American Flyer store display photo from early 1950s

vintage photo of a train store display

Isn’t amazing how a single vintage photograph of a store that stocked electric trains can serve as a time machine to carry us back several decades. Pictures like this one are scarce, and so we at Classic Toy Trains know how fortunate we are to be able to share it with you. Our gratitude goes […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | After Hours

Trains.com Summer Camp 2023 has shut down for the season. But that certainly doesn’t mean Camp Director David Popp’s modeling efforts will come to an end! In fact, David recently hosted a Trains.com Webcam live stream video session (akin to Midday Modeler) from his basement, just to show and share many of the projects he’ll […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 7

Last Day of Summer Camp 2023 on Trains.com Video! Camp Director David Popp has been been working really hard all week to get his locomotive weathered, boxcar decaled, bridge constructed, detailed parts assembled and painted, as well as the truck project completed too. Although camp closes after this session, we’ll see you back on the regularly programmed Olympia […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 6

Summer Camp 2023 | Day Six. The “extra” days on the weekend have allowed Camp Director David Popp to tackle all of those little projects that he hasn’t had time to do while working on bigger efforts for the On30 scale Olympia Logging Co. railroad. Hard to label these “little” projects as chicken scratch…but one of […]

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Preview September and October 2023 CTT content

tower light partially disassembled

We’re always adding new content to our website. Here are some recent items you may have missed. A look at Menards 2023 Halloween village items Halloween village items are on the shelves at Menards. What might work for your layout this year? The return of the MTH RS11 Chris Montagna reviews the return of the […]

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To upgrade to DCC, or not to upgrade, that is the question

A man holds a model train throttle in front of two blue model locomotives.

Digital Command Control, or DCC, is one of two ways most modelers control their trains. Instead of sending current directly to the rails, and making any train that’s receiving that current move, DCC sends packets of information through the rails and to individual locomotives to tell them what to do. For a DCC system to […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 5

Summer Camp 2023 | Day Five. Camp Director David Popp is wearing a hard hat because that means we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. It’s clear that it won’t all be completed in five days this week… But no worries — We’ll extend our sessions into the weekend! Looking to keep up […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 4

Welcome to Summer Camp 2023 Day Four. Today is an odds and ends kind of day, because we have all sorts of things to advance to the next level. Campers will get involved in detailing work, constructing part of the truck before painting the subassemblies, plus starting to paint the Sculptamold once that’s dry. Looking to […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 3

It’s Day Three of Summer Camp, and David already has a bridge to show he’s having fun modeling while hidden away from the heat of the sun! Abutments await, as well as a truck building project to start this session. Plus, a few more surprises to keep things exciting! Looking to keep up with the […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 2

Good morning, summer campers! It is time for Day Two of summer camp. Camp Director David has a couple of different little projects to do today, but then he’ll turn to one really big project — building a bridge. If you’re just arriving, then be sure to catch up by reviewing the Day One (1 […]

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Summer Camp 2023 | Day 1

Alright, campers! Go grab your gear, because Trains.com Summer Camp 2030 is finally here. Yup! The weather has turned warm enough that we’re in the basement doing some model railroading work. So unlike your other camps where you’re out canoeing and hiking and bug collecting, Camp Director David Popp is going to tackle model railroad […]

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A look at Menards 2023 Halloween village items

black pumpkin house

Have you seen the Menards 2023 Halloween village items yet? My husband and I have been waiting for them to show up on shelves, and this past weekend, they finally were out. There are a number of pieces you might like to add to your layout, and figures too. Without delay, here’s a look at […]

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