Garden Railways Editor Hal Miller shows step-by-step how to illuminate a PIKO cabin kit with an inexpensive solar-powered path light available from a home improvement store. […]
Add a solar-powered light to a large-scale cabin
Era: 2000 - Present
CTT’s fall 2021 special: Toy train layouts for small spaces
The latest special issue from Classic Toy Trains! If you’re looking to build your first toy train layout, or maybe just something more manageable, Toy Train Layouts for Small Spaces has you covered! It’s full of plans for layouts under 100 square feet that will fit in a spare room, including island and around the […]
Big Skies & Iron Rails, Overland Edition, Part 1
Before heading westward, our hard-drivin’ rail adventurer Tom Danneman walks and talks you around his trail-rated 4×4 truck. This time out, Tom’s son is riding shotgun, so rooftop camping is also part of the off-road trackside trek! […]
Big Skies & Iron Rails, Overland Edition, Part 1
Before heading westward, our hard-drivin’ rail adventurer Tom Danneman walks and talks you around his trail-rated 4×4 truck. This time out, Tom’s son is riding shotgun, so rooftop camping is also part of the off-road trackside trek! […]
Preview the November 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains
The November 2021 issue of Classic Toy Trains features a Lionel collection that contains such gems as the no. 2296W Canadian Pacific outfit and some of the finest examples of the rarest sets in the postwar era. You’ll also visit an O gauge homage to the Reading Lines in Pennsylvania, and an S gauge layout […]
Prevent rust and mold on your trains with silica gel
Water is the enemy of toy trains. But we have tools to fight back. In fact, they might already be in your train box, and if they’re not, they should be. You can prevent rust and mold with silica gel. Science to the rescue What I have here is a locomotive that sat in a […]
Bob’s Train Box Episode 73
On this Episode of Train Box, Bob Keller and CTT editor Hal Miller put a new Legacy Lionel Soo 4-6-0 through its paces. Then Bob shows part of his collection of colorful tinplate O gauge Marx locomotives and rolling stock. Finally, he discusses railroad timetables and other paper memorabilia that make interesting and informative reading […]
Bob’s Train Box Episode 73
On this Episode of Train Box, Bob Keller and CTT editor Hal Miller put a new Legacy Lionel Soo 4-6-0 through its paces. Then Bob shows part of his collection of colorful tinplate O gauge Marx locomotives and rolling stock. Finally, he discusses railroad timetables and other paper memorabilia that make interesting and informative reading […]
Chasing Big Boy 4014 to Las Vegas
Crowds for Big Boy 4014’s 2019 and 2021 tours have been immense. I haven’t taken part in any concerted effort to chase for these tours, but I got a taste of the madness back in 2014 when Big Boy moved from Southern California to Cheyenne, Wyo., for restoration. I covered it for two days with […]
Garden railroad inspired by Union Pacific and the Big Boy locomotives
My garden railroad, the Snake River Railroad, is named after my interest in the Union Pacific. This has been my favorite railroad ever since I saw the Big Boy. The 200 by 300-foot railroad is shaped like a mirror image of Idaho, because of large Ponderosa pines in the backyard. There are two separate […]
Big Boy Hot Spot: Dexter, Mo.
BIG BOY HOT SPOT Location If you’re for Union Pacific Big Boy Hot Spot this summer, don’t miss the Dexter, Missouri, community. Dexter is situated in the rural southeast corner of Missouri in Stoddard County, about halfway between St. Louis and Memphis. It is surrounded by fertile soil, vast row-crop farmland, and straight, high speed […]
Motive power preparations on Dave Abeles’ Conrail Onondaga Cutoff
On Dave Abeles’ HO scale Conrail-inspired layout, locomotive fleet operations warrant the same careful attention as it does in 1:1 scale. Follow along to see how he and his crew ready the motive power for smooth and reliable performance at the head-end of his trains! […]
