The Atlas O Master Gunderson Multi-Max Auto Carrier is out after an almost two-year wait. The company announced the newly tooled cars in its Summer 2021 catalog. For modern operator-collectors with the real estate on their layout, having an autorack train is a virtual must. Before the announcement of these the only scale option was […]
The Menards Caboose Coffee Shop accessory has dropped, and it’s going to make your O scale caffeine lovers very happy. I love coffee. I also enjoy cabooses. This accessory mixes both very successfully. Really, what better use for an old crummy than a shop like this? Like a lot of other Menards model railroad buildings, […]
Also in this issue: EDITOR’S DESK, pg. 4 LETTERS, pg. 6 MODERN ERA NOTES, pg. 8 PHOTO ALBUM, pg. 10 NEWS & PRODUCTS, pg. 14 Atlas O offerings, the newest from MTH QUESTIONS & ANSWERS, pg. 20 S GAUGE NOW AND THEN, pg. 22 VIEWS FROM THE UNDERGROUND, pg. 24 WEEKEND WORKSHOP, pg. 44 REVIEWS, […]
There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes-work to make the cover of Classic Toy Trains. Here’s an inside look into how the image came about for the Jul-August 2023 issue. The feature story showcases the 41×60-foot O gauge layout built by the Train Masters of Babylon club in Farmingdale, N.Y. The image, shot by Kalmbach Media Co.’s […]
Name: The Train Masters of Babylon Gauge: ODimensions: 41 x 60 feetTrack: GarGraves (diameters range from 128 to 180 inches)Turnouts: Ross Custom SwitchesMotive power: Atlas O, K-Line, Lionel (postwar, modern), MTH, Weaver, WilliamsRolling stock: Atlas O, K-Line, Lionel (postwar, modern), Menards, MTH, Weaver, WilliamsControls: Lionel Type-ZW (5), MTH Nos. Z-1000 (2) and Z-4000 (11) transformers […]
Locomotives from the Union Pacific Heritage Fleet highlight the latest release of the Lionel Legacy SD70ACe. The product was announced in the 2022 Volume 2 catalog. The model train maker offered 10 versions, and I was convinced I needed at least half of them. Lionel has not produced the UP heritage units in 15 years, […]
The Lionel Legacy 2-6-0 “Mogul” type locomotive graced the company’s 2022 Vol. 2 catalog. It’s a welcome re-release as the previous 2016 models were struck with gearing issues. These caused many of them to run poorly at slow speeds. Many were returned to Lionel and never made it to the the second-hand market. This new […]
Chris Montagna of the Chris’s Trains and Things YouTube channel is a contributing editor to Classic Toy Trains. He has done numerous reviews and how-to articles for Trains.com and the magazine. We asked him a few questions. My first train set (or locomotive) was…? My first locomotive was a Lionel Reading 4-6-2 (No. 6-18004) in […]
It’s not hard to give a postwar Lionel GP7 a new lease on life. Unless they’ve really been abused, these workhorses can be returned to service with some cleaning, adjustment, and maybe a little lubrication. This particular model had been stored for years in a dry climate. Additionally, the previous owner had removed the D-cell […]
The MTH Premier SD24 is a massive model of a historic locomotive more widely used than its initial owners list would indicate. Many units found second and third lives on other railroads after their initial stints. Like all of MTH’s newer offerings this wasn’t in a catalog. Instead, it was announced in 2022 as a […]
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The Lionel Legacy C-Liner continues a keeps alive a sort of tradition in toy trains. While almost an outlier as a locomotive producer in real life, Fairbanks-Morse locomotives have enjoyed outsized success in the hobby. Witness the legendary Train Master. The locomotive builder’s effort to gain traction in the passenger and freight locomotive competition led […]
