David Smith’s 4 x 6-foot O gauge holiday display uses a pie-shaped platform to run his toy trains under a full-size Christmas tree. Learn how to build this attractive and compact display bursting with holiday cheer in the December issue. […]
Jay Cain’s O-27 empire was one of the last O gauge layouts to be featured in our sister publication, Model Railroader. This new 12 x 30-foot O gauge layout reflects his wealth of experience in the hobby, along with his artistic and mechanical talents and vast imagination. […]
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TASTY FIXINS: The Long Island Toy Train Locomotive Engineers (LITTLE) is serving up another custom-run Lionel freight car decorated for Entenmann’s bakery. The O gauge car features Entenmann’s graphics and comes in a blue and white trimmed box. The car will be limited to the number ordered, and orders must be placed by January 10, […]
I always like receiving a big box from regional hardware chain Menards. You never know what toy train goodness it will contain. Popping the strapping tape on this one surprised me. This is a two-story commercial building with the first floor occupied by a tavern and a second floor that could be either apartments or […]
Armored trains have quite a history, dating back as far as the American Civil War. Trains offered speed and flexibility for the movement of troops and supplies and could serve as artillery platforms. Of course, once that advantage was realized, opponents sought ways to interdict the movement through placement of mines, destruction of bridges and […]
Frank Knautz’s compact 11 x 11-foot O gauge railroad features realistic city scenes and landscaping that recreate events from the lives of his parents, blending elements of the past and present to create a realistic layout on which to run his vintage trains. […]
In addition to writing “Views from the Underground,” a popular column in CTT, Lou Palumbo owns the Underground Railroad Shoppe in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Inside the shop dwells a 16 x 28-foot O gauge layout packed with trains, structures, and fun! The layout is open for public display between Thanksgiving and the end […]
Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 5 x 9 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the October 2013 issue of Classic Toy Trains. A FasTrack 5 x 9 made to handle the curves A FasTrack 5 x 9 made to handle the curves schematic A FasTrack 5 x […]
In the September 2013 issue, I offered a critique of Lionel’s well-executed American Flyer passenger cars done in the postwar style. Although the cars were nicely made, their design followed the limited detailing of an older day, and so might not be up to par with a scale-detailed model railroader. This time we’ll examine an […]
This powerful and intricately detailed diesel represents the new face of S gauge. Watch it in action! […]
