Name: Bob Davies’ O gauge layout Dimensions: 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ feet Track: GarGraves (diameters range from 42 to 54 inches) Motive power: Lionel, Wiliams by Bachmann Rolling stock: Lionel, Menards Controls: Lionel GW-180 transformer Accessories: Z-Stuff for Trains Structures: Mattel, MTH Vehicles: Mattel Download the track plan for this layout. […]
In this episode, Gerry wraps up work on his model train layout and encourages everyone to start watching Spaces to Places. Getting to know Gerry Leone Back on Track host Gerry Leone is just as clever as he is comedic! But even better, he’s a masterful model railroader who’s knowledgeable in numerous areas of the […]
In this episode, Gerry finishes up scenery work and gives a tour of final touches he’s making to his railroad. Getting to know Gerry Leone Back on Track host Gerry Leone is just as clever as he is comedic! But even better, he’s a masterful model railroader who’s knowledgeable in numerous areas of the […]
10 tips for a better holiday toy train display With the holidays on the way, we at Classic Toy Trains wanted to share ways to have a better holiday toy train display. Here are 10 tips from hobbyist David Smith. 1. Traditional O-27 tubular track allows for more varied track plans in a small space. […]
A lot of railroad modelers got their start in the hobby when they received a train set for Christmas. I’d bet that most of them woke up to find the train not in a box but running in circles under the tree. What dad could resist setting up the train “just to test it?” Arranging […]
The Mandy Patinkin Lionel layout collection is loaded with realistic scenes packed with details. Trains, accessories, structures, and more from the post-World War II and Modern eras of Lionel production fill every square inch of an outstanding model railroad that fills much of a 17 x 42-foot room in the Patinkin household. Visiting Mandy and […]
Get your old trains running again! It’s time to take them out of the boxes and have some fun. In this chapter from Beginner’s Guide to Repairing Lionel Trains, Ray L. Plummer offers advice on how to do it. Get your old trains running again “Old electric train” – that’s what it says on the […]
Freelance Colorado narrow-gauge branch line The railway at a glance Name: Miller Creek & Moss Rock Railway Size of railroad: 30′ x 40′, approximately Scale: 1:24 Gauge: 45mm (no. 1) Era: Pre-WWII Theme: Freelance Colorado narrow-gauge branch line Age: 6 years Motive power: NiMH-battery-operated Delton Consolidation Length of mainline: 130′, (approximately) Maximum gradient: 3.5% Type […]
A 2022 holiday toy train photo gallery is just the thing to get you in the Christmas spirit. Please enjoy this selection of holiday-themed photos of toy trains from Lionel and American Flyer in O gauge, S gauge, and Standard gauge (with some bonus N and large scale trains). If you have a photo you’d […]
I recently wrote “Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs” featuring five Electro-Motive Division diesels, including unique paint schemes, rebuilds, and test subjects. This time, I dug through my negative collection and found eight Burlington Northern freight car one-offs. Most of the photos are from family travels throughout northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota between the early 1980s […]
Bachmann Big Hauler birthday train […]
Model an enginehouse scene. Last year, I wrote about an old 40-foot insulated boxcar being used as a storage shed on the Sisseton Milbank RR (SMRR) in Milbank, S.D. I thought it would be fun to take another look at the 38-mile line, a subsidiary of the Twin Cities & Western RR, this time focusing […]
