Plan a point-to-point layout

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Layout designer: John Penca Scale: O Layout size: 17 x 29 feet Track type: Atlas O Minimum curve: O-54 Originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Schematic Parts list […]

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Plan for the “classic operator”

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Layout designer: John Rusterholz Scale: O Layout size: 12 x 16 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Schematic Parts list […]

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Running & switching on a FasTrack loop

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Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 12 x 16 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-60 Originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Schematic Parts list […]

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Lionel 2353 Santa Fe diesels were a Greatest Find

Lionel 2353 Santa Fe diesels on a Southwestern layout

Lionel 2353 Santa Fe diesels and two streamlined passenger cars purchased through a Dutch website caused Daniel Biessels gave up HO scale modeling for O gauge and  focus on postwar and modern-era models. Then he built a layout set in the Rocky Mountains that he calls the Glenwood Springs & Colorado RR. The arid scenery […]

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Lionel O gauge postwar-style set

PR0511_Timken-ad

Timken launched an advertising campaign showing rolling stock of the day decorated in Timken colors. Rectifier! This is a Conventional Classics-series reproduction of the Lionel no. 2505W Super O Virginian Rectifier freight outfit from 1958. Without the Super O track, of course. Frankly, this isn’t a set that would have wowed me as a kid. […]

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O gauge brass Sharknose A-B diesel set from Weaver

PR0511_sharknose-headshot

Shark from Eddystone In a once-in-a-lifetime steam-to-diesel transition period, the Pennsylvania RR had enough money and enough traffic to buy groups of locomotives from all the manufacturers to test their mettle. Though the locomotives of Baldwin came up short, the Eddystone, Pa., firm made some distinctive models. I’m a sucker for just about any Baldwin […]

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Recycling old Lionel track

pieces of Lionel tubular track with blue engine in the middle

Let’s say you’ve got a ton of old Lionel track in your basement, or maybe someone is willing to give you a bunch for nothing. You want to build a layout, so you figure you can use this track to do it economically. However, when you get a closer look at the O or O-27 […]

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Big, fast, and basic

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Layout designer: E. A. Engebretson and Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 8 x 16 feet Track type: Atlas O Minimum curve: O-54 Originally appeared in the February 2007 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the links below to view PDF’s for this track plan. Track Plan Schematics Parts List […]

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Chesterfield Trunk & Terminal

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Layout designer: Robert Sherman Scale: O Layout size: 12 x 12 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the November 2007 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the links below to view PDF’s for Chesterfield Trunk & Terminal. Track Plan Schematics Parts List […]

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Dusty dogbone design

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Layout designer: Neil Besougloff Scale: O Layout size: 5 x 15 feet Track type: MTH RealTrax Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the July 2007 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click the links below to view PDF’s for Dust Dogbone Design. Track Plan Schematics Parts List […]

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