Running a childhood American Flyer set

Michael Marmer's Flyer set no. 20740

Name: Michael Marmer Railroad Name: D&K RR Location: Germantown, Maryland Scale: S Theme: Small town America Description: This is my childhood American Flyer Set that was for the family when it came out in 1958. I was 3 years old and I still remember it being set up and running in the house. I will […]

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Winter 2025

The Winter 2025 cover of Classic Toy Trains magazine

Also in this issue: EDITOR’S DESK, pg. 4 The magic of toy trains YOUR LETTERS, pg. 5 YOUR PHOTOS, pg. 8 NEWS & REVIEWS, pg. 12 In memoriam: Len Carparelli, new items from Menards, Lionel, MTH, Trainworld, and more COLLECTIBLE CLASSICS, pg. 23 Lionel’s No. 9040 General Mills Wheaties boxcar REVIEWS, pg. 57 Lionel Legacy […]

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New toy-train products for January 2021

Atlas O Peavey Co. Pullman-Standard 4,427-cubic-foot capacity low-side three-bay covered hopper

O gauge freight cars Pullman-Standard 4,427-cubic-foot-capacity low-side three-bay covered hopper. New paint schemes: Peavey Co. (blue and white), Archer Daniels Midland (blue and white), Cooperative Marketing Association (brown and black), Gold Kist (yellow and blue), Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association Inc. (red, white, and blue), Scoular (gray and black), Tabor & Co. (gray and white), […]

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6 simple scenery tips for toy train layouts

Man building model railroad layout working with pink extruded foam board.

Classic Toy Trains recommends these six tried-and-true tips for simple scenery that goes beyond sparse displays of “trees” or a random tunnel and will improve nearly any toy train layout. 1. Start with foam framework A 4 x 8-foot sheet of 2- or 3-inch-thick pink or blue extruded foam insulation board is much lighter than […]

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10 tips for buying a power supply

A display featuring an MRC Throttlepack, MTH Trains Z-400, and a vintage Marx transformer.

Picking the right power supply for your railroad has one toe in the present and one in the future. It will need to run what you have today and will be expected to perform just as well years from now. Transformers aren’t cheap, but today’s O and S gauge hobbyists have a better selection of […]

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Make quick-and-easy junked cars for toy train layouts

Junkyard with painted aluminum foil auto shells.

Toy train layout operators foiled by the lack of inexpensive details can you aluminum foil as the raw materials for unlimited “junked cars.” Best of all, the project won’t strain your how-to skills and will add detail to your layout. You’ll need heavy-duty foil, gloss black paint, your choice of flat colors, a hobby knife, […]

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