10 vintage toy train items for your holiday layout The holidays are fast approaching! If you’ll be setting up a display (or a permanent layout), Senior Editor Roger Carp has suggestions for 10 items to add for the most fun! 1. Lionel No. 154 highway signal – for once, its enormous height and out-of-scale proportions […]
Tips for better tubular track Stamped metal track has been around for more than a hundred years. This “old reliable” track system is very sturdy and works equally well for permanent and non-permanent layouts. I start by darkening the center rail with cold metal bluing compound. Bluing compound is used in firearms restoration and is […]
News & Products for the week of October 23rd 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of October 23rd […]
The Atlas O Fall 2023 Premier Catalog was recently posted on the manufacturer’s website. The 32-page catalog features a mix of locomotives, commuter cars, and rolling stock from the Premier, Master, and Trainman product ranges. The last four pages of the catalog include previously announced track, structures, and accessories. Two models that will be making […]
Menards has started offering starter sets, and their Track Inspection Set is one of the newcomers to that area. But instead of a locomotive and pieces of rolling stock in the box, you’ll find something a little different. This set includes a track maintenance truck and a track inspection vehicle, and no locomotives. Both vehicles […]
News & Products for the week of October 16th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of October 16th […]
Walt Downer’s collection of Lionel Factory Layouts Ever since Walt Downer can remember, he has been fascinated by things that move. That desire to see something move explains the approach Walt has taken to collecting Lionel trains and accessories from the postwar era. Passionate about Lionel history, he set out to build a great collection […]
When you look at any model railroad, it’s the details that grab your attention—the people at the station, barrels by the wayside, or maybe a weathered locomotive or car. A recent trip to Sand Patch, Pa., inspired this small but important platform used by the maintenance-of-way department to unload materials for work along the line. […]
Menards has released an O gauge Santa Fe starter set (2759202). The set includes a locomotive, a caboose with lights, a wireless remote control, 8 sections of O-36 tubular track, 1 section of 10″ straight track, 1 section of 10″ straight track with power connection, and 1 18-volt power adaptor. The engine features two motors, […]
In this session, Host David Popp promises to finish the work on the passenger car project! That includes paying careful attention to those tiny details on the passenger car and the layout itself…you know, all of the little things he’d notice if he did not take the time to complete them now, including the addition […]
Have you thought about how to upgrade your tower lights? An engine facility doesn’t look complete without small details around the buildings, tracks, and equipment. One detail that isn’t difficult to add to this scene is yard lights. Most of these are “plug and play” details. Lionel’s option looks pretty much identical to how it […]
Grand Strand Model Railroaders, based in South Carolina, built a 12′ x 18′ O gauge layout using GarGraves flextrack and Ross Custom Switches. Even better, this layout is open to the public in the Myrtle Beach Mall! Watch a video highlighting this layout here. Thanks to Ken Kilby for the video footage. See the track […]
