Father Sends Son's Toy Train Up Into Space

This is the story of a little boy and his toy train, Stanley, who are inseparable. Do you remember that toy you had when you were little which you just couldn't get to sleep without at night; who always had to come on holiday with you and even to school? This awesome dad rigged Stanley the train up to a weather balloon and sent him into space for the journey of a lifetime. I bet even Thomas the Tank Engine hasn't been up all the way up there.

The clip starts with a written intro and then cuts to a four-year-old little boy playing endlessly with his toy. The father has used 'After Effects' and 'Photoshop' to bring Stanley to life by giving the train funny facial expressions. He says that this is how he imagines his son sees the toy.

They rig Stanley up to the weather balloon and attach an HD camera, and off he floats into the sky. The footage they capture is really quite amazing. Stanley travels across fields, towns, and way up high, always with a smile on his face. In an hour, he reaches Earth's stratosphere.

Then, at about 18 miles high, the balloon bursts. Stanley the train looks worried. The footage becomes blurry and flies by quickly, and finally Stanley crashes into a field. The little boy searches desperately for his toy. With the help of an old mobile phone they had attached, they use its GPS to locate Stanley 27 miles away. Thank god. This would have been a rubbish story otherwise.

The look on the boy's face is priceless and you can't help but think 'what a great dad!' The clip was released four days ago and has already been shared 45,322 times, with a view count of 688,456. Viewers are obviously touched by the trouble the father has gone to for his son. Else, they just want to witness for themselves the first toy train in space (well, probably).