Room-size figure-8 layout

CTT-W0112_APLAN

Layout designer: Terry Thompson Scale: O Layout size: 12 x 12 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-36 Originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Schematic Parts list […]

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Mid-sized to the max

CTT-T1111_PLANpassenger

Layout designer: Terry Thompson Scale: O Layout size: 6 x 12 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the November 2011 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Passenger track plan Freight track plan Parts list […]

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Readers Choice RR urban extension

CTT-R0911_ASYMBOLS

Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 3 x 8 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-60 Originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Parts list Schematic […]

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Twin loops with a twist

CTT-C1011_APLAN

Layout designer: Terry Thompson Scale: O Layout size: 6 x 12 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the October 2011 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Twin loops with a twist track plan Twin loops with a twist schematic Twin loops with a twist components […]

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Lionel O gauge EMD F3 diesel A-A set

PR1211_Lionel-F3-headshot

Cab units once roamed North America in epic buffalo-like herds, hauling freight and passengers from places like Syracuse and Montpelier to Cheyenne and Cucamonga. Whether they hailed from the forges of Alco, Baldwin, or Fairbanks-Morse, cab units were generally seen as the last vestige of the art deco era of streamlining. And no diesel was […]

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Lionel O gauge Vision Lionel 700E Hudson

PR1011_Hudson-headshot

In the toy train world, there is no mightier locomotive than the New York Central Hudson. Turbines and Berkshires or Pacifics and Challengers might turn heads, but they’re country cousins compared to the Hudson. Today we examine the “Lionel Vision line 700E Hudson.” Pairing the terms “Vision line” and “700E” is a bit confusing, because […]

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Readers’ Choice RR FasTrack plan

CTT-T0911_ALead

Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 4 x 8 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-36 Originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Parts list […]

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Readers’ Choice RR extension template

CTT-R0911_template

Just like the original section of our project railroad, our preferred method of transferring a track plan to a flat tabletop uses a computer to download and print out the full-scale template of the Readers’ Choice Railroad so we can easily tell how track, accessories, and some scenery elements work on our 3 x 8-foot […]

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REVIEW: O GAUGE NO. 255E BY LIONEL CORP. TINPLATE

PR0911_orange-crush

Let us go back to those thrilling days of yesteryear before rivets were counted, numbers on the side of a train meant anything, and the color choices for a train were totally at the mercy of the marketing department. Yes, I’m talking about the pre-World War II toy train era. The trains were made as […]

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