The Wild West in a 5 x 9-foot space

CTT-J1006-APLAN

Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 5 x 9 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-36 Originally appeared in the October 2006 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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Red Rock Green River

Red Rock Green River

Name: Red Rock Green River Layout designer: Bill Iwan Scale: On21⁄2 (1:48, 30″ gauge) Size: 10 x 20 feet Theme: Freelanced Denver & Rio Grande Western and Rio Grande Southern Locale: New Mexico and Colorado Era: 1940s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 80 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 0.95 percent Originally […]

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David Balogh’s Christmas Layout

David Balogh's Christmas Layout

I don’t have a full layout yet (rental houses), so I have to get my kicks at Christmas. This year was the biggest so far. All the buildings are Lego. I films using an iPhone stuck between the milk containers on the milk car, and a Canon G11 flying overhead and edited in iMovie. Hopefully […]

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David Balogh’s Christmas Layout

David Balogh's Christmas Layout

I don’t have a full layout yet (rental houses), so I have to get my kicks at Christmas. This year was the biggest so far. All the buildings are Lego. I films using an iPhone stuck between the milk containers on the milk car, and a Canon G11 flying overhead and edited in iMovie. Hopefully […]

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Engine terminal and car shops

MRR-D0311_B

Name: Engine terminal and car shops Layout designer: Kent Johnson, associate editor Scale: O (1:48) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: urban Era: 1950s Mainline run: none Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Click on the link to download the PDF of this track plan. […]

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3rd Rail O gauge Brass 2-10-10-2

CTT-PR0311_1015B

Land of the giants O gauge brass 2-10-10-2 from 3rd Rail In the January 2010 issue, we reviewed Lionel’s O gauge version of a Santa Fe 2-10-10-2, which in the world of real railroading was pretty much a failure. Today we are reviewing 3rd Rail’s O gauge version of a Virginian Ry. 2-10-10-2 that in […]

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Lionel O gauge Vision Line GE Hybrid diesel

CTT-PR0211_090810B

EcoBoy, Sr. O gauge vision line GE Hybrid ES44AC by Lionel In the February 2011 issue, we reviewed Lionel’s O gauge GenSet locomotive – a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly switcher that used multiple smaller diesel engines that kicked in as warranted. For switching or light roadwork, this is a clever and innovative approach to saving […]

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A day of action on Terry Johnson’s O gauge layout

A day of action on Terry Johnson's O gauge layout

First we spray weeds and other things with MTH’s UP Weed Sprayer. Next the call goes out to transport the snow removal train up into the mountains where an imaginary snow has fouled the tracks. See the Lionel jet powered snow blower as well as an MTH Jordan Spreader. A fast freight pulled by MTH’s […]

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A day of action on Terry Johnson’s O gauge layout

A day of action on Terry Johnson's O gauge layout

First we spray weeds and other things with MTH’s UP Weed Sprayer. Next the call goes out to transport the snow removal train up into the mountains where an imaginary snow has fouled the tracks. See the Lionel jet powered snow blower as well as an MTH Jordan Spreader. A fast freight pulled by MTH’s […]

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A modeler’s guide to USRA locomotives

MRR-B0111_01

USRA locomotives were born under unique circumstances. A confluence of circumstances led to the nationalization of many of America’s railroads under President Woodrow Wilson in 1917. The outbreak of World War I, which necessitated a ramp-up of American industrial production capacity, and the financial circumstances of the early 1910s led to a liquidity crisis for […]

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O gauge Erie GP9 by Lionel

CTT-PR0311_Erie-GP9

This is the ultra-basic Lionel Geep of olden times updated with electronics under the hood. No see-through screens, no add-on grab irons, no crew figures, no smoke unit. Everything that can be said about the exterior of the model has probably been said. It is a decent representation of the real thing, but not a […]

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O gauge Santa Fe Vision Line 2-10-10-2 by Lionel

CTT-PR0111_Jumbotron

Okay, I’m scratching my head with this one. Years back, when I first read the story of the Santa Fe 3000-series 2-10-10-2s, I thought something like, “Why’d they do something crazy like that?” When I took this Lionel model out of the box, as Yogi Berra said, “It was deja vu all over again.” The […]

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