Ride with Trains.com, as staff members Lucas Iverson and Ben Lake, as they enjoy grand scale railroading (often associated with miniature, ride-on trains) at The Milwaukee County Zoo’s North Shore Bank Safari Train! Enjoy up-close views of their visit in July 2024, and then read more details about the 15-inch gauge railroad’s past, present and […]
Train Topic: Beginners
Celebrating “Flyer Fest”
Editor’s note: This manuscript was purchased in December 1990 for Model Railroader magazine. Over the years, it made its way around the office and finally landed in my hands last fall. Dave Ingles was a friend of mine, and with his passing and my becoming editor of CTT, it seemed fitting to finally share his […]
East Troy Railroad Museum | East Troy, Wisc.
Join Trains.com, as staff videographer Sean Kirby focuses his camera on the action in East Troy, Wisc., home to the East Troy Railroad Museum. On location, Sean makes the most of the museum’s Railfan Day 2024, one of numerous planned event days. On this occasion, he’s able to capture various equipment in run-bys, with ticket […]
Beginner’s guide to airbrushing
In my 20-plus years with Model Railroader magazine, I’ve written several how-to articles on airbrushing. Some have focused on using the tool to re-create models you can’t find on the shelf, such as “How to paint multi-color locomotives” in the September 2013 issue. Others, including “How to weather coal hoppers” in December 2012, have demonstrated […]
Revisiting AI for model railroaders
Large language models (LLMs) or as they are colloquially known, AI, have made impressive progress since I last explored possible use cases relating to model railroading last summer, in the form of both chat-based programs and image generation. With a year having passed between then and now, I thought it would be worth revisiting this […]
A staff writer’s wish list from Lionel’s 2024 Volume 2 Catalog
“Christmas in July” is always a fitting time for Lionel Trains to release their Volume 2 catalog, and the 2024 edition continues to hold tradition. Much like the Classic Toy Trains team and contributors, I’ve decided to throw my hat into the ring with some thoughts and a fun, little wish list from Lionel’s 2024 […]
Locomotives We Love: Lionel No. 2245 Texas Special F3
Joe Algozzini, perhaps the preeminent expert on Lionel trains and accessories manufactured during the post-World War II era (1945-69) has been contributing deeply researched and thoughtfully written articles to Classic Toy Trains since its second issue hit newsstands in the spring of 1988. To be honest, Joe was laying the groundwork for what became the […]
Train Sim World 4 | Upgrade from Sony PS4 to PS5
Our Trains.com resident simulator software guru Bryson Sleppy shares the process for transferring Train Sim World 4 from a Sony PlayStation 4 to a Sony PlayStation 5 gaming platform. For more details on the release of Train Sim World 4, be sure to watch Bryson’s overview of the railroad simulation software on Trains.com! […]
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 […]
VIA Rail Canada Siemens Venture Trainset
From Ottawa, Ontario (OTTW), to Montréal, Québec (MTRL), join Trains.com staffer/frequent rail voyager Kent Johnson for a quick overview of VIA Rail Canada’s all-new Siemens Venture trainset (5-car)! Amidst Business Class amenities from station to station, you’ll get to see the perks of being aboard the quickest and cushiest train on VIA Rail Canada’s Corridor […]
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 […]
Lionel postwar 44-ton locomotives
Lionel’s postwar 44-ton diesels may be the most overlooked O gauge locomotives of the era. Collectors focus, instead, on the firm’s models of F3 cab units by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and the Train Master road diesels made by Fairbanks-Morse. Operators also like those powerful diesels as well as the big and small […]