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Soon after the first railroad bought the second locomotive it became apparent that some rules of the road were needed. There had to be a way to keep a following locomotive from running into the one ahead and to prevent head-on collisions when locomotives are moving toward each other on a single track. In the […]
In 2020, MTH Electric Trains President Mike Wolf announced his May 2021 retirement and the subsequent closure of the company after 40 years in business. It’s now 2025, and MTH remains alive and well, continuing to produce products for the model railroad and toy train industry at a more modest pace in O, Standard, and […]
Join Classic Toy Trains Editor Rene Schweitzer and Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as they share essential tips for restoring a vintage toy train. They address a viewer’s request for help with his father’s old Ives train set, which is in poor condition with bent metal, rust, and poor paint. Their discussion covers key […]
Join Classic Toy Trains Editor Rene Schweitzer and Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as they share essential tips for restoring a vintage toy train. They address a viewer’s request for help with his father’s old Ives train set, which is in poor condition with bent metal, rust, and poor paint. Their discussion covers key […]
I never thought I’d get serious about Large scale (G gauge) model railroading, but here I am. This past summer, I successfully bid on a 1:22.5-scaled C-16 2-8-0 in Colorado & Southern livery at an online auction. This model, from the 1989 product line of the former Delton Locomotive Works (before its tooling went to […]
Freight Car Class: Lesson 1, Kit Building Basics| Building, operating, and weathering freight cars are essential skills for any modeler to acquire, regardless of experience level. This five-part video series is designed to help you create better freight cars! In the first lesson, expert instructor David Popp gets things rolling with the basics of kit […]
From Midwest farmlands to the Pacific Coast, and the mountains and deserts in between, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway offers a buffet of modeling opportunities. This popular former Class I railroad has captured the hearts of model railroaders, and there are many modeling products and materials readily available to help modelers go “Santa […]
Manufacturers come and go in model railroading. The large scale market, primarily G gauge, is no exception, with a wide range of scales to choose from, and whether you’re taking the hobby indoors or outside. Let’s explore who is producing for customers today, from those with vast offerings to those specializing in specific products. If […]
Lionel Trains continued celebrating their 125th anniversary with the release of their Volume 2 catalog in mid July. First, an interesting note: the second Lionel catalog has typically been called Volume 2. This one was called “July Release.” I wonder if there will be another catalog release before the end of the year? Stay […]
Lionel Trains has released a 2025 Volume II catalog. The 44-page book includes new items in the Legacy, LionChief, Star Wars, and Accessory lines. Highlights include a Santa Fe Super Chief set (No. 2622020), which includes two F3A locomotives, two F3Bs (one unpowered), baggage car, Pullman sleeper car, dome car, diner, three sleeping cars, and […]
Is your locomotive struggling to produce a good amount of smoke, even after cranking up the smoke volume and adding fluid? While it’s not the one-and-only culprit, a charred smoke wick is a common problem. The wick is a strand or braided fiber glass material in the smoke unit’s heating chamber. It generates the smoke […]
The 2025 National Model Railroad Association convention recently wrapped up with encouraging attendance numbers. A July 19 post from the NMRA social media pages highlighted the success: 950 registered attendees were on hand for this year’s showing in Novi, Mich., a significant jump from 620 in Long Beach, Calif., for 2024. Notably, 266 first-time attendees, […]
