Locomotives & rolling stock Mr. Muffin’s Trains, 165 E. Main St., Atlanta IN 46031, has announced a custom-run MTH Husky Stack Car as part of the Premier line (20-95790 shown). The cars feature Monon graphics and O-54 operation. Expected delivery in August 2025. Price: $109.95. Website: mrmuffinstrains.com Trainworld, 751 McDonald Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11218, is […]
Lionel’s 2025 Catalog Volume I updates some landmark prewar and postwar locomotives individually and in incredible sets certain to delight operators and collectors. While exploring the brand-new 252-page full-color catalog as legwork for developing the upcoming edition of Greenberg’s Pocket Price Guide to Lionel Trains, 1901-2025, I discovered several impressive and desirable new models. Frankly, […]
Frank Hornby, British businessman and inventor born in 1863, is a name known across the globe for model trains and toys alike. This book, Hornby: Book of Collectable Toys, takes a deep dive into the history of the Hornby manufacturing company and its many subsidiaries. This book isn’t just about model trains–it includes all of […]
Menards continues to release an interesting variety of structures for your O gauge layout, from industrial, to whimsical, and anything else you might see in Anytown U.S.A. This latest structure, called “O gauge Main Street,” fits squarely in that Anytown category. A sticker on the clamshell box states that this is part of the Main […]
Trainz has acquired all of the Lionel TMCC1 and modular Legacy conventional reverse and sound printed circuit boards (PCBs). These parts include Odyssey 1 motor drivers, Legacy motor drivers, R2LCs, R4LCs, and Railsounds 2, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 4E, 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0. Trains has also acquired conventional reverse units for AC and DC motors, as […]
Lionel first introduced its No. 3435 Aquarium Car in 1959. This freight car featured a simulated aquarium with “swimming” fish, accomplished with a loop of decorated plastic, a Vibromotor, and a lightbulb. Over the years, dozens of variations of this car have been released, including those with stingrays, sharks, mermaids, and koi. The Train Collectors […]
There’s something magical about childhood memories, especially those centered on beloved toys. My grandparents had a Marx train set, once belonging to my uncles, hidden under a bed upstairs. My sisters and I discovered it and, of course, wanted to set it up and play. We’d wait until the evenings, when my grandparents were busy […]
Around the time that I got my driver’s license in the late 1960s I started to visit a local train store in High Point, N.C. Not having a lot to spend, I was looking for bargains. Two freight cars caught my eye, a nice brown Pennsylvania boxcar (No. 202) and a black Wabash coal hopper […]
Nearly 20 years after the initial review in Classic Toy Trains’ Feb. 2008 issue, the O-gauge Hogwarts Express remains a steady set for Lionel, along with the accompanying Harry Potter-branded products. But with a reboot of the franchise planned as a future streaming series on HBO Max, it’s time to return to Kings Cross’ Platform […]
Locomotives & rolling stock MTH Electric Trains, 7393 Washington Blvd. Ste. 101, Elkridge, MD 21075, is selling O gauge Depressed Center Flatcars as part of the RailKing line. The engines feature O-27 operation and are available in six paint schemes (30-76933 shown). Expected delivery in July 2025. Price: $64.95. To order, contact your local MTH […]
What do I collect? I collect S gauge Gilbert American Flyer, as it’s the scale and brand with which I entered the model railroading hobby. I have always enjoyed S gauge, as the size is nice and Gilbert American Flyer enjoys a great history and loyal, albeit somewhat small, following. When did I start collecting? […]
Frank Kotnik was introduced to toy trains as a child. Someone gave his father a secondhand Lionel set and accessories from the early 1950s. When Frank was three, around 1963, his dad surprised him with a simple tabletop layout. The engine captivated the young tot, sparking a lifetime interest in the hobby. Frank is a […]
