Display layouts and showrooms

Go behind the scenes to explore showrooms where Lionel and American Flyer trains were promoted in the postwar era in Classic Toy Trains' newest special issue!

Dioramas from every era

Russ MacNair shares great prewar & postwar layouts

Topsy-turvy world of Magne-Traction displays

Engineering breakthrough transformed Lionel layouts

Survivor from the Lionel showroom

One small layout from New York lives on

Lionel layout with a postwar vibe

Vintage posters set the tone for hobbyist Phil Collins

Focus on American Flyer displays from the 1950s

Four of the best from Gilbert’s peak years

Postwar display everyone can visit

Travel to upstate New York to enjoy a Lionel 5 x 9-foot O gauge layout from 1954

Saluting a Super O display layout from 1960

The No. D-291 uplifts one Lionel collector

Showroom out west
Rare Lionel photos from 1940 take us inside

First decade at the Gilbert Hall of Science
The company thrilled New York City in the 1940s

Tribute to a forgotten showroom display
Where Lionel ran accessories in 1945

Lionel builds a hub for the Midwest
The Chicago showroom handled sales in the middle of the country

Drum roll for the D-63 City Display!
Layout from 1952 acclaimed to be Lionel’s greatest

Enjoy rare photographs of American Flyer displays
Department stores, public exhibitions, and TV shows featured S gauge trains

Welcome to the Washington Hall of Science
Gilbert’s outpost in the nation’s capital lasted for a decade

Royal visits to toy train heavens
Lionel and Gilbert hosted the crème de la crème

Layouts for Hollywood by Art Truman
Premier builder of Lionel displays on the West Coast

Winning a Lionel No. D-265 display in a cereal promotion
Two brothers in Canada took home a fantastic Super O layout in 1959

Amazing second prizes, too
The Cocoa Puffs contest offered another neat Lionel display