James (Jim) A. Sacco, founder of City Classics, died on March 6 after a multi-year battle with cancer. He was 66. Jim started City Classics in 1989. The company was well known for its structure offerings in HO and N scales. Over the years Jim added other products to the company’s lineup, including window treatments, building interiors, signs, and structure details.
The City Classics booth was popular at train shows for its 3’-7” x 10’-10” HO scale display model railroad. Between shows, the display served as Jim’s home layout. To learn more about the City Classics display layout, read Jim’s article “Two layouts in one” in Model Railroad Planning 2019.
Jim was a fan of the New York, New Haven & Hartford. His layout featured Alco RS-11 road switchers, an HH660 end-cab switcher, and a DL-109 passenger unit in various New Haven paint schemes.
