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Valentine’s Day gift guide With Valentine’s Day coming up, you may be at a loss when it comes to buying a gift for that special someone. Chocolates and flowers are blasé. Dinner and a movie? Sure, but that only lasts a few hours. A mixtape? Come on, it’s 2024, making a Spotify playlist takes seconds. […]
Please contact the manufacturer directly about purchasing smoke fluid. As of this writing, there is one manufacturer of smoke pellets that’s compatable with postwar engines: SP Smoke Pellets. You can also check secondary markets to find new old stock of pellets. Happy operating! Bachmann Industries 1400 East Erie Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19124 webstore@bachmanntrains.com Bachmanntrains.com Bart’s […]
Every six months, photos of O gauge trains traversing the snowy hills and quaint villages of a sprawling layout arrive at the office. What a treat! And they represent the outstanding modeling done by Gordon Hough with help from his mother, Jeannie, who finishes the scenery and paints the backdrops. No matter fast I try […]
The Lionel 2024 Big Book catalog is here! At 228 pages, there’s a lot of products to sort through. I’ve given it a good luck and have thoughts and observations. Maybe you do too. If so, leave a comment or send an email to editor@classictoytrains.com Roger Carp explained the history of when Lionel releases catalogs […]
Locomotives & rolling stock Mr. Muffin’s Trains has several custom-run items for sale. The first are MTH 50-foot Waffle Boxcars in two paint schemes with two road numbers each: Louisville & Nashville No. 101635 (20-99372), Louisville & Nashville No. 101640 (20-99373), Milwaukee Road No. 4307 (20-99374, shown), and Milwaukee Road No. 4311 (20-99375). Price: $69.95 […]
One of the common drawbacks of tubular track, particularly older pieces, is inconsistent electrical conductivity. This is caused primarily by corrosion inside the rails interfering with the flow of power through the track pins. I tried a number of solutions, including soldering track together (bad idea), running jumper wires from center rail to center rail, […]
You may have heard the term “zinc pest,” or maybe “zinc rot” or “zamak pest,” but what is zinc pest? And how does it affect toy trains? In the earlier days of toy train manufacturing, trains and their parts were diecast with alloy metals, made from zinc, aluminum, magnesium, and copper. It was an inexpensive […]
Design a toy train layout — O, S, or Standard/Wide gauge — it requires above all making one fundamental decision. Each operator must decide what sort of look he or she wants the layout to have. To be specific, each modeler has to figure out the extent to which the layout, regardless of size or […]
Knowledgeable hobbyists will likely tell you the line Lionel cataloged for 1954 represented the pinnacle of post-World War II production. In their opinion, the roster of steam and diesel locomotives, freight and passenger cars, and operating accessories was unsurpassed in terms of design, creativity, appearance, and operation. The No. 2219W five-car freight train headed by […]
The Lionel No. 6407 flatcar with missile and removable Mercury capsule was cataloged for one year only, in 1963. It was offered as both a separate-sale item (priced at $4.95) and a component of two O-27 outfits: the Nos. 11341 Space Prober diesel freight set and 11385 Space Conqueror diesel freight set. Author John W. […]
I have a set of Lionel No. 2379 Denver & Rio Grande Western F3s from 1957 that do not run. I have taken both motors apart, cleaned the grease out of the gearboxes, and put in new grease. I have taken off the brush covers and cleaned the armature faces and the brush wells. I […]
Transcripted from the CTT video series Truck’s Toy Trains. Trains.com members can watch it here. The Lionel Corp. released its first operating barrel car in 1954, which was two years after it brought out the No. 362 barrel loader. Contents of the box included the car and an insert that held a box of barrels […]
