I enjoy animating scenes on my O gauge layout, and have come across a great way to get slower, more-precise realistic action: using servos. A servomotor, or servo, is a small, inexpensive device that provides control over the position, speed, and acceleration of a mechanical system. The device is readily available, easy to program, and […]
Scale: O Scale
Cody’s Office | October 2025
Welcome back to Cody’s Office! This month’s episode is packed with three new products, a helpful modeling tip, and answers to your viewer mail questions. Our featured products include the N scale Electro-Motive Division SD35 diesel locomotive from Atlas Model Railroad Co.; an HO scale Electro-Motive Division NW2 diesel switcher from the WalthersProto series; and a […]
Cody’s Office | October 2025
Welcome back to Cody’s Office! This month’s episode is packed with three new products, a helpful modeling tip, and answers to your viewer mail questions. Our featured products include the N scale Electro-Motive Division SD35 diesel locomotive from Atlas Model Railroad Co.; an HO scale Electro-Motive Division NW2 diesel switcher from the WalthersProto series; and a […]
How do I find toy train part numbers?
Thanks for the list of sources for parts in the Fall 2025 issue of CTT. I have nine prewar and postwar engines awaiting attention; I’ll need parts for some of them, and your list will be invaluable. But some sources don’t do searches for parts, which raises the question: Where do we find part numbers? […]
Working with 3D-printed parts
Q: I’m excited by all the new 3D-printed figures and details that have become available. Lately, however, I’ve received some figures that are still attached to the support structure. I work in HO scale, and I’m not sure how to safely remove all this material without damaging the details or figures. Do you have any […]
Frank Cerauli built his layout on dreams
Frank Cerauli built the magnificent 15 x 30-foot O gauge layout that fills part of his home on dreams. In that important respect, he hardly differs from so many of the creative and hard-working men and women who derive great satisfaction and pleasure from operating miniature trains, whether they be toys or scale replicas. To […]
Classic Toy Trains new products for October 2025
Locomotives & rolling stock Berwyn’s Toys & Trains, 7025 Odgen Ave., Berwyn, IL 60402, is selling a custom-run MTH F7 Diesel Locomotive as part of the Premier line. The locomotives will be offered in two powered A units, each with a unique cab number (20-220241 shown). Expected delivery in November 2025. Price: $549.95. Website: berwynstoytrains.com […]
Menards O Scale Telephone Poles
Menards recently sent Classic Toy Trains a box of sample products. At the bottom was a small package I almost overlooked because of its size. It was marked “O Scale Telephone Poles” (No. 275-9417). I was heading to the workshop to test another product, so I added the telephone pole box to my pile. Before […]
Tips for restoring a vintage toy train
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 […]
Tips for restoring a vintage toy train
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 […]
Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club O Gauge Display Layout
Come along with CTT and Trains.com staff members, as they visit the Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club in New Berlin, Wisconsin! In this video, you’ll see views of the enormous 30 x 54-foot O gauge (3-rail) train display in operation – along with equally impressive scenery and structures! Read more about this layout in the December […]
Lionel Legacy Light Mountain 4-8-2 Steam Locomotive
In the waning months of World War I, the USRA worked to develop a locomotive that would provide mixed service to railroads across the country. The 4-8-2 Light Mountain, with its longer wheelbase and lighter build, can navigate railroads with light-weight track where its heftier cousins can’t. These locomotives were built between 1918 and 1930, […]
