been.

Snow day activities

Try a snow plow test at the kitchen table. Pour a thin layer of flour or sugar on a tray. Push it with a flat ruler, then with a folded card shaped like a V. Which one moves the pile to the side? Your child can see why the plow on this engine comes to a point.

Cotton balls add a fun touch to the finished picture. Glue a few along the top of the coach and on the pine tree. Now the snow stands up off the page.

Ask what the skaters would shout when the train goes by. You could also write a small story: where is the train headed on such a cold night, and who is waiting for it?

More winter pages

This sheet sits with our train coloring pages. For more cold weather fun, try the snowflake page or the kids on the hill in sledding.

Questions