A decade ago, Dick Christianson, the founding editor of Classic Toy Trains, and I began work on what became the O gauge Lionel Lines/Santa Fe layout. With help from CTT staff members, who dutifully ventured to Dick’s suburban basement every Tuesday night, we spent countless hours planning, thinking, changing our minds, and making false starts […]
This booklet contains five National Train Show track plans, along with a bill of materials for constructing each one and some operational possibilities. The 4 x 8 dimensions are time-tested – that’s the size of a sheet of plywood, plenty of track and broad-enough curves can fit on it, and, most important, filling those 32 square […]
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. The Nickel Plate Road’s first Berkshire, Alco-built no. 700, accelerates out of Frankfort, Ind., with fast freight No. 47 in tow on Model Railroader contributing editor Tony Koester’s HO scale NKP St. Louis Division layout. This month you can […]
Use this handy chart to convert your drawings to another scale. Download our PDF and start building! […]
Click on the links at left to download the image size appropriate for your computer screen. The eastbound and westbound Twin Cities Zephyrs, racing between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul, pass each other as the Burlington Route’s main line runs along the Mississippi River on Bill Edgar’s N scale layout. The trackside photo from the March […]
Nearly all of us have dreamt of building a large toy train layout. The stark reality is that many of us lack the real estate, resources, or time for such an endeavor. But there’s no reason to be disappointed. This free guide from the experts at Classic Toy Trains includes a salute to the small layout, with […]
For those entering the hobby, this free guide from Model Railroader offers 14 pages of advice and inspiration. We provide tips on getting started, a guide on scales and gauges, and inspiration to build your own model railroad. […]
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Dave Bigge photographed this stunning shot of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe El Capitan on his HO scale Cajon Pass layout that’s set in 1956. Click on the links below to download the photo sized appropriately for your […]
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. A manifest freight barrels through the crossing at York, Pa., on Brian Wolfe’s HO scale Western Maryland layout. Paul Dolkos shot the photo. Click on the links below to download the image to use as a background on your […]
Welcome to the enjoyable and exciting hobby of toy trains! Folks enter this hobby a number of ways. Perhaps you found your childhood train set after many years and want to relive the fun you had with those toys. Maybe you picked up a vintage toy locomotive and cars at a yard sale or an […]
Model roads look best when they are built to the proper size. By planning for the streets and roads at the same time you design your layout, you can be sure you have enough room for them. Rest assured that if you plan ahead and follow the prototype, your streets will realistically enhance your layout. […]
Click on the links at left to download this image sized appropriately for your computer screen. It’s a snowy winter day in Gold Mine Gap on Ron Foreman’s HOn3 Devil’s Gulch & Helengon. The silver ore train must go through so the precious metal can be smelted into Christmas gifts. Click on the links below […]
