Facts & features Name: Chris Raines’ O gauge layout Dimensions: 12 x 27 feet Track and switch: Lionel FasTrack (diameters range from 60 to 72 inches) Motive power: Lionel (prewar, postwar, modern), MTH Rolling stock: Lionel, MTH, Williams Accessories: Lionel, MTH Controls: Lionel type-ZW, MTH no. Z-4000 (2) transformers with Lionel Legacy and MTH Digital […]
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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 Items from the Amherst show QUESTIONS & ANSWERS, pg. 18 S GAUGE NOW AND THEN, pg. 20 VIEWS FROM THE UNDERGROUND, pg. 21 WEEKEND WORKSHOP, pg. 48 New life for […]
Bob’s Train Box Episode 79 Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Bob’s Train Box Episode 79! Bob Keller and CTT editor Hal Miller check out the latest O gauge holiday boxcar from Atlas O. They also look at buildings from Menards including the Halls of Handsome Barbershop, Cripple Creek Tractor Repair, and Sacred Heart Hospital. The […]
Lionel’s no. 397 coal loader In 1948, Lionel introduced a new coal loader that needed just one track and a dump car to run. Senior Editor Roger Carp explains the history of this coal loader, what was included in the box with your purchase, and how it changed over the years. He explains what makes […]
Lionel Legacy SW8 locomotive Lionel has released an SW8 switcher locomotive in its Legacy line. Classic Toy Trains editor Hal Miller gives you a first look at this engine, which is loaded with extra details like a fan-driven smoke unit, operating couplers, unique number boards, a bell, a single smokestack, two horns, and so much […]
Lionel Legacy SW8 locomotive Lionel has released an SW8 switcher locomotive in its Legacy line. Classic Toy Trains editor Hal Miller gives you a first look at this engine, which is loaded with extra details like a fan-driven smoke unit, operating couplers, unique number boards, a bell, a single smokestack, two horns, and so much […]
Menards has released a new O gauge auto dealership building called Valley Motors. It features lighting, die-cast vehicles, figures, and lots of detail. It would be at home on a layout set in the 1940s to today. The structure harkens back to an era where American cars and trucks were heavy – probably made of […]
Kalmbach Media and Great American Train Shows will partner to produce Trainfest 2022, the renowned national model train show. The event will be in November at a venue in the greater Milwaukee area; details will be announced later. The Wisconsin Southeastern (WISE) Division of the National Model Railroad Association has produced past annual events. This […]
The Lionel no. 3429 helicopter car was the company’s answer to get more kids to buy its products in the late 1950s. It was an attempt to get away from a product line the public regarded as old-fashioned. The company’s creative minds decided to make items Lionel could link the trains to popular military and […]
The birth of Classic Toy Trains magazine I was hired as copy editor for both CTT and Model Railroader in February of 1988, just a few months after the premier issue of CTT hit newsstands in the autumn of the previous year. To understand the origins of Classic Toy Trains, we need to turn our attention to […]
A Lionel 2022 catalog review is the order of the day on Bob’s Train Box Episode 78! Bob and Hal take a look through the most recent Big Book and pick out a few items that have sparked their interest. They also have a first look at a couple of new Menards 14-3/4-inch flatcars. Bob […]
