Trainz has purchased the inventory and electronic property of Trainsetsonly.com from Paul and Lisa Christel. Based in New Lenox, IL, Trainsetsonly.com was an ecommerce model train store offering a wide variety of model railroading merchandise. This inventory has been shipped to Trainz’s warehouse in Flowery Branch, Ga. Look for these products to become available on […]
The problem faced by Steven Tripp about 10 years ago was a familiar one among model railroaders: How could he bring to life memories of coal mining in Pennsylvania and the railroads serving that industry during the steam-to-diesel transition era? Compounding the challenges was the fact that his home in Shenandoah, Texas, lacked a basement. […]
The Lionel Collectors Club of American (LCCA) announces a custom-run Lionel Christmas boxcar for LCCA members. The car features a metal frame, silver painted die-cast metal sprung trucks, and features O-27 operation. Expected delivery in late November 2025. Price: $115 with free shipping. Members can purchase up to six boxcars, while supplies last. To become […]
The NJ Hi-Railers Train Club was known for its former O scale layout, located on one of the floors in a former silk mill in Paterson, N.J. At 185.5 x 30 feet, with over 7,500 feet of track (equating to 70 scale miles), visiting the immaculate display firsthand was said to be an experience that […]
I found this manuscript from the late John Grams in our manuscript files. There was no date on the envelope but it’s likely from the early 1990s. The article discusses 12 Lionel products that, while great inventions, were fraught with problems or didn’t work exactly as advertised. He included the following disclaimer: Lionel trains were […]
You never know what will inspire someone to plan a layout with its own special personality. Dinarte Ferro saw pictures of a Lionel No. D-264 Super O display from 1959 and decided it would be perfect as a home for his collection of O gauge trains and accessories from Louis Marx & Co. Just one […]
Q: I own the Ives train set my father had as a boy. Based on information found at the Ives Train Society website, I believe locomotive No. 3253 dates from between 1921-1923. The three passenger cars seem to match set No. 504. The overall condition of the paint and sheet metal is poor. I doubt […]
Some O gaugers spend years designing and building their layouts, and others go at it with the speed of a runaway train. Count Steven Pasternak among the “I won’t sleep till the work is done” crowd. He told us he finished this two-level 5 x 9-foot three-rail display in less than 100 days! Lionel and […]
I found this manuscript from the late John Grams in our manuscript files. There was no date on the envelope but it’s likely from the early 1990s. The article discusses 12 Lionel products that, while great inventions, were fraught with problems or didn’t work exactly as advertised. He included the following disclaimer: “Lionel trains were […]
More and more of the O and S gauge railroads presented to Classic Toy Trains strive for realism. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, but then you have modelers who, like Jim and Debby Flynn, honor the traditions of our hobby by creating a three-rail layout with a decidedly toy-like look. They operate a prewar […]
Tom Quinlan owned a lot of Standard gauge trains, but never got around to building a layout to showcase them. A few years before Tom died in 2014, his daughter, Kathy Duane, took matters into her own talented hands by constructing for her father the layout he always dreamed of having. In addition to freight […]
The hauling of wood chips necessitated unique rail equipment, especially during the 1960s-70s. This included both specially built cars, such as the Greenville wood-chip hopper, and repurposed gondolas, hoppers, and boxcars that were modified with extensions. Ready Made Toys’ (RMT) newest O gauge wood-chip hopper in the Trainmaster Premium Line goes the route of repurposing […]
