This toy version of a European diesel switcher has a friction motor. We bought it when visiting the Green Mountain Railway in Vermont.
These trains are often found in gift shops and museum shops.
This big battery operated tinplate floor train was a birthday gift. It lights, smokes, and makes the most obnoxious collection of noises. The train runs about aimlessly, changing direction if it bumps the wall or furniture. These used to be quite common, and were often sold by shops and street vendors.
Other versions of these trains played music. The most irritating was one that was lithographed in holiday colors and played loud Yule songs. In the old days, if you wanted to annoy someone, you would give one of these loud locomotives to his kids for a birthday or the holidays.
A recent model of the Burlington Zephyr streamliner, made by Schylling. Toys like this were common until the mid-1980s, when tinplate was officially considered unsafe for toys.
Schylling made this copy of an old Lionel tinplate wind-up handcar. It can run on O / O27 track or the floor, and comes packed in the accompanying tin.
These diecast and plastic floor toys are commonly found at gift shops, museum stores and county fairs. They are push toys which have quite decent detail. Note cab interior.