Let’s cut right to the chase. This is the finest steam locomotive that Lionel has ever made. Period. End of discussion. Insert photo of me puckering up to give this steamer a big old smooch. Whew. OK, I’ve taken a deep breath. I’ve cooled down. Now, on with the rest of the review. This Lionel […]
Q: Can you suggest how to safely remove the white residue that builds up on the bottom of my American Flyer rolling stock? – Bruce K. Davis, Youngwood, PA A: We receive this question several times a year. For some reason this white residue problem is more common with American Flyer S gauge trains of […]
Q: I have a bunch of old track – maybe 500 pieces – which I’d like to use on a layout. Most of it is dirty, greasy, and rusty, and I’d like to know how to clean it without doing each piece separately. – Larry Novis, Hermitage, Tenn. A: There is no mass-cleaning technique, shortcut, […]
Q: I have two postwar steamers that run, but very slowly. The no. 681 Pennsy turbine has been run so much that the drivers have grooves in them. My no. 736 Berkshire has a similar malady. Since they have sentimental value from my early days, I’d still like to run them, rather than buying new […]
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THE CHESAPEAKE & OHIO’S Greenbrier J-class 4-8-4 locomotives are among the most handsome power of the late steam era. Created to pull modern, air-conditioned trains on tight schedules through rough terrain, these monsters emerged from the Lima shops in 1935 and performed flawlessly. The C&O was so pleased, that the line ordered two more in […]
THERE IS NO MORE ICONIC locomotive in the world of model railroading than the Electro-Motive F3 diesel – the unquestioned monarch of the steam-to-diesel transition era. In the late 1940s, Lionel’s F3s rocked the O gauge world, and over the decades the range of F3s made for the O gauge world has gotten only better. […]
THIS PREMIER LINE model is a scale version of one of the world’s most easily identified streamlined locomotives – the “Torpedo” version of the Pennsylvania RR’s K4s 4-6-2 Pacific. The Torpedo was one of the Pennsy’s finest locomotives. With a streamlined nose, the body designed to lift the wind up and around the train, lessening […]
Q: I know that this sounds silly, but I get confused about what you are supposed to lubricate, especially the difference between the old postwar Lionel steamers and modern engines with can motors. Can you explain just what gets lubricated? – Erik via internet A: One similarity between postwar steamers and modern steam locomotives is […]
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Q: I have Marx and Lionel trains and accessories, both old and new. How do I store them so that my daughters and I can enjoy them when we move to a new home with more space? My house has just two levels and three bedrooms. We live in Maryland and the temperature and humidity […]
Conrail limited (edition, that is)O gauge SD40 by Atlas OThe SD40 hails from the early years of dieselization’s second generation of motive power. Cataloged from 1966 through 1972, the 3,000-horsepower locomotive utilized a common frame shared by the Electro-Motive Division’s SD38, SD39, SDP40, and SD45. More than 880 were built, and the model spawned a […]
