Dave Stewart of Oakland Township built this train for his 14-month-old grandson, Tyler Stoops of Meridian, who is his only grandchild. Stewart built the 34-foot-long train in just three weeks in his backyard. The number 714 on the side of the engine is Tyler's birthday.

OAKLAND TWP — To those who don't know him, Dave Stewart would seem like the everyday, run-of-the-mill grandpa.

He wakes up every morning at his Oakland Township home, works his daily shift at AKSteel, sometimes a double, and returns home to his wife, Rebecca, whom he loves spending time with.

He is the proud father of two daughters, Beth Stoops of Meridian and Teresa Stewart of Harrisville. He has one grandson, 14-month-old Tyler Stoops, whom Stewart will claim is not spoiled, until someone looks out the rear window of his home and sees the 6-foot-tall train Stewart built for his grandson.

The train is 34 feet long and was built out of Wolmanized wood, which is weather resistant, but very heavy. Stewart estimates the train to weigh about 3 tons. He had to build almost the entire project outside because he was unable to move it from the garage to the yard. He built the platform for the train in the garage, but had to build the rest in the yard because he couldn't move it. To get the platform in the yard, he had to load it onto his trailer and drive it up the hill.

Not only does the train weigh twice as much as the average large passenger car and stand tall enough to fit a grown adult, Stewart also built the train from start to finish in three weeks. While this may seem like a difficult and painful task, Stewart said he enjoys building things out of wood and found this project fairly easy.

The endeavor began one sunny afternoon in June when the family took a trip to Idewild Park. In a children's play area was a wooden train, similar to the one Stewart would eventually build for Tyler. Tyler decided he liked playing on the train, and they couldn't get him off of it. Stewart decided then and there he was going to build a train for his only grandchild.

Stewart gets one long weekend a month off of work, so he started the project during his weekend in July. After that, he worked on it before work, after work and on his days off.

"Igive my wife a lot of credit for putting up with my long hours in the garage,"Stewart said. "She's the one who suffered."

When the train was completed, Tyler was amazed, said Stoops, Tyler's mother. He enjoys running through the cars and peeking his head through the windows. He also likes to collect apples from the tree in the yard and load them onto the cars as cargo.

"He gets very excited,"Stoops said. "The first few times, he would climb inside the car, stoop down and scream. ... Now, he just likes it when we take him up there. He goes 'Ooh' and points to it."

A newer addition to the train is the depot that Stewart built because Tyler wasn't quite old enough to be able to run and crawl on the train. He painted the depot like the one in the popular children's series "Thomas the Tank Engine," and Tyler finds it fascinating to open and close cupboard doors. A counter and chair will soon follow, creating a building similar to the playhouse he built for his daughters when they were small.

Stoops said even though Tyler doesn't realize the train was built for him, he claims it as his own. The number 714 is on the side of the first car, signifying Tyler's birthday.

Tyler is the only grandchild right now, but someday, that may change. When that happens, Stewart said he will add the other birthdays onto the train.

"I'll put more numbers on the train on different cars,"Stewart said. "I'll use both sides if I have to."

That doesn't surprise Stoops. Having grown up with Stewart as her father, she knows he always has a project that he's working on. He built a wagon and a lighthouse for the backyard, and after spending many wonderful days with his family at the beach, he decided to build a beach in his backyard.

"Growing up, there was always something going on,"Stoops said. "Tyler will be the same way. Ithink he will take after his grandpa. He likes to learn about how things work."

But with winter right around the corner and the depot still needing another coat of paint, Stewart hasn't decided what his next project will be.

"I probably won't do much now until next summer, but I'll find something,"Stewart said.

For now, Stewart will continue to tinker around in the garage, waiting patiently for the day when Tyler will be able to join him.

"Tyler already has his very own tool set, so someday, he'll be all set to help grandpa build things," Stoops said.

"He's my little buddy,"Stewart said. "I call him my little buddy."