Name: The Train Masters of Babylon Gauge: ODimensions: 41 x 60 feetTrack: GarGraves (diameters range from 128 to 180 inches)Turnouts: Ross Custom SwitchesMotive power: Atlas O, K-Line, Lionel (postwar, modern), MTH, Weaver, WilliamsRolling stock: Atlas O, K-Line, Lionel (postwar, modern), Menards, MTH, Weaver, WilliamsControls: Lionel Type-ZW (5), MTH Nos. Z-1000 (2) and Z-4000 (11) transformers […]
Locomotives from the Union Pacific Heritage Fleet highlight the latest release of the Lionel Legacy SD70ACe. The product was announced in the 2022 Volume 2 catalog. The model train maker offered 10 versions, and I was convinced I needed at least half of them. Lionel has not produced the UP heritage units in 15 years, […]
The Lionel Legacy 2-6-0 “Mogul” type locomotive graced the company’s 2022 Vol. 2 catalog. It’s a welcome re-release as the previous 2016 models were struck with gearing issues. These caused many of them to run poorly at slow speeds. Many were returned to Lionel and never made it to the the second-hand market. This new […]
Head-end power: Dinner is about to arrive at table 7 in the Southwest Chief’s Superliner dining car. Outside, the late afternoon sun illuminates exhaust blasting skyward as the locomotives up front struggle to maintain speed up the more than 3% grade leading to the top of Raton Pass in New Mexico. Downstairs in the kitchen, […]
Chris Montagna of the Chris’s Trains and Things YouTube channel is a contributing editor to Classic Toy Trains. He has done numerous reviews and how-to articles for Trains.com and the magazine. We asked him a few questions. My first train set (or locomotive) was…? My first locomotive was a Lionel Reading 4-6-2 (No. 6-18004) in […]
It’s not hard to give a postwar Lionel GP7 a new lease on life. Unless they’ve really been abused, these workhorses can be returned to service with some cleaning, adjustment, and maybe a little lubrication. This particular model had been stored for years in a dry climate. Additionally, the previous owner had removed the D-cell […]
The MTH Premier SD24 is a massive model of a historic locomotive more widely used than its initial owners list would indicate. Many units found second and third lives on other railroads after their initial stints. Like all of MTH’s newer offerings this wasn’t in a catalog. Instead, it was announced in 2022 as a […]
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Basic railroad signal terminology Here is a glossary of railroad signal terminology. Signals are used for protection and control of train traffic. However, there is no national standard or system, so signals used by individual railroads may vary. Glossary of railroad signal terminology Absolute signal: A signal whose “stop” indication means “stop and stay.” Usually […]
The Lionel Legacy C-Liner continues a keeps alive a sort of tradition in toy trains. While almost an outlier as a locomotive producer in real life, Fairbanks-Morse locomotives have enjoyed outsized success in the hobby. Witness the legendary Train Master. The locomotive builder’s effort to gain traction in the passenger and freight locomotive competition led […]
The next time you watch a quartet of six-motor diesels go grinding past with an 11,000-ton unit coal train, consider that all that horsepower is being transmitted through the train by a mere 11-inch-high chunk of steel at the end of each car. This simple little device – the “knuckle” – is the key part […]
Before radio communication came into wide use in the 1960s, a locomotive’s whistle was an important tool in conveying information to other employees, both on and off the train, and many signals were on the books. The General Code Of Operating Rules, used by many railroads, contains the following list of whistle signals and their […]
