You can clearly see the spark plug in the body of this little model train. Made in Mexico, the resourceful craftspeople have used spark plugs, scrap metal and screws, thus recycling material that is often discarded in the West.The toy is likely to have been made either for the tourist trade or for the children in the family.

In 1860 Étienne Lenoir used an electric spark plug in his first internal combustion engine and he is often credited with the invention of the spark plug. So it is quite appropriate to have this model train made from the spark plug.