Two-tier track plan

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Layout designer: Howard Reed Scale: O Layout size: 11 x 15 feet Track type: Lionel O and Atlas O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the July 2003 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Two-tier track plan Two-tier track plan track and materials […]

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Walk-in, sit-down, standout plan

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Layout designer: E. A. Engebretson and Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 8 x 16 feet Track type: Atlas O Minimum curve: O-72 Originally appeared in the February 2006 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Walk-in, sit-down, standout plan Walk in, sit down, standout schematic plan Walk-in, sit-down, standout parts list […]

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Wide curve track plan

CI0304_APLAN

Layout designer: John Long Scale: O Layout size: 8 x 16 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the March 2004 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Wide curve track plan Wide curve track plan components […]

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The Wild West in a 5 x 9-foot space

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Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 5 x 9 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-36 Originally appeared in the October 2006 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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Lionel O gauge Vision Line GE Hybrid diesel

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EcoBoy, Sr. O gauge vision line GE Hybrid ES44AC by Lionel In the February 2011 issue, we reviewed Lionel’s O gauge GenSet locomotive – a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly switcher that used multiple smaller diesel engines that kicked in as warranted. For switching or light roadwork, this is a clever and innovative approach to saving […]

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O gauge Erie GP9 by Lionel

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This is the ultra-basic Lionel Geep of olden times updated with electronics under the hood. No see-through screens, no add-on grab irons, no crew figures, no smoke unit. Everything that can be said about the exterior of the model has probably been said. It is a decent representation of the real thing, but not a […]

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O gauge Santa Fe Vision Line 2-10-10-2 by Lionel

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Okay, I’m scratching my head with this one. Years back, when I first read the story of the Santa Fe 3000-series 2-10-10-2s, I thought something like, “Why’d they do something crazy like that?” When I took this Lionel model out of the box, as Yogi Berra said, “It was deja vu all over again.” The […]

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Lionel’s O gauge jet-powered rail diesel car

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In the declining years of private passenger haulage, one of the illusions held out for consideration was that the public might be drawn back to the rails if passenger trains ran at or near airline speeds. In the caveman days of the 1960s, high-speed rail was pretty much just finding a way to match the […]

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6 hot postwar Lionel collectibles

5 postwar Lionel collectibles on the rise

F3s, Hudsons, and Girls’ trains – those are the postwar jackpots that everybody knows about. Here, though, are six underexposed Lionel items that are quickly moving up the charts. Models courtesy Joe Algozzini What’s hot today among postwar Lionel trains and accessories? I attend several train shows each year, check out eBay listings almost every […]

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Lionel-branded bridge by T W Trainworx

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T W TRAINWORX IS NOTED FOR BOTH ITS LIONEL DISPLAYS AND, MORE RECENTLY, ITS LINE OF LIONEL-BRANDED ARCH BRIDGE KITS. These structures evoke images of catalogs of the past with trains rolling beneath and across the bridge, and the name LIONEL centered in the archway below the deck. How neat is that? Jumping right inWhen […]

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