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When I was a kid, we’d drive 3 ½ hours north to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit my grandparents a couple of times per year. Of course, that long of a drive necessitated one or two pit stops. Most were at tiny gas stations in small towns. Menards Sunoco Station (275-9288) reminds me […]
Planning your travel for this summer? Be sure to include some model trains in those plans! These five train layouts throughout the country (and world) are all worth a visit this summer. Colorado Model Railroad Museum Featuring more than 500 HO scale locomotives, 80 scale miles of track, and tens of thousands of handmade trees, […]
Locomotives & rolling stock E-Z Catch Train Shop has announced a custom-run MTH D&H hopper (20-95691) as part of the Premier line. The car is decorated in pink cancer awareness graphics. Estimated delivery this fall. Price: $74.99. Website: https://e-zcatch.square.site. Pat’s Trains, 142 29th St., Wheeling WV, 26003, is offering a custom-run MTH AC6000 engine in […]
Enjoy a glimpse of 1930s-era logging operations on Sam Foster’s 6 x 40-foot On30 (1:48) scale model railroad. Tall timber and equally impressive railroad engineering abound on this freelanced, around-the-walls narrow gauge (30″) layout. You can read more about the layout in the August 2024 issue of Model Railroader magazine. […]
Model Railroader After Hours | June 25, 2024. After Hours is an informal livestream hosted by Trains.com staff members… after the “work” of the day is done, there’s aways something else fun! Although David Popp typically hosts this Trains.com LIVE EVENT, he and other Trains.com staff members have been rather busy dismantling Model Railroader magazines’s […]
Rarely does a locomotive capture both the elements of power and beauty. As train enthusiasts we love the power aspect, but often the result is boxy, odd, or bland. The Union Pacific’s ten FEF-class steam locomotives set a standard for rugged beauty, and one in particular has had an operation life of 79 years. That […]
Though the hobby has evolved throughout the decades, one theme has remained constant: Model railroaders are a resourceful bunch. There are many in the hobby community who have a knack for looking items not for what they are, but for what they might become. In this article, we’ll take a look at 10 household items […]
My early “trainhood” was 1955 to 1968. I had an uncle who gave me a train the year I was born, and he added to the Lionel fleet on birthdays and Christmas for many years. All the trains were Lionel, but when I unboxed them in the early 1990s, I discovered the track, switches, and […]
Name: Charlie Bailey’s O gauge layoutDimensions: 42 x 49 feet Track and switches: Atlas O (maximum diameter 96 inches)Motive power: Lionel, MTHRolling stock: Lionel, MTH, WalthersControls: Lionel transformers with LegacyAccessories: American Flyer, Lionel, Marx, Miller Engineering, Millhouse River StudioStructures: Lionel, Menards, MTH, Plasticville, scratchbuilt, TW TrainWorx, Wm. K. Walthers, Woodland ScenicsVehicles: Diecast Direct, Menards, Woodland […]
Download the track plan here! See more in the Summer 2024 issue! […]
Lionel Trains’ 21″ passenger cars have been a staple in the manufacturer’s lineup of O-scale, 3-rail products for some time. A common censure though has been the lack of previously installed passengers upon purchase, leaving empty seats that need to be filled. From disassembly to reassembly, this project is easier to accomplish than I initially […]
The first patented stock car was developed in 1870 and used in shipments between Chicago and New York City. The cars were designed for 90 hours of travel, had water troughs fed from tanks under the car, and food troughs fed from hoppers in the roof. Over the years, other stock car designs were introduced […]
