Download the track plan here! See more in the Summer 2024 issue! […]
Model the North Brookfield Railroad
Magazine: Classic Toy Trains
Installing figures in Lionel’s 21″ passenger cars
Lionel Trains’ 21″ passenger cars have been a staple in the manufacturer’s lineup of O-scale, 3-rail products for some time. A common censure though has been the lack of previously installed passengers upon purchase, leaving empty seats that need to be filled. From disassembly to reassembly, this project is easier to accomplish than I initially […]
Menards Cripple Creek & Western Cattle Car
The first patented stock car was developed in 1870 and used in shipments between Chicago and New York City. The cars were designed for 90 hours of travel, had water troughs fed from tanks under the car, and food troughs fed from hoppers in the roof. Over the years, other stock car designs were introduced […]
8 guidelines for handicap accessible toy train layouts
Model railroading — in any scale — can be a challenging hobby for people with disabilities, whether caused by illness, accident, or age. In addition, visitors who use a wheelchair or walker may find it difficult to view distant points on a large layout. The pike shown here was built with such limitations in mind. […]
Spring 2024
Also in this issue: EDITOR’S DESK, pg. 4 YOUR LETTERS, pg. 6 YOUR PHOTOS, pg. 8 NEWS & REVIEWS, pg. 12 COLLECTIBLE CLASSICS, pg. 18 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, pg. 56 S GAUGE NOW AND THEN, pg. 60 AD INDEX, pg. 65 TIPS & TRICKS, pg. 66 […]
Atlas Premier E8
New arrivals always bring a sense of excitement and anticipation. Most often, though, there’s a wait of a year or more between an announcement and the product’s arrival. The Premier E8 was an exception to that rule, with a delivery just under a year from its announcement on April 25, 2023 and a delivery between […]
Meet the men behind “3 rails 4 dads”
While at the TCA Eastern Division York show in April, I learned about a group of four younger men who had started a YouTube channel to talk about the O gauge hobby. Like the Train Dads I wrote about recently, these are also men who love toy trains, and are also dads. The group’s goal […]
Preview CTT June and July 2024 content
We’re always adding new content to our website. Here’s some recent items you may have missed. Lionel learned from Athearn boxcar Troubleshoot problems with wheel gauge Coming in July! American Flyer’s Freedom Train It’s Christmas in July with this holiday-themed layout Lionel postwar military switchers and more! […]
Classic Toy Trains new products June 2024
Locomotives & rolling stock Legacy Station, 4153 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite 12, Lilburn, GA 30047, has announced a custom-run MTH Christmas Extended Vision Caboose (30-77406) as part of the RailKing line. The caboose features operating LEDs and is numbered 1225. Price: $89.95. Delivery expected in October 2024. Ordering information is at www.legacystation.com. E-Z Catch Train Shop […]
Troubleshoot wheel gauge problems
I bought a set of Williams tinplate cars that duplicated scarce Lionel products from the 1930s in an online auction (photo above). I planned to run them on my period layout and was pleased to find the cars to be in like-new condition when they arrived. However, when I placed them behind my Lionel No. […]
Lionel Legacy SD50
Just as EMD needed to develop the SD50 to compete with GE’s Dash 7, Lionel developed new tooling to add to their lineup. The SD50, announced in the Lionel 2023 Volume 2 was advertised as a new product and all new tooling. Ryan Kunkle of Lionel verified that this product was not made from former-MTH […]
Lionel learned from Athearn’s Rock Island boxcar
Lionel brought out its first No. 6464 near-scale boxcars in 1953. The models it developed were strongly influenced by what Athearn, a manufacturer of O scale trains, had already been doing, especially with a Rock Island prototype. Little wonder that toy train enthusiasts of every age praised the four new 6464 boxcars. Experienced O gauge […]
