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Magazine: Classic Toy Trains
MTH Premier line O gauge New Haven EP-3 electric locomotive
THE PENNSYLVANIA Railroad GG1-class locomotive would almost certainly win the title of best all-around North American electric-profile locomotive, both in terms of performance and popularity. But who would have thought that a rather Plain Jane New Haven Railroad boxcab was the progenitor of the Pennsy classic? The New Haven Railroad wasn’t a fan of motor-generator […]
Ready Made Toys O gauge “Buddy” Rail Diesel Car
WHO WOULD HAVE thought that oddball tooling from 50 years ago would ever become a hot product in the digital era? Not me. But that’s the case with the most recent rendering of the Budd Co.’s Rail Diesel Car, known in railroad slang as an RDC or a Budd car. Ready Made Toys first made […]
Williams O gauge postwar-style no. 2056 4-6-4 Hudson
MORE THAN a decade ago, I bought a postwar Lionel no. 2056 Hudson. I paid close to $300 for the steam locomotive – on installments – at a local hobby shop. The rush of buying a “real, vintage Lionel train” lasted a few years before it faded as newer and better trains entered the marketplace. […]
MTH Premier line O gauge Sounder F59PHI
OUR CANADIAN COUSINS need to stand up and take a bow. The EMD F59 was commissioned by and developed with Toronto’s GO (for Government of Ontario) Transit railroad. The commuter authority needed a 3,000-horsepower locomotive with a separate head-end power generation system packaged in a full-cowl body with safety-cab front. The F59 was the winning […]
Build a two-engine firehouse from kitbash remnants
Photos by Michael Raynor Once I finished building my Grand Central Station from two MTH bank structures (see the May 2006 issue of CLASSIC TOY TRAINS), I kept thinking about those great-looking leftover wall sections. After pondering the parts, I decided to shape the three unused bank walls, plus the roof section, to form a […]
Brushplate bushing repair
A cranky, old toy train locomotive with a terrible growl, a hot-running motor, and anemic power may be trying to tell you something. Before deciding to retire it, though, check the clearance in the armature brushplate bushing. A worn or defective bushing often results in one or more of these locomotive maladies. The solution is […]
6 points to consider when choosing a toy train to restore
Restoring an old toy train can be great fun, and once the project’s done, it can give you a great feeling of accomplishment. Restoring your own items also can save money when compared with buying an original or a completed restoration in equivalent condition. One of the keys to a successful restoration, though, it picking […]
How to clean vintage plastic rolling stock
Finding older Lionel and American Flyer cars in good shape at a bargain price can be a challenge, because over the years, collectors have scooped up many of the really clean pieces. That’s no reason to despair, though – many of those grimy $5 and $10 cars you find at shows and shops are actually […]
How to clean and oil O gauge and large scale engines
For better or worse, the wheels of O and large scale trains seem to attract more grease and grime than those of HO and N scale pieces. Perhaps it’s the size of the trains, perhaps the shape of the wheels, or perhaps it’s carbon that gets deposited during operation, but either way they get filthy […]
Repair traction tires
When it comes to replacing a broken traction tire on a steam locomotive, it helps to have a sense of humor. That and a third hand. I don’t have a third hand to lend you, but I can offer you the tips below to get a leg up on this friction-fraught task. Traction tires have […]
Repairing Lionel’s smoke units
Fig. 1: Pry off the original smoke unit cover with a screwdriver to gain access to the inside. Fig. 2: Remove the heater coil and smoke unit lining, both of which will be replaced in the conversion. Fig. 3: After scrapping and cleaning out all the pellet residue, make sure the air hole is not […]
