How to build a simple track cleaning car – MR contributor Gerry Leone shares instructions for making your own rolling innovation for cleaning the rails of your model railroad! From Gerry’s workbench, you’ll see the tools, materials, and simple techniques needed to shape a railcar and a small patch of Masonite (hardboard) into an unrelenting […]
Section: Videos
Preview the July August 2022 issue of Classic Toy Trains
Editor Hal Miller previews the July August 2022 issue of Classic Toy Trains! We’ll visit a large club layout in Nassau, N.Y., learn about Lionel’s no. 9141 Burlington Northern gondolas, solve a mystery behind a Marx set, and visit an S gauge layout owned by Tom Barker. Plus, the latest new products, and reviews of […]
Lionel’s no. 700E scale Hudson locomotive
The latest video by Roger Carp, senior editor at Classic Toy Trains magazine, focuses on one of the greatest and most celebrated toy trains ever produced in America. In anticipation of the release of Lionel Trains of the 1940s, the new special-interest publication from CTT, Professor Carp looks closely at the Lionel no. 700E O […]
Midday Modeler — 06.08.2022 recorded LIVE
Midday Modeler — 06.08.2022. This week Cody Grivno and Eric White host our weekly Midday Modeler video from the MR&T model train layout in the heart of Kalmbach Media in Waukesha, Wis. This week, Eric takes you behind the scenes for what happens in a during a product review video. Cody shows us around the Milwaukee, […]
Mineral Range railroad of Michigan
The Mineral Range railroad of Michigan is a family-owned and -operated railroad in the state’s Upper Peninsula. It’s actually the second railroad of the same name. The “original” began as a north-south, 14-mile narrow gauge mineral hauler, connecting the Osceola Mining Co.’s Osceola copper ore mine near Calumet, Mich., and the company’s stamp mill at […]
Make a Lake, Part 3 | Back on Track, Episode 20
Make a lake, part 3 – It’s all water under the bridge for this episode of the Back on Track mini-series, hosted by Gerry Leone on his HO scale Bona Vista RR. With the lakebed colors applied, Gerry shows how to add water effects, as well as a few special details a keen-eyed visitor might […]
Midday Modeler — 06.01.2022
Midday Modeler — 06.01.2022: On this episode of Midday Modeler, David Popp hosts a cavalcade of guests with interests ranging from adhesives to N scale, and beginners tips. Special guests this week include Hal Miller, Rene Schweitzer, Brian Schmidt, Jenny Freeland, and more! Midday Modeler is a new, regular video segment, recorded live and unscripted […]
View from a boxcar door
View from a boxcar door Name: Ray Wheeler Railroad Name: Jericho & Mt. Zion Railway Location: Lynnwood, WA Scale: G scale Theme: Tourist railroad with freight operations in the modern era Description: “From A Boxcar Door” – Safety Film – Riding in an open boxcar on a J&MtZ extra freight train. (An unsafe practice!) Music […]
Install the LionChief app on your smartphone or tablet
Learning to install the LionChief app on your smartphone or tablet is nothing to fear. Years ago, there was only one way to run our toy trains, and that was with a transformer. Today, we’re fortunate to have a lot of options to control our trains, including remotes that come with sets and smart devices […]
Midday Modeler — 05.25.2022
Midday Modeler — 05.25.2022 — This week is Model Railroader’s first live streamed “fun run” around the MR&T model train layout. MR&T officially stands for Milwaukee, Racine & Troy — a fictitious railroad based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Unofficially, the letters represent Model Railroader and Trains — for the two original magazines that formed the core of Kalmbach Media’s early […]
Apply decals and finishing an N scale locomotive| Cody’s Workshop, Ep. 49
Apply decals and finishing an N scale locomotive. Senior Editor Cody Grivno shares the final steps to decorating an Atlas EMD GP38-2 diesel locomotive model into Milwaukee, Racine & Troy model railroad colors. To close out the effort, his process starts by applying waterslide decals, adding weathering effects, and then re-assembling the unit for layout […]
MTH SD70ACe, Menard’s switch tower on Bob’s Train Box 81
Bob Keller and Classic Toy Trains Editor Hal Miller have a look at the new MTH Trains’ O gauge RailKing Imperial SD70ACe and caboose set. Since the latter is lettered for Canadian Pacific, of course it’s a “van.” This episode also reveals Menard’s new Cripple Creek Switch Tower, and a variety of new books and […]