Lionel’s LionChief Plus 2.0 GG1

Lionel’s LionChief Plus 2.0 GG1 electric locomotive

The LionChief 2.0 GG1 gives kids of all ages a distinctive icon of American railroading for their layout, be it a 4 x 8 or something filling a basement or attic. With modern electronics, this classic is ready to please a new generation! Watch the video to see more. […]

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Taking it easy in O gauge

Fred Laubie’s O gauge Buckeye Central RR

This 35 x 56-foot layout features postwar and modern Lionel power pulling impressive trains made up of Atlas O, Golden Gate Depot, Lionel, and MTH cars. It’s constructed with GarGraves track and Ross Custom Switches controlled by Circuitron and NJ International machines. Scenic highlights include a number of bridges and tunnels, a roundhouse, yard, coal […]

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Taking it easy in O gauge

Fred Laubie’s O gauge Buckeye Central RR

This 35 x 56-foot layout features postwar and modern Lionel power pulling impressive trains made up of Atlas O, Golden Gate Depot, Lionel, and MTH cars. It’s constructed with GarGraves track and Ross Custom Switches controlled by Circuitron and NJ International machines. Scenic highlights include a number of bridges and tunnels, a roundhouse, yard, coal […]

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10 tips for using MTH Trains’ RealTrax

RealTrax switch with bottom cover removed

Here are a few tips and tricks when working with MTH RealTrax:   The two ground rails are not tied together. This is true for other track systems using non-metallic ties, including those from Atlas O and GarGraves. If you add a switch, you need to add a lockon and make sure it’s on the […]

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Visit Ed Berg’s compact Marx layout

Ed Berg Marx layout

Realistic scenery, modified Plasticville structures, a Marx tunnel, and a loop of three-rail track with a single spur inject the Edge of Town Layout with visual appeal and operating activity. Ed Berg has been refining this Marx compact display for about 20 years. […]

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Visit Ed Berg’s compact Marx layout

Ed Berg Marx layout

Realistic scenery, modified Plasticville structures, a Marx tunnel, and a loop of three-rail track with a single spur inject the Edge of Town Layout with visual appeal and operating activity. Ed Berg has been refining this Marx compact display for about 20 years. […]

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Toy train locomotive, freight car, passenger car, and vehicle announcements for February 25, 2021

Metropolitan Division of the Train Collectors Association Entenmann’s NE5 caboose no. 102268

Club offerings   Entenmann’s Electro-Motive Division GP7 diesel locomotive and NE5 caboose. Lionel O gauge models custom-decorated for the Metropolitan Division of the Train Collectors Association (METCA). Locomotive features LionChief+2.0 (dual motors, electro-couplers, smoke, and die-cast metal trucks). Caboose has light-emitting-diode interior lights, die-cast metal trucks, and operating couplers. Limited-run models offered on first come, […]

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Calculate toy train speeds

O gauge passenger train with cars coming around a curve

Have you ever been curious as to just how fast your locomotives can travel and what will happen if a speeding train encounters a sharp curve? With a stretch of straight track to accelerate on, and an O-27 curve at the end, you can usually find out. But the question remains: Just how fast can […]

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Uncovering a desirable Lionel N5c Pennsy caboose

Lionel O gauge porthole postwar caboose

Lionel porthole caboose origins Lionel’s designers and marketers took significant steps in 1953 to expand and upgrade its roster of O gauge rolling stock. They introduced near-scale freight cars, notably larger and more realistic boxcars and a flatcar. They brought out for the first time a triple-dome tank car. And they distinguished the line with […]

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Toy train locomotive, freight car, structure, detail, and decal announcements for February 18, 2021

TCA Western Division Menards O gauge flatcar with Divco milk vans

CDs and DVDs Lionel Trains: A History in Advertising, 1946-1959. CD-ROM contains images of more than 100 vintage ads from the postwar era featuring Lionel trains and accessories. $14.95 plus shipping and handling. Archives of Advertising series. McBride/Publisher, thejumpingfrog.com O Gauge Train Maintenance You Can Do, Part 1. All-new series has how-to segments wiring postwar […]

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News & Products for the week of February 11, 2021

Nassau Lionel Operating Engineers O gauge Long Island Rail Road maintenance-of-way cars

O scale structures Richmond Packing Co. Kit has laser-cut tempered hardboard walls; basswood freight dock, doors, windows, and stairs; and peel-and-stick shingles. Building measures 8-5/8” x 11” without dock, 10-1/8” x 12-1/2” with. $149.95 plus shipping. Frank Ellison Tribute Series. Brennan’s Model Railroading, 816-252-4605, brennansmodelrr.com Tools Replacement needle scribers. Contains three each coarse and fine […]

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