How do I find toy train part numbers?

Classic Toy Trains magazine logo

Thanks for the list of sources for parts in the Fall 2025 issue of CTT. I have nine prewar and postwar engines awaiting attention; I’ll need parts for some of them, and your list will be invaluable. But some sources don’t do searches for parts, which raises the question: Where do we find part numbers? […]

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Working with 3D-printed parts

Color photo showing HO scale 3D printed truck bed attached to the support structure on white background. A metal sprue cutter is also visible in the image.

Q: I’m excited by all the new 3D-printed figures and details that have become available. Lately, however, I’ve received some figures that are still attached to the support structure. I work in HO scale, and I’m not sure how to safely remove all this material without damaging the details or figures. Do you have any […]

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ScaleTrains S 40-foot wood refrigerator car

Color photo showing B end of S scale wood refrigerator car painted orange, brown, and black with white graphics on white background

ScaleTrains S 40-foot wood refrigerator car Scale: S (1:64) Price: $59.99 Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Road NE Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com ScaleTrains S 40-foot wood refrigerator car features: Detailed brake system Equipped with American Flyer-compatible wheels and operating couplers Fish-belly underframe Freestanding vertical brake staff Injection-molded plastic body Metal handrails and grab irons […]

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Tips for restoring a vintage toy train

Join Classic Toy Trains Editor Rene Schweitzer and Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as they share essential tips for restoring a vintage toy train. They address a viewer’s request for help with his father’s old Ives train set, which is in poor condition with bent metal, rust, and poor paint. Their discussion covers key […]

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Tips for restoring a vintage toy train

Join Classic Toy Trains Editor Rene Schweitzer and Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as they share essential tips for restoring a vintage toy train. They address a viewer’s request for help with his father’s old Ives train set, which is in poor condition with bent metal, rust, and poor paint. Their discussion covers key […]

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Awe-inspiring track plans for a Santa Fe-themed layout

Santa Fe 1951

From Midwest farmlands to the Pacific Coast, and the mountains and deserts in between, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway offers a buffet of modeling opportunities. This popular former Class I railroad has captured the hearts of model railroaders, and there are many modeling products and materials readily available to help modelers go “Santa […]

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Trains.com Insider | 2025 NMRA National Convention, Layout Visits

2025 NMRA National Convention, Layout Visits | Tour with Model Railroader Editor Eric White, as he discovers a diverse collection of model railroads from the 2025 National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) National Convention recently held in Novi, Michigan! Explore Steve Smith’s HO scale freelanced Sierra Valley & Harbor Junction; Dan Lewis’s nostalgic N scale Milwaukee […]

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Lionel’s prewar competitors

box and train set

Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2000 issue of Classic Toy Trains. In celebration of Lionel’s 125th anniversary this year, we’re sharing it online.   The Lion has just entered the big-top for his first show. He has plenty of fight, although/ he’s no longer a sleek cub. His tail is a bit […]

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Upcoming LCCA convention offers free admission

circulate logo with train

Scranton, PA will host the 55th annual Lionel Collectors Club of America’s Convention & Toy Train Show. From July 20 to 26, 2025, train enthusiasts will pour into the Electric City to delight in the magic of railroad history in a city that was built on trains. Curt Camoni, the Executive Director of the Lackawanna […]

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20-foot intermodal containers

Color photo of yellow 40-foot well car with three mineral red intermodal containers.

Q: I’m curious why I’ve never seen four 20-foot intermodal containers in a single well car, stacked two on top and two on the bottom. I’ve only ever seen two 20-foot containers in the well and a 40-foot (or larger) container on top. — Benjamin Stewart A: David Lassen, senior editor at Trains magazine, put me […]

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