Toy station with simulated boarding passengers

A number of miniature passenger figures and/or other objects are disposed along the loading platform of a toy train station awaiting arrival of a train. When the train stops at the station, a control switch is operated to swing the passengers upward to a hidden area under the station roof. When the train leaves the station, the passengers are no longer in view on the platform and appear to have boarded the train. A reverse action simulates the detraining of passengers when a train arrives at an empty platform. The passenger figures are mounted along a common base plate having a vertical lift bar connected by a linkage and slide plate mechanism to a dual coil electromagnetic drive. A controller actuates the drive and linkages to swing the plate and passengers upward through an arc to a horizontal position under the roof out of view. The controller and drive also return the passengers to the platform for the reverse sequence.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a toy station having miniature passenger 
figures standing on a platform to board a train or other vehicle and 
particularly to a mechanism which simulates the boarding of the passengers 
who are removed from view when the train stops and departs, or returned to 
view for the reverse action. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Previous devices for moving toy figures on station platforms included the 
use of electromagnetic coils to control a lever or arm to open a door of a 
miniature housing and move a figure through the door onto the platform, 
such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,138,367 and 2,688,819. A similar 
mechanism is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,966,031 wherein linkages to a 
magnetic solenoid cause movement of another toy figure through a door of a 
building on a platform and simulate a hand waving motion. Another magnetic 
coil arrangement controls movement of a figure up and down a stairway of a 
toy railway signal tower, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,181. These 
devices, however, are relatively complex and do not simulate the boarding 
of passengers onto a train. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a 
simplified mechanism for simulating the boarding of passengers from a toy 
station platform onto a toy train or other vehicle. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a mechanism which removes 
passengers, or other items, on a toy station platform from view upon 
arrival of a train at the station, so that the passengers appear to have 
boarded the train when it leaves the station. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a mechanism which swings 
passengers mounted on a common base plate upwardly to a position under the 
station roof when a train arrives at the station to give the appearance 
that the passengers have boarded the train when it departs. 
An additional object of the invention is to provide a dual 
electromechanical drive and manual control which actuate a linkage 
mechanism to swing the passenger from the platform through an arc to a 
horizontal position under the roof hidden from view and return the 
passengers for the reverse action. 
These objects are achieved with a unique structure and mechanism including 
a toy station having a boarding platform and overhanging roof. Passengers 
and other articles are mounted on a common base plate which includes a 
vertical post and pinion gear. A dual coil electromagnetic solenoid is 
mounted under the roof and includes a plunger connected to a horizontal 
slide plate. A vertical slide plate includes an arm which rides in a slot 
in the horizontal slide plate and a rack which meshes with the pinion gear 
of the vertical post. Operation of a control unit in one direction 
actuates one coil and the plunger to move the horizontal slide plate which 
causes the vertical slide plate to move downwardly and engage the gear of 
the vertical post to swing the passenger base plate through an arc 
upwardly to a position under the roof. Opposite movement of the control 
unit actuates the second coil to cause the plunger and slide plates to 
reverse the movement to simulate the reappearance of the passengers on the 
platform. 
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following 
description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As shown in FIG. 1, a toy train station platform 10 is disposed alongside a 
set of tracks 12 for guiding a passenger train. Disposed on the platform 
are a center post 14, two end posts 16, 18, and a fence 20. Supported on 
the posts is an overhanging roof 22 with a station sign 24. A plurality of 
passenger FIGS. 26 and articles such as baggage 28 or small freight are 
standing on the platform awaiting arrival of a train. The passenger 
figures and articles are mounted on a flat horizontal bar 30 which rests 
on the platform. A vertical link 32 connects bar 30 to a mechanism 
partially shown at 34 which will be more fully described hereinafter. 
FIG. 2 shows a portion of a passenger train 36 which stops at the Station 
to pick up the passengers. As shown in FIG. 3, when the train departs, the 
passengers are gone and appear to have boarded the train. In actuality, the 
bar 30 and link 32 have been swung upwardly under the overhang of roof 22, 
as shown in the cutaway portion of the roof, with the passengers mounted 
on the bar now out of sight. 
FIG. 4 is a side view of the station showing part of the mechanism for 
swinging the passengers up under the roof. The vertical link 32 may be 
secured to a passenger figure to make it less noticeable. An arm 38 
extends from link 32 and includes a pinion gear 40 fixed at the end which 
meshes with a rack 42 on a vertical slide plate 34. Plate 34 includes a 
vertical extension 46 and a horizontal extension 48 as shown in further 
detail in FIG. 5. Extension 48 fits through a sloping slot 50 in a 
horizontal slide plate 52. A dual electromagnetic coil 54 is mounted on a 
cross member 56 of a roof supporting skirt 58, as shown in FIG. 6 in an 
exploded view of the various elements. Coil 54 includes a plunger 60 
connected to horizontal slide plate 52 and movable within dual direction 
coils 62, 64. The coils are connected by wires 66 extending along posts 
14, 16 and 18 through holes 68 in the platform to terminal clips 70, 72, 
74, on the underside of the platform 10 as shown in FIG. 7. The wires are 
also connected to a controller unit 76 and to a transformer and power 
source, not shown. The controller is a standard device which connects 
power to either of coils 62 or 64 by manual movement of handle 78 in one 
direction or the other. 
In operation, the passengers 26 are seen on platform 10 awaiting arrival of 
a train. When the train 36 stops at the station, the passengers are blocked 
from view. At this time, the controller handle 78 is moved in one direction 
to activate one of the coils 62 to move plunger 60 inwardly and move slide 
plate 52 to the right. This causes extension 48 to slide downwardly along 
slot 50 while extension 46 and slide plate 34 also moved downwardly. Rack 
42 thus moves down as it meshes with pinion 40 which is caused to rotate 
clockwise and also rotate arm 38 and link 32 to swing bar 30 and the 
passengers upwardly through an arc of about 115.degree. to a position 
under the roof behind skirt 58. When the train leaves the station, the 
passengers and articles are no longer in view and appear to have boarded 
the train. 
The passengers are held in the upward position by the mechanism until it is 
desired to reverse the sequence. When a train arrives at the station at a 
later time, the controller handle is moved in the opposite direction, 
activating the other coil 64 which moves plunger 60 outwardly, causing 
plate 52 to move to the left. Extension 48 then moves up along slot 50 
with extension 46, plate 34 and rack 42 also moving upwardly, while pinion 
40 is rotated counterclockwise. Arm 38, link 32 and bar 30 then swing 
downwardly back to the platform with the passengers thus reappearing. When 
the train leaves, this time the passengers are again in view of the 
platform and appear to have just arrived from the train. 
While the illustrated embodiment shows the unique mechanism utilized in 
connection with a toy train station, a like mechanism may be used with a 
bus station. Other mechanisms for swinging the passengers out of view may 
also be employed, such as a miniature electric motor and gear drive to 
move a link and arm assembly. Other variations may likewise be made in the 
particular configurations without departing from the scope of the invention 
as set forth in the appended claims.