When it come to track plans, everyone has a favorite. After all, each modeler values and prioritizes different aspects of model railroading. Some prefer intricate freight switching layouts, while others prefer long, continuous passenger routes. Some like layouts with dense foliage and rolling hills, whereas other modelers may prefer flat, desert landscapes. We here at […]
Train Topic: Beginners
New insights on the Flyer No. 583 electromagnetic crane
A quiet revolution changed the toy train industry in the 1930s. Firms aimed to introduce more realistic products. Advances in the die-casting of metals and the compression-molding of plastics shaped that trend. The A.C. Gilbert Co. began to develop scale and semi-scale engines and rolling stock while pushing for greater animation in its accessories. The […]
A staff writer’s wish list from Lionel’s 2025 Volume 1 Catalog
A new year means a new set of product announcements by Lionel. Technically, it started in late 2024 with the VisionLine O scale J1e Hudson to serve as a headliner for the 125th year. It’s now 2025, and the annual Volume 1 “Big Book” catalog arrived on January 15 to officially kick off the Quasquicentennial. […]
Should you use flextrack or sectional track?
Whether you’re just beginning in the hobby or you’ve been at it for 50 years, almost every model railroader comes across this question: should you use flextrack or sectional track when building your layout? I’ve used both throughout my time in the hobby, and in multiple scales. My first suggestion would be to use both. […]
Model Railroad Clubs’ Next Generation: Challenges, Changes, and Chances to Thrive
Most of us can agree that the gloom and doom surrounding today’s state of model railroading — due to the initial closing of Hattons and M.B. Klein/Model Train Stuff a year ago — went in like a lion and out like a lamb. Despite this over-exaggeration in 2024, I’d be lying if I said the […]
Train Sim World 5 | Product Overview
Train Sim World 5 is now available on a wide variety of platforms, including on PC, Xbox One and Series S|X, PlayStation 4 and 5, plus Steam Deck and via Epic Games Store. Join Trains.com talent Bryson Sleppy, as he walks you through TSW 5’s immersive virtual world of railroading…one that has growing appeal to […]
Train Sim World 4 | Upgrade from Sony PS4 to PS5
Our Trains.com resident simulator software guru Bryson Sleppy shares the process for transferring Train Sim World 4 from a Sony PlayStation 4 to a Sony PlayStation 5 gaming platform. For more details on the release of Train Sim World 4, be sure to watch Bryson’s overview of the railroad simulation software on Trains.com! […]
Metal railroad heralds in cereal boxes
Metal railroad heralds in cereal boxes offered boys and girls during the 1950s one more way to show their fascination with trains, whether full-size or miniature replicas. Kids, eager to discover the premiums packed inside boxes of their favorite breakfast food, had no hesitation about begging their parents to buy box after box of Sugar […]
Train Sim World 4 | Product Overview
Trains.com talent Bryson Sleppy delves into the immersive world of Train Sim World 4, released in September 2023 and available on PC, Xbox One and Series S and X, and PlayStation 4 and 5. In this video, our host highlights improvements made since the release of Train Sim World 3 in 2022 (click HERE to […]
Train Sim World 3 | Product Overview
Welcome back to another product overview of the captivating Train Sim World 3 on Trains.com. In this exploration, Host Bryson Sleppy delves into the immersive world of Train Sim World 3, released in 2022 and available on PC, Xbox One and Series S and X, and PlayStation 4 and 5. Players have the unique opportunity […]
Transport Fever 2 | Product Overview
In this all-new, Trains.com product overview of Transport Fever 2, host Bryson Sleppy walks you through some of the distinctive features of the railroad simulator available on Mac, PC, Xbox One and Series S and X, and PlayStation 4 and 5 platforms. Unlike other railroad sims, TF2 expands the game environment consider additional modes of […]
Train Life: A Railway Simulator | Product Overview
Host Bryson Sleppy takes train watching in a different direction, as he examines the world of “Train Life: A Railway Simulator,” a captivating railway simulator/game. Developed by Simteract (released in 2022), the game offers an immersive experience across Europe’s major cities like Berlin, Zurich, and Amsterdam. Unlike traditional train simulators, “Train Life” takes you beyond […]
