All about the Readers’ Choice RR

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The Readers’ Choice Railroad Tailor-made to what our readers said they wanted in a layout We were encouraged to find that many of you are reading and willing to build a layout when you’re inspired by numerous how-to ideas, simple instructions, and intriguing photographs, much like those we’ve included in CTT’s Retro Railroad (2009) and […]

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O GAUGE 4-6-0 BY WILLIAMS BY BACHMANN

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I’ve rarely been predisposed to like a locomotive quite as much as I have the 4-6-0 from Williams by Bachmann. From the ads it appears to be a nice, moderately sized model – a sort of utility infielder that would look good running either freight or passenger ops, yet sized to fit with scale or […]

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Chemung Northern RR

Chemung Northern RR

Name: Chemung Northern RRLayout designer: Ben BrownScale: O (1:48)Size: 22 x 34 feetPrototype: freelancedLocale: southern New York stateEra: 1950s and 1970sStyle: walk-inMainline run: 112 feetMinimum radius: 32″Minimum turnout: no. 4Maximum grade: 1.25 percent (main), 6 percent (Truro branch) Originally appeared in the April 2012 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to download the […]

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LIONEL O GAUGE CANADIAN PACIFIC FREIGHT SET

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The Canadian Maple Leaf freight set may be the “Sir Mix-a-Lot” of starter sets because it jumbles up Canadian road names as well as eras. This is the third Lionel O gauge set we received for review in late 2011, and it may be the best of them. It combines an uncommon road name (for […]

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WOODLAND SCENICS READY-TO-INSTALL STRUCTURES

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Why, oh, why, you ask, is Bob reviewing plastic buildings? Has he gone crazy? Are submarines from the HO-conspiracy torpedoing container ships hauling O gauge trains from China to America? Are there no new boxcabs or triplexes to cover? Nope. It’s not that. The answer is actually quite simple. Here is a smart new product […]

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Big-time fun!

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Layout designer: Michael Tylick Scale: O Layout size: 12 x 35 feet Track type: GarGraves Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the March 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Big Time Fun track plan Big Time Fun schematic Big Time Fun parts list […]

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A definitively display style O gauge layout plan

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Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 9 x 14 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the February 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. See a PDF version of this track plan by clicking here. See the schematics of this plan by clicking here. […]

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