New socket for a prewar Lionel lighted bridge

Q: Ray, I have a Lionel no. 315 bridge with a red light on top. The light doesn’t work due to the light socket, which rests in a sort-of black square holder that’s corroded. I have checked several hobby parts sites but can’t seem to find the part number for a replacement part. Do you […]

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Puzzling postwar Lionel driver styles

Q: I am trying to familiarize myself with my postwar Lionel nos. 675, 2025, and 2035 locomotives by reading several of the Greenberg reference books. The more I read, the more confused I get. One book states that the no. 675 has Baldwin disc drivers. Another guide lists both disc and spoke drivers. One reference […]

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Atlas O Trainman line O gauge GP15 set

DURING THE FRANTIC hours of setting up the CLASSIC TOY TRAINS’ booth at the TCA Eastern Division’s semi-annual York, Pa., train meet, I was speeding past the Atlas O booth. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and turned so fast I almost got whiplash. I saw a box. A big box. […]

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Lionel O gauge TMCC crane and boom car

BATMAN AND ROBIN, Minneapolis and St. Paul, peanut butter and jelly take notice. There’s a new inseparable pair now available from Lionel. Not since the release of Lionel’s culvert loader and unloader has there been two separate-sale accessories as well suited for each other as the Lionel no. 29832 command-controlled crane car and the no. […]

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MTH Premier line O gauge A5-class switcher

THE DIMINUTIVE A5-class 0-4-0 switcher will never be first in line when thinking about the stellar locomotives of the great Pennsylvania Railroad. But from the look of this steamer, its lineage to the Standard Railroad of the World is plainly evident. It has closely positioned domes, a Belpaire firebox, a headlight square above the number […]

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Atlas O O gauge Alco C-628

WITH THE DEVELOPMENT of the Century-628 diesel in 1963, Alco hoped to secure the number two spot in the three-way race among locomotive builders. The firm, based in Schenectady, N.Y., conceded supremacy to Electro-Motive but hoped to vanquish General Electric. Of course, Alco didn’t secure anything, but the 180 C-628s the factory cranked out were […]

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Bowser-powered Birney car

BRITISH HOBBY MANUFACTURER Corgi makes an exceptionally nice single-truck trolley car. The die-cast shell is well detailed, and the plastic interior is first rate. The car even sits neatly on O gauge track. The only downside is that it doesn’t do anything. No electric motor or drive mechanism. The trolley doesn’t move, unless you push […]

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Lionel O gauge SD40T-2 diesel

AS THE SAYING GOES, necessity is the mother of invention. As proof, we give you the SD40T-2. The diesel locomotive, nicknamed the “tunnel motor,” was born out of a specific need among western railroads. Air problems in mountain tunnels and long snowsheds are not new. The lack of fresh, cool air plagued locomotive crews in […]

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Ready Made Toys O-27 caboose

Ready Made Toy Caboose

I HAVE A VISION of Walter Matuch, the owner of Ready Made Toys, dashing around the country in search of some lost or forgotten toy train tooling. On discovering something, he holds it up to the light and asks, “How can I improve this?” The RMT O-27 gauge caboose is one of those items that […]

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