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Magazine: Classic Toy Trains
MTH Premier line O gauge R-1 subway train
MTH HAS STEPPED BACK in time in an exciting way with an O gauge model of New York City’s rumbling R-1 subway cars. Until now, MTH has offered more contemporary models of mass transit equipment, in both its Premier and RailKing lines. The R-1 changes all of that. Between 1930 and 1931, American Car & […]
Weaver O gauge VO-1000 diesel
THE VO-1000 IS one of my favorites of the early diesel years. Baldwin Locomotive Works built more than 500 of these 1,000-horsepower locomotives between 1939 and 1946. The VO-1000 was replaced in 1946 by the outwardly similar DS-4-4-10, which came equipped with a different diesel engine. The VO-series switchers were exemplary at their job. As […]
Weaver O scale refrigerator car
THE FREIGHT TRAINS that I run on my layout are probably typical of most three-railers: a mix of road names and freight car types. Add to that list of runners Weaver’s 57-foot mechanical refrigerator car with sound.What? Sound in a big box? Yep. Weaver’s reefer is as nice as they come. Weaver has delivered plenty […]
Classic Toy Trains, September 2006
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Atlas O Trainman O gauge Alco RSD-4/5
One of the complaints heard from hobby curmudgeons is that O gauge railroading is too expensive. And if you mention to them some of the lower priced Lionel products, MTH’s RailKing line, and K-Line’s high-value semi-scale steamers, you often hear the retort: “Well, I mean scale-sized trains.” Atlas O has stepped up to fill this […]
MTH Tinplate Traditions O gauge no. 263E reproduction
LIONEL’S PREWAR no. 263E steam locomotive was the last of its kind. The tinplate O gauge 2-4-2 locomotive was everything that its die-cast metal successors were not. It was glossy and bold and featured plenty of smooth sheet-metal surfaces accentuated by stamped rivets, nickel ladders, railings, and domes, with a red cow-catcher thrown in too. […]
S-Helper Service S gauge 2-8-0 Consolidation
I’VE LONG THOUGHT that the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s E-27-class 2-8-0 Consolidations were some of the most attractive, balanced-looking products the steam era ever produced. They were powerful, sure-footed, and reliable. The B&O at one time had more than 400 of the E-27-class 2-8-0 locomotives. The flexibility and utility of those locomotives led them to […]
Toy Train Restoration Parts tools and parts
I’VE OFTEN HEARD that we should be careful what we wish for – even if it is a good thing – because we just might get it. When reviewing a riveting tool set in the January 2006 issue, I mused about having something equally helpful to assist with the repair of old Lionel reversing units. […]
MTH Standard gauge no. 384 passenger set video
MTH’s Standard gauge no. 384 steam passenger set retails for $599.95 (no. 10-1250-1). It features die-cast metal and sheet-metal construction, two passenger cars, ProtoSound 2.0, smoke unit, track, and transformer. For more information, check out Bob Keller’s review inside the November 2006 issue of CTT, or see your MTH retailer. […]
Atlas O O gauge EMD SD40 diesel
IF YOU RECALL the 1970s TV comedy Welcome Back Kotter, one of the more eccentric characters, Arnold Horshack, had a unique way of signaling his excitement. He would get nervous and shout something that sounded like “Uho uho, uho uho.” Well, that happens to me when I see an SD40 or SD40-2s. Forget your 21st-century […]
9 steps to motorize a wind-up Rail Zeppelin
In 1931, a propeller-driven German railcar built by Franz Kruckenberg ran between Hamburg and Berlin. The Rail Zeppelin reached a speed of 142 mph, a record that stood for 20 years. The Rail Zeppelin, with a body similar to the Zeppelin airships, never went into production. Perhaps the idea of an open propeller operating so […]
