This is a reproduction of a clever bit of marketing from back in the mid-1930s. Take the then-popular Commodore Vanderbilt steam locomotive (the swankiest engine on the New York Central at the time) and pair it with a streamlined vividly colored train set. Profits will surely ensue. To get the job done, Lionel used its […]
Two O gauge trains alternate automatically on Donald Miller’s Christmas-tree layout. Learn how to create this layout in the December 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. […]
Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 4 x 8 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack (Plan 2) Minimum curve: O-36 Originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click the link below to download a PDF of this track plan. Schematic Parts list […]
Layout designer: Ray Stuber Scale: O Layout size: 7 x 16 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Workin’ the Wabash in 7 x 16 feet track plan Workin’ the Wabash in 7 x 16 feet schematics Workin’ the Wabash in 7 x […]
The Union Pacific was known for the large steam power it used to speed freight across the wide-open west. Perhaps the line’s most eccentric design was the 4-12-2. That was a heavy locomotive designed to pull heavy freights at higher speeds over the vast, fruited plains. Alco constructed 88 of the 782,000-pound giants for the […]
Layout designer: Kent Johnson Scale: O Layout size: 20 x 24 feet Track type: Lionel FasTrack Minimum curve: O-48 Originally appeared in the October 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Click on the link to download a PDF of this track plan. Track plan Schematic Parts list […]
Layout designer: John Rusterholz Scale: O Layout size: 4 x 8 feet Track type: Lionel O Minimum curve: O-31 Originally appeared in the September 2012 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Up-and-over O gauge plan Up-and-over O gauge plan schematic Up-and-over O gauge plan components […]
Let me start out by saying that I’m a fan of the Baldwin RF-16. I even own two sets by Williams (yes, both New York Central). The sharp, jutting nose reminds me of the days when airliners had three rudders and autos had fins. Even 59 years after the last was built, I think they […]
Check out the action of this A-A set released by Lionel, featuring a good level of detail and 0-36 action. […]
Check out the action of this A-A set released by Lionel, featuring a good level of detail and 0-36 action. […]
Like many manufacturers, when Lionel had made prototypes of potential products, whether they went forward to production or not, they often held the single samples in an archive stored away for possible use in the future. Sometimes the market wasn’t right when they were proposed, or the technology wasn’t there to do it right. But […]
Bob Keller demonstrates how freight is loaded via conveyor belt to its destination, working either as a railroad structure or the loading arm of a trackside factory. […]
