In the last month, Robert Woods has spent countless hours in his workshop. When he gets home from his day job as the owner of Southeast Caulking & Sealant Services, he works around the clock on a half-scale, fully functioning model of a 1910 steam engine — one he built from the ground up.
Woods, a member on the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum board, agreed to build the train for the museum’s float in the Christmas Parade Friday, Dec. 4.
“They would have had to borrow vehicles,” Woods said. “The museum didn’t have anything of their own to put in the parade.”
Out of a riding lawn mower, two yard carts and a generator, Woods built a train with two passenger carts and a caboose based off a photo he was given.
He works on the train for about six to 10 hours at a time. Although he’s only been working on it for about a month, he is nearly done with the project aside from some final cosmetic details. He also will add the museum’s logo to the train’s shiny red exterior in the next couple of weeks.
The train, which weighs 600 pounds and is 32 feet long, can hold up to 1,200 pounds. It runs at 12 miles per hour and is full of add-ons, including flashing lights, a smoke machine, a bubble machine and a functioning brass bell from 1878. Woods has added a 600-watt stereo system that will play Christmas music, and he designed the train’s steering system.
“It’s really not a big deal,” Woods said. “It’s just a riding lawnmower — a high-horsepower one.”
During the parade, one of the train’s two carts will be filled with candy, and the other will have two passengers. Following the parade, Woods will donate the train to the museum for use in other events.
“They can use it for promotional things,” Woods said. “This is out of the goodness of my heart.”
Woods started his caulking company in January but considers himself to be a metal artist. He has been working and selling his art since 2002. Besides his charitable ventures for organizations such as the train museum, he also builds and sells metalwork sculptures. He has built one for the vice president of Lowe’s Home Improvement and has one of his 18-foot sculptures at the Hillsborough Community College campus in Brandon. He frequently bounces ideas off of his wife, Zusette.
“I’m 100% self-taught,” he said.
Woods already is planning his next project once the train is complete. He wants to build a model tank with military logos, which he will use for marketing for his own company.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.