Toy train smoke hijinx (and a minor train wreck) abound as Hal Miller and Rene Schweitzer try a variety of the scents in JT’s Mega Steam fluid line. The smoke fluids are now available from the Kalmbach Hobbystore.
Rene and Hal discover with their tests that there’s a world of smells beyond coal and diesel smoke. These fragrances include vanilla, candy cane, and grandpa’s pipe smoke. After a little trial and error, the pair even find that mixing different scents produces interesting combinations that toy train operators might find appealing. One combination included “Campfire” and “Christmas Pine.”
The products work equally well in MTH, Lionel, and other toy trains and are available through Kalmbachhobbystore.com.
The 2-ounce bottles are available for sale individually.
The smoke fluids scents available are: “Coal-fired steamer”; “Diesel power”; “Smoke pellet”; “Oil-fired steam”; “Candy Cane Express”; “Christmas Pine”; “Hot Chocolate”; “Vanilla”; “Coffee”; “Apple Harvest”; “Grandpa’s Pipe Smoke”; “Forest & Stream”; “Marx”; and “Campfire”.
More information on toy train smoke and the history of smoke is available in several articles by Classic Toy Trains Senior Editor Roger Carp.
“Professor Carp” published information on Lionel’s early efforts in April, followed by Lionel’s continued experimentation in June 2021. Classic Toy Trains editors also published a brief list of smoke fluid suppliers as of March 2021.
