Two of Missouri Pacific’s 25 2-8-4 Berkshires, built by Lima in 1935, get under way with a freight at St. Louis. H. F. Harvey coll. […]
Doubleheaded MoPac Berkshires
Tag: 1920 – 1945
Chesapeake & Ohio Alleghany, Va., station from the C&O Historical Society
Alleghany, Va., C&O Station Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: $89.95 Era: Post-1920 Manufacturer: Produced by Southern Heritage Models exclusively for the C&O Historical Society, chessieshop.com Alleghany, Va., C&O station features: Laser-cut parts Two waiting rooms Wide eaves Weatherboard (clapboard) siding Copy of C&O Magazine article “C&O’s Last Standard Station Design” from December 2010 included for reference Release date: […]
Athearn HO scale intercity bus
HO scale intercity bus Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $31.99 Era: 1940s to 1970s+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com Features: Rubber tires Windshield wipers Interior detail Available: September 2023 Paint schemes: Pacific Electric (red and orange with Long Beach destination board), band on tour (green and […]
NYC’s Mercury departs Chicago
In Chicago, trains of New York Central subsidiary Michigan Central generally used Illinois Central’s lakefront Central Station. Here a Hudson starts the Chicago Mercury on its run to Detroit. The terminal’s arched trainshed was removed in the early 1940s. Richard Luryman photo […]
A postwar Lionel haul unboxing
A postwar Lionel haul unboxing featuring Roger “Professor” Carp and CTT editor Hal Miller. The trains belong to a co-worker who received them from her father. He received his first Lionel train in 1941 – in fact, we have his original no. 1089 set box! Have a look at some of the well-loved and time-worn […]
Kansas City Southern 2-10-4
Kansas City Southern’s last new steam locomotives were 10 class J 2-10-4s built by Lima in 1937. As this postwar photo of No. 905 indicates, they were massive machines — those are 70-inch drivers under that giant boiler. Harold K. Vollrath photo […]
Lionel’s no. 700E scale Hudson locomotive
The latest video by Roger Carp, senior editor at Classic Toy Trains magazine, focuses on one of the greatest and most celebrated toy trains ever produced in America. In anticipation of the release of Lionel Trains of the 1940s, the new special-interest publication from CTT, Professor Carp looks closely at the Lionel no. 700E O […]
Lionel’s no. 700E scale Hudson locomotive
The latest video by Roger Carp, senior editor at Classic Toy Trains magazine, focuses on one of the greatest and most celebrated toy trains ever produced in America. In anticipation of the release of Lionel Trains of the 1940s, the new special-interest publication from CTT, Professor Carp looks closely at the Lionel no. 700E O […]
Stories working as a railroad fireman
Working as a railroad fireman: It was the end of summer. Billy, Wimpy, and I had finished cleaning up after the last threshing job and watched Mr. Hedrick slowly drive the rig out to the road and head west to the winter storage building behind his blacksmith shop. The rig consisted of a Huber […]
7 great Lionel accessories from its golden years
These 7 great Lionel accessories from the prewar and postwar periods are the ones we think are the tops. This “best of” list is based on quality design, sturdy construction, and general appeal. Don’t agree with our list? Drop us a line at editor@ClassicToyTrains.com, and thanks for reading. There’s more information on many of these […]
Jersey Central Camelback scooping water
Central Railroad of New Jersey 4-6-0 155 — one of CNJ’s many center-cab “Camelback” engines — takes water on the fly from the track pans at Dunellen, N.J., in late 1931. R. P. Morris photo […]
Union Pacific Challenger ruled the Overland Route
Union Pacific Challenger: Railroad slogans are one of the industry’s lost arts. The old ad men and promoters who came up with them were geniuses. Remember when phrases like Water Level Route or Main Line of Mid-America told you so much about a particular railroad? The best ones spoke of far-flung places, and how to […]
