There’s a switch on top of my Lionel No. 2332 Pennsylvania GG1. I’ve heard it controls how the engine reverses. I’ve run the locomotive on a test track, and without my touching it the locomotive reversed following the transformer direction switch. Is everything working right? – Jim Rohrbach, San Mateo, Calif. The switch on the […]
MTH Electric Trains and the Atlas Model Railroad Company announced a shared asset deal that will allow each company to use select models from the other company’s O scale tools and molds. The first of these shared assets will be passenger car tooling that can complement locomotives being produced by the other company. The program […]
Name: The Polar Express layout Gauge: ODimensions: 4 x 8 feet The Classic Toy Trains staff built the Polar Express layout over a five day period, from benchwork to final scenery. This layout, which was featured in the November/December 2023 issue of Classic Toy Trains, features scenes from the beloved 2004 movie. See the construction of the layout […]
In the toy train world, it seems that each year or so there is a common theme among manufacturers. 2022 seemed to be the year of Amtrak. With the 50th anniversary paint schemes announced on Amtrak’s P42s it was fitting for Lionel and Atlas to lean into these announcements with a few of their own. […]
Rolling stock & accessories Menards has released Jack’s Christmas Boxcar (No. 2759153). This red boxcar has a winter scene featuring Jack the German shepherd with a red LED nose that blinks when connected to track power. The boxcar navigates O-27 curves, and each car is uniquely numbered. Available as a single car or in packs […]
We’re always adding new content to our website. Here are some recent items you may have missed. The Lionel 700E Hudson steam engine Polar Express layout build video A compilation video from CTT’s five-day layout build. American Flyer store display photo from the 1950s What’s the story behind these photos? Senior Editor Roger Carp tells […]
Dates have been set for the UK’s 2024 Midlands Garden Rail Show on March 2-3, 2024. This event attracts nearly 2,000 enthusiasts from all over the UK and offers visitors the opportunity to see layouts in larger gauges and scales including gauge 1, O gauge, large scale, and more. There will be more than 15 […]
Have you ever been curious about how to calculate the speed of toy trains? Running trains over a layout, how can we know whether it’s moving at a realistic speed? Answering this question requires a bit of math. Speed, or velocity, is simply distance divided by time. In the United States, we are used to […]
In a paragraph, how did you get started in the hobby? Like many model railroaders, I got started in the hobby with toy trains: first with Marx clockwork, then with Lionel when I was six. In my teenage years I moved up (or down, depending on your point of view) to HO, then HOn3. I […]
5 tips for better scenes on your toy train layout Whenever someone asks me what makes a toy train layout special, I reply that detail is the key. Size and scope don’t matter as much as what a modeler does in the space available. Developing memorable scenes – “vignettes,” as they’re called – can […]
Richard Arsenault’s S gauge railroad (shown in the February 2003 issue of Classic Toy Trains) illustrates the drama that a grade can add to a model railroad. The battle of man versus mountain can be won in S, O, or Standard gauges only if the inclines aren’t too great. Classic Toy Trains file A […]
New CTT products for September 2023 Locomotives and rolling stock An Electro-Motive Division SD70MAC road diesel locomotive has joined the Atlas O Premier Line. Paint schemes include BNSF Ry. (green and cream), CSX (dark blue and yellow), Lake State Ry. (blue and gray), Metra (blue, black, and orange), Paducah & Louisville (green and white), R.J. […]
