Visit an amazing 4′ x 8′ O gauge layout featuring Lionel, MTH, and K-Line trains

John Cunius' O gauge layout and the cover of Toy Train Layouts for Small Spaces.

John Cunius is truly the “Chairman of the Board” when it comes to his O gauge layout. The display, in a corner of his train room, puts the “fun” in “functional.” It has shelves underneath that hold his collection of locomotives, cars, and other equipment. See this and many other space-saving designs in Classic Toy […]

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Some of your favorite toy train Christmas scenes

Model steam engine in Christmas scene

Vintage toy trains in winter holiday scenes bring feelings of nostalgia. Relive the nostalgia with this selection of both current and vintage holiday-themed photos in O and Standard gauge scales. If you have a photo you’d like considered for a future gallery, contact editor@classictoytrains.com […]

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Lionel’s Phantom train stars on this O gauge Halloween layout

Lionel's Phantom train on a small Halloween toy train layout

Lionel’s Phantom train is on the rails! We’ve all seen Lionel, MTH, and American Flyer model train sets running under the Christmas tree, but what about for Halloween? CTT editor Hal Miller builds a small layout he calls the Chaos, Tragedy & Terror RR. It captures the spirit of the season with accessories from Woodland […]

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Lionel’s Phantom train stars on this O gauge Halloween layout

Lionel's Phantom train on a small Halloween toy train layout

Lionel’s Phantom train is on the rails! We’ve all seen Lionel, MTH, and American Flyer model train sets running under the Christmas tree, but what about for Halloween? CTT editor Hal Miller builds a small layout he calls the Chaos, Tragedy & Terror RR. It captures the spirit of the season with accessories from Woodland […]

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CTT’s fall 2021 special: Toy train layouts for small spaces

the magazine cover next to a tablet showing the cover featuring toy train diesel train on a layout

The latest special issue from Classic Toy Trains! If you’re looking to build your first toy train layout, or maybe just something more manageable, Toy Train Layouts for Small Spaces has you covered! It’s full of plans for layouts under 100 square feet that will fit in a spare room, including island and around the […]

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Steve Albee’s O gauge layout

Subway cars racing by on an O gauge layout.

Visit Steve Albee’s dual-level O gauge layout that fits in a spare room! This layout is one of many with plans that appears in the fall 2021 CTT special publication Toy train layouts for small spaces. Get your print or digital version here! There are freight trains and subways bringing light, action, and sound to […]

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Design “elemental” layouts in large scale

Scene on a large-scale railway built of wooden blocks

  When I was young, I had an American Flyer train and a set of American Plastic Bricks (interlocking toy bricks made in the 1960s). I liked running the train, but I was particularly drawn to the bricks. I could easily build something, tear it down, and build something else. Years later, I built an […]

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A little bit of the Pacific Northwest

Gary Pearsall’s compact O gauge layout

Gary Pearsall’s layout features Northern Pacific passenger and freight trains. The layout measures 5 x 10 feet and features spectacular mountain scenery as well as a town with buildings by Lionel, MTH, Walthers, and Woodland Scenics. Trains made up of equipment from K-Line, Lionel, MTH, Atlas O, and Williams run on two independent loops of […]

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